I’m writing this entry half-exhausted but too buzzed on coffee to sleep. It’s like the medical trainee’s favourite form of self-torture. Attended a conference all day on cardiovascular health and gorged on chocolates, scones, cream, and other pastries. I followed that up with a visit to a new microbrewery that opened about 5 minutes from where I live. It’s called Duggan’s Brewery and it was created, I believe, by one of the previous co-owners of Mill Street Brewery.
I definitely didn’t always like beer. But in the past 2 or 3 years, I’ve really learned to enjoy it, especially in the context of drinking it while eating (of course!). In undergrad, I took a course that required participants to brew their own beer. My group…..didn’t exactly make our system airtight. Needless to say, we made some pretty lame flat beer. That was enough to turn me off from beer for awhile. I’m a pretty mainstream enjoyer of beer. That is to say, I generally like the safe taste of mild lagers as compared to darker types like stouts.
So, Duggan’s. First of all, the space is pretty nice. High, high, loft ceiling with 2 rooms separated by an open doorway and the brewing set up in between. I settled for a full glass of the Asian Lager (light and lovely) and had a sip of the #9 IPA (their signature brew, too bitter for me). Most of the full glasses come cost about $5, so that was nice.
Food-wise, we ordered the pork hock which was huuuuuuuge and came with a side of beans and sauerkraut. A bit too salty, but impressive serving size.
We also got a baby beet salad which was nice and unoffensive and exactly what you would expect (this was to make up for my weekend of gluttony).
Finally, we debated between what poutine to get and settled on the duck confit poutine. Tasty, but nothing special.
Really, I’m just happy there’s another half-decent hangout spot so close to me! And open until 2 am I believe! There were quite a number of other promising looking things on the menu like cornish hen, a yummy sounding tuna sandwich, etc.
Okay, I’m going to try to take a little nap now for a little bit.
