On the evening after DW and I completed our 20-kilometre run down the Jacques Cartier River, back at our campsite, we were too tired to think about dinner.
It had been a long day. We had awakened at 6:00 to make breakfast and tear down our site. Because our trip to Parc National de la Jacques-Cartier had been sort of last minute, after plans to cycle around Lac-St-Jean with friends had fallen through, we weren't able to get our site for five nights. We were able to book it for three, but someone else had reserved it for the forth night.
That meant that we had to vacate the spot by 1 pm. We were able to book another site at the campground, but couldn't move in until after 2, as it was also occupied.
Because we had booked a shuttle to the river put-in at 8 am, it meant that we had to tear down our site before we left for our paddle. There was no way that we'd get back to our site before we had to vacate the spot after our paddle.
So we ate, packed up our equipment, throwing it all in our car, and we drove to the park's visitor centre, where we could leave our Niro while we ran the river.
After our paddle, when we had our kayaks safely secured to the roof of the Niro, we drove to our new site, set up camp, washed our wetsuits, and showered. It was my first shower in three days and it felt so good.
But when DW and I were starting to think about dinner, we just didn't have the energy to cook.
"Since we're cleaned and in fresh clothes," I suggested, "why don't we drive into Stoneham and have a bite there?"
DW needed no convincing.
On a Google search for places to eat, we discovered a microbrewery-restaurant that was highly rated, so our minds were set.
La Souche is located near a golf course and was quite busy when we arrived, though we were able to get a table on their patio right away. A QR code on the table took us to a Web page that listed their available beer, and there were plenty.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me was that many of the brews on offer had a reasonable or low alcohol content. I find so many Québec breweries that produce beer with such a high alcohol content as to make them tough to drink if you're driving.
Many listed brews had a normal 5 percent or lower. My eyes fell to a particular brew that I thought would be perfect with the burger with brie and bacon that made me drool over the menu.
'Perfect' is the key word.
La Souche Microbrasserie
Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury QC
Appearance: deep walnut brown with a thin, beige, creamy head that settled quickly to a thin cap, then a thin lace, and finally to only a few bubbles around the edge of the glass.
Nose: coffee and chocolate, the latter being ever so subtle. A great roast on the malt.
Palate: dry with a dark-roasted coffee and bitter chocolate complementing each other. It felt both light in the mouth but full-bodied in flavour. The finish was short and dry with a taste of molasses, though not sweet.
Overall impression: When I took my first sip, I told DW that this was the best stout I've had in ages. It was perfect. When our server came to check on us, I also told her that the stout was perfect, the best I've had in a long time.
That's saying a lot. I've had some amazing stouts over the years.
As expected, it went well with my burger, the dryness making the juiciness of the beef even better. When we finished our meal, the server told me that my receipt could be used in the shop to get 15 percent off any purchase, so I took advantage of the offer. They had only four cans of the Nid De Poule in their fridge and I took all of them.
Beer O'Clock rating: 🍺🍺🍺
As I said, it's a perfect stout: one worth seeking out. I have only made inquiries as to where I can find La Souche beer in the Ottawa area, and there seems to be many places on the Gatineau side of the river, so I'll be sure to check them out for this brew. I'm interested in trying other beer from this brewer.
Last month, I said that I felt as though I had lost my taste for beer, but our trip to the Laurentians and Saguenay had revived my love of good craft beer, and I had many on the trip. Nid De Poule (which literally translates to English as chicken's nest but is jargon for pothole) was only the start. I'll share more great beer finds next week.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment