An interview with Alex, co-owner of Another Beer Co, about the successes and challenges of operating a brewery in its first year, during a global pandemic.
I was super stoked to see this beer arrive on my door step one day and wanted to feature it on my Sample Series reviews.
I really felt this was a near perfect version of a classic root beer.
Craft Oktoberfest, or festbiers, are styles that I typically avoid buying locally because they are usually poorly made (sorry, but that’s the truth). It also doesn’t help that you can get some pretty good German imports for a few bucks a can and most of those are pretty spot on. That being said, as someone…
Grizzly Paw is a craft brewer and soda maker in Canmore, AB that I visited in the summer this past year on a road trip to Drumheller, Calgary and Nelson to visit family and dinosaur bones.
The local IPA scene lately has been littered with cloudy, New England or Eastern Style IPA’s, which has been a real treat for a while but it can be a bit overwhelming at times with all the fruit and lack of bitterness in the hopped up beers. Because of this, I’ve been craving more West…
At a time when all the new IPA’s seem to be hazy, low on malt flavour and absent of any bitterness, this beer stands up amongst them and says FUCK YOU! Just when I thought I could no longer be shocked or impressed by relatively clear, strong chewy imperial IPA, Melvin brewing just goes ahead…
More and more breweries these days are making sodas and honestly, they are usually awesome! This trend is likely stemming from a combination of providing a beverage for younger family members brought into the brewery, an alternative beverage for folks who want to go out but don’t drink alcohol or just as another outlet for…
As soon as Mike Sharpham referred to nectarines as hairless peaches, I knew we were in for a fun, light hearted interview about their new beer. You see last year they had some issues with the Nectarine Gose – a labeling issue not a beer issue – so I was curious about what was unique…
I’ve always been a little iffy about pineapple beers, never really finding one that I enjoyed. So the thought of a free sample to try out was perfect for my endeavor to finally find a pineapple beer I can appreciate.
Norwegian Wood is the name of a famous song by the Beatles written about an affair that John Lennon was involved in. It is also, apparently, the name of this beer. However, the similarities between the song name and the beer pretty much end there. Instead of a coy reference to cheap wall paneling, the…
Gavin Hamilton, a Scotsman who began his career as an apprentice clerk for the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Langley, apparently shot and killed not one, but three bears with a double barrel shotgun on a canoe trip while hunting for wild ducks.
Granville Island Brewing has impressed me in the way that they’ve managed to find, in my mind, a great balance between working within the confines of larger commercial brewing and running a successful small batch brewing program locally. They always have something new on tap in their tasting room, there’s lots of experimental brewing going…
One of the things I’ve committed to doing more often is visiting those classic, long lived beers that have been around for quite some time and likely have had a decent influence on shaping of the beer industry we know today. In my Classic Series of reviews I’ll be looking at beers that have existed…
It’s funny, this beer has been out locally for over a year now and I’ve always had a tough time finding it fresh enough to buy (I won’t buy a canned IPA older than 4 months, I won’t buy undated ones). Every time I found it, it was always a year old, eight months old,…
East of East Van comes in a large format 750mL bottle that retails for about $13 a piece and was co-brewed by Steamworks and Dageraad Breweries for a March 2017 release. This is a bottle conditioned Saison beer, where the carbonation is naturally derived from residual yeast interacting with sugars in the beer (usually topped…
In late February 2017, Dageraad Brewing launched a new year round beer called Dageraad White, which is a Belgian style spiced Wheat Beer (aka Witbier). I was very excited to see a year round Witbier on the market, something that has been missing locally in my opinion. In fact, I’d say other than the seasonal…
I’ve generally enjoyed most Fuggles & Warlock beers, but I have to admit I’m really partial to their IPA releases which are always great.
Goldilocks is a seasonal limited release beer from Strange Fellows Brewing in Vancouver, BC that is brewed to a strength of 8.5% abv and sold in a 750mL bottle for around $15 a piece. Although I still found it to be a touch expensive (about the same price as a 4x16oz pack of their regular…
This beer is a unique collaboration effort between Powell Brewery and Four Winds Brewing which was released in 4 packs of 16 oz cans a couple of weeks ago into the market. It has a fairly low IBU of 31 with an ABV of 6.8% and is more of a hybrid style than either a…
Steel & Oak in New Westminster has been known for churning out some unique and interesting seasonal releases that help differentiate them from other BC breweries.
