Extreme Beers – Biggest, Boldest, Oldest

I recently drank a beer that was my go-to beer of choice for many years. That was before I knew anything about hops or had heard of beer styles like tripel, dunkelweizen or imperial IPA’s. Those days were before I worked in Belgium and discovered just how many great, flavourful beers exist in the world.

Finishing that beer was a struggle and I found it surprising just how much my beer preferences have changed over the years. Then I stopped to take a look at some of the beers I’ve stashed away or bought since I began enjoying craft beer (and good beer in general).

Some Extreme Beers
A collection of 5 somewhat “extreme” beers, ranging from 32% alcohol to 35 years old.

 

I don’t know where the line is in terms of pushing the envelope too far when it comes to beer styles and brewing. I do know that I haven’t yet tried a chipotle / hot pepper beer that I actually enjoyed. I also know that when a rauchbier, or smoky beer, tastes like you’re drinking an ashtray it’s probably too extreme as well.

There was the battle to brew the strongest beer in the world for a couple of years. Actually the quest continues on, but a few years ago a Scottish brewery and German brewery squared off. Somewhat gimmicky perhaps, but the passion and creativity in making these beers was undeniable. I bought one of them, a 32% beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, included in the picture above.

A 32% beer sounds pretty extreme, doesn’t it?

Westvleteren 12 bottle cap
Westvleteren 12, or Westvleteren XII, one of the highest rated beers in the world

It was once the strongest beer in the world. It is still one of the strongest stouts in the world, but beers have now surpassed the 50% alcohol barrier. That’s pretty extreme.

Then there is the hoppiest beer battle. Some of them are like drinking liquid pine needles, some are so bitter and dry that you can only sip them. Many people say our palate can only handle so much bitterness, that brewing something beyond a certain threshold is pointless. But this battle for IBUs (International Bitterness Units) carries on.

Then there are other quests like limited-edition beers where people buy tickets to special events to buy a beer available for only one day a year. Events like Dark Lord Day and Zwanze Day come to mind, but there are many more.

How about old beers?

Cellaring beer is something that seems counter intuitive to most people, yet certain styles of beer were originally created centuries ago to age well during long voyages at sea. Other beers are bottle fermented, in that some yeast is left in the bottle, changing the complexity and flavour of the beer over time.

While I’ve aged beers for a handful of years, I recently went on a quest to see if I could find a beer older than I am. It was actually easier than I expected and not long after I had bottles of beer that were from 1992, 1978 and 1975. How crazy is that? Two of those beers are more than 35 years old!

A 35 year old beer
A bottle of Courage Russian Imperial Stout from 1978

It’s possible some of those “extremely old” beers have been ruined over time, but it is also possible they’ll all be great. I recently cracked one open, the 1978 bottle, and it opened with a faint “pffft”, just like a brand new bottle of beer. It poured out flat looking and black like engine oil. It tasted unlike any beer, wine or other alcohol I’ve ever had, with such a complex range of flavours it was hard to believe.

The ever elusive whales.

To some beer enthusiasts rare, high quality beers may be called “whales”. An extreme type of term, signifying how big, or special such a beer may be. For the most part they are old vintages of beers, similar to the 1978 beer I had. The main factor in becoming a whale is that the beer must now be very hard to find. Again, it’s a bit of a gamble as some old whales can get oxidized and ruined over the years, ending up as big disappointments. But, for some people, that is part of the fun of collection, cellaring and storing beers.

Now, those three old beers I mentioned – from 1992, 1978, 1975 – cost less than half of what one bottle of the next beer cost. This beer, from the Boston Beer Company, is undoubtedly the most expensive beer in regular production.

Each year, this being the tenth year, a blend of aged beers is brought together to create the Sam Adams Utopias. It comes with it’s own special glass and drinks more like a whisky than a beer. You can usually only buy it by the ounce at bars, if you can find it. People who seek out an entire bottle have been known to pay $200-300 for it. That beer, and its special glass are on the left in the picture at the top of this post.

Paying $200 or more for a beer is pretty extreme too isn’t it?

