Posts

Showing posts from July, 2013

press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRAFT BEER TAKES ON CHILLIWACK CHILLIWACK, BC— The arts and crafts programs at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre are about to get a big boost. A much needed fundraiser has been launched by the Chilliwack Arts & Cultural Centre Society Board of Directors, entitled the Fraser Valley CULTURE & CRAFT BEER Festival , debuting Saturday, November 30, 2013. A unique focus on craft beer will highlight the event, alongside local cuisine and Chilliwack rockers, The Lounge Hounds, sure to create a ridiculously good time. For the past 50 years, beers in the hands of the average Canadian have been put there by mega corporations with the wrong focus. Concentrating on how much they’re selling instead of what they are selling. Over the last several years, craft brewing has become the fastest growing beer segment in Canada. Craft brewing is innovative, full of curiousity, collaboration, and tradition. Craft brewers make their community a better place. For the f

on the coast

if you missed last week's cbc radio beer column fear not!  you haven't missed out follow the link , choose july 23 and either listen to the whole broadcast or fast forward to the last 10 minutes to listen to me, me, me talking about craft beer and #IPAday and, as a preview to next week's beer column about gluten-free beers here are the beers i have been sampling: harvester brewing ipa (portland) harvester brewing pale ale brasseurs sans gluten brewing's glutenberg 8 (montreal) estrella damm's daura (barcelona) world top's against the grain (uk) green's dubbel dark ale (belgium)

link love

parallel 49 is just over a year old, but they've already expanded several times and brewmaster graham with has become a media darling interactive beer labels! craft beer lounge update from inside vancouver what's in your beer?  some ingredients in macrobrewed beer may surprise you yet another reason to drink craft beer instead (suggestion:  gloss over the part where she talks about the evils of alcohol on diets and go straight for the scary chart at the bottom of the article) my friend lynn's article for the bc craft beer news about how to pair your craft beer with food the best patios in vancouver, some of which actually serve craft beer beer education in vancouver get schooled while you drink beer that is a win-win situation if i ever saw one! collaboration brews - where creativity meets marketing (and the true spirit of craft brewing comes alive)

friday frivolity!

Image

legacy liquor store

new and exciting beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver (i will be tasting the gluten-free harvester pale ale (compliments of beerthirst) with stephen quinn on cbc radio's on the coast on august 6th.  buy a bottle and taste along with us!) Longwood Brewery - Berried Alive - $4.15 A tasty craft beer from Vancouver Island but with a twist, coming to us from Nanaimo as opposed to the craft beer kingdom that is Victoria, our province’s great capital. Dark red in colour, this beer boasts a nose of tart raspberry and mild malts, while on the palate that tart raspberry is backed up by more malt to create a refreshing fruit brew. Chris Bonnallie | Beer Supervisor | Legacy Liquor Store Lighthouse Brewing - Numbskull Imperial IPA - $7.55 Gems from Vancouver Island just keep on coming! Fresh from the tanks of Lighthouse Brewing comes Numbskull, an Imperial IPA that pours a beautiful amber with a small white head. Tons of pine, citrus and grapefruit are found on the nose, while on the

cheap craft beer in vancouver

vancity buzz offers this list of cheap craft beer in vancouver it is a pretty good list, but it does not correctly identify that a pint is 20oz and doesn't list serving sizes of a lot of the sleeves however, i figure if you're looking for a beer bargain, its a great list of places to try and you can figure out for yourself where the best deal is (and when you do, tell me please!) on a related note i handed out my first camra fuss card last night what's a fuss card you ask? well, its a card that camra vancouver members can use to inform beer sellers that they are not living up to their provincially mandated duty to properly list serving sizes for their beers last night's card giving was at windjammer on commercial drive who advertise on their sandwich board and their menu that they serve 20 oz pints when the beer arrived, it was in a branded sleeve, not a pint glass this is not the first time i have been served less than 20oz there the beer is cheap at

beer column

my notes from last night's on the coast beer column: Defining craft beer is a little like defining art. There is a broad description of an easily graspable concept, but it defies a precise definition. And like art, the "craft" of beer is often in the eye of the beholder. Wikipedia acknowledges the hard-to-pin down quality of craft beer in its entry for "craft brewing": The definition is not entirely consistent, but it typically applies to relatively small, independently-owned commercial breweries that employ traditional brewing methods and emphasize flavor and quality. The term is usually reserved for breweries established since the 1970s, but may be used for older breweries with a similar focus. But who is defining "small", "independently owned" and "traditional"? Craftbeer.com is the website of the American Brewer's Association. The Brewers Association has defined "craft brewer" so the organization can provide statis

