"Eat My Sausage!"

This post is titled after what the Haus twitter account once told me. I took their advice and I advise you all to do the same!

Haus is a German style sausage and bier haus that serves wurst made locally (by The Local Pig), on bread that is also made locally (by Farm to Market). The interior of Haus is what I consider to be the perfect mix of modern and retro, just enough retro that the modern decor isn't over the top, and just enough modern decor that it doesn't feel like Zoo Bar (which I do enjoy, from time to time). They even have a stack of board games in the corner if you just want to sit at the bar and enjoy some bier.

There are so many delicious sounding options on the wurst menu at Haus, I had a very difficult time deciding which one to order. The duck-ginger-sage, lamb-cumin-oregano, and roasted eggplant-feta were all calling my name, but I went with the pork-tequila-serrano pepper sausage with homestyle sauerkraut, which is a more "rugged" alternative to that store bought junk that they label "Kraut", and sweet peppers. It was a fantastic choice, it had a little bit kick to it that was offset by the sweet peppers and the vinegar from the sauerkraut. My wife went with the smoked chicken and apple sausage (also with kraut and sweet peppers), which was a great milder, slightly sweeter option. All of the mustards are great on both wurst that we had.

As a side, we had the large haus cut fries with cucumber-yogurt and curry-sour cream dipping sauces. I had high hopes for the cucumber-yogurt sauce, reminiscent of a tzatziki sause, but it was the curry-sour cream sauce won my heart. 

We washed all of this down with two beirs. I went with the Aventinus Weizenstarkbier, a dark German wheat bier. My wife went with the Weihenstephaner Kristallweiss, a light German wheat bier. Both were great options, both had playful fruity notes. Haus also has a plethora of draft bier options for those who prefer a freshly poured glass of bier to bottles.

Haus is a great place to take a date or to meet friends for a bite to eat before a night on the trolley. It is certainly awesome and we will be back soon to try the rest of the sausage options.

100 Twitter Followers Celebration

To celebrate this wonderful weather, summer solstice, and having 100 Twitter followers, I thought that I would go pick up some of Boulevard's Smokestack Series new limited release Love Child #2 for my wife and I. When I went to go buy the Love Child #2, I knew nothing about it, but have not tried a Smokestack Series beer that I haven't liked (in fact, Tank 7 is my favorite beer). After picking up the beer (for a bit more $ than I would have preferred, but...), I read the label. The label tells of a fruity beer that has medium levels of sourness. I didn't really know what to think, because I have never had a sour been before, but I was pleasantly surprised.

We sat out on the deck and enjoyed this beer that was dark in colour, but did not taste dark. If I would have closed my eyes I would have sworn that I was drinking a glass of fruity white wine. It was not what I expected at all from a bier (German spelling, just to keep you on your toes), but was very refreshing on a warm summer's night. It was not extremely sour, but was prevailing characteristics. When you sip it, you get hints of cherry, you can definitely taste the oak (from the barrels that it is aged in). There is no real floral or hoppy taste/aroma. Again, the closest thing I can equate the taste to is a white wine, but then again I am not a bier connoisseur.

Boulevard is always pushing the envelope with their limited release biers (see Chocolate Ale). This is another solid selection from Boulevard. I raise a glass of Love Child #2 to Boulevard Brewery, summer weather (notice the condensation on the glass), and my first 100 Twitter followers.