Then there are other beers simply created for fun. Flavours ranging from bacon to seaweed to gummy bears and everything in between are fair game to brewers. Other beers, like the huge 3L bottle of Stone Double Bastard (also in the picture up top) are simply meant to be fun, a big bottle to be shared with friends.

And that is what all of this extreme brewing comes down to. It’s about having fun and appreciating good beer. Old beers, big beers, strange beers. There is no shortage of good beer out there. I know I’m happy to have had the chance to buy these handful of special, or extreme, ones myself and can’t wait to share them with some other beer loving friends.

Wildlife Photo: North American Red Squirrel

 

Wildlife Photo: North American Red Squirrel
A North American Red Squirrel in Killarney Provincial Park

 

These little squirrels are found across the majority of the US and Canada. Smaller than the gray or black squirrel, red squirrels in North America are a bit darker, almost brown in colour, compared to the Eurasian red squirrels.

Noisy, with a prolonged “chattering” sound, they’re not aggressive, but they also aren’t afraid to let you know if you’re in their territory. Indeed, territory is a big deal for North American red squirrels. From a young age, the only way to survive is for a squirrel to find it’s own territory and defend it from other squirrels. They prefer hardwood forests and in many parks you can see squirrels chasing each other around, defending their territories and the trees and food supply within it.

Some people find them cute, some think they’re like rats. I think they’re great little creatures. But they don’t have an easy life as they face a pile of predators from lynx and crows to foxes and weasels. It’s a pretty tough life for a red squirrel, with 4 out of 5 not surviving long enough to reach their first birthday!

Birds of Bundala National Park

Storks and flamingoes, parakeets and pigeons, bee-eaters and eagles, peacocks and darters.

Simply put – Bundala is for the birds!

Visiting Bundala National Park, on the southern side of Sri Lanka was a last-minute decision. I had been travelling around the country for nearly a month already and Bundala hadn’t stood out to me as one of the top parks to visit. It was actually my driver and guide who sort of made the trip happen. He was a decent birder and insisted we visit Bundala as it is a famous stopover area for migrating birds.

Painted Stork
A Painted Stork in Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka

 

He wasn’t wrong either, any birders I’ve talked to about Sri Lanka bring up Bundala as a top place to visit in the country.

Sold more on the possible elephant and monkey sightings more than anything, I soon found myself being schooled on birds in Bundala. As much as I resisted and tried to avoid getting pulled into the birding world, my guide Nandana was simply too passionate and eager to show off his birding knowledge that I soon came around and started to play the “what bird is it” game.

A Peacock in a Tree
A Peacock in a Tree, Bundala National Park

 

The first bird I managed to identify correctly was a peacock. Trying to stump me, Nandana asked if was a male or female bird, but luckily I knew it was only the males who had the bright, flashy feathers (to impress the ladies of course).

Then I thought I saw some small parrots, but it turned out they were rose-ringed parakeets. I should have known better, as I’d seen such birds in pet stores in Canada when I was a kid. The small birds proved to be quite tricky to photograph and even spot before they flew away, so I stuck to the bigger birds for the most part.

Crested Hawk Eagle
A Crested Hawk Eagle in Bundala

 

Flamingoes were an easy one. Plenty of them around, often mingling with some storks, or painted storks, to be more precise.

It turned out that it wasn’t good enough for me to call a bird an eagle or stork, I had to know which specific species it was. Was that a painted stork or an Asian open-billed stork? Like this eagle above. I spotted it first, before our safari driver or my “eagle-eyed” guide Nandana, who was sporting his big binoculars. But when I proudly pointed out the eagle, he was unimpressed as it was a mere crested hawk eagle also called a changeable hawk eagle – nothing special apparently.

I took a picture of it anyway.

While I was happy looking at the big, colourful birds, the biggest excitement of the day came from Nandana spotting a pigeon. Yes, a pigeon. Apparently the Ceylon, or Sri Lanka, wood pigeon is listed as a vulnerable species. It looked like a regular old pigeon to me, but I took a picture anyway.

Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon
The Ceylon, or Sri Lanka, Wood Pigeon!

