Elite Hangout: Brews Clues @ The August Jack

This Elite event is rather different from all of the other ones I have ever been to, as it was a food + beer pairing /​tasting menu, as opposed to a free-​for-​all. Special thanks to Jody for organizing this event. I had no idea beers could be paired with food until today.
Mike was friendly and helpful, and it was easy to see just how passionate he was about his job. He made us all feel welcome.
To get us started, some raw oysters and sauces. The raw horseradish was definitely different — it added a nice kick. The other 2 sauces were sweet and tangy, but I don’t know what was in them. Delicious.
Course #3: Pulled pork risotto, anarchist pulled pork, smoked paprika au jus, paired with Anarchist Amber Ale — the risotto a bit on the bland side, but the paprika sauce helped. The pulled pork was a tad dry, but there was something special about the flavour. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Course #4: Spiced rye crème caramel ruby vodka coulis, chocolate curls — wow this dessert was good. The coulis adds a nice tang and balances out the caramel syrup.
After this event, I felt a bit more edumacated about beer pairings. Definitely left the event a better person. Props to Jody and Mike for a good time.

I love the idea behind this — mainly because I know how hard Vancouver is working at becoming the Portland of Canada when it comes to their beer, and this is an awesome event t

What an amerrrzing idea!
The quality of craft beer in this city most certainly rivals that of my home town of Dublin and what a lot of non beery folks don’t realize is that different speciality beers can be paired so amazingly well with all different varieties of main courses, tasting dishes, starters and even deserts.
The staff at the August Jack were super. As we were treated to each course and beer sample we were talked through the pairings and dishes.
Oysters were first. I am scared of oysters, I had never tried them and I looked like a proper lunatic using a knife and fork to cut a little bit off one in its shell to taste a little bit of one. Oysters still terrify me but everyone else LOVED them. What a novelty and treat though to be surprised with this to start.
The beer and food samples were delicious.
I am a big giant craft beer whore so this was just fab and I really hope this gets enough great feedback for it to become a regular Elite hangout. Great to have a chat with other craft beer fans to exchange opinions and suggest some other beers that we may not have sampled.
Got chatting to some other Elites and plus 1’s who were LOVELY! I hope to see these guys again soon at another Elite event.
Next time I am in the Kits area I will most certainly be back to August Jacks to sample more of their beers and food.
And of course, Jody B. You are so special to me. You are my Queen B. Word.
[Being as much of a Queen myself you will be glad to know that was not a come on and you can sleep soundly at night]
^_​^

What pairs well with food better than wine?
BEER! I know, I know, there are so many types of wines, but when it comes down to it, wine is simply grapes — yep, I said it. Beer, on the other hand, can be made with a multitude of variable ingredients from all over the world at any time of the year. Dare I say beer is more diverse and creative? So… of course I was up for some beer/​food pairings at The August Jack!
This was my first time there — such a lovely looking space — classy & intimate. Vancouver needs more places like this — somewhere special you can take a date, with an amazing selection of craft beers. Our hosts were great — the food and beer pairings were really well done. It was a sample of what to expect from their Cannery Beer Pairing Dinners and if this is a reflection of the full experience, I’m looking forward to trying it!
We had:
Oysters
–from some local place I don’t remember but I imagine them hiding behind a big rock because red tide doesn’t reach them)
Risotto & pulled pork with Anarchist Amber Ale
–I’m Chinese so I like my rice packed in a bowl and filled to the brim. This is not how Italians do it, but rich as it is, I think I could finish a huge bowl of risotto.
Crème caramel with Blackberry Porter
–so sweet & delicious — just the right portion
All in all, I LOVE the idea of Unilocal Elite hangouts — what a great way to meet new people in a smaller group! Way to go Jody! Looking forward to some more beer-​related hangouts in the future! :D

I have to say this one of the first Elite hang out events that did not meet my expectations, food and service.
Of course it’s always lovely to see Jody and she always makes the events more fun.
The décor was a bit odd, as it felt like suburban pub meets the higher scale bistro down the road. The location is great so I would’ve expected a little more character put into the furniture. The high ceiling also makes it feel like a pub rather than a higher end bistor/​pub, which I assumed the owner is going for.
However the service was really slow and the samples were brought to the table out of order. This caused all of us at a table to wait for everyone’s dish to arrive while ours was getting cold.
I have to say the beer pairing was really nice and totally complemented the food but the courses themselves other than the dessert were just average. The presentation was nice. I also order the Chocolate porter mussels, good thick sauce but way too salty event for my taste.
I also didn’t like the order in which the food was brought out, as some were eating dessert by the time we started our main course.

