Long Trail Brewing Space Juice Double IPA: Brewed in Vermont, this intergalactic inspired beer is made to an Imperial strength of 8.7% abv with 82 IBUs with of Galaxy, Mosiac, Citra, Ella and Columbus Hops. If you are looking for a beer to pair with the new Star Wars movie, this is a great choice! Aroma and Appearance:…
Mt. Lehman Blue Capri and Central City Thor’s Hammer Barleywine: I have to start this post by giving a full on shout out to Ken Beattie from Eureka Beer Guide who introduced me to pairing blue cheese and Barleywine together. It truly created what he refers to as a “Eureka Moment” when I first tried it…
Logsdon Seizoen Bretta Organic Farmhouse Ale: Day 7 of my Beer Advent Calendar exchange with my father, this is a farmhouse ale brewed to a strength of 8% abv and uses a strain of Brettanomyces yeast to give it some extra funk. Funny enough, I have a 2013 bottle in my cellar that I totally forgot…
Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws 2014: Brewed in Portland, Oregon by a brewery that introduced me to the wonderful world of Barleywine and Old Ales, this is a 2014 bottle of their Christmas release that is brewed to a strength of 11% abv. It was day 6 of my advent calendar exchange with my father,…
Dieu Du Ciel Péché Mortel Barrel Aged 2013: This is a barrel aged variant of the Coffee Imperial Stout Péché Mortel, which is brewed to a strength of 9.5% abv and spends about 12 months in Bourbon Barrels before being bottled. It’s interesting to barrel age a coffee stout as coffee flavours in beer mellow significantly over…
Brewmaster Jack Hoppines Is A Warm Pun Double IPA: Brewed in Northhampton Massachusetts, this beer comes in at a strength of 8.2% abv and contains 100 IBUs worth of Moteuka and Galaxy hops. I admit, I’ve never ever heard of Moteuka hops before, but some quick googling revealed that it’s a cross breed of Saaz and…
Lord Hobo Brewing Boom Sauce Double IPA: Brewed in Woburn, Massachusetts this double IPA is a blend of three of their hop forward ales: Blend of Ball and Biscuit, Steal This Can and Consolation Prize. It comes in a 500mL can, simply labelled Boom Sauce, and it makes for a great shelf impression and presence amongst a…
Fiddlehead Brewing Mastermind Double IPA: Brewed in Shelburne, VT this Double IPA comes in at a strength of 8.1% abv with an undisclosed IBU. A unique thing about this particular beer is that the brewery has committed to donating 25% of all sales of Mastermind towards the Vermont Children’s Hospital’s Extra Life Event which supports clinical…
Dead Frog Brewery Wet Hop S.M.A.S.H.: A surprise release from Dead Frog in Aldergrove, BC, this fresh hop beer features fresh locally grown Centennial hops and Pale malt from Armstrong, BC making it a full on British Columbian ale that was released mid November. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a pale golden colour with one finger of…
Lagunitas Born Yesterday Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Brewed in Petaluma, CA to a strength of 6.5% abv, this beer uses fresh Simcoe and Citra hops from Yakima, WA that are rushed to the brewery for brew day. It is a late release for the fresh hop season, bottled at the end of October and released shortly…
Gilgamesh Brewing Fresh Prince Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed in Salem, Oregon at a strength of 6.3% abv and 88 IBUs of hop love, Fresh Prince showcases a whole lot of fresh Centennial hops. This beer is rumored to make you involuntary start doing the Carlton dance at random times in random places, or at least in…
Two Beers Brewing Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed in Seattle, WA at a strength of 6.2% abv, this fresh hop variant features 70+ IBUs of 5 different hop varieties, specifically using fresh Centennial hops from Yakima Valley that were harvested in early August and rushed straight to the brewery to be used immediately. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a…
Yellow Dog Brewing Play Dead Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed with fresh Mosaic hops from Yakima, WA this IPA comes in at a strength of 6.8% abv with 75 IBUs. I can honestly say, after having at least a few of these, that this is one of the best fresh hop beers I have ever had. They knocked…
Russell Brewing Farm Fresh IPA: A latecomer to the fresh hop market, this IPA is brewed to a strength of 6.5% abv and features 48 IBUs worth of Centennial, Cascade and Chinook hops from Chilliwack’s Sartori hop farm. I was surprised to see a fresh hop release from Russell to be honest, I wasn’t expecting them…
Deschutes Chasin’ Freshies: Brewed in Bend, OR at a strength of 7.4% with 65 IBUs, the 2015 release features fresh Lemondrop hops and a Pilsner malt base. The recipe changes year over year and this year’s is very, very different than the 2014 version which had fresh Mosaic hops and more traditional ale malts. Aroma and Appearance: It pours…
Hale’s Ales Fresh Hop ISA: This fresh hop beer is brewed in Seattle, WA to a strength of 4.7% abv with fresh Cascade hops from Washington’s Yakima Valley – as well as some Bravo and Sorachi ace hops. I found this randomly in Vancouver BC, which is odd because I never see Hale’s Ales here, but…
