Posts Tagged ‘BC’
Written by Abram on 04 April 2010
Brewsville-Pentiction, British Columbia
It’s been said that Pentiction is the Florida of Canada. The mild climate of the Okanagan Valley is conducive to peach, and apple orchards, and draws many retirees. The beachfront on Lake Okanagan is lined with hotels and even the odd casino. Penticton boasts a thriving beer scene for a town of its size (43,000 in the metro area) with two breweries (Tin Whistle and Cannery) and a brew pub (The Barley Mill).
Each year the town plays host to the Okanagan Fest Of Ales, an indoor beer event that features breweries from across BC, and beyond. A good number of Washington brewers attend, as do a number of importers pouring beers from Belgium, China, and Germany. The festival draws a mix of attendees from 19 to 90. Tickets for Friday and Saturday sessions are very limited, and often sell out in advance. Click here for info.
This year the festival celebrates its 15th anniversary April 9-10. The festival hosts a unique two-tiered competition. The People’s Choice Award, is given to the brewery that gets the most votes in public balloting, and the Industry Choice award, which is given to the brewery to get the most points from secret judges selected from brewers and beer media. Crannóg Ales, an on-farm organic brewery from Sorrento BC has taken the Industry Award for Best Beer for the last 5 years running.
While in Penticton be sure to visit Salty’s Beach House, which serves amazing Thai curries and is located on the beachfront. The Book Shop downtown offers an amazing array of used books with reasonable prices. The store is has 5000 square feet of space, all of which is jam-packed with books, making it one of the largest used bookstores in Canada. Also recommended is a stroll along the beach to investigate the grounded paddle wheelers at the west end of Lake Okanagan. These stylish boats once plied the lake as passenger ferries. Penticton also hosts an Iron Man Competition, with a swimming component, so don’t be surprised to see locals training by swimming in the frigid April lake. Look closely though, as Lake Okanagan is rumored to be home to Ogopogo, a Loch Ness Monster type creature, with sightings dating back to the 1870′s.
Tags: BC, Crannog, Fests, Penticton
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Written by Abram on 23 March 2010
Brewsville-Vancouver, British Columbia
Maybe its because the queen’s on the money, maybe its because many of the pioneering BC brewers were English, whatever the reason, British Columbians have a great enthusiasm for cask-conditioned beer. Spinnakers, in Victoria hosted its second cask-conditioned beer festival in a year, and Vancouver abounds with cask nights.
St. Augustines on Commercial Drive advertises Cask Night
These weekly events draw a crowd of CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale) members, and beer enthusiasts. Casks are generally placed on the bar, and served by gravity until empty. DIX Brewing, on Beatty Street, and Yaletown Brewing on Hamilton Street in the heart of Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown neighborhood, are both part of the Mark Jame Group, and offer weekly cask tappings on Thursday nights. The casks range from experimental beers from the host breweries, to casks from brewers throughout the province. The Whip Restaurant and Gallery, located on 4th Street, just off Main holds a cask night every Sunday with different brewers from BC and beyond. (Brooklyn Brewing’s Garrett Oliver, and Elysian’s Dick Cantwell have both hosted tappings of their casks at the Whip in recent years).
St. Augustine’s on Commercial Drive, just north of Broadway, a new sportsbar-cum-multitap takes up the cask torch on Mondays. March 22nd its cask of DIX Grand Cru had been drained by 9pm. The pub’s tap selection is increasing to 50, so the selection on offer was limited to 16 for the change over. One downside to St. Augustine’s is their use of 14 ounce “cheater pints,” which when charging $7.50 for a pint of Deschutes Mirror Pond, is a little ridiculous.
So why such great cask-culture? Part of the excitement about the casks stems from their fleeting nature. Many brewers in BC add herbs and spices directly to the cask. DIX hosts two annual Caskival events, one in summer, and another in December, at which the spices often shine through. Brian MacIsaac, of Crannog Ales in Sorrento, once made a cask of “Droncrem” milk stout, by adding whole milk to a cask of stout for the Okanagan Fest-of-Ales. (the result was rather cloudy, as the milk and beer did not mix so well, but the flavor was enjoyable). Storm Brewing once made a basil IPA, in which fresh basil was added directly to the cask.
Not all the cask beer in Vancouver is served gravity feed, the Alibi Room on Alexander Street offers three rotating casks served on hand-pump at all times. Yaletown serves its ales on handpump in the restaurant, and many other brewpubs boast a handpump or two. The Raven in Deep Cove on the North Shore offers several cask selections. Stay tuned to Brewsville.com for info on upcoming cask events.
This just in from the suburbs- Amberjack’s in Surrey also hosts occasional cask nights, and Taylor’s Crossing Brewery in North Vancouver has a monthly cask night on the first Friday.
Tags: BC, CAMRA, cask conditioned beer, Caskival, Crannog, Deschutes, DIX, Okanagan Fest-of-Ale, real ale, Spinnakers, St. Augustines., Storm, the Whip, Vancouver BC, Victoria, Yaletown
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Written by Abram on 21 March 2010
Brewsville-Vancouver, British Columbia
In preparation for Vancouver Craft Beer Week (May 10-16th) Brewery Creek Beer Store has organized the BC Beer Awards Judges for the beer awards were selected primarily from the beer media, with judges traveling from Alberta and Oregon. 188 entries from across British Columbia were submitted in 10 categories.
Beer writer John Rowling of Victoria judges wheat beers
I was honored to be asked to judge at the event, which was held March 22 at the Alibi Room. The Alibi has quickly become Vancouver’s top craft beer bar, with 24 taps dedicated to BC craft beers, one rotating Rogue tap, and three handpumps. The Albi has a reclaimed industrial feel to it, with high ceilings, and arched leaded glass windows that face on the railroad tracks. The light airy space made the perfect setting for a day of judging.
The Alibi also boasts a large collection of movie scripts, which may be perused while drinking. The Alibi offers a broad menu with a focus on hearty new world twists on European cuisine. The menu lists the local farmers and ranchers who grow and raise the food.
I can’t talk too much about the judging, lest I let slip any clues about who won, but I can tell you the best of show round to pick the overall champion beers was really tough. The beers were all so great, that judges were hard pressed to come to a decision on which three would be awards medals.
The judging was organized by Gerry Erith, owner of Brewery Creek, and Chester Carey, Canada’s first certified Cicerone, who undertook the monumental task of collecting and organizing entries from 36 breweries from across BC.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony May 14th during Vancouver Craft Beer Week. The Craft Beer Week phenomena is spreading, with San Francisco recently completing its inaugural CBW.
It all started with Oregon Craft Beer Week in 2005, which soon blossomed into Oregon Craft Beer Month. Philadelphia launched its Craft Beer Week in 2008, and has been a model for other cities, from Seattle to New York, to Charlotte, with at least 20 Beer Weeks scheduled this year according to an article on beernews.org
Tags: Alibi Room, awards, BC, Brewery Creek, competition, judging, Oregon Craft Beer Month, Vancouver BC, Vancouver Craft Beer Week
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