Yesterday we went to the Black Oak Brewery for an OCB event called (I think) "Ken's Still Bitter" in honor of them brewing more "10 bitter years". In case you're not aware, this is quite a good double IPA that has gained a reputation in the area. Last time it was made it sold out before many people even knew it existed. This time they threw a bit of a party for it!

There was the 10 bitter years on tap of course, as well as a number of other beers. There was "How do you say monkey in Latin?", a collaboration brew between brasserie Charlevoix, Black Oak and someone else if my memory serves. This one had some good hoppiness to it, but was short lived and left me with a feeling of it only being ok. There was also a black Belgian IPA called "Black Abbey" which tasted exactly as it was described. Again nothing that really flew out at me. The ones that did stand out in my opinion were being served in the non-air conditioned brewing area. The Daily Bread collaboration Belgian table beer was much needed given the number of "large" beers being served, and had a very pleasant taste to it. I could have had that one all night and been quite pleased with it. The 1812 collaboration brew "Stitchback" was another large beer and clocked in at 9%. It didn't taste like 9% though, it tasted more deceptively sweet than anything malty or hoppy. It takes a special kind of strong beer to keep both of us happy and this walked that very thin line. There was also a marmalade cask saison, a variation on Black Oak's Summer Saison that added more pleasant flavours to an already quite likable beer. The lightness of it was really appreciated given the heaviness of the other ones being served.

The food was a pleasant turn to these Black Oak parties as well. Instead of having a lineup for catered food, this time there were a number of pop-up and drive up tents and trucks out back. While the Caplansky's truck was much appreciated since I haven't gotten my smoked meat on in quite some time, it was the folks from Rock Lobster that got my attention and held it. I haven't had lobster like that since a trip my wife and I took to Boston not that long ago. Down there, fresh lobster rolls are served from trucks and it's part of the culture to have this kind of amazing seafood available like this fresh... if it's done well it doesn't resemble Red Lobster at all. This was done well and you can tell extraordinary measures were taken to ensure good fresh lobster. Kudos!

People that know me well know I have a soft spot for critters. Here's a cute link I saw earlier today and felt I'd share:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-jDjKFhKNI&feature=relmfu