Getting To Know: Mariner Brewing

(Courtesy of Mariner Brewing)

For Mariner Brewing co-founder Lauren Ang, craft beer is about exploring different flavours and trying new things.

Our mottos embody this sense of exploration and adventure. We had a concept of what we wanted our brewery to represent before we eventually came up with our name.

Inspired by both traditional ship navigators and a number of NASA space probes in the 1960’s, Lauren says incorporating stars and constellations into their logo seemed like the perfect fit.

Traditionally a Mariner is someone who navigates a ship; in the past, we used stars as a mariner’s point of reference for navigation. Mariner was also the name of a number of space probes in the 60’s that NASA sent to explore uncharted territory in space.

Lauren says the freshness of their ingredients, leads their beer to be inspired by the time of year. Drawing on everything they see smell and taste, these co-founders are inspired by everything around them.

(Courtesy of Mariner Brewing)

Berry season is upon us and we recently released a blueberry sour that used 1,000 lbs of Fraser Valley blueberries per batch. Several of our beer rotate depending on the season. This is our favourite part about being a small local brewery; we can regularly experiment with different flavours.

Partnering with the Glasfurd & Walker design team, Lauren says can designs evolve from discussions around key words, colours and eventually a description.

Our brewer and design team have a lot of conversations about the taste, look, and feel of each beer, as well as the ingredients, history, and inspiration for the beer. We’re very lucky to work with the amazing Glasfurd & Walker design team on our can labels and are always impressed with their work.

Mariner Brewing locally sources their variety of supplies, including hops, as much as they can. Lauren says they are lucky to live in a region that is good for growing hops but that they sometimes like to include special varieties.

(Courtesy of Mariner Brewing)

We are constantly impressed by the variety our local farmers are producing each year. Some special varieties of hops are only available in Germany and Oregon and we like to include some of them to have a wide range of flavours in our beers.

Mariner Brewing has more than just beer when you stop by their brewing house. Along with exploring new flavours of beer make sure you leave room for food. Most is made in house by a fantastic kitchen staff, including their Sunday brunch, served from 11 am – 3 pm. What isn’t made in house is supplied by other local businesses such as Pasta Pollo and Creekside Coffee Factory.

We also have a dog friendly Beer Garden open 4pm to dusk during the week and all day on weekends. Every Thursday we do something called and Exploratory which is a one off keg of a new beer style, this helps up figure out what types of beer people get the most excited about. So far our Strawberry Weisse has been our most popular Exploratory Batch.

With big plans for new seasonal brews, variations on old favourites and ever developing their food and beer lineup in the tasting room, be sure to keep an eye out for what’s next for Mariner Brewing!

Right now the only thing holding us back is the amount of beer we can produce and we’re expanding and adding equipment to increase that. Like the name Mariner implies, we’re never standing still. Look out for what beer and food is next!

Long Table Dinner- On The Farm With: Gabi & Jules

We are happy to announce that Gabi & Jules will be joining our Long Table Dinner once again! To get to know Owner, Lisa Beecroft’s, personal tastes and creations a bit more she has kindly answered some questions for us.

What is your favourite thing to cook right now?

Pie, pie and more pie! Whether we’re creating a new recipe or making one of our original classics, pies are my favourite thing to bake.

What is the first dish you cooked?

One of the first dishes I have a very fond memory of making is, Gnochi with my Nona. I remember the feeling of the soft fluffy dough between my little hands.

What is your favourite vegetable from the market this week?

Tomatoes! Is there anything better then a vibrant, juicy, tomato right off the vine?

Best tip for home cooks?

Our guests are always asking us, “what’s your secret”? And our answer is always the same, there is no secret. What you’re tasting is our all butter crust and pure, clean, wholesome ingredients. Quality ingredients translate into beautiful baking.

Tell us something about your long table dinner dish.

We are preparing one of our signature pastries, our Crostatas. It’s a mini hand pie filled with farm fresh blueberries and strawberries, then topped with a citrus crumble.

Long Table Dinner- On The Farm With: Humble Roots

We are happy to announce that Humble Roots Cafe & Deli will be joining our Long Table Dinner this year! To get to know Owner, Tyler Towe’s, personal tastes and creations a bit more he has kindly answered some questions for us.

(Courtesy of Humble Roots)

What is your favourite thing to cook right now?

I enjoy experimenting with meat and dairy alternatives; nut or tofu based cheese, seitan, aqua faba based recipes and various beans/legumes. It’s a welcome challenge to explore and refine dishes that are relatively new to the culinary scene. 

