World’s largest fiddle
My armchair tourist’s journey through the East Coast continues, this time to the home of Breton Brewing, Sydney Nova Scotia, unofficial capital of Cape Breton and home of the world’s largest fiddle. You might be playing the Hernia Jig if your instrument was that big. That didn’t sound right but you know what I mean.
Breton hopes “this may be the pint to settle all your quarrels.” I probably won’t be sitting down with the Department of Morality (the missus) to share a pint of Red Coat* and decide whether to watch Bones on Netflix or the Blue Jays, but I appreciate the thought. I have no quarrels with this brew.
This red pours dark with minimal head, as in none. It has almost a light porter like aroma. First swig is smooth with a great mouthfeel, reminiscent of a traditional Irish stout, almost creamy. A very nice full bodied malt porter flavour, no hops or bitters, very enjoyable with a touch of sweet in the finish. As close to a porter as you can get without a prescription. A near perfect fall leaves changing, cool nights, early sunset, by the fire pint.
When I was a young punk know it all just off the turnip truck I had a job in Northern BC. My supervisor asked me where I was from and I said Ontario. He said ”Nothing good ever comes out of the East except the sun.” One swig of this East Coast Breton Red Coat Irish Ale would have proved him wrong.
As a bit of a history buff, I was interested in why the British picked the red coats for their uniforms. The answer I got back was the red hides the colour of blood well if someone gets wounded. True or not?
In the days of the musket and black powder, battle field visibility was quickly obscured by clouds of smoke. Bright colours provided a means of distinguishing friend from foe without significantly adding risk.
Your explanation regarding hiding of blood is actually the basis for the following joke: The British Army officers wore red coats. The red was meant to disguise the fact that an officer had been hit, it hid the blood stains and the wounded officers would keep on fighting seemingly unharmed. Because the British Officers wore red coats to hide the blood, French officers started to wear brown trousers.