beernesday

With the change in the weather comes a change in seasonal beer styles.   Oktoberfest beers and fresh-hopped beers are two of my favourites that often get overshadowed by the arrival of pumpkin beers to the market. Fresh-hopped beers have just started to hit stores and these are beers with a very limited shelf life.   You have to get them fast and drink them soon.   Fresh-hopping, also known as wet-hopping refers to using freshly picked hops while brewing rather than dried or pelleted hops. We are very lucky in the Lower Mainland to be located in a hop-friendly growing environment.   This means that our brewers can obtain fresh hops when they ripen and use those immediately to brew beer.   Driftwood Brewing in Victoria drives out to the Sartori ranch Cultus Lake to help harvest the hops and then drives them back to Victoria that same day to be put right into the brew.   Storm Brewing and Persephone Brewing use hops they grow themselves whi...

yesterday's beer fest was fun it's not the biggest beer festival around and there were not many beers being offered that i hadn't had before but it's a well-run festival and a great introduction to beer festivals for a newbie or a relaxing beer festival for an old hand caveat:  tourism harrison paid for me to stay two nights at the lovely harrison beach hotel, and entry for me and my guest to all three beer fest events.  i'm not going to lie to you about my impressions of the festival, but i may have had rose-coloured glasses on due to the sheer joy of a mostly-free weekend away at a beer festival in adorable harrison. i brought a newbie with me to the festival so while i spent my time pouring over the list for beers that i needed to cross off my "drank it" list i was also looking for beers i thought she would want to try for those who follow me, you'll know that i have one hold-out on full conversion to craft beer well, no longer! bri...

let me just begin by saying that harrison beer fest is adorable! harrison is a lovely little place and its beer festival is an equally lovely little thing caveat:  tourism harrison paid for my hotel for two nights and entry for me and my guest to all three harrison beer fest events.  i'm not gonna lie to you about my impressions of the fest, but i may be mildly swayed by the sheer joy of getting away for a mostly-free beer weekend! traffic was fairly kind to us, but we still didn't hit town until around 7 p.m. so we were at st. alice hall about an hour after the casks had been tapped and the night was in full swing the event was sold out because they wisely kept the numbers low to ensure that attendees got their beer's worth; the hall was full but by no means packed my first impression was that this is a very different festival than i'm used to people were sitting down, the noise level was fairly low and no one was drunk and that impression lasted for abo...

if only i wasn't going to be out of town this weekend (or better yet, if they'd picked a different date!) YBC Yaletown Brewing Company ‎"The Gumboot Salute" is November 10th, 11th and 12th! Its a celebration of beer, our culture and you our valued guest. We love you so much, that we are selling you massive 32oz "boots" (for $10) to drink out of. You can pre-buy the boots now, but they are only filled on the "Gumboot Salute". Included in the minimal $10 price tag is a free fill on every day of the Salute. Thats 96oz for free, or ...6 of our normal sized beers! After your one free daily fill, we fill up the boots for our regular prices, ultimately making it a 2 for 1 deal! This, plus an amazing Feature Sheet that week showcasing our chefs creative genius (in a sinful marriage of beer and fresh ingredients). Do not be denied fun, do not be denied "The Gumboot Salute"! also: Lighthouse Brewing Company Today is Yagger's Downtow...

local ipa beer label wins award and it has an anchor on it! i love anchors...