I am a huge craft beer fan, a married father of two younger children (so I don’t get out that much) and I have grown up and lived in the Vancouver area for over 30 years now. One of the goals of this blog is to explore new things around here, whether that involves heading to a new park with the family, a beer festival or simply trying something new at home at night after the kids go to bed I am all for it. The best part about living here, other than the mild weather, is the fact that we have access to so many cool things and places, there is so much variety here that it suites my tastes well. I look forward to all the new adventures, big and small that are to come from life on the West Coast.

Regarding craft beer – I am a Certified Beer Enthusiast (by www.eurekabeerguide.com) which means I have some craft beer education, I am a small batch home brewer (2 gallons at a time) and I love to try different beers as a hobby. I have started a cellaring program at home, primarily for Barleywines (but not exclusively), and I am intending to cellar some bottles for up to 10 years if they stay drinkable that long. Because of this hobby, I am trying to become more active and eat healthier so I don’t experience any negative side effects of alcohol while at the same time focusing on moderation for my hobby. I believe this is incredibly important for anyone interested in taking up craft beer as a hobby.

My beer palate – I really like big beers like Barleywines, Double IPA’s, Belgian Tripel’s and so on, however I won’t shy away from any particular style in most cases. In some instances, I do have trouble with beers that have a super heavy malty sweet flavour (like Eisbocks, some Quads and Scotch Ales), super bitter-only beers I can’t stand (e.g. Palette Wrecker, Ruination) and I also find most Lagers and Pilsners to be drinkable, yet kind of boring. For specialty beers, fruit beers are hit and miss for me and Rauchbiers if not balanced, aren’t my favourite, and I’ll try gimmick beers here and there whenever they present themselves, but I am always willing to try something new all the time even if it isn’t my favourite style. Each of us has a unique palette that is still developing and changing which helps makes the craft beer world so very interesting.

My Contact Info:

E-mail: westcoastbeergeek@telus.net

Facebook: facebook.com/westcoastbeergeek

Twitter: @wcbeergeek

Instagram: instagram.com/westcoastbeergeek/

Untappd: untappd.com/user/wcbeergeek

Ello: ello.co/westcoastbeergeek

How I rate beer – I created this handy little grid to show how I rate beer. Unlike places like rate beer or beer advocate (both great sites), I don’t put any sort of rating on colour as to me that is a little pointless. Instead I focus on flavour, how interesting it is versus other beers, how likely I am to cellar it, recommend it, and especially  how likely I am to buy more of it. All ratings on this blog are for beer that I purchased, or events I purchased tickets to unless specifically identified as solicited.