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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Persephone Brewing – Review of 4 Single Hop Beers Aka A Hopizontal

Persephone Brewing Single Hop Series 2015: Brewed in February and released about a week apart from each other, these beers are the result of a special single hop brew project by this Gibsons, BC based brewery. I really love it when breweries make single hop beers, as it is fantastic for palate training as well as…

BC Craft Beer Review – Central City / Four Winds Collaboration Maiden Voyage Cedar Aged Pale Ale

Central City / Four Winds Collaboration Maiden Voyage Cedar Aged Pale Ale: In conjunction with the BC Craft Brewers Guild, this is part of a collaboration series which should be continuing soon in the spring of 2015 with hopefully another release, perhaps with different brewers? Maiden Voyage was brewed to a strength of 6% abv, with…

Craft Beer Review – Firestone Walker DBA (Double Barrel Ale)

Firestone Walker DBA (Double Barrel Ale): Is brewed in Paso Robles, CA at a strength of 5% abv and is a blend of both oak and steel fermented ale. This is a tribute to British cask fermented beers. featuring my favourite base malt (Maris Otter) and apparently was their original beer . Aroma and Appearance: It pours a clear…

Craft Beer Review – Silver City Brewery Citra Wet Hop Pale Ale

Silver City Brewery Citra Wet Hop Pale Ale: Brewed in Bremerton, WA at a strength of 6.1% with 21 IBUs this fresh hop craft beer features Citra hops in their un-kilned cone form. This was it’s first release by this brewery, it only has one rating on ratebeer.com so I was excited to try something completely…

Craft Beer Review – Deschutes Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Deschutes Hop Trip Fresh Hop Pale Ale: Brewed in Bend, Oregon this fresh hop pale ale comes in at a strength of 6.1% abv with 38 IBUs featuring Bravo, Centennial and fresh Crystal hops. As labelled, these hops are picked fresh and rushed to the brewery and used within 4 hours of harvesting. I’ve updated the picture…

BC Craft Beer Review – Tin Whistle Penticton Harvest ‘Fresh Hop’ Honey Pale Ale

Tin Whistle Penticton Harvest ‘Fresh Hop’ Honey Pale Ale: A later addition to the fresh hop lineup that is made with night harvested cascade hops from Lilloet, BC and wildflower honey from BC, this craft beer is brewed at a strength of 5% abv. The label claims it is brewed under a full moon every year,…

BC Craft Beer Review – Hoyne Brewing Wolf Vine Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Hoyne Brewing Wolf Vine Fresh Hop Pale Ale: This common contender in the Fresh Hop beers in BC category, this Pale Ale is brewed at a strength of 5.3% ABV and an undisclosed IBU of fresh Centennial and Cascade hops from the Sartori Cedar Ranch Farm in Chilliwack, BC. This is probably the easiest fresh hop beer…

BC Craft Beer Review – Powell Street Brewery 95 Pounds of Wet Hop Goodness

Powell Street Brewery 95 Pounds of Wet Hop Goodness: Another local Fresh Hop beer, this one obtained from Bottle Jockey in Burnaby, this is a Pale Ale brewed at a strength of 6% abv and 30 IBUs featuring both Cascade and Centennial Hops. Now if you recall Powell Street won Canadian Beer of the Year with…

13 Days of Beer Camp Day Across America Day #7 – Chico King Pale Ale

Sierra Nevada/3 Floyds Brewing – Beer Camp Across America Chico King Pale Ale: A collaboration with 3 Floyds Brewing this is a hopped up Pale Ale brewed at a strength of 6.5% abv and 45 IBUs and the second collaboration beer I have had from this brewery. Aroma and Appearance: This pours a slightly cloudy copper with some sporadic bubbles…

Craft Beer Review – Dicks Brewing 12 Man Pale Ale

Dicks Brewing 12 Man Pale Ale: Dubbed a beer “for the fan” on their website, this Pale is brewed at a strength of 4.5% abv (so more of a session beer) with an undisclosed IBU rating. This was obtained as a part of a build your own 6 pack from Trader Joe’s in Bellingham, who occasionally…

BC Craft Beer Review – Townsite Brewing Perfect Storm Oatmeal Stout

Townsite Brewing Perfect Storm Oatmeal Stout: This is a stout brewed in Powell River, BC at a strength of 5.5% with 30 IBUs featuring Columbus, Cascade and Golding hops per their website. I haven’t had a lot of great BC stouts so I like to try different one’s to see where the gems are. Aroma and Appearance: This pours…

BC Craft Beer Review – Steel & Oak Royal City Pale Ale

Steel & Oak – Royal City Pale Ale: Is a craft beer brewed in New Westminster, BC just past the Quay at a strength of 5% abv and a lower 20 IBU rating. I had sampled this, like it a lot so naturally a Boston Growler of it came home with me. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a golden yellow with 1 finger…