 

Then there were the bee eaters. I’d seen these type of birds in Africa before and wasn’t totally clueless about them. Nandana was impressed when I knew they were bee-eaters, but of course then he asked me what type of bee eaters they were and I had no idea.

They have cool colours, that is all I cared about, but apparently blue tails and green bodies and purple heads and such all mean different species. I managed a picture of the blue-tailed one, which we saw many of. I also snapped a red-headed one, which may be a chestnut-headed bee eater, but I really don’t know for sure. These little birds were a bit beyond my interest and I didn’t feel the urge to look them up in any of the bird books my guide was lugging along on the trip.

Blue Tail Bee Eater
Blue Tail Bee Eater in Bundala National Park

 

Another Bee Eater in Bundala
Another Bee Eater in Bundala

 

The sheer number and variety of birds in Bundala was what impressed me most. I had no idea which ones were rare and which ones were residents or just passing by on their migration routes. I’ve seen big flocks of birds at home and on my travels, and I’ve seen plenty of weird birds around the world, but nowhere else compared to the variety I saw in one single day at Bundala.

Kayaking Adventures on Georgian Bay

Sea kayaking is one of my favourite water activities and since I’m in Ontario, with no actual “seas” around, the best kayaking to be had is on beautiful Georgian Bay.

For those who haven’t been, Georgian Bay is almost the size of Lake Ontario, so we’re talking about a big, open body of fresh water. How is that for a nice bonus over our coastal provinces who have to deal with annoying salt water on their kayak excursions?

Kayaking time
Kayaking on Georgian Bay!

 

Kayaking along the coast of Georgian Bay you glide through calm channels, past light houses and cottages and colourful, rugged rocky coastlines. The windswept trees and classic Canadian Shield scenery have drawn people here from far away who yearn to escape the crowds and be with nature. It was a favourite area for famous Canadian artists like Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven.

On my most recent kayaking adventure on Georgian Bay, it was a hot day, but thankfully quite overcast, so we avoided getting burnt to a crisp while out on the water. It was a half day paddle out of Snug Harbour, which wasn’t long enough for me! It was really just a tease of a kayak ride that the people from White Squall Paddling took us on. We did get out towards some bigger islands like Franklin Island but didn’t have time to explore, which left me yearning for more and wanting to pull out some smores and pitch a tent to go camping.

Kayaking through a channel
Kayaking through a channel with my kayak buddy Jill.

 

Ahh, no kayak camping trip this time, but it was still a great trip and gave me a bit of an introduction to an area of Georgian Bay that I hadn’t been to before – an area I will definitely return to. Despite having a little bit of wind on our way out towards some islands, my kayaking partner Jill, from Jack and Jill travel, and I got into a good rhythm and were gliding through the water quite effortlessly.

Georgian Bay coastline
Some colourful, odd rock formations along the Georgian Bay coastline

 

Kayaking is definitely a peaceful watersport and it isn’t as hard to learn as some people may think. You can just float along and take in the surroundings with nary a sound, aside from the occasional splash of your paddle. I think that is one of the reasons why I enjoy it so much. No motors or noisy engines to disturb the peace. But don’t confuse peaceful with boring. Kayaking is anything but boring. One of the great fun things with kayaking is trying to “surf” waves when conditions are ideal. It’s really quite amazing how fast you can get going in a kayak once you have some momentum built up!

As summer starts to wind down now, I’m thinking it may be time to return to Georgian Bay for some more paddling. Come September the summer camps and crowds will be gone, making it an even more peaceful paddle out on the bay.

Kayaking buddies
More kayaking buddies – Aaron and Lisa in the tandem, and Anita behind our White Squall paddling guide

 

This kayaking adventure was courtesy of White Squall Paddling Centre and Explorer’s Edge as part of an epic 3-day “Quintessentially Canadian” tour in Ontario.

Editorial note: I had this post written for quite some time but never got around to publishing it for some reason. Then, today I learned that one of the people I had the pleasure of kayaking with on this trip, and getting to know while exploring part of Ontario with for a few days, is suddenly no longer with us. This post is dedicated to the memory of Anita MacKinnon, who had a passion for kayaking, an infectious smile and will be missed by many.