on the coast

it is one of my cbc radio tuesdays! i will be on radio one with stephen quinn at 5:50 today talking about craft beer and #IPAday on the coast then i will be going to the railway club to avail myself of the cask of driftwood naughty hildegard esb with mosaic hops if that sounds like fun to you, you could go in time to listen to the show my fan club (aka beer geek friends) have a listening party in the back room join them!  so long as they have craft beer in front of them, they do not bite (the cask at tap and barrel also sounds good... might have to try to hit both places! tree brewing blend of 2/3 hophead ipa and 1/3 black ipa)

legacy

new beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver: Deschutes Brewery - Class of ’88 Barley Wine - $12.55 25 years ago a beer renaissance occurred across the country and a passion for craft beer ignited. In honour of those 25 years of delicious beer, Deschutes, in collaboration with North Coast and Rogue, have opened a door to the past. Deep orange in colour with notes of caramel, pine and citrus on the nose, this brew offers more caramel, pine and citrus on the palate. A tasty treat from ’88. Conor Marshall | Beer Department | Legacy Liquor Store Old Yale Brewing - D. O. Ale - $7.55 In tribute to the Vancouver punk band D.O.A., this collaboration with CBC music and Old Yale Brewing Co. hits all the right notes (insert rimshot here). Pouring a deep brown in colour with sweet caramel, molasses and toasted malts on the nose, it follows up with honey, brown sugar and nut on the palate, with a little bit of smoke playing backup. Enjoy with your favourite D.O.A album. Jordan Cran | Floor Su

#IPAday

Image
#IPAday is august 1st the beer wench has decreed it to be so! can't say i'm wild about this year's logo but i sure am looking forward to dedicating my day to the love of ipa (now i just have to plan an event...)

on the coast

if you would like to listen or re-listen to last week's beer column on cbc radio's on the coast, just follow the link, click on the july 9th show and fast-forward to the end i am on about 10 minutes before the end of the show talking about how wheat gets into non-wheat styled beers and about the soon-to-open 33 acres and deep cove breweries

new belgium

now here's a good news press release!! New Belgium Brewing to Distribute in British Columbia Maker of Fat Tire to open in Canada this September FORT COLLINS, CO – July 16, 2013 - New Belgium Brewing, brewer of a wide variety of award-winning beers including Fat Tire Amber Ale, will be available in British Columbia this September. The brewery has signed an agreement with Beerthirst to serve as its agent and will officially kick off its entry into Canada at the Great Canadian Beer Fest on September 6, 2013. New Belgium will begin selling beer at retail locations three days later. The brewery will initially roll out six-packs and draft of Fat Tire, Ranger IPA and its current seasonal release. Ninety days later, New Belgium will begin to release limited selections from its Lips of Faith, Hop Kitchen and Trip series, as well as Rampant Imperial IPA. “For our first adventure in exporting outside the U.S., British Columbia makes perfect sense,” said New Belgium Brewing Sales Co-Pi

link love

this one should actually be on link hate instead of link love yet another pandering to the concept that women don't love beer i guess what can you expect from a women's magazine... but still its articles like this that keep the stupid stereotype alive womens health magazine on the best beers for women here's a much better link - to a helpful how-to introduce beer to the not-yet-converted for all humans with tastebuds! and a half decent post about orval's new female head brewer do it yourself - make a bottle cap table top looking for cheap beer? one man's list of the worst to the least worst pbr ranks at number 5 (that's the fifth least worst) beercation destinations across the u s of a but these aren't beer towns you should visit these are beer inns you can stay, golf, spa and drink at the donnelly group's 30 days of ipa in vancouver what's in a beer name or, when is it okay to send a cease and desist letter to another brew

legacy liquor store

new beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver: Russell Brewing - Summer Daze Saison - $6.95 Russell Brewing constantly churns out unique and delicious beers and their Summer Daze keeps the trend alive. A traditional Belgian Farmhouse Saison, right down to the Belgian candy syrup found within, this brew pours a hazy gold in colour with notes of spice in its bouquet. More peppery spice is found on the palate with a dry crisp finish. Perfection! Driftwood Brewery - Naughty Hildegard - $7.45 Here’s to Hildy! In honour of the supposed Benedictine Nun, Driftwood has put together a little ESB for us to enjoy. Copper in colour with bread, English hop and caramel aromatics, on the palate more caramel and toffee can be found accompanied by earth and citrus hop. A flavourable ESB by all accounts. Phillips Brewing - Kaleidoscope - $6.95 A brand new beer from the folks at Phillips, in a brand new bottle to boot. Straw yellow in colour and hopped with Mosaic, this IPA boasts intense notes of tr

friday frivolity!

