becks beer blog

beer column

2013-05-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

and here are my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio's on the coast with stephen quinn:

Bridge Brewing, of North Vancouver, hosted a 10k run on Saturday morning – the first of what will hopefully become an annual event. 50 runners met at the brewery at 9:00 and went for a 10k run. Nothing too exciting about that. Proceeds went to the Harvest Project – a worthy cause to support for sure, but what made this run worth telling you all about is the growlers. Of the 50 people registered for the run, a full half of them ran with two full growlers. That’s about 10 extra pounds these folks lugged up hill and down for 10 kilometres. I myself did not carry the growlers, but the people who did have my respect – it was not easy! People carried them on their shoulders, laid them on their forearms and dangled them from their thumbs – and for their troubles? Bridge Brewing is filling those growlers for them, two fills per week, for a month. Oh, and they get bragging rights! I do have to add though, that the growlers were full of water during the run, which a couple of runners poured over each other at the finish line!

Changing topics, do you really convert non-beer drinkers into beer geeks? Will they all start running races with growlers?

“Convert” maybe isn’t the right word to use, that does make it sound like beer geeks are a cult, but the phenomenon is quite similar. I love beer, we all know that, and I talk about it a lot. Often I’ll mention beer to someone and they’ll tell me they don’t really like beer. I ask them what kinds they have tried and what they don’t like about it. Most of the time they’ve only had yellow fizzy beer. Some don’t like how full the carbonation makes them feel, some cite the flavour as what they don’t like. If they seem open to the idea, I suggest that I can help them find a beer more to their liking – that there is a whole world of other beers out there that perhaps they might like. So far, everyone who has let me introduce them to that wide world of beers has found at least one style they like. In fact, some of them got so much enjoyment out of finding a beer that they like that they went on their own beer journey and found others.

Depending on what they say they do like, I try to find a beer that would be a good fit. So for someone who drinks ciders or fruity cocktails, I usually suggest a fruit beer. For someone who thinks beers are too heavy, I suggest a refreshing wheat ale or a crisp pilsner. A coffee lover might find a coffee porter to be their gateway beer. Its a challenge, but I really enjoy trying to think of a beer that would be similar enough to things they like to give them a positive experience of beer.

I have been very successful in introducing a few non-beer drinkers to beer. In that I’m at 100%. In introducing craft beer to a main-stream beer drinkers though, while I have been very successful there too, I’m not at 100% - there’s still one hold-out! A friend who just won’t stray from her mainsteam lagers. But you know what, she tried some craft beers and found that she prefers her beers. And that’s okay. It takes all kinds! But in my experience she is the exception to the rule. Everyone else I have introduced to craft beer has embraced it. Sure, some of them still drink mainstream lagers, but not all the time! And I love when they text me or call me to tell me about some new craft beer they tried and loved. Or that they are turning into a hop head. Several of my friends who started their craft beer journey with fruit beers are now drinking ipas and sours and barrel-aged brews and loving them. And buying bottles to cellar. They join CAMRA and have started to convert their friends to craft beer as well. Which makes it sound like a cult again, but its not! Its not about stats, for me its about sharing something I love with other people. I can’t believe how many people profess to like beer and yet never try anything except a fizzy yellow lager – I just want to show them there are other things out there. And for those who have only ever tried the fizzy yellow lager and not liked it, I want to make sure they know that not all beers are created equal and if they look a little further afield, they won’t have to miss out on the sociability of beer drinking.

Is there one “gateway” beer that converts people to craft beer in large numbers? There is, and it is a surprising one because it is an ipa. Normally a very hoppy beer is not one that you would give to someone you are trying to turn into a beer drinker because hop bitterness seems to be an acquired taste rather than an inherent one. But Fat Tug by Driftwood Brewing in Victoria is an ipa that most people love – even though it is 80 ibus and 7% alcohol by volume. There’s just something about its citrusy goodness, those notes of grapefruit, mango, melon and passionfruit that has turned all my friends who were not hop fans into hopheads. I wouldn’t give it to someone who didn’t already like beer though – its not a gateway to beer, its a gateway to craft beer!

Beer Picks:

In honour of election day, I have four beer picks – a green one, a blue one, an orange one and a red one!

