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Imperial IPA (Granville Island Brewing, 8.2%)
Granville Island‘s most recent release really sees limited-release brewmaster Vern Lambourne stretch his legs. This is a rich, high-gravity and complex ale that’s a world apart from GIB’s mainstay...
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Canadian Band Beer: Pink Mountainhops Maibock (Cannery Brewing, 6.5%)
I’ve come late to the CBC Band Beer party, thanks to that other party known as VCBW. If you haven’t heard this story, it’s one of those great tales that started out as a joke that got a great reception...
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Barnacle Wheat IPA (Lighthouse Brewing Company, 8%)
Happy 15th birthday, Lighthouse Brewing Company! It was in 1998 that the Victoria brewery first rolled out its Race Rocks ale, which in my view has held up really well in B.C.’s constantly evolving...
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Hay Fever Spring Saison (Parallel 49 Brewing Company, 6.5%)
Time’s running out to grab some of Parallel 49‘s spring seasonal, the first B.C. saison in what will be a year of many B.C. saisons (Russell and Granville Island are the latest to release some of this...
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Loose Cannon Dark Lager (Howe Sound Brewing, 5.5%)
Great to see another dark lager on the market, and particularly one with such flavour firepower. Loose Cannon, a gold medal winner at the recent North American Brewers Association awards, is deep brown...
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Cloak & Dagger Cascadian Dark Ale (Granville Island Brewing, 6.25%)
It was a while back that Granville Island released this, its inaugural beer in a new “Black Book” series, so I hope to goodness there’s still some available. Essentially, it’s a rebranding of...
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White IPA with Citra (Powell Street Craft Brewery, 6%)
I’ve been a little dubious about the growing mania of white IPAs or Belgian IPAs (the name is roughly interchangeable, though Belgian IPAs appear to be a little higher in alcohol). Seems like it’s a...
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3 Weeds (Lighthouse Brewing Company, 7.5%)
Another imperial witbier triumph from Lighthouse brewer Dean McLeod, this time with an added zing of ginger. Although 3 Weeds doesn’t quite reach the dizzy heights of last year’s Belgian White for me,...
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Thirsty Farmer Saison (Granville Island Brewing, 6.2%)
Great to see Granville Island‘s saison return after its stellar autumn debut last year. Brewmaster Vern Lambourne has made minor tweaks to the recipe for the beer’s new Thirsty Farmer look, which...
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Immaculate India Golden Ale (Dead Frog Brewery, 6.5%)
Dead Frog brewmaster Tony Dewald recently told me how much he liked beers to be challenging and bitter, but this beer proves he does have a gentler soul; it’s just the 50 IBUs, after all. The first...
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Clodhopper Local Malt Dubbel (Driftwood Brewery, 7%)
Amazingly, I’ve seen some of this still available on some liquor store shelves. Driftwood used malt from Mike Doehnel’s Saanich farm in this recipe. Clodhopper is a clear russet colour with a tight,...
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Red Racer Pilsner (Central City Brewers + Distillers, 5%)
Released in late spring, Central City’s pilsner adds yet another benchmark to brewmaster Gary Lohin’s already impressive list. For me, this sunny, straw-coloured, Hallertau-hopped lager is the best...
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Westview Wheat (Townsite Brewing, 5.2%)
This is a great example of a Belgian witbier, brewed 8,000 kilometres away from Belgium with undoubted love by Townsite‘s Belgian head brewer Cedric Dauchot. Westview is a clouded lemony-orange...
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Gose-uh (Driftwood Brewery, 5%)
One wonderful aspect of the craft beer ethos is the brewers’ drive to constantly push themselves; whether that’s to do what they do better and better, or to push back boundaries. As well as producing...
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Hopraiser (Howe Sound Brewing, 6%)
Named after B.C.’s hop growers of old, Howe Sound‘s Hopraiser has had an interesting (albeit short) history of its own. Earlier in the year, the Squamish brewery released different test batches of its...
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Sartori Harvest IPA 2013 (Driftwood Brewery, 7%)
Well, here’s a hugely pleasant way of easing back into the world of B.C. craft beer after a month-long absence. Part of me was panicking that I might have actually missed out on this year’s release of...
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Red Racer Spiced Pumpkin Ale (Central City Brewers + Distillers, 5%)
This beer deserves a re-review as it’s evolved into something considerably different from the canned product of earlier years. Betty’s now rocking that checked shirt on a 650ml bomber, which in itself...
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Multiweizen (Brassneck Brewery, 5%)
Another big event I missed while on hiatus (now just distant, halcyon memories of glorious German meadows and gloriously unhealthy Scottish food) was the opening of Brassneck Brewery on Main Street. To...
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7800 Saison (Townsite Brewing Inc., 6.5%)
I realized there were a couple of beers that didn’t win their deserved craft beer of the week status because of my vacation, so better late than never, particularly because they’re still available....
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One-Two Punch Belgian IPA (Granville Island Brewing, 7.8%)
Here’s the second late craft beer of the week: what may be my favourite beer by GIB yet. No mean feat, as this is a rock-steady marriage of two flighty ingredients: namely, crazy Belgian yeast and...
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