The weather is getting warmer; thoughts turn to sitting on patios and drinks

Photo by Drunken Monkey
courtesy of Flickr (Creative Commons)

I have recently come across several beer and cocktail-related blogs, which are a perfect compliment to the wine blogs that I was already following.  The result of this tasty blogging mix is that my drink-friendly posts will now contain a much larger selection of information.

Local News

Ron Eade of the Ottawa Citizen reports that local brewers Beyond the Pale Brewing Company are expanding, following their remarkable success since opening in November of last year.  Located at 5 Hamilton Ave. North, the owners have now taken on another 1,000 square feet of space.

Barley's Angels Ottawa, a new group for female craft beer lovers, has successfully launched.  "Over 40 women showed up to the first ever Barley's Angels meet up at Kichesippi Beer Co.," says the group's blog.  Details for the next event are being finalized.

Finally, Capital Wine published a recent post about meeting Italian wine Speri Viticoltori, who was visiting Ottawa.

Reviews

Ross Brown of the blog Beer O'Clock has recently published the following three beer reviews:

• Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Smoke beer; 5.1% ABV), a German beer that Brown says can easily be enjoyed at breakfast, and which got a rating of 4 out 5.
• Rosée d'Hibiscus Spiced Strong Beer with Hibiscus (5.9% ABV), from Quebec brewery Dieu du Ciel.  The review calls this a girly beer and gives it 3 out of 5.
• The Red Sashes 2012 Rye Wine (11% ABV), also from Quebec, and which was rated 4 out of 5.

Turning to wine, Food Gypsy sings the praises of Troublemaker, a wine from the Napa Valley in California.

Beer Tourism

Sheltered Girl Meets World, a great blog that I reviewed in March, has a very interesting post about the growing trend of people driving to visit beer breweries. Listing a dozen different local beer makers, the post offers suggestions for trips to breweries in Gatineau, Quebec, as well as the Ontario cities/towns of Beckwith, Vankleek Hill, Ottawa and Casselman.  Read the full story for the complete list.

Cocktail Recipes

Martinis for Breakfast, another good blog that I reviewed in March, explains how to make The Gypsy, a vodka-based cocktail with Bénédictine, a dash of Angostura Bitters and ice.

The Gouda Life, meanwhile, provides a recipe for a tasty sounding Ginger-Cilantro Margaritas.

Upcoming Events

Sheltered Girl Meets World reports that over 13 wineries from Prince Edward County are coming to Ottawa on Thursday, April 18, for Savvy Company's taste and buy event County in the City.  Tickets are $45 but only until April 7, after which they will cost $65.

Right on cue, the blog wine out loud offers readers a chance to win two free tickets to County in the City.  Details for the contest can be found here and the draw is on April 10.