beernesday

my notes from yesterday evening's beer column on weird beers on cbc radio one's on the coast during which the poor sick stephen quinn suffered a coughing attack and could barely participate oh the joys of live radio! Did you see the new helium beers debuting from SamAdams and Stone Brewing ?   Who would have thought you could put helium in beer, let alone that two breweries would race each other to the post to be the first to produce it. Oh right, it’s April Fools' Day.   There is no helium beer. But there are crazy and creative beers out there that are no joke!   Let’s take a quick tour of the zanier side of craft beer. The craft beer community has embraced all sorts of brewing innovations, like brewing ales with lager yeast, adding different ingredients such as botanicals in the place of hops to experiment with different flavours, the hop wars and the highest alcohol content contest. There are also interesting flavours brewers around the Lower Mainlan...

i have been preparing all week for a beer tasting that goes at 4:30 today (wish me luck!) my office is holding it as a kick-off to the annual united way fundraising campaign and i gotta say, when planning a beer tasting, it's great to have minions! all i had to do for the tasting was pick the beers and do a presentation about them benton brothers did all the cheese and charcuterie pairings for me, the committee ordered the beer, the tables, the food and sent out the invitations leaving me to focus on the beers and coming up with tasting notes and information about each i am doing a very basic guided tasting of five beers, paired with cheese and charcuterie followed by a self-led tasting (with provided tasting notes) rounding out the evening for the guided tasting i am aiming to do a basic introduction to beer styles the method of tasting beer (appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel) and the basics of pairing food with these beers i have chosen to go with five ...

my notes from last evening's beer column with stephen quinn on the coast: It's the most wonderful time of the year for hop-heads! It's hop harvest time, and to beer geeks that can mean only one thing: fresh-hopped beers.  Fresh-hopping, also referred to as wet-hopping, is the process of using fresh hops to bitter the beer. Hops are ready for harvest at the end of August or the beginning of September in this part of the world. Growers know they are ready when the cone is plump and the lupulin is at a maximum. If you look at a hop flower, the lupulin is the yellow stuff between the green bits. This is where the oils come from that impart the bitterness and flavour to beer. Despite looking hardy, hops are actually quite delicate. They don't survive long after being cut. To preserve the oils and resins they need to be dried right away. . Most of the hops harvested are dried right after picking and then frozen, or ground into pellets. These are then sold to b...

fun new beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver: Moon Under Water Brewery This Is Hefeweizen - $7.05 From across the Strait of Georgia, Moon Under Water holds to the classic stylings of a Hefeweizen with this phenomenal seasonal brew. Pouring a hazy amber with a fluffy head and aromas of earth, wheat and cloves, this beer shows more cloves and bananas on the palate with citrus bringing up the rear. A classic beer taken to the next level. Evan Doan | Beer Team | Legacy Liquor Store Bridge Brewing Hopilano IPA - $7.55 One of our favourite Nano breweries from the North Shore is back for more with their distinctly Pacific Northwest Hopilano IPA in tow. This gem of an India Pale Ale pours a cloudy amber orange with a distinctly floral- and citrus fruit-anchored nose. The palate matches the bouquet, with the citrus eventually winding down into a tropical fruit finish. Chris Bonnallie | Beer Supervisor | Legacy Liquor Store Driftwood Brewery Gose-uh - $6.95 A popular beer style from ...

i'm back from my amazing week in tofino quickly: i spent an awful lot of time at tofino brewing filling my growlers with hoppin' cretin ipa and reign in blonde and tuff session (and then drinking them) on the way home we stopped overnight in victoria we stayed at swans , drank at garrick's head pub (10 new taps!!) where i had lighthouse 15th anniversary amber ale, elysian men's room red and driftwood fat tug next morning we got growler fills at lighthouse (switchback) and driftwood  (fat tug) (such incredibly friendly staff at both places), stopped in at spinnakers for a pint, and came home in time for me to not be on cbc radio on tuesday due to a mix-up it just didn't happen i apologize if you tuned in and were disappointed i was most disappointed not to talk extreme beers silver-lining, i have my topic all ready for september 3rd tuesday evening i attended camra vancouver's hops 101 class at steamworks and got to try the brand spanking n...

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...

