Gahan House, Cont'd

This is the much-anticipated continuation of my Canada trip. For the setup, read a few posts back. And click my banners on your way - I need to quit my day job you know.

The Mixes:
I had the good fortune of eating at the greatest restaurant in PEI and possibly the Western Hemisphere, Fish Bones. Fish Bones is the Gahan House brewery's sister restaurant, and as such the only beers they serve there are Gahan House beers. Win. Despite not being the actual brewery, they are a much better way to experience the Gahan brews because the food is phenomenal (I can still taste the salmon masala - yes curry in Canada) and because they have mastered the art of the Secret Gahan Mixes. As was explained to me in a chat with the head chef, who is currently my Favorite Male Canadian Not Named Matt Stairs, "The Gahan House takes themselves way too seriously and they would never do this. But the truth is, they're better this way."

He is in fact correct. It'd been a while since I had mixed beers, my Black and Tan phase having peaked somewhere around 2002, and to be honest I had kind of forgotten all about how good a mixed beer could be. I want to emulate these Canadian creations with some stuff on the homefront, so be ready to hear about some bizarre beer mutations on the horizon. Anyway, here's what they're drinking up there in PEI. Those lucky Canucks.

"Honey Brown" - half Honey Wheat, half Brown ale. This was my drink of choice, a perfect mix of honey sweetness and rich malty goodness with a smooth, refreshing body. The honey cuts through the thick flavor of the brown ale without taking away from the hops, sort of rounding out the overall experience into something much more friendly to the extended drinking session. And these sessions got extended. Especially when the Jagerettes marched into the restaurant in a surreal explosion of orange bob-cut wigs and black booty shorts, showering the crowd with shots of Jager and Jager goodies. I'm still a little bummed I didn't get one of the Jager-flavored condoms. My girlfriend doesn't seem nearly as upset about this, though I can't figure out why.

"Christmas in a Glass" - half Red Ale, half Brown Ale. This really did taste like Christmas - if I'm ever in PEI in the winter, you can bet I'll be living on these. It was warm and comforting like a Christmas sweater for your tongue, but not nearly as dorky or embarrassing. I wanted to sit in front of a fire, unwrap presents, drink about 10 of these, get into a screaming match with relatives over dinner, flip over the table, weep, then start hugging everyone. Ah the holidays.

"The Greatest Invention" - at least that's what we called it. Gahan makes their own root beer, and it is absolutely phenomenal with a double shot of Black Seal rum. This super-secret brew actually required the chef to trek across the street to the brewery since the restaurant doesn't keep the root beer in stock. I wonder why - I love microbrewed root beer. You can be sure that I'll be ordering Black Seal and root beer in the future, especially when I feel like freaking out a bartender. The sweetness of the root beer worked perfectly with the Black Seal, resulting in a light, refreshing taste with a little anise kick. And I'm not a licorice person, so my liking of this should be a testament to just how good it was.

I wonder if Fish Bones is hiring dishwashers.