BC Craft Beer Review – Driftwood Brewery Pale Ale

Driftwood Brewery – Pale Ale: Is a craft beer brewed in Victoria, BC at a strength of 5% abv and was poured out of a 22 oz bottle at home. It also goes by Driftwood Ale. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a cloudy gold colour with 2 fingers of foam with some minuscule bubbles and lacy foam. The aroma is tangerine, citrus and…

BC Craft Beer Review – White Rock Beach Beer Company Fruit Pale Ale

White Rock Beach Beer Company – Fruit Pale Ale: Is pale ale from a nano-nano brewer in White Rock, BC that opened up recently and I just haven’t gotten down there to pick up a growler yet. I finally did grab a 1L growler from them after sampling their beer and once I got home I had…

BC Craft Beer Review – Old Yale Brewing Sasquatch Stout

Old Yale Brewing Sasquatch Stout: This 2014 Canadian Brewing Beer of the Year is brewed in Chilliwack, BC and is an oatmeal stout brewed at a strength of 5.0% which was enjoyed at home in a snifter glass from a 22 oz bottle. I have been searching for a really good, basic BC stout and have…

BC Craft Beer Review – Granville Island Brewing Swing Span Amber Ale

Granville Island Brewing -Swing Span Amber Ale: Is a craft beer brewed in British Columbia (I still call it craft), at a strength of 5.6% abv with 45 IBU’s and was enjoyed at home in from a bottle into a beer glass. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a clear amber with 1 inch of foam and some small rising bubbles near…

Craft Beer Review – Elysian Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale Ale

Elysian – Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale Ale: Is a Pale Ale with blood orange flavour that is brewed in Seattle, WA at a strength of 5.4% with 45 IBU’s and was enjoyed in a 22 oz beer glass at home. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a cloudy amber with 2 fingers of foam and no visible bubbles.…

BC Craft Beer Review – Spinnakers Blue Bridge Double Pale Ale

Spinnakers – Blue Bridge Double Pale Ale: Is a double pale ale made in Victoria, BC at a strength of 8.2% abv and was enjoyed at home poured from a can into a pub style glass. Apparently they used to call this a double IPA, but have correctly chosen to rename it closer to its true style…

Craft Beer Review – Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Stone – Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale: Brewed in California at strength of 7.2% this Pale Ale was enjoyed in a nonic 16 oz glass while vacationing in Portland. Stone is hilarious in their descriptions and “Your Not Worthy” marketing, it works well and is always a hoot to read. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a dark amber colour…

Craft Beer Review – Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale

Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale:  Brewed in Colorado at strength of 6.5% with 65 IBU’s, this Pale Ale (really at 65 IBU I don’t know that it can claim to be a Pale Ale) came from a can and was enjoyed in a nonic 16oz glass at home. Aroma and Appearance: It pours a slightly hazy copper with an…

Craft Beer Review – Deschutes Red Chair Pale Ale

Deschutes Red Chair Pale Ale (NWPA):  Dubbed a North West Pale Ale, this beer is brewed in Oregon at a strength of 6.2% abv and 60 IBUs featuring Cascade and Centennial hops. I found such a good deal 12 pack of this beer that I couldn’t resist buying it as my go-to fridge beer. Interesting enough this…

Powell Street Brewery – Old Jalopy Pale Ale

Powell Street Brewery – Old Jalopy Pale Ale: The all mighty Canadian Brewing Awards 2013 Beer of the Year, brewed in Vancouver at a strength of 5.5% and 40 IBU’s – poured from a hard to find bottle into a glass at home. I manage to walk into a liquor store who had lost track of…

Bridge Brewing – North Shore Pale Ale

Bridge Brewing – North Shore Pale Ale: This local North Vancouver micro brewed craft beer is a Pale Ale with a strength of 5.5% alcohol level, 30 IBU’s and was poured from a 22 oz bottle into a glass at home. If you have ever been there (and you should go visit them), you will be amazed…

Import Craft Beers – Mill Street Brewery Tankhouse Ale

From Mill St’s Seasonal 6 pack sampler comes Mill Street Brewery’s Tankhouse Ale (5.2% alc, poured at home from a bottle). I love the idea of a 6 pack sampler, well done Mill Street. Aroma and Appearance: Floral, citrus and a bit of pine aroma. Pours a golden copper with a 1 inch head of foam with…

BC Craft Beer Review – Four Winds Pale Ale

Brewed in Delta, BC comes Four Winds Pale Ale (5.2% alc, poured at home from a bottle) in my opinion the breakout brewery of the year last year. These are available in four packs. Aroma and Appearance: fresh floral, citrus and a bit of a tropical aroma, pours copper coloured with minimal foam and not a lot of…