Green: Nickelbrook Organic Lager

Blue: Phillips Blue Buck

Orange: Elysian Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale Ale

Red: Elysian Men’s Room Red

on the coast

2013-05-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

its one of the tuesdays that i will be on the air with stephen quinn
on cbc radio's on the coast, the #1 rated afternoon show!

i'll be on at 5:50 p.m. talking about the north shore growler 10k and converting non beer drinkers into beer geeks!

link love

2013-05-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

canadian brewing awards run down by jan zeschky

and the whole list of winners is up on the canadian brewing awards website, but i can't seem to get on there today - maybe too many visitors crashed their site - hopefully the link works soon

congratulations to powell street brewing for winning best in show!

speaking of winners...
saturday marked the inaugural north shore growler 10k hosted by bridge brewing
50 people ran 10k from the brewery, up up up and around and back to the brewery
i was one of them
(so were the lovely monica and jill)

i was rewarded with a beer and a glass
the harvest project was rewarded with all of our entry fees as donations

25 people ran with growlers
yes, that's correct, with growlers
2 each... full ones...
24 of them finished with them
and for their efforts they were rewarded with 2 free growler fills a week for a month
not incentive enough for me to carry an extra, awkward 10 lbs
but i sure do have a whole lot of respect for those who did!

check out beer me bc for a write up of the event, and photos
and the bridge brewing facebook page for photos (like this lovely one of me)

link love

2013-05-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

not a well-written article from a beer perspective, cbc reports on new brunswick's beer lottery for samuel adams' utopias

70 songs about beer

phillips brewing spearheads a canadian craft beer collaboration brew

arguably the 10 best beer menus in vancouver

a hard to follow article in the sun on storm brewing and james walton

for a limited time only, a free streaming of a homebrewing video

the week in beer

2013-05-03T15:31:00.002-07:00

what a week in beer!

monday night cask at st. augustine's - red truck's esb
tuesday night cask at railway club - parallel 49 dry-hopped gypsy tears
wednesday night sour beer pairing dinner at biercraft cambie
thursday night cask at yaletown brewpub - pale ale with thyme

all of the above were damned tasty and much fun
so, what should i drink tonight???

legacy and camra sessional

2013-05-03T09:59:00.001-07:00

new beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver:

Moon Under Water Shatterbier Golden Ale - $12.55This collaboration between reinvigorated Moon Under Water Brewery and Shatterbox Coffee is one that should not be missed. Pouring a hazy golden colour with candied fruit, citrus and coffee found in the aromatics, this brew has marzipan and roasted coffee on the palate and a dry finish to round it out.

St. Feuillien Saison - $10.45
Described as a beer of terroir, this Belgian Saison is a traditional farmhouse from St. Feuillien pouring pale amber with aromas of candied citrus and melon. In the mouth, orange, black pepper and yeast make this a Saison worth drinking.

Tofino Brewing Dawn Patrol Coffee Porter - $7.15
A new coffee porter from the west coast of Vancouver Island that pours a velvety dark brown similar to a black cup of coffee. Rich coffee aromas own the bouquet of this beer, while espresso beans and light malt are found on the palate. A tasty coffee porter from Tofino Brewing.

camra vancouver's spring sessional at the portside pub is sold out!
me, i'll be pouring the nectar of the gods on the late shift
so if you're there and its after 3:00, come by and say hi!

new beers coming to town

2013-05-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

there are so many great beers coming to town!

beerthirst is bringing us beers from the bruery!

"From their wide landscape of experimental ales that are brewed in the Belgian tradition, the Rue family has made quite the name for themselves in a very short time. Their ratings speak for themselves on websites such as Ratebeer.com, where 90% of their beers score from 93 to 100. These unique, barrel-aged, bottle conditioned beers are so good that, the craft beer aficionados in BC have been known to drive out to Bellingham and even Seattle, in order to get their hands on these wonderful creations. Well, that is about to change very soon because The Bruery is coming to BC!

The wait is over folks. The Bruery has finally agreed to send their beers up north. We've been fans of this brewery for quite some time and we're absolutely thrilled to import these fine ales for the good people of British Columbia!

The Bruery is a small craft brewery located in Orange County, California. The name is a fusion of 'brewery' with their family name, Rue. They use a proprietary Belgian yeast strain for the majority of their creations, but they are also known for using Brettanomyces and bacteria such as Pediococcus and Lactobacillus. The Bruery is also notable for their use of bourbon and wine barrels for the fermentation and aging of their beers. Particularly, they have become well known for their strong bourbon aged ales that can range between 13% and 19.5% ABV.

The first shipment is expected to ship out of their warehouse in the end of May. We'll keep you posted on what beers to expect."

and elysian's space dust ipa that i enjoyed so much last summer when i was in seattle:

"This year, the second release in Elysian's "Manic IPA" series is going to be something that's completely out of this world! Space Dust IPA will come drifting out of the cosmos to beautiful British Columbia soon!
Space Dust is an (asteroid) belt of Chinook, Citra and Amarillo hops streaking across a fairly open space grist of Northwest pale and touches of C-15 and Dextri-Pils malts. 70 IBU will deliver a good (VanAllen) belt of bitterness and 7.2% alcohol by volume keeps thrust a medium burn.
Space Dust will be available in 59L kegs and 650ml bottles mid May, with a cute little extra-terrestrial hop feller on the label."

and double trouble's pilsner that i am dying to try:

Prison Break Pilsner's unconfined flavour demonstrates just how good a lager can taste. Full of aromatic and balanced hopping for maximum security. This Breatkout Pilsner will surely set your palate free of uninspiring lagers. Brewed in BC! 5% ABV.

and hop valley brewing co.

