beernesday

from dead frog brewery: Dead Frog and Red Dragon Apparel Collaborate on Red Dragon Imperial Red Ale ​ ​Aldergrove, BC — Dead Frog Brewery is pleased to announce the release of a new Imperial Red Ale, an exciting new collaboration with legendary Vancouver-based international skateboarding icons, Red Dragon Apparel. The partnership came about when Red Dragon approached Dead Frog last year. "We’ve always been a fan of Dead Frog and their beer line," said Matt Meadows, Marketing Manager for Red Dragon Apparel. "So when considering the idea of doing a collaboration brew, they were our first and only choice! As we began talks with Dead Frog, right off the bat they understood what we were looking for in an RDS beer – a strong ale that makes no excuses for what it is, just like RDS. For Dead Frog, Red Dragon's brand immediately suggested a strong red ale in keeping with the power of that mythical creature. "I ...

where, oh where, has good customer service gone? especially at places i keep trying to drink beer? you'd think that with all the competition out there, high odds of failure and the sort, that there would be a push to go back to the good old days of satisfying customers i have had a couple of highly unsatisfying moments that i just can't keep quiet about i hate giving bad reviews i usually go out of my way to avoid doing so but who am i really helping by doing that? not me, not you and ultimately not the establishment either because these are not laments about individual servers some of whom are excellent and others of whom really need to up their game, but that is a very different rant from this one no, this one is about management so, the last bit of preamble before i finally jump into it: i worked in retail back in highschool but i have never waited tables or slung beer for a living maybe i don't know what it's like on the other side of the equation b...

i think the elysian brewing tap take over at st. augustine's on monday was the largest i have been to 25 taps of elysian were available (out of the 60 taps at st. a's) so big in fact that st. a's kept running out of taster glasses because everyone was ordering paddles in a vain attempt to try all of the offerings the place was packed and kudos must go to the servers who were run off their feet trying to get us all our beers i made it through eight tasters (and a lobster sandwich) before i tapped out first paddle contained: woo-tang kettle sour mortis persimmon sour ale barrel aged savant ipa zombo experimental ipa second paddle contained: barrel aged loser pale ale cowabunga ipa bombo experimental pale ale huy five pale ale as usual, i didn't take very good notes but here they are regardless and please note that i really quite liked all eight of my beer choices, despite how my notes may sound: woo-tang kettle sour:  yup, that's a sour. ...

due to a lack of space in the july/august edition of the bc craft beer news my lengthy article on the best craft beer patios in vancouver got truncated the whole article is available online but i'm also copying it here Summer time and the living is easy… not to mention best enjoyed on a patio! In a departure from my usual format and just in time for summer 2014, I bring you the very best patios in Vancouver for enjoying craft beer. The list starts with larger patios and beer menus and goes on down to smaller (but no less enjoyable) venues, with smaller beer menus. Only the heat and the hours available to you will limit your time on these patios, so there is no rating system in this round of reviews. Enjoy! Patio drinking tips: Look for session ales—those tasty lower alcohol beers that enable you to spend a long ‘session’ on a patio. Drink water! Go for a rinse cycle after every beer; your body will love you for it. Keep your drink out of the sunlight—no one likes a beer t...

quietly opening on commercial drive last week, stateside craft is the newest craft beer bar in the city portland craft's younger, over-achieving sister will officially open on july 4th but until then, they are soft launching and you can stop in for some wonderful brews and yummy food located in the former avanti's pub in il mercato mall at gravely and commercial it is a whole lot prettier inside than the former pub the female-identified bathroom is 8 million times nicer (thank dog!) bright (or as bright as a place with only a couple of windows can be), polished, open and airy this ain't avanti's, that's for sure and i couldn't be happier now, don't get me wrong, avanti's did me right for many years but their refusal to get any craft beer on tap led me to move my commercial drive beer drinking to st. augustine's as soon as that alternative presented itself now that st. a's has line-ups all the time, i've been jonesing for anoth...

so, did you get your driftwood brewing sartori harvest ipa yet? if not, you're probably outta luck finding a bottle in vancouver the brewery in victoria is offering growler fills and there will be more casks about town (vancouver, victoria, chilliwack) i got my bottles at viti (vancouver) i tried to be greedy and get some more at liberty on the drive, but they were out of their 15 cases already i have tried two casks so far: monday night at st. augustine's (that was not very good) and tuesday night at the railway club (that was down-right ambrosia) i have only had a wee sample from the bottle - and it was so delicious i am on a quest to find more bottles!

after a little stout with fuggles cask at the yaletown brewpub tonight followed by a good-bye party at st. augustine's i will be off to portland for the long weekend! crazily enough though, my excursion is not beer-related nope, i'm going there to play soccer beer will be consumed, both on the field and off but it is not the goal of the trip so who knows what i'll end up drinking!?

what a week in beer! monday night cask at st. augustine's - red truck's esb tuesday night cask at railway club - parallel 49 dry-hopped gypsy tears wednesday night sour beer pairing dinner at biercraft cambie thursday night cask at yaletown brewpub - pale ale with thyme all of the above were damned tasty and much fun so, what should i drink tonight???

in case you missed the show last night here are my notes from my beer column on cbc radio 1's on the coast with stephen quinn: On February 8th the Provincial Government announced revisions to the liquor laws of British Columbia.  The nine changes all sound like solid decisions that will boost the economy and keep liquor producers, vendors and consumers happy.  Two of these changes to the laws are of particular interest to the craft beer community and are causing springs in steps and big smiles on beer lovers' faces.   Past liquor laws in this province, often maligned as archaic, did not generally allow for breweries to have on-site tasting rooms, nor did they allow breweries owned by the same parties as restaurants or pubs to have their beers carried in those restaurants or pubs.  This latter rule was referred to as the tied-house rule.  At first blush it may sound backwards to not allow a pub owned by the same people as a brewery to be allowed to ca...

NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release 2013EMNG0026-000222 Feb. 8, 2013 Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Liquor Control and Licensing Branch Liquor Distribution Branch B.C. liquor laws get overhauled   VANCOUVER – Minister Rich Coleman announced several changes today that will help support local breweries and distilleries, create new business opportunities, and revise current liquor laws in British Columbia. Changes announced today include the following: · Brewers and distillers now can apply to have an on-site consumption area such as a lounge, tasting room or event area. · Small- and medium-sized liquor manufacturers will be allowed up to three common ownership and business relationships with licensed establishments located off their manufacturing site. · Rules around how liquor manufacturers can promote their products in bars and restaurants have been simplified by removing the requirement for a buy-...