Trading Post brews up match for Vij’s spicy Indian flavours
Beer with a ‘very happy balance’ fulfils a long-held ambition of the restaurateur
Restaurateur Vikram Vij is often left wanting more from beer, especially the way it pairs with his unique take on Indian cuisine. So he did something about it.
“I’ve been wanting to create something very special with a local brewery for some time now," he said.
That time is now, with the launch of Vikram’s Weissen, a spicy Belgian wit created by Tony Dewald at Trading Post Brewing Company.
“I’ve long been a passionate advocate for pairing great Indian food with beer and wine — and so often, the beers can be disappointing, or they don’t complement the spices and flavours as well as they could,” said Vij, who is also a sommelier.
The goal is to create “a beer that perfectly enhances spicy food and makes both the dish and the drink more delicious,” he said. So, you know, no pressure. Dewald had worked with pioneering craft brewer James Walton at Storm Brewing, a longtime beer supplier to Vij’s and creator of Storm Lightning Wit.
After meeting with Vij, Dewald called his old mentor to get the basics of the style then set about making it his own.
“I had met Vikram years ago, and I’ve eaten at his restaurants many times over the past two decades, so I had a pretty good idea of the flavour palate we were working with,” Dewald said.
The combination of wheat malt and ale yeast creates all kinds of fruity spicy esters and phenols, much prized in the Belgian tradition.
“We’ve come up with a very happy balance of orange, coriander and yeast-derived flavours,” Dewald said.
Initially, Vikram’s Weissen will be available at Trading Post in Fort Langley and Vij’s Surrey location, My Shanti. The plan is to gauge public reaction, then roll the beer out at Rangoli and Vij’s in Vancouver, and then in private liquor stores.