The combination of brewery tasting rooms and mobile food trucks is a dream come true for me, ever since seeing that setup in action in Portland. Finally in October 2013 it happened in Vancouver with Brassneck opening up and inviting food trucks to park outside. Quickly afterwards, 33 Acres and Parallel 49 started doing the same thing. If you’re every wondering what food trucks will be at Brassneck, following Brassneck’s twitter feed is a must, as is keeping an eye on Street Food App’s Brassneck listing.
My favourite Brassneck/food truck combination is Community Pizzeria. I’ve really grown to love the combo over the last few months.
They used to have these printed menus at the truck and inside the tasting room but eventually stopped and just use the chalkboard now.
Brassneck always has a selection of meat sticks if pizza or whatever truck is parked outside is not to your taste.
On this particular trip I got the Calabrese pizza with a “brass bat” of Blichmann’s Finger Golden Ale, Deadpan Altbier, Cereal Killa (Cap’n Crunch Stout collaboration beer with Parallel 49) and Cold War (Bourbon Barrel Baltic Porter collaboration with Four Winds). I believe Cereal Killa and Cold War were also at Alibi Room’s 500th Tap celebration, but I didn’t get a chance to try them back then so it was great to see them still available at the Brassneck tasting room.
Both Blichmann and Deadpan are just ok imho. Not bad beers by any means but not too exciting either. Perhaps with the proper food pairing those beers could shine a bit more. Cereal Killa straddled the line between dry and sweet stout. I couldn’t smell or taste any overt Cap’n Crunch qualities but it was tasty otherwise. Typical stout aromas and flavours. Cold War had aromas of licorice and bourbon and tasted good. Not as sickly syrupy as other baltic porters I’ve had (eg. Les Trois Mousquetaires Baltic Porter). Baltic porters aren’t one of my favourite styles, but it was good to try.
I’m growing the love Community Pizzeria’s pizza. You gotta eat it fast before it cools down! It can be a challenge if you waste time taking so many photos like me 😉 The chewiness and slight crispiness of the crust, combined with the fresh, bright flavour of their sauce plus just enough toppings is making me a convert to their style of pizza. And I don’t have to deal with Nicli Antica Pizzeria’s snooty waitstaff!
My beer selections on this particular visit didn’t exactly meld that well with the pizza. More of a disjointed study of contrasts 😛 and less like a symphony. Sorta like browsing CDs at A&B Sound (waaay back in the 80s/90s) where you’re just skipping around listening to a ton of shit and just figuring out what jumps out at you. But that’s what’s great about Brassneck’s constant selection of new beers and their rotating food trucks — the possibilities for different combinations and experiences is vast. I highly recommend it!
