After my previous pork-filled trip to 33 Acres, I had to come back to try their weekend-only brunch waffles.
Coconut Beer Waffles this weekend! Not sure how the coconut figures into it…coconut milk? Shredded coconut? Coconut water? They use 33 Acres of Sunshine (their French Blanche beer) in the batter. The beer should help the waffles get fluffy and soft.
You can add eggs or bacon. I passed on the extras this time, but in retrospect I should’ve tried the waffles with a scoop of Earnest Ice Cream on top! 33 Acres of Chocolate Malt would’ve been nice…
My waffles. These were more of the soft ‘n fluffy kind of waffles, not the crispy-on-the-outside kind. You can’t actually taste the beer and I didn’t notice much coconut…maybe a gentle background of coconut but I wasn’t quite paying attention to it. I love the warm syrup though!
The lime zest butter was great. I liked the sprinkling of sea salt on top. I’ll get bacon and ice cream on top next time.
Today’s beer pairings: everything except Life. L-R: Ocean (pale ale), Sunshine (blanche), Merckx (saison) and Naturtrüb (rye). I absolutely LOVE 33 Acres of Ocean. It’s a fruity, hopped-up pale ale that’s at the top of its game! So balanced, flavourful and aromatic, I could drink it all day. Seems like Dave Varga took his time refining and perfecting this beer. It’s one of 33 Acres’ flagship beers and it’s been here since day one of the brewery. Amazing stuff.
Interestingly, one of my favourite beers from Brassneck is their Passive Aggressive pale ale. It’s another hopped-up pale ale, but it’s quite different from 33 Acres of Ocean. An analogy using table tennis: Ocean would be the soft-spoken, little straight-laced but quietly stylish sorta guy that could school anybody in table tennis with his calm, refined style. Passive Aggressive would be the outwardly wacky, colourful dude that could also school you in table tennis but with a flashier style and plenty of wisecracks. But both guys are the best of friends.
Other brunch items that day: Avocado Smash…
…and Beer Braised Beans. Natalia could really taste the beer in the beans…too much for her. But I tried a bite and loved it! It’s not the sugary-sweet baked beans from a can taste, but rather a gentler, homey, comforting taste. I’d get this next time! That unmistakeable Nelson the Seagull sourdough makes another appearance (see What Does an $8 Sourdough Loaf Taste Like?). They still like to blacken the bottoms of the loaves. But I couldn’t taste any charcoal so it was fine by me.
Natalia preferred the Avocado Smash over the beans. I agree it looked tasty, especially with the radishes and pea shoots on top.
If brunch isn’t your thing (what?!), they always have their regular menu stuff like this cheese plate, with more of the Nelson the Seagull bread. Lindsay saved the Applewood-Smoked Cheddar to last, meaning she loved it the most.
Here’s the Bestie Board with farmers sausage, German-style pretzel, mustard and cornichons. The pretzels are so good…soft on the inside with a chewy, almost crispy crust.
24oz JAR of 33 Acres of Life. I believe this is the biggest serving of beer available out of any tasting room in the city.
Sweet! Another good time at 33 Acres.