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Craft beer of the week: Solitaire (Surlie Brewing, 6.5%)
Yes, it’s another stellar beer from a new B.C. brewery. But this one should come as no surprise, coming as it does from the experienced hands of former Mission Springs and Dead Frog brewer Timmy Brown....
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Craft beer of the craft beer week: PrevAle (VCBW collaboration, 7%)
The collaboration concept is gathering steam in the craft beer world, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the official Vancouver Craft Beer Week beers were the first to do it bigger and better in B.C....
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Craft beer of the week: 18 Karat Ale (Barkerville Brewing Co., 4.9%)
Who knew Quesnel would become the centre of B.C.’s craft beer boom? Well, it turns out that the Cariboo town is pretty much the centre of everything in the province, it being located smack-dab in the...
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Craft beer of the 30 years #1: Thirty Years Imperial Red Ale (Vancouver...
2014 is the year when B.C.’s three longest-running microbreweries celebrate their 30th anniversaries. And to celebrate… they’re making more beer. Vancouver Island Brewery in Victoria rang in the start...
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Craft beer of the 30 years, #2: Swing Span Amber Ale (Granville Island...
While it looks like Vancouver Island Brewery’s 30th anniversary beer will be a one-off, Granville Island‘s looks likely to stick around for a while. But then, GIB didn’t just release a beer as it...
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Craft beer of the 30 years #3: Northwest Ale (Spinnakers, 6.2%)
Spinnakers did in fact release a 30th anniversary beer — a Belgian strong ale called Grand Cru — but sadly I never saw any of it, let alone taste it. So the last of these 30-years-beers reviews will...
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Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale (Parallel 49 Brewing Company, 6%)
This review has been a long time coming, which is something you could also say about the other 162 beers I have tasting notes for. But this one seems particularly pressing on the heels of Parallel...
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Phaedra Belgian Rye IPA (Four Winds Brewing Co., 7.2%)
Happy International IPA Day! For what it’s worth, here’s a review of what I regard as not only one of the best IPAs in B.C., but one of the best beers in B.C., period. I first tried Phaedra when it...
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Craft beer of the week: Rickshaw Raspberry IPA (Tree Brewing, 5.6%)
There’s been some interesting releases from Tree Brewing recently, including an unfiltered IPA, a sturdy stout and the Red Wood wine barrel-aged series of beers, but this one, surprisingly, trumps the...
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Craft beer of the week: Big Stump Spruce Golden Ale (Dead Frog Brewery, 6.5%)
There’s a good case for the Pacific Northwest — perhaps even B.C. alone — to claim the spruce ale as its own. It’d be pretty special if this beer style one day became an appellation and tourists came...
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Craft beer of the week: White Rabbit Hoppy Hefeweizen (Russell Brewing...
I’m quite precious about my German beer styles. Credit to the Belgians, they’ve been experimenting with beer and styles for centuries. But in Germany, they’ve been perfecting styles for centuries. A...
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Craft beer of the week: Sun of Hop Belgian Summer Ale (Parallel 49 Brewing...
As far as I’m concerned, it’s still summer when the thermometer still tips 20 C, so let’s make the most of it while it lasts. (Sorry, Calgary.) Find a sheltered, sun-soaked deck on which to sip this...
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Mad Dash Fresh Hop ESB (Granville Island Brewing, 5.6%)
Blink and you’ll miss fresh-hop season, that wonderful time of the year when breweries make use of the local hops harvest to stuff their beer full of juicy cones straight off the bine. This year I...
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Harvest IPA (Persephone Brewing Company, 6.5%)
It’s a bold move, I’ll give it that. Persephone just went and brewed the sole challenger to Driftwood‘s Sartori Harvest in the fresh-hop IPA stakes. It’s a sign of some confidence from the Sunshine...
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Craft beer of the week: Burnabarian (Dageraad, 4.5%)
Like I said, great things are brewing in Burnaby. Even the Belgians themselves appear to be impressed by Dageraad. A couple of expats were in the tasting room on my first visit there and seemed to be...