What is the first dish you cooked?

(Courtesy of Humble Roots)

Shepherds Pie was the first thing I remember “trying” to prepare. It was always a favourite of mine growing up as the one my grandma made was very impressive.

What is your favourite vegetable from the market this week?

BC corn is always a welcome treat!

Best tip for home cooks?

When ever possible, source local!!! Get inspired at nearby farmer’s market and try to revolve your meals around what’s seasonal. Jar and preserve your local fare at its optimal time for harvest so it can be enjoyed all year round. Talk to your local farmers, ask them questions as they are a wealth of knowledge and can provide insight on what’s fresh now and what to look forward to.

(Courtesy of Humble Roots)

Tell us something about your long table dinner dish.

Our dish is inspired by the time of year and the local ingredients available to us. It is designed to be a light and refreshing chapter in a farm to table story as told by chefs and farmers alike.

Long Table Dinner- On The Farm With: Adam Jonas

We are happy to announce that Chef Adam Jonas will be joining our Long Table Dinner this year! To get to know his personal tastes and creations a bit more he has kindly answered some questions for us.

(Adam Jonas seen right)

What is your favourite thing to cook right now?

Anything on the BBQ like fresh sockeye, steaks, chicken or pork chops. With the hot summer weather it’s nice the get out of the kitchen and cook outside!

What is the first dish you cooked?

I cant remember that but, the first time I learned how to properly cook items like braised beef short ribs and risotto as a young cook working at Galleries on Westwood Plateau, I knew I wanted to become a chef.

What is your favourite vegetable from the market this week?

I purchased some Chilliwack corn this week that was delicious, as it is this time of year every year. I also always look forward to our fresh BC harvest items every summer like cherries, blueberries, and peaches. It’s always sad when the growing season comes to an end for these items.

Best tip for home cooks?

Keep it simple. Utilize as many local in season products as possible. Try new recipes. Prepare as much as you can ahead of time when you have company to make the evening less stressful.

Tell us something about your long table dinner dish.

It will be vegan and gluten free.

On The Wild Side With: Brigitta’s Pottery

Growing up in a very creative family; a father who built furniture, a mother who was a gifted seamstress and a grandmother who was a marvellous cook, Brigitta knew from an early age how to sew,stitch, knit, wield a hammer and cook at an early age.

Music was an important part of our lives as well, more as in appreciation than playing an instrument; I learned to play the flute much later in live. Most of our weekends and holidays were spent either hiking, climbing and skiing in the Alps, or at the cottage  my parents rented at a farm. There I learned to love an appreciate farming and  nature in all it’s aspects.

Thus it was only natural that Brigitta was attracted to clay’s earthy properties. She says the material lends itself to being manipulated in every creative way one can think of.

Whether it’s soil I plunge my hands into to bring forth flowers and plants, or whether it’s clay I let slip through my hands to coax into shapes and forms, both give me the immense pleasure of creating. Creations that in return reflect on the beauty of nature.

Despite her creative upbringing, Brigitta says she began working with clay later in life. Once her youngest left home, she one day, filled her time by going to a pottery class with a friend. This reignited her passion for pottery and created opportunities that she did not let slip by. Eventually receiving a business license and building her studio, Brigitta began to sign up for markets, art studio tours and Christmas sales.

There was no opportunity when I was young, studied nursing, immigrated to Canada, and had a family. Even though I did not plan to start a business at this point, I did go to the Kootenay School of Arts studying ceramics for two years. Today I am still very happy working in my studio, totally enjoy the enriching contact with my customers at the markets and am up to a challenge when doing the odd custom work.

Brigitta creates her own unique colours and textures by mixing her own glazes, made of minerals, clays and oxides, which she sources from Greenbarn in Port Kells.

I buy Canadian clay sourced in Medicin Hat (Medalta), Alberta, through the pottery supply store Greenbarn in Port Kells. Medalta is a historic ceramic manufacturing complex now turned into a ceramic art school.

To offset the potential environmental damage from glazing materials Brigitta mixes surplus glaze and clay, form bricks, or lately ollas, and fire them to bisque temperature. This process stabilizes all material, and she then uses the bricks and ollas in her garden.

First and foremost, Brigitta’s design inspiration comes from nature. She says she does her best work when the environment is in mind. The rivers, forests and ocean that surround us, reflecting shapes and colours back to us.

…a perky frog, sea stars and shells are enhancing birdbaths, mugs and teapots. The process from idea to finished product can be long. An idea, some drawings, a prototype, or two, or three, breakage and disappointment, but eventually the piece looks at least somewhat like the original idea.

