Jasper Brewery Tour

Well, I thought I'd have more time than usual while in Jasper to blog, but I didn't.  I did have time, but I wasn't hanging around in the room with internet connection blogging.  I'll catch up now.

The deal we had include train tickets for two.  The train left Edmonton verrrry early in the morning, maybe in order to catch a sunrise but it was too cloudy for that when we travelled. 

I loved a few things about the train.
     1)  Leg room!  The seats were far apart and even had lazyboy leg rests that you could
          raise for further comfort.
     2)  The ability to move around.  I did that a lot.
     3) The view from the dome car was gorgeous.  Hard to capture in a photo though. 
     4) If it snows outside the window, you don't have to worry about it.  It obstructs your view
         of the mountains, but you don't have to drive in it or anything.

I'd love to take the kids on a trip this way one day, but for now it is just too expensive.  Our trip was paid for so I wasn't concerned right now. 

When we got there, it was still early in the day.  On a Tuesday, the streets were deserted.  It felt a bit odd.  In fact, we hardly saw more than 5 people in one spot until we entered the Thrift Shop in the basement of a church.  That place was bustling!  Perhaps it was the $1 price on all of the clothing, even most winter coats.  Or perhaps it was because it's only open for a few hours and everyone feels the need to shop frantically.  I felt it!  I bought two pieces of fabric.

We used our free dinner and brewery tour on the first day already and it set the scene for our food for the rest of the trip.

I don't drink beer or like beer, but I do like the smell of the hops and barley. 

The brewmaster seemed to really know his stuff too.  I learned that malted barley just means sprouted.  To malt wheat, you sprout that.  That explains why Yvon can still drink beer with no ill effects.  Sprouting wheat or barley lowers the gluten content quite a bit.  A lot of people with gluten intolerance can still eat sprouted wheat breads.  And for most beers, barley is used which already has a lower gluten content. 

There is no bottling of any of their beer because they really only sell to the restaurant above.  It's tapped directly to their bar.

 There's a bit of attitude about that in the restaurant.  :-) 

Yvon enjoyed a couple of varieties, but liked their smoked porter beer the best.  It wasn't even on their menu yet.   There's the advantage to taking their free tour. 

Yvon didn't seem to mind drinking my free beer either. 

We ordered about the only gluten-free items on their menu, but there was no compromise happening here.  The food was terrific.  Cornflake crusted chicken, stacked on asparagus, roasted peppers, and the garlicy-cheesy mashed potatoes are hiding under it all.  Some sort of hollandaisy sauce was drizzled on top.  Yumm!

Yvon's was very similar, with a chunk of steak instead of chicken and a reduced balsamic glaze I think.  He'll almost always choose red meat over chicken.

I don't think we were expecting such a good meal from the Brewery Restaurant.  I thought maybe something like Earls, but we went back for another meal later in the week.  Just to test the consistency of their service and product, you know.