"Up in the Willamette Valley of Oregon State, are thousands and thousands of acres, dedicated to growing the beautiful flower that we can't seem to get enough of: hops! Being that Oregon is also home to countless craft breweries, we're always on the hunt to see who's producing the best showcase of their fresh, local hops. Well, after searching high and low, we finally came across Hop Valley Brewing.

We are very excited to announce that Hop Valley Brewing will soon be available in BC! This amazing brewery definitely lives up to their name with their bold and hoppy beers, and they take pride in brewing all their beers with ingredients grown in Oregon and the Northwest.

When we first got in contact with the good folks of Hop Valley, they were operating a small brewpub in Springfield, Oregon. Luckily, they were also in the middle of expanding and building a new production facility. We recently had the chance to visit their new production brewery (still under construction) in Eugene, and we were blown away! We took one step into the facility and we realized we took their "expansion" very lightly.

Hop Valley's new production brewery is located in the Whiteaker district in Euguene, and it's a 30,000-square-foot building. Once it's complete, it will have quite the tasting room, as well as a beer garden outside. The new brewery is going to triple their brewing and storage capacity from 3,500 barrels a year to more than 12,000 barrels! On top of all that, they are also starting a barrel-aging program as well. We can't wait to see what the finish product is going to look like.

As far as the beers from Hop Valley go, they are absolute hoppy goodness. The Alpha Centauri Binary IPA and Alphadelic IPA receive 94 and 93 on RateBeer. Their Natty Red is a great, hopped up Imperial Red Ale, and they also have a nice Vanilla Porter (93 on Ratebeer). They specialize in hoppy beers but we feel that they have a lot to offer."

beer column

2013-05-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

here are my notes for yesterday's beer column on cbc radio one's on the coast with stephen quinn

Vancouver Craft Beer Week

This is the fourth annual VCBW, and runs this year from Friday, May 31st to Saturday June 8th. This year's theme is "All In", and when you see the line up of events, you are going to want to go all in!

VCBW is a jam-packed 9 day tour of all that is fabulous in the craft beer world here in Vancouver, including the craft beers we import from other places like the United States. Each day of the festival features a signature VCBW event. There are also 6 feature events and 6 walk up events.. The signature and feature events are ticketed, and you will need advance tickets to attend. Tickets are available through the website, vancouvercraftbeerweek.com and eventbrite.com. The walk-up events are just that, events that you show up to.

VCBW is like oktoberfest meets christmas meets cultural festival - there's beer, there's anticipation and there are events at venues all over town. It is my favourite week of the year, and I think most beer geeks feel the same way. People book off that week from work, clear their schedules and kiss the rest of their lives good-bye for those 9 glorious days. But the week is not just for the beer geek, it is for everyone who appreciates quality beer, delicious food, well-organized events and supporting their community.

The theme is a nod to all the new breweries opening up in the City - and how they're going all in despite the nay-sayers who tell them the City can't support another craft brewery, that the craft beer bubble is going to burst any day now. Sure, there will be a tipping point eventually, but the brewers don't believe it is here yet, and neither do the beer geeks and VCBW is just another way we show that the craft beer movement isn't slowing down any time soon.

Only a couple of the events are already sold out, but I would suggest getting your tickets to the remaining events soon! In particular I would suggest people get tickets to one of the festival days that close out VCBW, Friday June 7th and Saturday June 8th. The two day beer festival is being held outside Vancouver for the first time, but fear not, it will be easily accessible as it will be held in tents in the East parking lot of the River Rock Casino in Richmond - right on the Canada Line. What can you expect from this event? Lots of beer, of course, from more than 50 breweries from as near as East Van and as far as Belgium, and a dj spinning tunes to delight your ears and some of Vancouver’s best food carts on site to tempt your tastebuds. Events like these are a great introduction to craft beer as sample sizes are small, allowing for lots of tasting, and one-stop shopping with all the breweries together under one (tent) roof. (Friday 5- 10 p.m., or Saturday 2 - 7 p.m., tickets $35)

Also a great event for those of you not yet converted to craft beer is the 2nd annual Battle of the Bartender Beer Cocktail Competition at the Queen's Republic. At $25, this is the bargain of the festival! Bartenders create beer cocktails on the spot using a Driftwood Brewing limited release beer. You get to sample the cocktails, eat canapes, and down two driftwood pints - plus vote for your favourite cocktail. (Tuesday, June 4th from 6:00)