Brewed to a strength of 9% abv and aged in Whiskey barrels for an undisclosed amount of time, after trying a few different local beers this week, Depth Charge was the clear choice for Local Beer of the Week.
Superflux Colour & Shape IPA: Formerly known as Machine Brewing who operated out of Callister’s co-op model brewery, Superflux is the new operating name for these folks who made themselves known as masters of IPA’s and hop forward beers
Steamworks Flagship IPA: A recipe “4 years in the making” according to the brewery, this recent BC Beer Awards Gold Medal Winning IPA celebrates the invasion of the NE IPA (aka North East, aka New England) variety of IPA’s into British Columbia. Perhaps ignited by the likes of Heady Topper or other eastern USA breweries […]
Melvin Asterisk DIPA: Described as the cousin of 2X4 on Melvin’s website this 9% abv Double IPA is my choice for IPA of the week for a few reasons.
These folks have been consistently brewing interesting and high quality seasonal releases since they opened up so I felt their recently release Baltic Porter was worth of being my inaugural Local Beer of the Week recommendation
Twin Sails has been pumping out all kinds of unique and interesting IPA’s lately and I felt this one deserved to be called out as my first IPA of the week
Granville Island Brewing is continuing to pump out some neat beers at their local small batch brewery on Vancouver’s own Granville Island. For this release, they were kind enough once again to invite me out to interview Mike (their beer merchant) about the beer.
Steamworks Flagship IPA: A recipe “4 years in the making” according to the brewery, this recent BC Beer Awards Gold Medal Winning IPA celebrates the invasion of the NE IPA (aka North East, aka New England) variety of IPA’s into British Columbia. Perhaps ignited by the likes of Heady Topper or other eastern USA breweries…
If you have walked into the Granville Island Brewing Taproom recently, you may have noticed a new addition to their shop which just so happens to feature new Crowler filling machine set up next to their growler station. One of the first (of three) Crowler filling breweries in Greater Vancouver, this new beer-to-go option has…
Guinness Nitro Stout & Guinness Beer Flavored Chips Pairing: This was one of those spur of the moment beer pairings that started with the question “hey do you want some Guinness chips?”. After grabbing that bag of chips from the grocery store, I felt compelled to pick up a can of Guinness and try them for…
Relying upon the success of the 2014 Beer Camp Collaboration 12 Pack of Beers (all of which I reviewed individually here), the 2016 version was reduced from twelve to six unique beers typically sold in a $25 pack that contained two of each beer, making it great for splitting with someone. This year’s Beer Camp collaboration featured…
Belgian Blonde POG-mosa: The following beer cocktail is inspired by a traditional mimosa, however the champagne is replaced with beer and the typical orange juice mixer has been swapped out for some tropical Hawaiian style POG juice (Pineapple, Orange, Guava) for added flavour. The key to making this a good beer cocktail is to find a very…
There’s been a couple of really interesting things going on at Granville Island Brewing that have really piqued my interest lately. First of all they became the first Bullfrog Powered brewery in British Columbia, which is a great showcase of leadership that I respect greatly as they are investing in cleaner energy solutions. Second, they…
Parallel 49 Brews Brothers Vol 2: This year’s Classic Rock themed Brews Brothers Vol 2 twelve pack is a large multi-brewer BC pack of craft beers featuring a whole different set of breweries from last year’s collaboration pack, which was once again were brewed together at the Parallel 49 brewery in Vancouver, BC. Volume 2 retails for…
Over the last two years, Central City Brewing has created a collaboration craft beer advent calendar with Parallel 49 Brewing to help spread the beer festivities for Canadian craft beer lovers. The mandate this past year was to include 12 brand new beer recipes in their calendars, six new one’s per brewery which not only…
Tequila Berliner Sun Weisse: The following beer cocktail is inspired by a classic Tequila Sunrise cocktail and the common practice of adding syrups to Berliner Weisse beers for added flavour and/or aging them in Tequila barrels. Here I’ve essentially combined the two ideas into a beer cocktail that captures the essential flavours of each ingredient while…