Image

beer column

Image
my notes from last night's beer column on cbc radio's on the coast with stephen quinn: A couple of weeks ago CBC received a e-mail from a listener, Dave Price from Maple Ridge, directed to me, their Craft Beer Columnist "I am looking for a great wheat-free ale that is very "Hoppy". Sadly, I cannot handle my old favorite "Hophead" because of the wheat. Perhaps I can buy hops and add them to my wheat free ale?"   And here's my response: India pale ales, or ipas, aren't supposed to have wheat in them. The four ingredients of beer are water, hops, barley and yeast. There are wheat beers, like hefeweizens and wit beers, which are supposed to contain wheat. When other beer styles, that aren't specifically wheat beers, contain wheat we refer to that as being an adjunct ingredient. Often macrobrewers will use adjuncts to save on ingredient prices, adjuncts like wheat or corn or rice, which are less expensive than barley. Adjunct

on the coast

i'll be talking beer on cbc radio one's on the coast at 5:50 this afternoon i'll be on with stephen quinn, talking about wheat-free beers and the new breweries just opened in vancouver 690 am 88.1 fm

link love

need to cool down? how about some beer ice cream ?! do you really understand ibus? what international bittering units really mean do you know the difference between porter and stout? is the reign of the shaker glass over? wish you knew when all the beer festivals in canada were being held? your wish is canadian beer news' command! shout out to r&b brewing who's labels got mentioned twice in this article about the top beer packaging (and to cbc's ben didier to designed the canadian band beer one) beer cans  making a come back  

for your consideration

vancouverites, please visit barleymowat.com and give some consideration to sending a letter to vancouver city council in support of brewery lounges chuck hallett has crafted a letter, all you have to do is click and sign your name but you gotta do it today for it to count at tomorrow's council vote for more background information on why this matters, please visit paddy treavor's blog

legacy

its all about the 8 wired at legacy this week new beers available at the vancouver liquor store: 8 Wired Brewing - Fresh Hopwired IPA - $10.55 Straight from the southern hemisphere brewed with three hop varieties (Pacific Jade, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin) fresh off the vine, this beer pours hazy amber in the glass with pine and herbal aromas on the nose. A silky body paired with slight sweetness and a vibrant finish help finish this fine brew off. Chris Bonnaillie | Beer Supervisor | Legacy Liquor Store Muskoka Brewery - Summer Weiss (6-Pack) - $15.70 Hark! Craft Beer from the vibrant province of Ontario, brewed to capture the essence of summer in a bottle. Pale yellow and hazy when poured from the bottle, this one hits all the right notes when it comes to Hefe: cloves, banana and citrus on the nose with more cloves, bright citrus and spicy yeast on the palate. Conor Marshall | Beer Team | Legacy Liquor Store 8 Wired Brewing - Mighty Imperial Ale - $10.55 Another fabulous craft be

all beer all the time

so much beer so little time to devote to blogging about it woe is me! alibi room - wednesday: - wrath of khan cask - as usual, tariq's brew is ambrosia!  this one is being touted as his "swan song" because it was the last cask he made at big ridge.  but fear not, its not really the end of an era - tariq is still with the mark james group, he's just at yaletown now instead of big ridge - deschutes fresh squeezed ipa - mosaic and citra?  together?  you know this beer is a good one i need to get some bottles of it!  badly! - gigantic ipa - i love ben love! - four winds ipa - i love it when a new brewery makes such great beer right off the gun yaletown - thursday: - espresso stout cask - i wasn't feeling stouty, so i just had a sample - damned fine cask - raspberry wheat ale - summer in a glass! those black raspberries impart a tonne of flavour without too much sweetness.  i'm not a fruity wheaty beer kind of person, but this one i simply adore

all me all the time

in case you just can't get enough of me (and beer!) re-listen to last week's beer column on cbc radio's on the coast  - follow the link, click on the june 25th show and fast-forward to the end i am on about 10 minutes before the end of the show, at the 2:18:30 mark talking about summer beers and blowing stephen quinn's mind with the stiegl radler   now available - the inaugural issue of the bc craft beer news check out the fabulous columns by bc craft beer lovers including me! available at your favourite craft beer location

link love

happy canada day! ultimate bike and beer companion brewvana tours in portland (in case you're too overwhelmed to map out your own!) just how many breweries are there in america? brewers association says that as of june 10th it is more than 2500 the rise of craft beer tourism in vancouver does british columbia need its own beer style? wanna catch a mariner's game? wanna drink craft beer while you do? parallel 49 brewing has no plans to slow down their expansion what's next for beer legislation ? paddy treavor wants you to get involved!