The other signature event I would suggest you get tickets to if you already know you are into craft beer and are a hop-head, is Brothers In Hop on Thursday, June 6th. Tickets are $75 which may sound a little steep, but let me tell you what you get for that $75: samples of beers from Ninkasi, Gigantic, Central City and Parallel 49; food to pair with those samples and a gift bag that includes giveaways from Dominion Barbers, which is valued at $75 - so there's no possible way for you to not get your money's worth. Additionally, the brewers from those four breweries will be on hand to talk about their hoppy brews. Since the other hoppy VCBW event, Hoppapalooza sells out in minutes every year, this is your chance to taste and discuss all things hoppy with other hop-heads. (at the Butcher & Bullock from 6-10 p.m.)

The Feature event I would recommend is the Portland Beer Week preview being held on Wednesday, June 5th at, appropriately enough, Portland Craft on Main Street. $49 gets you a taste of what Portland Beer Week has to offer, without having to travel to Portland. (5 - 10 p.m.) As of yesterday, there were only 23 tickets left for this one, so get on it!

The walk-up event I would recommend is at the Yaletown Brewpub on Monday June 3rd from 7-9:30 p.m.. Called “Join the Revolution" it will feature the book launch of Joe Wiebe's "Craft Beer Revolution" about B.C.'s breweries, and revolution themed casks from brewmaster Iain Hill and friends. Joe's book will be available for purchase at the low price of $19.95, which price includes one beer ticket.

Besides checking out the website for a listing of all the events, there are two other things I'd like to mention. Firstly, there is a special collaboration brew every year to celebrate Craft Beer Week. This year it is based on an old recipe of James Walton of Storm Brewing - the Red Sky Alt. Brewed by all of the brewers in the province who were available to attend at Parallel 49 on brew day, it will launch at the opening of VCBW and be available around town during the 9 day festival, proceeds of which will be donated to A Better Life Foundation who will use the funds to support the Save On Meats Meal Token program.

And last, but not least, check out the 'Specials" section of the VCBW website for specials that are running throughout the festival at places such as Donnelly Group Pubs, Dockside Brewpub, Romer's Burgers and the Regal Beagle.

quickly

2013-04-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

and i'm back!

a coupla links for you:

bc's beer boom - breweries in the province
and breweries in vancouver

jan zeschky's vcbw preview

and the official vcbw website so you can get your tickets!

mention of a pair of new beers:

Vancouver Island Brewery

APRIL 29, 2013

Media Release!

Greetings!

Art, music and beer - they just seem to go together...

Vancouver Island Brewery Releases Concert Series!

Available April 29th, 2013

Concert Series Bomber No. 1 Concert Series Bomber No. 2

Vicfest Festival Ale VI Musicfest Festival Ale

Why brew a Festival Ale?

This festival ale is brewed in celebration of the amazing art, music and culture here on Vancouver Island. We're proud to support local cultural events that strengthen our island's unique collection of bouncing souls and kindred spirits. These events are a part of our community and highlight the vibrant lifestyle we all enjoy here on Vancouver Island. So we brewed a beer with a rhythmic blend of malts and lightly riffed hops. A beer that is sessionable, thirst quenching and a sensory expanding experience. Turn it up and enjoy.

Taste: Clean, crisp and sessionable

Aroma: Rhythmic malt and riffed hops

Colour: Bright gold

Alc.: 5%

Size: 650 mL

The Events:

www.vicfest.ca

The festival location, St Ann's Academy, will provide a stunning, unique and true Island experience for both festival attendees and the participating artists and vendors. The weekend will be filled with culture, entertainment and samplings of select Breweries and Wineries from Vancouver Island. As the sun goes down, a full service beverage garden will open and the main stage will explode with the absolute best live music the Island has to offer. The 3rd annual V.I.C. Fest promises to be an amazing celebration of everything awesome from right here on Vancouver Island!

www.islandmusicfest.com

Vancouver Island MusicFest is 3 days & nights of amazing roots, blues and world music from across Canada and around the world! 6 stages & over 75 concerts, on-site riverside camping, kids activities, eco-education areas, workshops, unique crafts, tasty foods & so much more.

