beernesday

my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio one's on the coast with stephen quinn with my look ahead to 2016: After exhaustive research, I believe that 2015 closed with 113 craft breweries in B.C. - except, in talking to Joe Wiebe, I'm questioning that number.  He says that if you exclude all the shadow brands, contract brewers without their own brewery and multiple locations, the number is actually exactly 100.  So I'm going with the number of craft breweries in B.C. is somewhere between 100 and 113 at the end of 2015. What I do know is that 20 new craft breweries opened in B.C. in 2015.  5 of those were in Vancouver, 8 in the Lower Mainland and 5 on Vancouver Island. And there are more breweries in the works for B.C. in 2016! The Georgia Straight says that there will be 15 breweries opening in 2016, and The Growler puts the number at more like 20.   The ones that I am aware of who are close to opening are:  Faculty Brewing...

Mt. Pleasant Series Limited Release - Kettle Sour Export Stout.  R&B Brewing Co, the original East Van craft brewery, has ventured into the world of sour beer with their latest limited release. As part of the Mt. Pleasant Series, the new Kettle Sour Export Stout is a unique addition to this growing-in-popularity craft beer choice. THE ORIGINAL BEER. Often thought of as the original beer, 'sour' was the way all beer tasted in early times. This was due to the bacteria and yeast that organically ended up in the beer.  When pasteurization and refrigeration came along, the sourness was removed from the beer during the brewing process. With the trend-shift towards crafted and artisanal food and brews, sour beer has had a resurgence, and has grown in popularity in BC, and all over North America. WHAT IS KETTLE ...

    The Hunt for Red October is On at Steamworks Vancouver, B.C. (September 21st, 2015)  - With the inevitable arrival of fall, beer drinkers are seeking out increasingly robust brews to keep them warm. You can't do better than Steamworks Heroica Red Ale: A Canadian Brewing Awards gold medal award winning, highly drinkable Red Ale that is back to save the day for its second year. Launched last year in a 650ml format, Heroica will be available this year in six-packs and in the Steamworks Mash-Up mixer (with Pale Ale & Black Angel IPA) at liquor stores across the province, or on-tap at local pubs and restaurants as well as the Steamworks Brewpub and Steamworks Brewery & Taproom in Burnaby. Steamworks Red Ale is a heroically sessionable red ale with beautiful citrus and pine notes from the additions of centennial, citra, and simcoe hops. Smooth and velvety in the mouth with toasted malts giving it a medium body with hints of roast...

New Belgium Brewing’s Surprisingly Sessionable Hop Tart is an Easy Drinking Summer Sour Latest Hop Kitchen release delivers a tropical twist on the American sour ale Ft. Collins, Colo., June 19, 2015 – New Belgium Brewing is celebrating summer with a sessionable, fruity spin on the typical American sour. Hop Tart is New Belgium’s latest Hop Kitchen offering, blending Belgian Pale Malt from the Colorado Malting Company, with tart lactobacillus and fruity hops. The result is a refreshing, easy drinker, perfect for fun in the sun. The beer is available on draft only in New Belgium markets. Hop Tart’s lactobacillus offers just the slightest hint of sour that propels bursts of passion fruit, guava and pineapple, courtesy of hefty Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy and Experimental Hop 522 dry-hopping. “We developed Hop Tart based on our Snapshot brewing process, which is a unique way of souring wort,” said Matty Gilliland (aka Matty Smooth), brewing process analyst at New Belgium Brewing. “It...

i'll be on with kirk williams at 5:50 p.m. today on cbc radio one's on the coast talking about beer! and here's what i had to say two weeks ago about summer beers: 5 summer craft beer recommendations from our beer columnist Here's another summer crop ready to harvest a little bit early By On the Coast,  CBC News   Posted: May 29, 2015 6:57 PM PT  Last Updated: May 29, 2015 6:58 PM PT Summer is the traditional season of Hefeweizen wheat beers, fruit ales and crisp lagers, like Moon Under Water Brewery's session lager Light Side of the Moon. (Moon Under Water Brewery) Facebook Twitter Reddit Google Share Email Related Stories Vancouver Craft Beer Week events selling out fast Craft beer credentials are not always what they appear It seems brewers are pushing out the summer crop of beers a little early this year.  On the Coast beer columnist Rebecca Wh...

from stone: Our Favorite Overseas-Inspired  IPA Returns! You may recall the herbaceous, bitingly hoppy fund-raising IPA we brewed four years ago to help provide relief for Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims. And if you do, we know you loved it every bit as much as we did. We originally brewed Baird/Ishii/Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA  with our friends Toshi Ishii, owner of Ishii Brewing Co. in Guam, and Bryan Baird of Japan's Baird Brewing Company , and we couldn't be happier to announce that it's back with the original crew on board. The recipe has been updated slightly, using a new Australian hop variety, Helga, in place of 2011's New Zealand Pacifica hops, but the 2015 version is still packed with all of the unique flavor combinations that you loved the first time around. This spectacular, tea-infused IPA will set sail beginning Monday, January 12. You can prepare for its arrival by watching the new video  and reading up on the tast...

here are my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio's on the coast: As the year draws to a close, let's recap the beer happenings in 2014. 2014 has been quite the year for craft beer!   So far 20 new breweries have opened up across the province. I’d like to welcome the newest Vancouver craft brewery:   S trangefellows!   Strangefellows is now open on Clark Drive in East Vancouver .   They are still jumping through hoops to get their lounge endorsement, so currently they’re just serving up growler fills.   Iain Hill, formerly of Yaletown BrewPub, is the brewmaster and he is well-known in the craft beer world for his incredible sour beers.   Strangefellows will have a barrel program, so look for sour beers from them in 2015.   Currently they have a deliciously hoppy pale ale on tap that is a mere 3.8%, a wit, a lager and a brown ale. Also freshly opened are Category 12 Brewing in Central Saanich and Sherwood Mountain Brewhouse in Terrac...

i will be doing a special appearance on cbc's on the coast tomorrow afternoon at 5:40 to take your calls and to help stephen quinn give away two tickets to the bc beer awards that include two of the beer classes as well as a guided tour of the tasting festival by none other than me, me, me! so get your beer questions ready and cross your fingers! 690 am 88.1 fm in vancouver and now, here's more from the cbc website that i didn't see at the time of publishing! What is a session beer? On the Coast's beer columnist Rebecca Whyman takes a closer look at the session beer By On the Coast, CBC News Posted: May 02, 2014 9:38 AM PT Last Updated: May 02, 2014 9:52 AM PT CAMRA's Spring Sessional Cask Festival will feature some of the best local breweries and their low-alcohol beers. (Central City Brewers and Distillers) What is a sessional beer? 6:55 On The Coast What is a sessional beer? 0:00 / 6:55...

filling my quota of new places to write about for the upcoming edition of the craft beer news, i finally dragged my ass over to main street brewing it's not that far from my home or my work for that matter sometimes i'm just lazy and honestly that's the only reason i hadn't managed to get over there yet i'd heard the space was fabulous and the beers well brewed i meant to get there sooner... regardless, i went there on monday evening and experienced the fabulousness that is vancouver's newest tasting room for myself i do like their slogan and the exposed brick and duct work and reclaimed wood bar   i began with a paddle of the four cask conditioned beers which of course i neglected to write down... so let's hope my memory is accurate! 1. bonsai belgian ipa with sorachi ace hops 2. kellerbier 3. session ipa 4. smoked porter   my drinking buddies found the smoked porter too smoky for them i found it just the right amount of...