Spinnakers Sooke Harvest Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Brewed in Victoria, BC with fresh hops grown in Sooke, this Pale Ale comes in at a strength of 5% abv and features 40 IBUs worth of fresh Cascade, Chinnook and Willamette hops. This is the first time I can recall seeing a Spinnakers fresh hop beer on the…
Fort George Fresh Wet IPA: This beer was brewed in Astoria, Oregon to a strength of 6.4% abv using Yakima Valley, WA fresh Mosaic hops from Loftus Ranches. Honestly, this wasn’t easy to track down as the limited supply that was sent to Washington State was quickly bought up by any fresh hop fan, so I was…
33 Acres of Ocean Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Another new BC fresh hop offering featuring fresh Centennial hops, this beer is brewed to a strength of 5.3% abv in Vancouver, BC. The brewery used their regular Pale Ale label and hand stamped the words”Fresh Hop” onto some 4300 bottles of this release. I of course, managed to get…
Bridgeport Brewing Hop Harvest Fresh Hop IPA: Brewed in Portland, Oregon with fresh hops harvested from farm to kettle within merely an hour, this beer is made to a strength of 7% abv with 60 IBUs worth of fresh crystal hops from nearby Sodbuster Farms in the Willamette Valley region. Admittedly, this was a random and…
Ravens Brewing Fresh Hopped ESB: Newly opened in 2015, Ravens Brewing in Abbotsford, BC brewed this beer to a strength of 5.75% abv with 50 IBUs of hops from the Valley Hops farm in Abbotsford. It’s great to see a beer like this come from a brand new brewery as it’s not something you see…
Yellow Dog Brewing Alpha Dog Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Brewed with fresh Citra hops from Yakima, WA this Pale Ale comes in at a strength of 5.2% abv and 60 IBUs. What’s interesting about this beer is that it is made from fresh hops outside of BC in one of the most famous hop growing…
Fremont Brewing Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop Ale With Mosaic & Equinox: Brewed in Seattle, WA at a strength of 6% abv, this fresh hop variant features 70 IBUs worth of fresh Mosaic and Equinox hops. This is a new variety of their regular fresh hop release, something I wasn’t expecting but was happy to see. Their organic…
Persephone Harvest Goddess Golden Ale: Brewed as part of three fresh hop releases in 2015 (and new for this year), this Golden Ale is brewed to a strength of 5% abv with fresh Golding Hops from their own hop farm. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a clear golden colour with two fingers of foam and just a few…
Central City Red Racer Wet Hop Pale Ale: Available only at the brewery and brewpubs (or in a draught tap filled growler to go), this Wet Hop Pale Ale is brewed in Surrey, BC to a strength of 5% abv and is presumably a fresh hopped version of their standard Pale Ale offering. Unfortunately it doesn’t…
Powell Street Fresh Hop IPA: Last year Powell killed it with their fresh hop release called 95 Pounds of Wet Hop Goodness, so I was thrilled to see this year they upped their game by making a 7% abv unknown IBU fresh hop monster of an IPA. These are still on the shelves locally, I suggest…
Townsite Brewing Timewarp Wet Hop Pale Ale: Fresh hop season continues and this review features one from Powell River, BC that was brewed to a strength of 5.5% abv with 60 IBUs worth of fresh hops from nearby Windfall Farms and apparently some hops from Texada Island – and I thought they only grew other “crops” on…
Bridge Brewing Fresh Hopped Red IPA: Fresh hop season finally kicked off in BC in late September and there are lots of new fresh hop options in town from all the new breweries who managed to get their hands on some fresh hop cones. One of my first bottles of the season was this new one from…
Base Camp Brewing S’More Stout: As the summer camping season winds down, I can’t help but write about the best camping beer I’ve ever known which is brewed in Portland, Oregon by Base Camp Brewing. This beer is brewed to a strength of 7.7% abv and if ordered at the brewery they serve it with a…
Starting with full disclosure, I was invited to this event and given a media ticket (aka a free one) to help spread the word of their new beer all while sharing the experience with other members of the local blogging community – thanks for the invite by the way, please do consider me inviting me…
Crooked Stave Surette Provision Saison: Labelled batch 15 and born in 2014, this sour saison is brewed to a strength of 6.2% abv. Crooked Stave in Denver, CO is one of those breweries I’d heard of, but never had a chance to try their beer (other than in a collaboration format) until it recently appeared all…
Mt Lehman Cheese Co Gozzarella & Steel & Oak Smoked Hefeweizen: Sometimes I’ll put a beer and cheese together just to see what happens and other times my pairing is specifically intentional to attempt to recreate a flavour combination like I did with this one. I wanted try and emulate a smoked mozzarella flavour in this cheese…
Taster Tray Series – Callister Brewing in Vancouver, BC: Today’s feature is Callister Brewing which is located in Vancouver, BC in the East Van (or Yeast Van) brewing district. What makes this place particularly interesting is that it is a functional co-op style brewhouse, featuring Callister brewing and three other breweries under one roof. Specifically, Brewery Creek, Machine…
