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Showing posts from March, 2017

beer column

my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio one's on the coast with stephen quinn: I'm feeling optimistic enough about the arrival of Spring to talk about Spring beers. I think we can all agree that it is nice to get out of the dark days of winter and celebrate with a beer that looks lighter in the glass than a stout. Of all the seasons of the year though, Spring has the fewest beer styles associated with it.  Traditionally, and when I say traditionally, I mean in the Olde Worlde of beer (aka Germany and Belgium) – traditionally a bock was the beer style that indicated spring had arrived. Bocks are strong lagers from Germany.  You know it’s a bock if there’s a goat on the label.  The beer style is said to have originated in Einbeck, and then when it was adopted by Munich brewers in the 17 th century, it was often mispronounced as Ein Bock, which means a billy goat.  So the beers became known as Bocks and often the label goes for the pun with a photo o

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from the CBC website : Don't forget a pretzel necklace: 5 tips for a better beer festival experience Whyman has some 'pro tips' for getting the most out of your festival experience CBC News February 28, 2017 We're a long way from Oktoberfest (Munich edition pictured), but there will be plenty of beer events in B.C. over the next several months. (Matthias Schrader/Associated Press) Beer festival season is starting soon, and  On The Coast  beer columnist Rebecca Whyman says the number of options keep growing. There's no official festival season, but Whyman says most take place between April and October — and as that time approaches, she has some "pro tips" for getting the most out of your festival experience. Read the fine print on your ticket: "What is included in the price? How many tokens do you receive? Is there food included? If not, is there food available for purchase? Depending on how long the festival is, you may very

beer column

my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio one's on the coast: As beer festival season starts up again in earnest, On the Coast has you covered with what I think makes a good festival, and some “pro-tips” to get the most out of your festival experience. There’s not an official beer festival season, but I notice in BC that, while the number of beer festivals keeps growing, most of them take place between April and October.   This may be because those are the best months to have an outdoor festival – but that said, with crazy BC weather you never know what you’ll get! April may seem like a ways away still, but tickets are on sale now for a lot of the festivals. So choose your festivals to attend, and buy your tickets now to avoid disappointment! There are quite a few factors that go into a good beer festival for me, starting with the features of any good event: organization, location, product, and price.    In a beer festival I also look for other detai