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of being invited to a special beer tour put together for beer bloggers as an introduction to the Vine & hops Wine and Craft Beer Tour Company. From what I gathered, they are targeting clients who are interested in customizable private tours as well as running…
Old Yale Brewing Yeti White Stout: This is a white stout hybrid style beer brewed in Chilliwack, BC to a strength of 8% abv using Belgian pilsner malts, peated malt and oats with the addition of Himalayan truffles in the brewing process. It’s interesting to see that they’re clearly building on their successful Canadian Beer of the…
This is an article written and provided entirely by The Carling Partnership who specializes in search and selection for jobs in the brewing, distilling, wine, cider and soft drinks industries. They reached out to me recently and I was more than happy to post this as a guest post since I found it to be very relevant to…
Local Surrey, BC based Central City Brewing has been brewing up a storm of beer and cider in recent years since they expanded into a new huge location a few years back. New for 2016, they have designed, brewed and released two exciting Radlers, one that’s made with their Hopping Mad Cider and one that’s made with…
Russian River Pliny the Elder: This was another bucket list beer of mine that I was super excited to try, I have heard about it a lot and couldn’t wait to pop it open. Brewed in Santa Rosa, CA to a strength of 8% with 100 IBUs this beer is meant to be drank as fresh…
Maine Beer Company Dinner Double IPA: Brewed in Freeport, Maine this top 10 ranked Double IPA (see ratebeer) is brewed to a strength of 8.2% abv with an undisclosed level of IBUs. This particular beer is pretty difficult to obtain outside of North Eastern USA and due to its high rating heightened demand, tracking a…
I occasionally ponder why some of the delicious barrel aged beers out there always seem to be brewed to massive, hard to finish in one sitting, put you to sleep alcohol strengths. For example, it often takes me at least 2-3 hours to finish one 22oz bottle of barrel aged Imperial Stout simply because it…
Wellington Brewery Imperial Russian Stout: Brewed in Guelph, Ontario at a strength of 8% abv, Wellington claims to be Canada’s oldest operating Independent microbrewery (they opened in 1985), however I believe Spinnakers actually takes that honour as they opened in 1984. Still, all fact disputes aside, this is a beer I’ve heard about from other’s back…
Beneficial Brew – The Unexpected Health Benefits of Beer: The folks at fix.com and ghergich.com reached out and asked me if I was interested in posting this info-graphic on my blog. I certainly believe that in moderation there are at least a few good health benefits to beer, especially locally produced craft beer so I am more than happy to…
Howe Sound Ascension Triple IPA: Brewed by a Squamish, BC brewery, this massive IPA comes in at a strength of 11% abv with 75 IBUs worth of hops. This is the first time I can recall a Triple IPA being bottled and released in BC in a large enough amount to be distributed at private…
Sawdust City Long Dark Voyage To Uranus Imperial Stout: Canned in February 2015, this almost one year old beer has one of the best names in the business. It’s brewed to a strength of 10.2% abv with 60 IBU’s worth of Magnum and Centennial hops and a malt bill showcasing about 10 different malts altogether. The…
Village 6 Year Old Cheddar and Strange Fellows Talisman Pale Ale: For this beer and cheese pairing I decided to put a pale ale and aged cheddar togeother, which is a standard favourite and a good go-to pairing option for any occasion. Pale Ales, Amber Ales and Red Ales all tend to pair up quite nicely…
Sixpoint Brewery Resin Imperial IPA: Brewed in Brooklyn, New York this beer comes in at a strength of 9.1% abv and a whopping 103 IBUs worth of resinous hops. Sixpoint’s beers come in these tall, skinny 12 oz cans (as pictured above) which makes them very convenient and easy to store in a fridge or cooler.…
Holy Mountain The Third Nail Belgian Pale Ale: Brewed in Seattle, WA this beer is aged in white wine barrels and was made in collaboration to celebrate the third anniversary of a local bar called The Pine Box. This release was apparently limited to 69 cases and I’ve since learned that it was their first…
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