DRINKS: It must be Oktoberfest
eye WEEKLY
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eye WEEKLY October 10, 1996
Toronto's arts newspaper .....free every Thursday
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DRINKS DRINKS
IF THAT'S A BEER IN YOUR HAND, IT MUST BE OKTOBERFEST
by
KONRAD EJBICH
Why are the streets of Munich covered with barf these days?
a) Oktoberfest was a roaring success
b) they sold every last pickled egg
c) there weren't enough porta-potties
d) Bavarian hats are too small
e) all of the above.
If you attempted a guess, you're ready to tackle our very own All-
Canadian version. The foremost Oktoberfest in this neck of the woods
is the annual Kitchener-Waterloo piss-up. Even the Liquor Control
Board gets in on the act, promoting a slew of imported beers and
schnapps with banners and huge displays in all the local stores.
(Meanwhile, we get one little banner in the Eaton Centre store.)
Unfortunately, K-W is a long way from Yonge and Dundas. It's too far
to walk, I don't drive to drink, can't afford the train, no vacant
hotel rooms anyway... yadda, yadda.
So once again, it's beautiful downtown T.O. for me. Especially now
that we've got our own world-class event to attend. It starts tonight
(Oct. 10) and carries on for the next three evenings at the SkyDome,
which will be turned into the largest beer tent on the planet.
Event organizers hope to bring the "true Bavarian experience" with
performances by traditional German bands and folk dancers, Polka
music, plenty of Schneider's sausages, beer nuts, pretzels and
sauerkraut as well as midway rides, carnival games and even a psychic
reader. Grammy Award-winning polka king Walter Ostanek does four shows
from 8:30 to midnight, tonight only.
Admission is $12 for anyone who's legally old enough to drink. Teens
get in for $6 and kids get in free. And also tonight only, university
and college students get in free with student I.D.
Labatt, as a shareholder of the Dome, is the major concessionaire and
is guaranteed 75 per cent of the suds sales, but this year Becks beer
will also be poured.
Other mini-events are already in full swing around town.
Oktoberfest Special Edition Draught, produced by Upper Canada Brewing,
is a Munich-style lager brewed solely for the annual harvest event.
It's sold only in kegs, so your best hope to taste it is in pubs like
the Acme Bar & Grill, Bow and Arrow, C'est What?, the Duke of York,
Spirits and Wylie's, all of which have it on tap. Some of these joints
may still have the 1-litre steins UC imported for the occasion. Ask
and ye shall have permission to buy.
Out-of-towners can get them at the Fox & Fiddle in Mississauga,
Tuckers Market Place in Etobicoke, Burlington and Ottawa and Sweeny
Todd's in St. Catharines.
Also available on tap this week is Brasal Special Amber, one helluva
good authentic-German-style beer from Montreal. Try it at The St.
Clair Village Cafe, Bar Fuoco or the A&C Ranch Bar, all near the
intersection of St Clair and Dufferin.
TALKIN' TURKEY
A new release from Western Australia, Houghton 1994 Wildflower Ridge
Shiraz ($12.95) explodes with creamy blackberry and hot plum flavors.
And at 13.5 per cent alc/vol, it will cut through the richest gravy.
Take a bottle home to drink with Mom's Thanksgiving turkey. In fact,
take a couple. Even if you don't open both bottles, the wine will keep
for a couple of years.
Another good-value debutante at liquor outlets is Agricola Vallone's
1992 Vigna Flaminio ($8.55), from the tiny village of Brindisi on the
back of the heel of the Italian boot. It has a warm fullness on the
palate, just as you'd expect from a wine grown in the hot southern
region of Apulia. Mediterranean flavors of dried cherry and bitter
almonds assert themselves even when the roasted bird is richly spiced.
HOW TO SCREW
The latest newsletter from The Wine Shoppe, the retail division of
Andres & Hillebrand, has a decent little article on corkscrews. It
describes the three most common varieties, the twin bladed Ah-So, the
common "waiter's friend" and the Screwpull, and clearly explains how
they're used. If you haven't stopped by a Wine Shoppe, now's the time.
The amazing 1995 white VQA's are in and the newsletter is free.
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