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...

my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio one's on the coast with stephen quinn summer beers: The weather may not bear witness to the fact, but it is summer. That means a whole new season of beers is upon us.    In general terms, summer is the season of the lager. There are many fabulous summer ales available, but summer is the season in which lagers shine. Much maligned in recent history as flavour-less yellow fizzy beer, there are some wonderful craft brewed lagers available to quench your summer thirst. Cold is not a flavour so I would suggest avoiding a beer that advertises that it is. Instead I'd head for a beer that says it is crisp and refreshing and full of flavour. Also synonymous with summer are wheat ales and fruit beers. Lower alcohol percentages are also often found in a summer beer. When its hot out it is less enjoyable to quaff a 9% ale. A nice light low-alcohol lager just hits the spot so much more. A reminder about the differe...

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....

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)

fun and fabulous beers available at legacy liquor store in vancouver: Lighthouse Brewing Barnacle Wheat IPA - $7.25 The 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 doors...

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 bottl...

i attended the inaugural east side beer festival at the wise hall last night hosted by liberty wine merchants it featured many local beers and an opportunity to donate in several ways to the vancouver food bank best of all - it was really fun times!! camra was in da house driftwood was in da house all of east van was in da house! i managed to sample my way through the following: brooklyn ipa lagunitas sumpin' sumpin' deschutes inversion ipa green flash double stout 8wired hopwired ipa 8wired superconductor double ipa 8wired tall poppy red ale epic brewing mash up renaissance brewing ipa brew dog punk ipa betty stog's bitter ninkasi spring reign central city red racer pilsner driftwood fat tug ipa howe sound super jupiter grapefruit ipa howe sound 4way fruit ale mort subite kriek phillips bottle rocket india session ale r&b brewing east side bitter uprising bread santa barbara cheese plate

new and exciting beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver: Russell Luck of the Irish - $6.95 A locally brewed beer to celebrate St. Patrick's Day the right way. Rich red in colour courtesy of roasted barley, its palate of toffee and caramel make this malt forward beverage a must for any Irish festivity. Driftwood Twenty Pounder - $8.95 When has Driftwood ever done us wrong? Their Double IPA drops an IBU bomb of Cascadian citrus hop, with citrus and everything nice bouncing around on the nose and palate. Pick it up before it rolls out the door. Tuatara Mix 6 - $23.85 From Pilsner to Porter this special New Zealand six-pack has something for everyone, showcasing Tuatara Brewery, New Zealand and the local craft beer scene.   i had the 20 pounder last night as good as i remember it from last year!

new and exciting beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver: Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller 2012 Barley Wine - $13.45 Three times the malt bill and five times the hops of a normal strength beer, this Barleywine tests the limits of our brewhouse and our backs! But the real struggle is in getting this massive brew to completely ferment, a true test of our skill and the vigor of our yeast. Central City Thor's Hammer Barley Wine 2011 - $15.75 Our limited edition bottle conditioned Thor's Hammer is matured for almost 1 full year. Mahogany in colour, this award-winning barley wine is crafted from fine barley malt exuding deep, rich notes of dried fruit, plum and candy with a walnut ester. Phillips Trainwreck Barrel Aged Barley Wine 2012 - $7.05 Here's a little something to stoke your boiler. This year's barley wine is full of rich malt flavours and aged in bourbon barrels. Mildly carbonated, Trainwreck should be served at cellar temperature (8C). Careful not t...

not yet sold out so if you have no dinner plans...

- from yaletown brew pub (fyi, i will be pouring beer at this event): This Saturday, November 10th, we will be having a mini-Caskival featuring 11 different casks from 11 different breweries! Doors open at 11am. DRINK FRESH BEER - from railway club: Todays cask for Rail Ale Tuesday is a Vanilla-oaked Pumpkin Ale from Central City Brewing - tapping at 5 - what i drank for monday night football last night: - lastly, can craft beer use mega-breweries to succeed? the mega-breweries think so, and say craft brewers do too me, i'm not convinced...

i always run out of time during my radio spot on cbc's on the coast! six minutes just isn't enough time for me to say all i want to say on a subject (which is good, because i can save up all that unsaid stuff and have topics for 100 more shows...) so, i am going to use this, my lovely blog, to finish saying what i didn't have time for on the air (and i will try to do it in a more timely manner next time!) what makes a good beer joint? imho it doesn't matter what style of beer joint it is, fancy, british, dive, restaurant, brewpub, pub... these four things NEED to be present to get repeat beer loving customers: clean lines interesting beer choices food for pairing with beers knowledgeable staff if i hate your decor i may not have my birthday party at your establishment, but it won't stop me from coming back if the beer's good if the beer is off, i definitely won't be back if there are few to no craft beer choices, i won't willingly be ba...