The 2013 Festival headliners include: Kris Kristofferson, Mary Chapin Carpenter & Marc Cohn, John Hiatt , Indigo Girls, Walk Off The Earth, Guitar Heros - Albert Lee, James Burton, Amos Garrett & David Wilcox, A Curva Da Cintura featuring Toumani Diabate.

vacation

2013-04-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

that's it!
i'm outta here!

i have to go back east for a week for some family stuff, so there won't be anything new on here until i am back in a week or so

but before i go....
the fundraiser for driftwood brewer tim fukushima at the biltmore on sunday afternoon was a huge success
raffle prizes galore, awesome cheap pints and the kind of spirit the craft beer community should be insanely proud of

(and if you happened to miss my show last week on cbc radio, you can still check it out by going to on the coast and picking the april 16 edition - i'm the last 7 minutes of the show)

link love

2013-04-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

we all knew it was true, drinking beer makes you smarter

new beer festival in toronto features some local favourites

yankee stadium pressured into removing craft beer sign on beer stand that was not selling craft beer
seen as a win by some, as proof that yankee stadium needs craft beer by others

14 geekiest beers on the market

3 gateway beer styles to convert mass market drinkers to craft

merely a sip of beer starts the good feelings - go dopamine!
(however, this is probably bad news for alcoholics)

cask

2013-04-19T14:33:00.002-07:00

the cask at the yaletown brewpub last night was stellar!
brown ale done with raspberries
the raspberries were subtle and not sweet
and they put such wonderful flavour into that delicious brown ale
definite win!

the cask at the railway on tuesday was also a good one
central city's amber ale dry-hopped with simcoe
so satisfying!

legacy liquor store

2013-04-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

fun and fabulous beers available at legacy liquor store in vancouver:

Lighthouse Brewing Barnacle Wheat IPA - $7.25The breweries on Vancouver Island certainly know what they’re doing, and this IPA is a perfect example. Golden in colour with a nose of spice and pepper, and a palate that continues to profile spice and floral hops, this dry piney IPA shines when enjoyed with Thai and Indian food.

Powell Street Brewery Belgian Witbier - $7.95
Local boys at Powell Street have produced a perfectly spiced beer for the burgeoning summer season, with orange peel, coriander, cardamom and ginger all coming together for a sweet Easter-bread aroma. An off-dry finish is preceded by ginger and spice on the palate.

Driftwood Brewery Clodhopper - $8.95
A traditional Belgian-style Dubbel brewed on beautiful Vancouver Island, Driftwood has gone the extra mile with this brew using locally grown malt from the Sannich peninsula. Who’d have thought you could find a bit of Belgium right here on our doorstep.

beer column

2013-04-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

in case you missed me on the radio last night
here are my notes from my "spring beers" chat with stephen quinn:

The warmer weather makes you want to drink a lighter beer, to start putting aside those stouts and porters in favour of beers with crisper finishes and flavours that dance on the tongue. This is traditionally the time of year when lagers come to the forefront of beer consumption. I think the word of the season moves from "comforting" or "warming" to "refreshing"

There are two traditional beer styles that are associated with Spring. Maibock, or May bock, which is brewed specifically for springtime consumption and Saisons which, before the invention of refrigeration, were brewed in the Spring to be consumed over the summer when weather got too hot to support brewing.

Maibocks are light in color with that refreshing lager crispness, but they have a heavier body and generally higher alcohol content than other light colored beer styles like Pilsner. You’ll be hard pressed to find many Maibocks about, it isn’t a style we see brewed a lot on the West Coast. Phillips brewed one back in 2010… If you really want to try one, Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale is an example of the style.

Saisons on the other hand, those you can find all over. Saison used to be considered a dying style, but it has seen a huge resurgence in the past few years and saisons are now easy to find – both imported versions and locally brewed ones.

Originating in the farmhouse breweries of Wallonia, the French area of Belgium, saisons are a very versatile style - including blond and brown coloured ales, heavily bittered or refreshingly tart, well-hopped or gently spiced. Each farmhouse had its own recipe and flavour twist, which has carried over into the saisons on offer today, so you’re going to want to try more than one to see if this is a style for you! The highest rated imported saison is Saison Dupont, which you can find at private liquor stores. Locally, some fine examples are Lighthouse’s Deckhand Belgian Saison and Driftwood’s Farmhouse Saison.
Other styles that have become associated with Spring are:

Kolsch, which is a light beer, sort of a cross between a pilsner and a lager, with a little spice character and a significant but not overwhelming bitter backbone. Freya’s Gold from Odin Brewing in Seattle is on tap at St. Augustine’s right now.

Spiced Beer: Wit beers from Belgium are spiced with coriander and orange peel, making them light and refreshing while still full of flavour, like Driftwood's White Bark. Also ginger beers are zesty and refreshing, like Phillips Ginger beer.

Fruit Beer: Many breweries release seasonal fruit beers in the springtime, often based on wheat beer recipes, offering flavors from raspberry to peach to mango. When picking a fruit beer remember the fresher the better so pick one that was brewed nearby or, even better, fresh on tab at your local brewpub, like Granville Island's Raspberry Wheat.