She is intrigued by both straight and clean lines and but gravitates towards organic shapes and forms like leaving uneven rims on plates, bowls and platters.

Or I coax an undulating wave into my mugs, making them look like fresh out of the ocean. And then my flower arranging vessels….well, I do sit in my garden a lot and while admiring  the flowers I’d like to display I envision the form that would do it best.

What in part makes Brigitta’s pottery so unique from one creation to another is the inherit way pottery is finished. She says despite technological advances, no two kiln loads turn out exactly the same.

Outside temperature and humidity, density in stacking the pieces, thickness of each piece, type of clay used  and placement in the kiln all play a role on how a pot turns out. That is why it can be very difficult to exactly replicate a piece.

Read More About Brigitta’s Pottery Making Process:

I do both hand building and wheel throwing and often combine the two. 

Lets take a midsize mug:

A lump of soft clay, about 500 g, is gently wedged ( a special kneading technique that is supposed to get rid of air bubbles in the clay and align the tiny clay particles so that throwing becomes easier and even).   

On the wheel it takes just a few minutes to form the cup, but then I take a rib (a flat tool) to the wobbly mug and distort the wall to get my wave pattern in. Lots of opportunity to press just a little bit too hard and the thin walls collapse. But if successful, the mug is then transferred onto a drying board and left to dry for a few hours (or anything from half an hour to two days, depending on the weather and humidity) till leather hard. That means the clay will be exactly like leather, it holds its shape but can still be manipulated to some degree. The mug is put back on the wheel, upside down, and the bottom gets trimmed, all the excess clay taken off to form a nice foot.

Meanwhile a handle is formed and left to dry to the same leather hardness as the mug, and then attached to the mug. The mug is left to dry completely, to bone dry, which can take anything from a day to almost a week.

Then the mug is fired to a temperature of 1040 Celsius. This process is called a bisque firing. It takes about 9 to 10 hours to peak temperature and a day to cool down. The process hardens the clay, however, it is still porous, won’t hold water, and is still not very strong.

At this point the glaze is applied. Glaze is a calculated mixture of clays, minerals, oxides and possibly colour pigments that will form a glass like layer around a bisque piece.

There are many techniques to do that, depending on the type of glaze used. Glaze can be painted on, sprayed on, poured over the piece, or the piece can be dipped right into the glaze.

Glaze dries quite fast and the piece can be fired a few hours to a day later. I fire to a mid range temperature of 2,000 Celsius. This time it takes about 12 hours to reach peal temperature and a good day to cool down. 

And voila, the mug is done! 

Long Table Dinner- On The Farm With: Karen Curtis

We are happy to announce that Chef  Karen Curtis of Kic’s Gourmet Products will be joining our Long Table Dinner once again! To get to know her personal tastes and creations a bit more she has kindly answered some questions for us.

What is your favourite thing to cook right now?

I’m trying more vegetarian dishes right now, looking for ways to incorporate new veggies into my food. I just put some shaved fennel into a coleslaw and served it with an orange dressing that a chef friend of mine made. So good! I also just made stuffed tomatoes on the BBQ. They were stuffed with a mixture of Central Park ground pork, veggies and Golden Ears Cheesecrafters cheese. We really enjoyed those.

What is the first dish you cooked?

Karen Curtis (right) at the 2017 Long Table Dinner

I don’t remember but I do know that by the time I hit grade eight foods class, I was cooking full meals and they were trying to teach me how to broil a grapefruit half covered with brown sugar!

What is your favourite vegetable from the market this week?

I’m all over zucchini right now. Spiralized and served with a rose sauce, sliced into ribbons and sauted with garlic and basil or served with a fresh tomato sauce, stuffed with lentils and cheese, baked into muffins or loaves.

Best tip for home cooks?

Don’t be afraid to try something new. You learn even from your mistakes!

Tell us something about your long table dinner dish.

Gluten free, Coconut Thumbprint cookies filled with lemon curd and fresh raspberries.

Buffalo-Gentai Named As Long Table Dinner Gold Sponsor

(Courtesy of Buffalo-Gentai Development Ltd)

We are so fortunate that Buffalo-Gentai Development Ltd has given generously to the Coquitlam Farmers Market Society’s 2018 Long Table Dinner- On The Farm.

“We are honoured to be a sponsor of the Coquitlam Farmers Market Society’s Long Table Dinner. Serving the community has always been our mission, so we are very glad to support local produce and economy.”

