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…
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…
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…
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
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.
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
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Lawson’s Finest Liquids Sip of Sunshine Double IPA: Brewed in Warren, VT this Double IPA comes in at a strength of 8% abv with an undisclosed IBU level. Like other famous Vermont IPA’s, it’s in a tall boy can with a date stamp on the bottom (mine was 5 weeks fresh) and features some pretty cool…
Little Qualicum Cheeseworks Brie & Dageraad Blonde: Featuring another delicious brie cheese, in this post my intention was to explore melding of spicy yeast esters from a Belgian blonde ale and a the creamy buttery flavours of a soft creamy cheese. This style of beer can be paired with all kinds of cheeses, but it is best with a…
Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA: Brewed in Chico, CA, this beer was the subject of a short but relatively public dispute over the black IPA lettering used on the bottle which was just, barely, sorta similar to the Lagunitas IPA font they use on their white labeled IPA bottle. It is brewed to a strength of 6.2% abv…
Village Amber Ale Cheese and Driftwood New Growth Pale Ale: Continuing with my beer and cheese pairing experimentation on this blog, I managed to find a cheese that was already infused with an Amber Ale for my next beer and cheese pairing adventure. Most Pale Ales will pair up nicely with a sharp cheddar cheese, or even…
The Farmhouse Brie with Old Yale Witbier: In general wheat based ales aren’t massive palate busters, so in order to incorporate them into a good beer and cheese pairing be sure to look for a delicate cheese that won’t over power the beer. You’ll want something that will work to cut into the fat a…
Category 12 Brewing Unsanctioned Saison: This beer is brewed in Victoria, BC to a strength of 6.9% abv, using their house Belgian yeast and 27 IBUs of Zythos hops. Unsanctioned Saison also features Pilsner, Belgian Caravienne and Rye malts according to their website. I’m always game for a good Saison style beer and this had gotten some…
Chimay Brewery: Located in Chimay, Belgium this is a Trappist brewery operating out of Scourmont Abbey who famously brews the three beers pictured above for worldwide distribution. They use water from wells inside the monastery and put all profits towards the maintenance of the monastery itself or towards community charitable social services provided by the monks. They also…
Dageraad Sri Lanka Belgian Dubbel: This is a really interesting Belgian Dubbel which is brewed to a strength of 7.5% abv featuring tamarind and kithul treacle; two things I knew nothing about prior to drinking this. Sri Lanka by Dageraad is a single release small batch brewed beer, so if you are interested in trying it…
Brouwerij de Molen Rasputin: Bottled in March 2012 in the Netherlands, this Imperial Stout is brewed to a strength of 10.4% abv with 46 IBUs in a bottle that boasts the words “Enjoy within 25 years”. This is a beer is an interesting candidate for very long term aging should you have the patience and remaining lifespan…
Fuggles & Warlock Bean Me Up Espresso Milk Stout: Brewed in BC by current gypsy brewer Fuggles & Warlock, this beer has 5.7% abv, 24 IBUs and is infused with Salt Spring Island brand Metta Espresso coffee and brewed with lactose to give it a creamy milk texture and flavour. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a very dark…
Ninkasi Devil Went Down to Oregon Imperial Dark Rye Beer: Brewed in Eugene, Oregon in collaboration with Devil’s Backbone Brewing in Virginia, this beer was brewed to a strength of 7.2% abv with 72 IBUs worth of Chinook, Simcoe, Mt Hood, Tettnang and Willamette hops. It was fermented with an Altbier yeast and matured cooler than…
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