White IPA: A new kid on the style block, this is a blending of two styles: belgian wit with india pale ale. The white ipa is perfect for spring drinking as it tangy from all of those belgian spice characteristics, balanced out with ipa bitterness. Kind of like spring weather that's sunny one day, cold and rainy the next, its a little bit of everything. A good example of this emerging style is the Deschutes Chainbreaker IPA.

Dopplebock: which played an important role in one spring-time ritual - Lent. The story is that the monks of St. Francis of Paula of Munich originally brewed the chunky beer known as Salvator to provide them sustenance while they observed Lent by fasting. When the beer found its way to the general population it became known as double bock. Again, not such a popular style in the Northwest and will be hard to find locally.

Several local breweries deliver their Spring seasonals to the usual craft beer establishments like the Alibi Room and St. Augustine's, so you can go try them side by side in a taster flight, or commit to a whole pint of something extra refreshing.

CAMRA Vancouver also has a Spring Sessional event at the Portside Pub on May 4th that will feature many of the local breweries showing off their "sessionable" beers. Sessionability being measured by the beers being 4.5% abv and under. There are still tickets available for this event, but they are going quickly so if you want to attend, I'd buy those tickets asap! You can get more details about that camravancouver.ca

Also on the horizon is Vancouver Craft Beer Week - May 31 through June 8. Tickets go on sale on April 22nd. I'll be talking about all the events on my next column in two weeks' time

Some Spring beers that I love are: Conrad, formerly of Steamworks', ginger beer, so I hope that Steamworks will be brewing that again this Spring even though Conrad has moved on to Brassworks; and Iain Hill of Yaletown Brewpub's raspberry wheat ale. That one is usually available in the summer though, and Iain assures me that if he can find the black raspberries for the ale, he'll be brewing it again this year.

I am also looking forward to trying Tree Brewing’s new “Character” 12 can pack – it has two new brews that sound perfect for Spring drinking: Groove Session Ale and Wild Ruby Raspberry Ale, alongside the established Beach Blonde Lager and Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale. That launches this month so be on the lookout for it.

Beer Picks:

Moving on now to my beer picks, here are some spring beers that are currently available:

Parallel 49's Hay Fever saison is on tap at several places around town, as well as in bombers available at the brewery and liquor stores.

Ninkasi Spring Reign Ale is often on tap at Portland Craft, and available in bombers at private liquor stores

Deschutes River Ale - on tap at St. Augustine's

on the coast

2013-04-16T12:58:00.001-07:00

hey, hey!
its one of those tuesdays!
the ones where i get to talk beer with stephen quinn on cbc radio one
at 5:50 this evening i'll be talking about spring beers

link love

2013-04-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

spring beer festivals in the united states

21 useful information charts - this is one hell of a great resource for many things, including beer glassware and wine/food pairings

vancouver island brewing gets philanthropic with their beachcomber beer

two new dead frog brews - northwest ale and imperial stout

they're not beer snobs over at brewpublic!

randy shore's podcast on vancouver's craft beer scene

jan zeschky on lighthouse brewing's new direction

link love

2013-04-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

lots going on in the beeriverse!

sierra nevada's founder, ken grossman, in a nice long interview

three craft beer trends to watch: collaboration brews, expanding industry means more jobs and women are embracing craft

the big boys are running scared - and taking over craft breweries, when they're not too busy coming up with new "craft" products

part one of the lovely lynn's blog on converting your friends into craft beer drinkers

u.s. beer is inspiring british brews

legacy liquor store

2013-04-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

new and fun beers available at legacy liquor store in vancouver:

Phillips Double Dragon Red Ale - $6.95
A gem from Vancouver Island, this Imperial Red Ale pours dark amber with a frothy head. Grapefruit and malt dominate the nose while nuts and toast are found on the palate. Medium-bodied and textured, it satisfies the greatest thirst.

Fort Garry Kona Imperial Stout - $7.55
From Winnipeg, Manitoba, this roasty Imperial Stout boasts notes of coffee and malt to match its dark mocha appearance, with more caramel and coffee taking charge in the flavour department. Medium-bodied and smooth, this Brewmaster Series beer is a solid contender in the realm of stouts.

Phillips Twisted Oak Barrel Reserve Red Ale - $7.85
Aged in freshly emptied rum barrels to give it a deep amber hue, this brew wraps lightly roasted malts in sugarcane sweetness. It’s not often that a beer like this comes around, so don’t miss out. Enjoy in a snifter at cellar temperature.

phillips sees red

2013-04-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

Double Down on Red

2 seasonal red ale releases

April 11th, 2013 - We doubled down, spun the brewlette wheel, and landed on red--but these two red ale seasonal releases are no gamble.

