Vancouver 2010 Day 8 Rickard's Dark and Club Bud

Day 8 at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics saw us win another gold medal, thanks to skeleton athlete Jon Montgomery, as the City erupted in even more celebration.

I have never seen this many people in Vancouver at one single time, for consecutive days, all chanting and cheering non-stop for hours. It’s as though we just won the Stanley Cup and everyone is watching footage of the winning goal over and over again for 24 straight hours.

My day yesterday focused on writing, hugging the Stanley Cup as it sat in the media centre, and then being a guest of two beer companies: Molson and Budweiser, who both hosted fantastic events.

I went to a tasting event for Rickard’s Dark, the brand’s new porter. It was light-tasting for a dark beer and went down smoothly. Attendees were blindfolded (to heighten senses and flavour profiles) as Chef Lee Humphries of the Irish Heather presented us with three courses, all prepared with or for pairing with Rickard’s Dark.

Someone commented after the first two courses that the only thing missing was bacon. They must have been on the same wavelength as Chef Humphries as he included bacon in the last course – dessert. I’ve never thought of trying bacon ice cream (and pairing it with a dark beer) but this just worked.

Later in the evening I hit the red carpet to cover Club Bud‘s Burton Party with my gal Keira-Anne.

The event is by invitation only so if you had a your ticket the wait in line was minimal and once inside the Commodore, the free Budweiser was flowing. However before partaking, we spotted many famous Team USA athletes from current and past Olympics out on the red carpet before they headed in.

Guests of honor included: Nancy Kerrigan, Vernon Davis, Heather McPhee, Bonnie Blair, Chris Spencer (Seahawks), Carl Lewis (legendary sprinter), Seth Wescott, Graham Watanabe, Trisha Burns (snowboard/agent), Gretchen Bleiler, Lindsay Jacobellis, Stacey Cook, Alice McInnis, Elijah Teter, Mike Jakowski, and Johnny Weir (figure skating).

Inside, the Commodore was transformed into a winter wonderland complete with ice sculptures, white drapes, lighted ceiling, and icicles hanging precariously from a seemingly frozen stage where scantily clad dancers got the crowd moving. John and I are heading back to Club Bud tonight for their NHL night that will see many more stars, from Hollywood and the NHL.

Medal Count for Canada – February 19, 2010
Gold: 4
Silver: 3
Bronze: 1
View full medal count by country