a peek inside the fishbowl

As some of you already know, our place was broken into a few weeks ago. This has left me a little bit paranoid, as you can imagine. There have been a number of B&E’s around our area and I’ve also heard reports of bikes going missing.

Sidebar: have you ever taken a look at the Ottawa Police crime map? It’s actually quite interesting and gives you a good picture of what crimes are happening in your neighbourhood as well as the kinds of crimes are happening. You can access it from this page (then click “launch the Ottawa Crime Mapping Tool” on the right side of the page).

Anyway, I rode my bike to work the other day and got to thinking about my bike and how much it would suck if it got stolen.

It’s pretty old, and it’s not valuable, but it would be a major inconvenience if it was stolen and I would be pretty sad to lose it. And THEN I thought, if it did get stolen, would I be able to describe it to the police? Ha. Not really. If someone asked I would describe it as a red and blue mountain bike but that’s about it. It’s weird, but even though I’ve owned this bike for years it’s a rather unremarkable part of my domestic scenery that I don’t notice anymore – like wallpaper – although the fact that I don’t know if there are any markings on my bike doesn’t make it less valuable to me.

So I decided to take two minutes out of my day to snap a few photos of my bike. If it’s ever stolen, at least now I’ll have something to show the police, the insurance company, and pawn shops. :|

I took a few wide shots, as well as closeups of some distinctive scratches and marks. As far as I could tell, my bike doesn’t have a serial number.

Seriously, it took two minutes. Although it won’t prevent it from getting stolen, at least I feel a little more prepared. I even went so far as to tag the file names in my terribly disorganized photo library so I’ll be able to find them quickly. I just hope I never need to find them!

Worst. Bugs. Ever. A wilderness survival story: https://t.co/SHoJSwFPpl pic.twitter.com/NoD9v4qHPL

— Maclean’s Magazine (@MacleansMag) July 24, 2016

• Madeleine Albright’s glass ceiling pin is some next-level cool feminist sh*t, dailydot.com
• First ever use of a city-wide persistent surveillance camera–like a living Google Maps–at a sporting event, fastcompany.com
• Bill Clinton wore a fetching navy pantsuit to honor Hillary Clinton’s nomination for US president, qz.com
• 17 Pictures Of Bill Clinton Playing With Balloons That You Need To See Before You Die, buzzfeed.com
• We just tried the ‘Impossible Burger’ — the meatless burger NYC has been waiting for, businessinsider.com

On the nightstand: The Painted Girls

What’s your go-to beer? We have a few in rotation here at Casa Fishbowl and one of those is Beau’s Lug Tread. So when I received an invitation* to check out the Beau’s brewery in Vankleek Hill my answer had to be a resounding YES. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for awhile and the timing couldn’t be better.

HELLO ROAD TRIP.

So last Saturday, Mark and I piled into the car and went. It wasn’t until we got there did we realize we could have brought the kids. Ha. Yes! This is a kid-friendly brewery! You do need ID to sample though.

Beau’s is a real success story. I want to call it an Ottawa success story, but seeing as though they’re located in Vankleek Hill this wouldn’t be entirely fair. I do think Ottawa has adopted Beau’s as its own because there is some definite pride that bubbles over quietly when ordering up a local beer. SO CANADIAN EH? ;)

You may have read about Beau’s in the news. It’s been a banner year for them. (Actually, this year marks their tenth anniversary!) In June it was announced they were the official brewery of the Ottawa 2017 celebrations. On July 1, Beau’s began the process of making its 160 employees into owners of the brewery and THEN they announced their “local” beer will be distributed across Canada. Pretty amazing news for a employee-owned, independent Canadian craft brewery!

Anyway, yes, it was a peaceful and pretty drive to Vankleek Hill. I didn’t really even realize that it’s only an hour from Ottawa, which instantly made me regret not going sooner.

I didn’t know what to expect when we arrived, but it was quite understated. :)

We arrived at noon but it got busier later in the day. It also rained, so everyone on the patio migrated indoors at one point which totally filled up the retail and tasting space.

This is what it looks like inside:

Tours and tastings at Beau’s are free (in case you need more incentive to visit)! It’s a great way to sample their different brews, both new and old. We met up with a young lady named Shalya, who lead us through an informed tasting…

… followed by a short tour and Beer Brewing 101:

It was really cool to get the inside scoop and I really appreciated the time our guide took to answer all of our questions. As a bonus, we discovered a couple new beers to add to our rotation. The Buenos Dias and Buenas Noches (“…an intensified and imperialized version of Buenos Dias, brewed with organic lime juice, organic lime and organic peel, and a touch of sea salt”) were a very nice surprise.

The plan was to stay for lunch and I’m glad we did. It was a gorgeous day and the patio is quite pretty and a relatively new – and smart – addition to the brewery. Also, there is beer!

My advice: if you’re hungry it’s a good idea to get in there a little earlier. We hit a lineup and our tummies were rumbling:

It’s a short menu, and it changes every week so you might like to check it online before you head out. (It’s pulled pork and zucchini tacos this weekend!) During our visit, Mark ordered a ham and cheese stromboli, which was good and I totally should have ordered it! I opted for the charcuterie board instead. A couple of the breads were a bit on the dry side – they struck me as homemade – but the cheese and egg (and the mustard, yum) made up for it and my dish paired quite nicely with my beer overall:

I wish I had a better photo of the patio, but this will give you an idea of the space.

Seating here is largely shared, Bavarian-pub style, (think: long tables with benches) which is enjoyable and fits the locale and overall vibe. There were quite a few cyclists there too, which makes me think this must be on a cycling route. If so, what a neat place to stop!

We weren’t able to linger on the patio for very long. Unfortunately, a big storm rolled in as we were close to finishing our meal. Even though the patio is covered we would have gotten soaked, that’s how much it poured!

It was nearing time to leave anyway, so we picked out some beer, said goodbye, and went on our merry way.

If you’re looking for a fun way to spend a few hours on a weekend, I definitely recommend a visit. Have you ever been? Are you a Beau’s fan? I’d love to hear about it.

* We received beer and lunch as part of our visit to Beau’s but there was no promise of a post or review. My views are my own.