The Double Dragon Imperial Red Ale is back in the ring to go another round with your taste buds, while the Twisted Oak Red Ale, carefully crafted and slowly conditioned in freshly emptied rum barrels, makes its debut.

On Thursday April 11th from 4pm-6pm, we'll be hosting a special tasting of this primary coloured pair, so don't gamble on what may be your only chance to try these special releases from the tap.

Here's a little breakdown of each brew:

Twisted Oak Red Ale - 6.8% - 650mL

This Twisted Oak special release is matured in freshly emptied rum barrels, where it transforms from fiery red colour to a deep amber, and is wrapped in soft roast flavours and velvety sugarcane sweetness.

But unlike its Scotch-Ale cousin, this Twisted Oak release is only available for a limited time at craft-focused private liquor stores. Best enjoyed in a snifter at cellar temp (4C).

Double Dragon Imperial Red Ale - 8.2% - 650mL

The Double Dragon Imperial Red Ale is back once again! It strikes quickly with roundhouse hop kicks that are balanced by a formidable 8.2% rich malt body. Ultimately this majestic beer, brewed deep copper red, is big enough to slay even the strongest thirst.

Available for a limited time at craft-friendly private liquor stores and the Phillips Brewing dojo.

calendar alert

2013-04-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

put the following into your calendar:

11th annual EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival

Friday May 24 - 2-9pm

Saturday May 25 - 10am-9pm

Sunday May 26 - 10am-5pm

BC Place Stadium, 777 Pacific Boulevard, Vancouver BC V6B 4Y8

Info and tickets: www.eat-vancouver.com

Tickets: Adults $16 ($14 online), Seniors $14, Youth 13-16 $9, Free for kids 12 & under

Facebook Page: Facebook.com/eat.vancouver

Twitter @EAT_Vancouver, #eatbuzz

on the coast

2013-04-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

in case you missed me last tuesday on cbc radio one's on the coast talking with stephen quinn about all the different sizes of bottled beer, and why the bomber is not, in fact, the wine-ification of beer, you can still catch the show by clicking here and choosing april 2nd.

the beer segment is right at the end - fast forward to about 7 minutes before the end if you just want to listen to me!

link love

2013-04-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

can't-miss beer cities around the world according to zagat
and three of them are in america
no canadian cities made the cut

rick green tries to find good beer on his travels
or, why cheap cold beer is just that

imagine a place where the city actually helps a brewery grow
st. paul minnesota is that place

new beer cans with big lids
are you going to drink from them??

camra saves the growler!

2013-04-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

errr, well, if the ndp gets elected camra will have saved the growler from an unfair taxing policy
read all about it on camra's website

legacy liquor store

2013-04-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

fun beers available at legacy liquor store in vancouver:

Parallel 49 Brewing – From East Van With Love - $13.75A collaboration between Parallel 49 and Gigantic Brewing is responsible for this Bourbon Barrel-Aged Maple Stout. Rich and dark, with notes of maple subdued by barrel-aging, makes this beer a must for your cellar.

Alameda Brewing – Bad Bunny - $7.75
Easter may be in the rearview, but Alameda is leading the pack with Bad Bunny, a lightly malted and hopped Cream Ale with subtle malt and fruit on the nose. On the palate fruit dominates, making this an excellent Cream Ale by any standard.

Tree Brewing – Captivator Doppelbock - $7.75
Once a staple of fasting monks, this style of beer has recently exploded in popularity in the modern world. Sweet, malty and lightly hopped, this strong ale is full of dark fruits and biscuit, making it an excellent variation of a European classic.

beer column

2013-04-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

my notes from yesterday's on the coast beer column
on the subject of bombers:

i have talked a lot about growlers, those lovely 64oz bottles you can fill at a brewery and take home with you to enjoy, but what are all the other types of beer bottles called? and why do we need so many different sizes?

growlers are the big boys of beer bottles. weighing in at 64 oz or 1.89 litres

next down are what are often called "growlitas" or "growlettes", weighing in at a litre. at places that are willing to fill these bottles, they are treated the same as a growler. Tofino Brewing in Tofino offer growlitas as well as growler fills.

also in this category are howe sound's swing-top 1 litre bottles, available for retail sale at Howe Sound Brewery and most liquor stores. the advantage of buying this size of bottle with a reclosable top is being able to pick your serving size of beer and save the rest for later. Also very good for sharing. The bottles can be returned for deposit or used for home brewing or anything else you might have need of a 1 litre recloseable glass bottle for. However I am not aware of any breweries who will refill these bottles for you.