Avery & Russian River Collaboration Not Litigation Ale: Brewed to a strength of 8.9% abv, this collaboration ale personifies what I love about the majority of craft brewing culture, their ability to collaborate, help each other out and creatively solve issues. You see the story behind this ale is that both Avery and Russian River Brewery…
Against The Grain Brewery Citra Ass Down DIPA: Known for their puns, artwork and one really nasty looking label, Against The Grain brewed this beer to a strength of 8.2% abv with 68 IBUs of hops featuring mostly Citra hops with some others on the side. The brewers suggest drinking this one straight from the can…
Almanac Farmers Reserve Blackberry Ale: This is a sour blonde ale that is infused with blackberries, aged in wine barrels and brewed to a strength of 7% abv. They use a blend of American and Belgian wild yeasts and a sourdough starter to ferment the beer in multiple barrels, eventually blending it together before bottling it.…
Stone Brewing RuinTen Triple IPA: Stone is known for pushing the envelope to the limit when it comes to brewing, so it’s no surprise to see that this beast dubbed an “audacious gem of hoppy splendor” is brewed to a strength of 10.8% abv with 110 IBU’s worth of hops. Bottled on June 13th, 2015,…
Taster Tray Series – Strange Fellows Brewing: Today’s feature is Strange Fellows Brewing which is located in East Vancouver, BC – an area we like to refer to as the Yeast Van district since it’s home to a host of great breweries like this one. This place is one of the more celebrated new breweries in BC, a brewery that…
Four Winds Wildflower Saison: This variant from Delta, BC brewer Four Winds is brewed to a strength of 6.5% abv with 30 IBUs. It’s infused with both chamomile and elderflowers to give some unique botanical properties, being a seasonal release that is a part of their Eurus series (aka the really fricken good ones). These limited…
It’s been an entire year since this happened and today I crushed another Old Style Pilsner in honour of my brother in law, casting another toast to the towards heaven. Today will always be a tough day for us and I intend to carry on this tradition for as long as I can, with this…
Anderson Valley The Kimmie, The Yink and The Holy Gose Ale: Also known as Anderson Valley Gose, this sessionable beer is brewed to a strength of 4.2% abv with a good portion of malted wheat, added salt, coriander and it went through a kettle souring process prior to its fermentation. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a clear gold…
Lagunitas Brown Shugga’: This winter seasonal beer from Petaluma, CA is brewed to a strength of 9.9% abv with 51.1 IBUs. Brown Shugga was apparently derived out of a failed batch of their Old Gnarleywine that they tried to revive by adding brown cane sugar somewhere in the process (I’m assuming the fermentation/aging part of the…
Smits & Co.w Gone Goatee & Old Abbey Ales Belgian Quad: In this pairing I feature two products from two producers in the neighbouring towns of Abbotsford and Chilliwack in British Columbia. It is incredible to see the growth in the outskirts of Greater Vancouver in farming towns such as these ones, each worthy of a local…
Driftwood Brewery Obscuritas Dark Sour: This is a 7.6% abv sour beer released recently in BC with a lofty description and a pretty freaking cool looking label on it. I’d love to tell you more about the beer, but there’s literally no information about it posted anywhere, so I guess they were going for the mystery…
Taster Tray Series – One20 Public House: Today’s feature is the One20 Public House which is located in Delta, BC on Scott Road (aka 120th street, hence the name). I recently attended a Steel & Oak Brewmaster’s dinner there and couldn’t resist ordering a taster tray off of their excellent local beer list once the dinner event finished.…
Firestone Walker Pivo Hoppy Pilsner: Before I get into describing this beer, let me tell you that it’s abundantly rare for me to buy a Pilsner beer these days. It’s not that I don’t like them, I just find that they are usually boring compared to the bigger beers I like, so it is a style…
Kootenay Meadows Nostrala & Cannery Naramata Nut Brown Ale: In this pairing I feature two products from two different interior regions of British Columbia, each being an independent producer of beer or cheese. I luckily got to sample this cheese before buying a decent sized serving of it and I figured the earthy and nutty tasting notes…
pFriem Family Brewers Down Under IPA: Brewed in Hood River, OR this IPA comes in at a strength of 7.2% abv and 65 IBUs. pFriem is just starting to send more bottled product up to BC, but it can also be found in Washington State and they make some pretty stellar soured beers and saisons that I…
Taster Tray Series – Doan’s Craft Brewing in Vancouver, BC: Today’s feature is Doan’s Craft Brewing which is located in Vancouver, BC near the center of the East Van brewing district. Mike and Evan, the owners of the brewery, were actually the little brothers of my childhood friend Jon so it was pretty interesting to see them…
Hill Farmstead Brewery Anna Vermont Honey Ale: Brewed in Greensboro, VT at a strength of 6.5% abv this beer contains 20% raw wildflower honey from Vermont and uses their house saison yeast. Hill Farmstead is one of those breweries that you hear about, but rarely see in my neck of the woods. Unless you go to…
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