Sample Series – Townsite Brewing Quartz Blended Wild Ale
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.
Sample Series – BC Craft Brewers Guild & Bomber Brewing Collaboration Oktoberfest 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…
Sample Series – Beau’s Full Time IPA, a West Coast Beer From the East
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…
IPA Review – Melvin Citradamus Imperial IPA
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…
Sample Series – A Look At Moody’s Sublime Pineapple Hefeweizen
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.
BC Craft Beer Review – Four Winds Norwegian Wood Farmhouse Ale
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…
Sample Series – Trading Post Brewing Starts A Bold New Bomber Bottle Program
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.
Classic Series – A Review of Brooklyn Lager
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…
Sample Series – A Look At Steamworks & Dageraad East of East Van Saison
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Dageraad White Belgian Wheat Beer
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…
IPA Review – Fuggles & Warlock Valis Imperial IPA
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.
BC Craft Beer Review – Strange Fellows Goldilocks Belgian Golden Strong
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…
IPA Review – Four Winds & Powell Collaboration Farmhouse IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Lighthouse Depth Charge Barrel Aged Scotch Ale
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.
IPA Review – Superflux Colour & Shape
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
BC Craft Beer Review – Four Winds Mona
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 […]
IPA Review – Melvin Asterisk Double IPA
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.
BC Craft Beer Review – Steel & Oak Baltic Porter
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
IPA Review – Twin Sails Slam Dank
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
BC Craft Beer Review – Steamworks Flagship IPA
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…
Craft Beer Review – Maine Beer Company Dinner Double IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Howe Sound Ascension Triple IPA
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…
Craft Beer Review – Sixpoint Brewery Resin Imperial IPA
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.…
Craft Beer Review – Holy Mountain The Third Nail Belgian Pale Ale
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…
Craft Beer Review – Long Trail Brewing Space Juice Double IPA
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:…
Craft Beer Review – Logsdon Seizoen Bretta Organic Farmhouse Ale
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…
Craft Beer Review – Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws 2014
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,…
Craft Beer Review – Brewmaster Jack Hoppines Is A Warm Pun Double IPA
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…
Craft Beer Review – Lord Hobo Brewing Boom Sauce Double IPA
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…
Craft Beer Review – Fiddlehead Brewing Mastermind Double IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Dead Frog Brewery Wet Hop S.M.A.S.H
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…
Craft Beer Review – Lagunitas Born Yesterday Fresh Hop Pale Ale
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…
Craft Beer Review – Gilgamesh Brewing Fresh Prince Fresh Hop IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Yellow Dog Brewing Play Dead Fresh Hop IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Russell Brewing Farm Fresh IPA
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…
Craft Beer Review – Deschutes Chasin’ Freshies Fresh Hop IPA (2015)
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…
Craft Beer Review – Hale’s Ales Fresh Hop ISA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Spinnakers Sooke Harvest Fresh Hop Pale Ale
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…
Craft Beer Review – Fort George Wet Hop IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – 33 Acres of Ocean Fresh Hop Pale Ale
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…
Craft Beer Review – Bridgeport Brewing Hop Harvest Fresh Hop IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Ravens Brewing Fresh Hopped ESB
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Yellow Dog Brewing Alpha Dog Fresh Hop Pale Ale
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…
Craft Beer Review – Fremont Brewing Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop Ale With Mosaic & Equinox
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Persephone Harvest Goddess Golden Ale
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Central City Red Racer Wet Hop Pale Ale
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Powell Street Fresh Hop IPA
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Townsite Brewing Timewarp Wet Hop Pale Ale
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…
BC Craft Beer Review – Bridge Brewing Fresh Hopped Red IPA
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…
Craft Beer Review – Against The Grain Brewery Citra Ass Down DIPA
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…
West Coast Beer Geek 