750 ml bottles are not really used locally, but check out the import section at your local private beer store and I'll bet you see a few.

next size down is the 650 ml "bomber" bottles. i'll get to why more and more local breweries are bottling some of their beers in bombers rather than six packs of the 341 ml bottles in a moment. suffice it to say that bombers are a great size for sharing. Several restaurants that carry these size bottles do label them as share sized.

and finally we have the 341 ml bottles that make up a six pack - in all sorts of styles and colours. like the stubby - remember the stubby? Stubbies were used almost exclusively in Canada from 1962 to 1986 as part of a standardization effort intended to reduce breakage, and the cost of sorting bottles when they were returned by customers. Due to their nostalgic value, stubbies were reintroduced by a number of Canadian craft brewers in the early 2000s. These days Jamaican import Red Stripe beer is probably the only stubby bottle you'll see our West in North America, however, if you're in Ontario you'll find them at craft breweries Brick Brewery in Waterloo and Heritage Brewery in Carleton Place.

The industry standard bottle in North America is the longneck - a type of beer bottle with a long neck. Longnecks have a uniform capacity, height, weight and diameter and can be reused on average 16 times. The long neck offers a long cushion of air to absorb the pressure of carbonation to reduce the risk of exploding. The longneck also provides a handle for drinking directly from the bottle without transferring body heat to the beer from one's hand. The US ISB longneck is 355 ml. In Canada, in 1992, the large breweries agreed to all use a 341 mL longneck bottle of standard design (named AT2), thus replacing the traditional stubby bottle and an assortment of brewery-specific long-necks which had come into use in the mid-1980s.

other beer sizes not offered in the lower mainland are quarts and nips, two pints (1.136 ml) and 7oz respectively.

So why if there is an industry standard bottle do so many craft breweries design their own bottles?

the industry standard was set by the large breweries, via the Beer Store in Ontario, which also happens to be owned by the large breweries. craft brewers stick to the 341 ml standard size, and generally go with long neck brown glass bottles. But they all choose their own finishing touches on the bottle and labeling. Its a competitive market and you want to stand out, both via your stellar product inside the bottle and via the bottle itself. Serious breweries also use brown bottles as they offer the best uv protection for the beer. it takes mere seconds of bright sunlight exposure to skunk the beer, a clear bottle offers no protection at all, and green is really no better. Even fluorescent lights can skunk beer in a matter of days.

As to why craft brewers are leaning towards bottling in bombers - why not?

Larger bottles of beer have been around longer than six packs have. There are benefits to all of the different sizes of bottles that beer comes in, and a market for each of them. Many of the bombers are filled with bigger beers, those with a higher alcohol percentage. It makes more sense to buy one large bottle to share between friends or enjoy over a longer period of time than it does to buy a six pack. At a restaurant, why not order a bomber? You can share it like you would a bottle of wine, or you can drink multiple glasses of it over the course of the whole meal. If a brewery has a new beer, what better way to launch it in bottles than a bomber? That way consumers can buy one to try it out without the commitment of a six pack if its not to their liking.

It is also an advantage to the breweries - to put beer in six-packs, breweries need to be able to commit to having it regularly available in large volumes. With single bottle releases, breweries can change their offerings more frequently. It also gives them additional presence on the shelf. You can fit three bombers into the same space as one six-pack.

A recent article in The New York Times titled "Craft Beer's Larger Aspirations Cause a Stir" has created a stir in the craft beer community. In the piece, author Clay Risen writes about craft brewers putting their beers in bigger bottles. Risen said, "The trend toward large bottles is part of what is being called the "wine-ification" of beer, the push by many brewers to make their product as respectable to pair with braised short ribs as is a nice Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and at a price to match. Bottles sell for as much as $30 in stores and much more on restaurant menus." He even suggested that people don't like the 650 ml bottles because its too much beer.

Wine-ification? ooooh, them's fighting words. Several big names in beer took issue with the article, including Brooklyn Brewery's Brewmaster Garrett Oliver asked the New York Times to open the article to comments, which it did. Beer writer Jay Brooks also weighed in on the comments and wrote his own piece about it as well. from my scroll through the articles comments, all of them were negative.

Beer is not trying to be wine in general, but particularly not through the increased use of 650 ml bombers. However, there are some complaints in the beer community that bombers cost more than six packs on an ounce for ounce basis. Very few of the beers I drink come in both formats so its not as noticeable, but when they do, yes, you are paying more per ounce for the bomber. Marketing is everything! I will still happily buy bombers though, as the product inside is generally worth the price.

One last note, if you are afraid that you can't finish a bomber of beer on your own, and have no one to share it with, never fear! Use a bottle stopper. These devices go on top of the bottle and can help save the carbonation for a day or two.

My beer picks:

some lovely seasonals that are out now:

for sour-lovers: Driftwood's Belle Royale

for saison lovers: Evil Twin's Ryan and the Beaster Bunny

for ipa lovers: Phillips' Cabin Fever black ipa