(Courtesy of Buffalo-Gentai Development Ltd)

Buffalo Investment Canada Ltd is a Vancouver based real estate developer with over 20 years of proven success focusing on premium developments on a global stage. Led by real-estate guru Mr. William Wang, Buffalo is dedicated to building quality developments, in superior market locations, with long-term investment value.

Based in Greater Vancouver and licensed by the Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM), Gentai Capital Corporation is a lending specialized asset manager in the business of originating, funding and servicing mortgage investments.

Thank you, from everyone at the Coquitlam Farmers Market Society, to Buffalo-Gentai Development Ltd for their considerable support of this event. As a Gold Sponsor, they have helped us create a night of quality food, great company and amazing entertainment.

Sunday, August 26

Visit the Market this Sunday for all the best in local produce, baked goods, prepared foods, artisan crafts, and more! This Sunday is Member Appreciation Day! Market Members can shop the market for great Member-Only specials from our vendors. Not a member? Find out more, and sign up HERE!

This Sunday’s Member-Only specials include:
Einai Designs – 10% off entire booth
Garys Kettle Corn – $1 off large bags of kettle corn
Golden Ears Cheesecrafters – Buy any 3 products and get 10% off
KICS – $1 off a glass of lemonade
Kizzy’s Macarons – One free macaron with the purchase of 5 or more
Pinch Skin Care – Buy one Get one 1/2 price
Rockweld Farm – 20% off whole birds
Wax Poetic Creations – Buy one get one 50% off
Oh Sweet Day! – Buy 5 shortbread cookie bags get 1 free ($5 per bag)

Kids! Visit our Kids Craft Table to make a cupcake liner turtle!

POP Kids! This week we will be making our own Market Bags. Please remember to bring a shirt (short or long sleeves) that we will transform into a reusable bag. Please be sure to bring a shirt that you do not mind cutting and using as a bag! For the Two Bite Club we will be trying melon.

Join the Tri-Cities Local Immigration Partnership at their community group table to decorate a community banner to welcome newcomers to the Tri-Cities. Paint, draw, colour and share the different ways of welcoming newcomers to our diverse community.

We’re happy to have musician Ron Forbes-Roberts joining us this weekend! His virtuosic guitar sounds are the perfect backdrop to a Sunday market visit.

List of Vendors for Sunday, August 26

POP Club – Week 13

Join the POP Club and discover the Power of Produce!
Week 13: Sunday August 26th – This week we will be making our own Market Bags. Please remember to bring a shirt (short or long sleeves) that we will transform into a reusable bag. Please be sure to bring a shirt that you do not mind cutting and using as a bag!
For the Two Bite Club we will be trying melon.
Drop in anytime during market hours from 9am – 1pm to sign up and participate in the POP Club!
The POP Club is a farmers market-based kids program. Children (ages 5 – 12 years old) will learn about fruits and vegetables, local food systems and healthy food preparation through fun activities.
Each week children will earn a $3 market token to use towards any fruit or vegetable of their choice.
There is no cost to participate. Sign up at the POP tent this Sunday! The POP Club runs every Sunday until the end of October.

Long Table Dinner- On The Farm With: Victoria Leszczynski

We are happy to announce that Chef  Victoria Leszczynski of Ela Made Me Do It will be joining our Long Table Dinner this year! To get to know her personal tastes and creations a bit more she has kindly answered some questions for us.

Ela Made Me Do It soup (Courtesy of Ela Made Me Do It).

What is your favourite thing to cook right now?

Japanese turnips are my new favorite vegetables. I love them raw or roasted; roasting makes them even sweeter and juicier!

What is the first dish you cooked?

Hard to say as I used to cook with my grandmother since long before my earliest memories! My first solo dinner was likely dad’s meat sauce and spaghetti recipe, his secret ingredient is a small pinch of cinnamon to compliment the beef!

Ela Made Me Do It products (Courtesy of Ela Made Me Do It).

What is your favourite vegetable from the market this week?

Cabbage! As a Polish immigrant I got pretty excited when they cabbages started to pop up at the market a few weeks ago.

Best tip for home cooks?

Colour= flavour! Don’t be afraid to get a really dark sear on your steak or try roasting your favorite vegetables at a higher temperature than usual (with careful monitoring/turning) for a sweeter, richer flavour!

Tell us something about your long table dinner dish.

I will be serving braised beef short ribs! An intense sear for flavour followed by a low and slow braise will result in a melt in your mouth entree.