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Craft beer of the week: Blitzen Belgian Tripel (Steamworks, 9%)
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope. Just a mecha-reindeer called Blitzen. Beyond another great steampunk-style label is a beer that has Steamworks flying similarly high. Blitzen, marketed for Christmas...
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Nectarous Dry-Hopped Sour (Four Winds, 5.5%)
This is a posthumous review, I know – any Nectarous is long gone from store shelves – but I’m going to let it stand in the hope Four Winds will resurrect this delectable liquid fruit salad. (And they’d...
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The Hobbit Smaug Stout (Central City Brewers + Distillers, 8.5%)
You’ve seen the movie, now drink the beer. Or you can just skip the movie (I gave up on The Hobbit trilogy after the woefully contrived elf/dwarf love subplot of the second instalment). Regardless,...
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33 Acres of Copar (33 Acres Brewing Co., 3.9%)
Due exclusively to my beer-drinking history, I’ll always jump at the chance to try out a new B.C. take on those most neglected styles in this continent: the Scottish heavy and export ales. Sadly,...
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10⁰ (Dageraad, 10%)
Taking Dageraad’s beer to its logical extreme, 10⁰ is the brewery’s biggest beer yet – and will likely remain that way if it continues in its Belgian-styles-only vein. Quadrupel is the boozy patriarch...
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Craft beer of the week: New Growth Pale Ale (Driftwood Brewery, 5%)
RIP Driftwood Ale. I’ll admit to being a fan of the Victoria brewery’s eponymous beer. It was one of those reassuring presences on the craft beer roster, a dependable choice, and very versatile for...
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Vexillum Imperial IPA (Four Winds Brewing Co., 9%)
God, you must be sick of all these Four Winds reviews by now. “How much are they paying that guy?” you’re wondering. “Not enough beer,” is my reply. It’s difficult to understate how impressive Four...
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Hip as Funk Farmhouse IPA (Moon Under Water, 7%)
It was awesome indeed to visit the Moon Under Water brewpub on my recent jaunt over the strait for Victoria Beer Week. The Moon is being held in increasingly high regard for its stellar takes on...
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Craft beer of that there week there: Sri Lanka (Dageraad, 7.5%)
Please allow me to indulge my local brewery. Actually, please don’t say anything. I’m going to do it anyway. Even if Dageraad didn’t live within downhill rolling distance of me, it’d still be one of my...
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Park Life Passion Fruit Ale (Bomber Brewing, 5%)
Here’s the taste of summer right here. Park Life has been flying off the shelves since it was first released, and whoever exports the passion fruit puree from Brazil for this beer must be enjoying a...
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Berliner Weisse (Four Winds Brewing Company, 3.5%)
It’d be remiss not to include Canada’s newly crowned brewery of the year in my summer beer picks. Four Winds latest release is going straight to the four-pack format favoured for its year-round brews....
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Goddess Golden Ale (Persephone Brewing Company, 5%)
Got some hop lust this summer? How about trying something that doesn’t taste like sucking on a grapefruit or licking pine bark? Persephone has bucked the trend for West Coast varietals with its Goddess...
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Kölsch Lagered Ale (Steamworks, 4.8%)
This kölsch really impressed me when I had it at Steamworks’ Burnaby tasting room. Back then it was a tasting-room only deal, but thankfully Steamworks has worked it into their packaged lineup — and in...
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Smoked Hefeweizen (Steel & Oak Brewing Co., 5.2%)
Steel & Oak has only just celebrated its one-year anniversary, yet its smoked hefeweizen has become something of a B.C. classic in the short time it’s been around. (It’s also one of the first...
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Keller Pilsner (Persephone Brewing Company, 5%)
This didn’t make the cut for my summer beer picks purely because I didn’t want Persephone in there twice. Beer release after beer release, the Gibsons operation is building a strong case for becoming...
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