Baker Street Station

Checked into a new bar in the Guelph area!  Always looking for good places to go grab a bite to eat, we took a look at the Baker Street Station, a new gastropub in downtown Guelph.  Great spot to sit and grab a drink, the bar was relatively full considering it was only just past dinner hour, about 8 o'clock or so.  The draught beer selection was excellent, featuring top Canadian producers such a Steamwhistle, Beau's, Mill St, Unibroue and McAuslan's, as well as outside producers like Rogue's and Old Speckled Hen; a few bottles, particularly large format available as well.  Menu selection appeared to be very good, but a few items happened to be unavailable tonight. I wasn't particularly let down by the lack of cremini mushroom soup, but the missing pastrami and pickled ox tongue sandwich was a disappointment.  I settled on the CHOP BLOCK, a rotating selection of charcuterie, as an appetizer.  The block was unfortunately misdescribed on their feature board.  I was looking forward to both the pork rillettes and the ham hock and foie gras torchon, and was forced to settle with just a chicken liver mousse as the substitution.  In lieu of the sandwich I opted for the Baker Street MacBurger, a decent rendition of a gastro burger, featuring two smaller patties layered between a bun cut into three instead of two.  My girlfriend shared the CB as an app, and the chef was kind enough to deliver some gluten free vegetable chips to accommodate her being a Celiac, she had the mussels as well.  All the food was well done, but I would have enjoyed it more if what I wanted had been available or presented as advertised.  Even the best of restaurants have bad nights, and I am willing to return to Baker Street for some grub in the future, however the place seems absolutely fitting for just popping in for one of their excellent beers!

Baker Street Station
bakerstreetstation.com
76 Baker Street
Guelph

Thanksgiving Wines

Got stuck into a few nice wines over Thanksgiving dinner, a bottle of Catena Alta Chardonnay 2009, which I picked up for the occasion, as well as a 2004 Sartori Amarone Corte'Bra which I received as a birthday gift. The Chardonnay went well with turkey dinner, and the Amarone made for a perfect after dinner drink with some cheeses and local honeycomb.

Catena Alta Chardonnay 2009:
Poured a straw yellow colour, with a nose of over ripe apple, verbena, beeswax and a buttery candy corn like note.  The palate was well balanced between fruitiness and abstract flavours, featuring the flavors of apple, candied lemon peel, honey and finished with a nice oakiness, some vanilla and butter.  A very supple, medium to full bodied wine that would certainly evolve over the next couple of years.  I feel if you plan on drinking it now there are definately better values to be had at a price point much lower than this.

Sartori Amarone Corte'Bra 2004:
A pleasant fading red color, just starting to brick ever so slightly, this will be a very pretty colour in a few years.  A deep woodsy aroma, rich with spices, wild blueberry and oak.  Dry with a rich coating mouthfeel, hearty and intense with dried cherry flavours, liquorice, leather and vanilla. A long lasting finish, well into the 45 second mark.  Offers up an excellent QPR, grab one if you get the chance, and don't feel like you need to drink it now, the vivacious fruit flavour and the fact you can still taste the alcohol says you can let this one go a little longer.

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoying time with family, friends and maybe a glass or two for yourself.

Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto

Ordered this stick online from the wonderful selection at www.cigarchief.com.  The site listed them as aged a few years, and ready to smoke.  A small cigar that promised no compromise; how can one resist?  This little Cubano definitely delivered, sporting a tan to medium wrapper, rugged looking with a little toothiness and some veins, the construction seemed a little off, but didn't effect the burn or flavour.  The cold draw tasted of leathery tobacco and the staple Cuban salinity.  Once lit, it let up huge plumes of white smoke, much like I experienced with this sticks bigger brother, the Hoyo Epicure #2.  The first half gave layers of flavour, with cocoa nib, salt and cedar.  It formed a tight grey ash that held on well past the inch mark, in fact all 4 inches of this stick went down with only 2 ashings.  The second half saw the abstract flavours die off and be replaced with coffee bitterness and what was definitely hazelnut.  Burned cool for a full 50 minutes. A wonderfully complex small smoke, well worth it.

CAO Italia Novella

Squeezing in cigars whenever I can as we are getting into the end of smoking season in Canada.  I don't find myself wanting to sit outside for 45 minutes or longer when the temperature dips below 15 degrees.  The good news is, it's a great time to stock up the humidor and let your sticks rest over the winter, for optimum smoking come the warm spring and summer months.  I cut into a CAO Italia a few weeks ago.  This one was in their Novella size, a corona corta.  It featured a medium coloured wrapper, and when straight cut, the cold draw gave up a nice chocolate and coffee flavour.  Was really surprised to light this one up and taste very woodsy smoke, filled with thyme like herbs, and black pepper spice.  The 45 minute burn didn't transition much, but kept a consistent profile.  Earthy and old world, lots of leathery tobacco notes.  Fairly well constructed, the burn only needed minor touch ups. Good flavour, but lacked the complexity and transitions you might see in a larger vitola. CAO offers great QPR, I very much enjoyed a toro sized version of the CAO Brazilia earlier this summer, but didn't review it.

Shipyard XXXX IPA

Getting some time to post up some reviews over the Thanksgiving long weekend, been tasting a bit here and there and never had time to put anything up.  Picked this up as part of the LCBO's Shipyard feature, I'm a big fan of IPA's and despite this being a little bit out of style, I quite enjoyed it.  The feature also included a Barley Wine and an Imperial Porter I might be sampling later.

625 mL bottle. Pours a slightly hazy amaretto color, with a thick lasting head of tan bubbles, nice lacing here. Not as aromatic as many IPAs, definitely pulling a strong malty smell here, with a hint of piney hops. Taste is big, maltier than most American IPA’s these days, but still well hopped. Sweet and smooth, holding all that 9.3% ABV quite well, initial caramel/butterscotch notes give way quickly to a dry and bittering red grapefruit flavor, and then back for another hit of malt with some deeper roasted cereal notes. The finish is bitter, but not as dry as many. A complex beer, worth trying just to feel the flavors dance on your palate. Oily and full bodied mouth feel. A great beer.

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www.ratebeer.com/user/169526/reviews