How cozy can two dozen strangers get in the middle of the week?
We all arrived with a level of uncertainty and restlessly shuffled ourselves into our seats. A nice nook was reserved for us at the front of the restaurant, perfectly sized for the hangout that was brewing. Awkward introductions were made and niceties were exchanged. Not saying that Unilocal Elite are a nervous bunch, but the typical Elite event has certain elements that are predictable. We’re usually a swarm, akin to an A&B Sound Boxing Day Sale circa 1992. $ 29 VCRs! It’s usually a raucous cacophony of laughter, edible spillage, and standing-​room-​only triple-​fisting. This is the environment that I’m most used to seeing my fellow Unilocal Elite, and it’s why I play Eye of the Tiger on the way to Elite Events.
So when I walked into August Jack and wasn’t immediately engaged in chest-​bumping, high-​fiving and lightning bolts, I knew this would be different.
It was calm. It was cordial. It was sophisticated. I took a deep breath and swallowed an oyster. The conversation amongst my table-​mates was great. We actually got to make eye contact, and got to know something about each other. It reminded me of the Cocktail Society, but this time we actually had conversation throughout the event. What a treat. So grown-​up (well, except for when we rock-​paper-​scissors-​ed for the final oyster).
The only interruption was by our hosts to introduce the food and beer pairings, and to teach us a little about what we were enjoying. I don’t know what’s in that risotto, but I do know that a great pairing for it would be ANOTHER risotto.
I’ve been wanting to try August Jack for a while, and this gave me good insight into the restaurant and care that their management puts into their menu.
Funny things, those oysters.

SO super fun! Came here for a fantastic event that included amazing oyster starters from Read Island (I think? I wish I was paying attention at the beginning!). They were fantastic — sweet and full of flavor. They came paired with a spicy mango sauce, horseradish, and… another one. Clearly the beer has gotten to me.
this was followed up with two plates from the full tasting menu. We started with a pulled pork basted with the Anarchist Amber Ale (which we also got as part of the tasting) and smoked with paprika au jus. The risotto was creamy and had a really nice truffle oil flavouring in it — I love me some truffle oil! The staff was really attentive, and our host did a great job explaining how the beer complemented the meal. The sous chef even came out to answer some questions as well, which is awesome since I rarely see places do that nowadays.
The last dish we had was a yummy spiced rye crème caramel with ruby vodka coulis and some chocolate curls. This was paired with an AMAZING blackberry porter. Like knock your socks off amazing. The blackberry note was perfect, and I even gladly took the extra glass that was on the table — no questions asked.
Overall, the event was super cool. It’s always nice to have a little sit-​down sorta deal where you can talk to people without having to shout. I met a ton of new Unilocalers today (finally got to meet Nicol B!) — hello to Brandon, Gina, and Ted (I hope I got those right) — and see some old friends too!
Great event Jody! If you’re interested, I think the August Jack runs the tastings regularly so stop by and try it! It’s $ 50 for a fixed four-​course dinner with beer pairings — not too shabby if you ask me! Otherwise, stop in and grab the blackberry porter. Well worth it!

Another awesome Elite event for us Unilocalers at an establishment which made it onto my new wish list recently.
Part tasting, part educational lesson and all fun and laughter with my fellow Unilocalers.
Of course my selective hearing came to play when I missed the host saying «Oysters» and thought that the first dish was vegetable. I am glad that everyone laughed with me, broke the ice.
The food, especially the crème brule was amazing. If the food was a boy I would be calling it the next day for another date. I am crème brule whore. I had the lavender infused chocolate crème brule.
yummy spiced rye crème caramel with ruby vodka coulis and some chocolate curls was to die for, it was creamy heaven in my mouth.
The flavors still lingered in my mouth like an aftershock of awesome taste.