Why Canadian Road Trips are Different

How far do you have to drive for a trip to be considered an official ‘road trip’?

Do you need to stop overnight somewhere? Or can a drive to a nearby town for some wine or cheese be considered a road trip?

I think any time you get into a car and take off on the road without a solid plan, just an idea of something you want to see / somewhere you want to go, it can be called a road trip. But there is something compelling about the long-distance Canadian road trip that separates it from your average experience.

Canadian road trip
The long, lonely road – classic Canadian roadtrip scenery

 

I’ve done numerous day trip road trips to the US or Quebec to pick up some beer. They may have only taken me 6-12 hours total, but I still consider them to be roadtrips. Right now I’m working on a weekend camping trip and deciding if I should drive a mere 4 hours north or 11 hours (each way). Either is fine by me.

It brings up the question though – how far are you willing to go? When was the last time you drove on a full tank of gas and had to fill up not once, but twice in a day? Driving 10-15 hours a day isn’t a big deal for me and many other Canadians, but to others it seems insane.

Road trip ferry ride
A real road trip in Canada often requires a car ferry ride, like this one to PEI

 

My longest weekend road trip was from Toronto to New York City to catch a baseball game. I was only actually in the city for 4 hours, the rest was spent driving and camping.

My longest 3-4 day day ‘long’ weekend roadtrip, thanks to summer holidays, is a toss up between driving to the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick or to Wakami Lake in northern Ontario, each taking more than 12 hours to drive to. Then of course there was my 4,000 mile 10-day US roadtrip. It was kind of like being in Canada, except there seemed to be cities and towns every 30 minutes, instead of long, wide-open roads. Oklahoma, Kansas and other central states in the US came much closer to the Canadian experience I’m used to, but still felt different. Their expansive land was mostly farms and agriculture, instead of forests and lakes. The influence of people was around, even if you didn’t see them.

It’s just a different mindset and experience here in Canada, compared to Europe or even the US. Most of it has to do with infrastructure I think. You can take high speed trains or super-cheap low cost flights between countries in Europe, where fuel costs and rental prices are high. So, why would you drive? Plus, everything is packed together, you’ll more often than not just be driving from town to town in traffic, instead of enjoying what we like to call the ‘wide open road’. There isn’t a need to take a road trip, it’s almost a forgotten travel experience in some countries.

Arctic Watershed Sign
A uniquely Canadian road trip sign

 

In the US, roadtrips are common but the US has denser population centres and plenty of cheaper flying options throughout most of the country, creating more options and less of a need to drive long distances. In Canada though, the roadtrip is more of a necessity. It often costs more to fly across our own country than it does to fly to South America or Europe. Our trains are great, but considered overpriced by almost anyone who visits. Would you pay $1,000 for a one-way economy train ride across your country? Sure, it takes more than 3 days but that doesn’t include meals or a bed! For those extras you have to pay $2,500.

We simply have so much land, so spaced out, that cheaper transportation options often don’t exist. A gruelling bus ride is possible across the country, but only has so many stops, there is no freedom to get out and explore where and when you can. If you want to explore Canada properly, you need to hit the road on your own.

Road trip wildlife
Checking out the wildlife on a Canadian road trip

I’ve enjoyed road trips in many countries and am happy to say Sweden, Korea and New Zealand had some nice escapes, where you could drive out into the wilderness and have an almost Canadian experience, but it still usually seemed like the next city or town was right around the corner. The road trips were all great fun, but still somewhat “short” compared to what I was used to here at home.

Here, I know many people who think sitting in a car for 10 hours isn’t considered a waste of time, it is considered part of the adventure and part of the fun in Canada. Sure, you may spend 24 hours driving a car for a weekend road trip, but that’s just the way it is. On a real Canadian road trip you either take a break at some quirky roadside attraction, or just drive until you need fuel. It seems that from my travels the only people who really understand the Canadian road trip are Australians. Perhaps that should be my next road trip destination?

I guess the journey is often just as big an adventure as the final destination here in Canada.

travel writer. wildlife photographer. beer geek.