Sorry, but I guess like they say, “Better late then never”. To be honest, if you knew this event was happening and you missed it, you could have guessed it would have been awesome, if you were there, you will hardly need me to reinforce it’s awesomeness.
But still, an awesome event deserves it’s due, so here we go!
So, on January 24th (the day after Erika’s 30th birthday no less, thanks babe!) I headed down for what promised to be another epic in the Volo calendar of events. Biere et Compagnie, a joint event with HMH Negotiants, Cheese Culture, and Chocosol. The plan: Drink six Quebecois beers, paired with six Quebecois cheeses (one ended up being an eastern Ontario, but nobody was complaining), with some of the nicest chocolate in Toronto for dessert. Ummmm, where are the harp-playing angels?
I got seated at a table for four, and met my three table-mates. Two self-proclaimed beer geeks, and a beer geek’s girlfriend. And out came the cheese plates. The Volo crew got to pouring, and we got introductions to the players.
Round One:
Microbrasserie Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Blanche with Fromagerie Station Peppercorn Raclette (raw cow’s milk, washed rind)
Crazy, this wheat beer is flavoured with Chamomile blooms. There are hints of mint and orange. The aromas stay through the taste, which settles into a nice bready wheat beer, and finishes with a very clean finish. The cheese has clear leather aromas and cooked milk. The taste is a bit floral with a sharp peppercorn bite. The spiciness of the cheese matches the herbal notes in the beer wonderfully.
Round Two (Fight!):
Dieu du Ciel! Rose d’Hibiscus with Fromagerie Tournevent Chevre Noir (goat’s milk cheddar, one year old)
So, I was stoked, as this beer has the name of my favourite flower in it, but what to expect?. It was pink. Hmmmmmm, not huge into the fruit stuff, but here’s to the start of a great event. The beer was actually less fruity then I expected, but drank more like a mild fizzy pinot. A nice tangy note, but it settled into a yeasty wheat beer pretty quickly. It paired well with the cheese, which was pretty sweet and creamy. The beer cut nicely through. Not a bad start.
Round Three:
Microbrasserie Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Triple with Fromagerie St. Albert Cheddar (cow’s milk five years old)
The Lord Be With You (which is what the beer’s Latin name translates to), and so He was in this pairing. A big boozy warming triple, with good sweetness, but with a nicely noticeable hop to it, paired with one of the nicest cheddars I’ve ever eaten. Sharp, citrusy with hints of the barn (straw/leather/yeast). Acidic and salty mouthfeel, juxtaposes the sweetness of the beer perfectly. Soooo good.
Round Four:
Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodisiaque with Laiterie Charlevoix Le 1608 (raw cow’s milk from heirloom Canadienne cows, washed rind)
Actually the first pairing I didn’t love. I love beer and I love cheese, but these ones weren’t a natural match. Aphrodisiaque is is a cool stout, nice cocoa mocha taste with a rich vanilla finish. The cheese was fairly mild with a mild nuttiness to it. There was just no romance between the two (though the beer had romance enough for everybody).
Round Five:
Les Trois Mousquetaires Imperial Weizen with Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser Cabriole (goat’s milk, mixed rind)
Again, not a stellar pairing, but two very good individual elements. The beer hearkened to Aventinus, but with more complexity (and that is saying something). Sweet citrus and tropical fruits moving to honey, to a herbal boozy finish. I could drink this every day of my life. The cheese is funky, not like Stevie Wonder, but more like Bob Marley’s dreads in August. Heavy earthy notes, with cooked vegetables and a sharp sour milk. The cheese is slick and almost oily on the tongue. It is bittersweet, and still way funky. Not a cheese for everybody, but I was in heaven. But again, the two didn’t seem to naturally meet. Still, I’ll be buying more of both.
Round Six (trying not to get KO’d):
Les Trois Mousquetaires Imperial Baltic Porter with Affinage Maurice Dufor Ciel de Charlevoix (raw cow’s milk, blue)
Oh Hell Yes!!! Baltic porter, for those in the dark, is a porter (pretty roasty robust brew) turned up to 11. Dark fruits, brown sugar and something a bit grainy. Oh yes, and a heap of alcohol (it is 9.8%). Thick and chewy, this beer is a real sipping beer, which is good, as it gets even better as it warms. I never would have thought it, but a nice sharp blue cheese was the calm cool Ricky to the porter’s Lucy. Some mellow earthy tastes, a bit of mushroom maybe, with a nice salty bite, though nowhere near as sharp and big as your grocerystore Danish blue. Awesome.
In a tradition I would like to see more people adopt dessert was served with the fifth course. A board of chocolate so attractive I might have considered not eating it. We were provided with three different prepared chocolates from Chocosol, one that was smooth and creamy, one that had cocoa nibs in it and was bitter and lovely, and one that had chilli powder in it (a favourite blend of mine). Spicy and sweet and oh so good. The board also had a bowl of winnowed cocoa nibs, whole cocoa beans, and a salt blend that had vanilla, cocoa, chillies and sea salt. Especially with the last two beers, the chocolate assault was brilliant. Plus I got addicted to cocoa. Seriously, I keep a bag of cocoa nibs in the cupboard and eat a pinch a few times throughout the day.
So the event drew to a close with me happily chatting with providers of the goods, other tasters, and Volo staff. A belly full of beer and cheese and chocolate, and probably a stupid grin across my face.
This event was so wickedly incredible, and planted so many great ideas for the beer and cheese tasting I’ve been planning at Castro’s since November. If I haven’t yet made it clear to you, dear reader: Go to Volo for events. Don’t worry about what the theme is, it is going to be stellar, like a Pink Floyd laser-light show. And you will probably see me there, I’m hard pressed to miss them.
www.barvolo.com
www.hmhnegotiants.com
www.cheeseculture.ca
www.chocosol.com
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