What`s Brewing Winter 2016

Port Moody Brews • Head Hopping • Mike's Craft Beer • Claire Wilson • Vintage Beer • Collabofest 2016 • Beer in Paradise
Spring 2016
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WHATSBREWING.CA
VOL. 26 ISSUE 2
THE JOURNAL OF BC'S CRAFT BEER MOVEMENT
BEER LEAGUE
BC PRO SPORTS: MEET CRAFT BEER CULTURE
Spring 2016 Contents
VOL. 26 ISSUE 2
THE JOURNAL OF BC'S CRAFT BEER MOVEMENT
7
ON THE COVER: Beer League
Pro sports marketing, meet craft beer culture
14
Give Craft A Sporting Chance
Rebecca W. says arenas need to step up their game
16
Moody Brews
How Rocky Point became a beer mecca
20
18
Women In Beer: Claire Wilson
Lundy Dale profiles Dogwood Brewing's founder
20
Be Like Mike
Meet Mike and Steve from Mike's Craft Beer
22
Books In Review: Vintage Beer
Ted Child bones up on cellaring ales
24
Head Hopping for Hop-Heads
J Random's secret for tasty beer at the beach resort
16
25
A View from the Cellar
Cellarman Adam Chatburn's crash course, Part II
26
Homebrew Happenin's
Warren Boyer tells new brewers to keep it simple
28
Back Yard Hop Growing
Lynn McIlwee of Hops Canary on beer gardening
30
Craft Beer Road Trip 2015
A monumental journey from interior to Island
34
18
Collabofest 2016
Brian K Smith reports from Portland's unique fest
36
Beer in Paradise
True craft beer comes to Maui
38
Beers, Beaches & Breweries
Kim Lawton provides the update from the Okanagan
40
Coastal Currents
The latest from the Sunshine Coast, with Paddy
42
Out and About
Scottie McLellan reports in on the BC beer beat
30
43
Brewed Awakening
Jan Zeschky refreshes his guide to new breweries
4
WHAT'S BREWING
OPENING REMARKS
A new phase for BC'S beer publications
I
n our Fall 2015 comeback issue, we asked the question
Have You Seen The Growler? I’ll bet you have, given that
you’re interested enough in BC beer publications to be
reading this one. If not: it’s our province’s pre-eminent
(and only) craft beer handbook, and it’s great.
The Growler, formerly free, is now $2. That’s a big change,
and we hope you support it by taking one home when you
have the opportunity. Surprised? Don’t be. It works the same
way for us beer writers as it does for little breweries: we
mostly stick together.
I personally pay for my Growler each issue, as a subscriber. You can too: home delivery signup is available online.
Better yet though, skip the shipping cost (postage is brutal)
and pick it up at participating craft outlets for $2, which is
outrageously underpriced for what you’re getting, including
fantastic and clever beer writing plus a really snazzy guidebook for your next beer crawl or road trip. It’s also available
for a higher price at fine bookstores, but if you buy it from a
tasting room or bottle shop you’re supporting the craft outlet
that’s taking pains to stock it for you.
So where am I going with this? Well… what if I told you that,
for a toonie, you could take home a limited printed edition of
this very magazine you’re reading?
Up until now the only way to buy a rare and lovingly-printed
hardcopy of What’s Brewing to keep and treasure was via our
website (home delivery at $5 per issue, including shipping).
Starting now, we are arranging with a small-and-hopefully-growing list of craft outlets to keep a limited run of printed
copies of WB for sale, so you can pick up your keepsake copy
and save a few bucks on postage.
Or you can just read it for free online. Our business model
is to provide this magazine to the general community at no
charge, and we’re not changing that. We’re still a digital-primary magazine striving to save paper and yada yada; for that
reason, this very issue was launched and promoted online
before a single copy was printed.
Having said that, there’s something about reading a magazine on good old glossy paper. As of the last issue, we began
providing a handful of complimentary black & white hardcopies to as many tasting rooms and craft outlets around
BC as we could, for folks to share while on premises. (Maybe
that’s what you’re doing right now? If so, nicely leave us behind for the next intelligent drinker.) We’re trying to provide
an in-pub reading experience featuring a homegrown BC
magazine. This is only possible due to our great corporate
supporters.
So now you can read us online, find us in a tasting room near
you, or take a printed copy home for cheaper than delivery.
It’s all part of spreading the word of the craft movement in
BC far and wide.
--Once again this issue we feature a massive load of content
from beer community folks who worked hard to put their
thoughts on paper. I hope you enjoy reading what they have
to say; your enthusiastic support means a lot to us.
Special welcome to new contributors Rebecca Whyman,
Chelsea McDowell, Brian K. Smith, Simon Backer and Sheridan Mohammed. Rebecca's rant, topical to this issue's cover theme, underscores how we still have areas where we're
catching up to our US cousins; specifically, craft taps at
sports arenas.
Chelsea's engaging travelogue is a perfect segue into the
planned cover topic for our next issue: Staycation BC. With
a dollar rate that discourages travel to the US (except maybe
Portland; see Brian's article for a brief reminder why), and
with more breweries than ever available right here at home,
this is the year that craft trekkers will be looking for ale trails,
and we've got 'em. Stay tuned for more on that.
Bottoms up,
Dave Smith, Publisher
© 2016 What's Brewing
The Journal of BC's
Craft Beer Movement
Editorial Team: D. Smith, P. Morris
[email protected]
Published by Line49 Design Group Inc.
300-1275 West 6th Avenue
Vancouver BC V6H 1A6
[email protected]
www.whatsbrewing.ca
Social Media: @whatsbrewingbc
Communications: Monica Frost
[email protected]
Advertising & Corporate Sales:
[email protected]
Contributors: Simon Backer, Warren
Boyer, Adam Chatburn, Ted Child,
Lundy Dale, Kim Lawton, Chelsea McDowell, Lynn McIlwee, Stewart 'Scottie'
McLellan, Sheridan Mohammed, Mallory
O'Neil, J. Random, John Rowling, Brian
K. Smith, Jeremiah Thunderfoot, Paddy
Treavor, Rebecca Whyman.
Editorial Photographer: Brian K. Smith
SPRING 2016
5
Okanagan Fest of Ale 2016
The place to Get Away, to sip, Savour & Celebrate: Penticton BC, April 8+9
W
hether you’re a seasoned craft beer connoisseur or a craft brew newcomer you’re certain
to find something new, exciting and fresh at
the 2016 Okanagan Fest of Ale.
food and beer pairings. The choice of eats being offered at
the event is as diverse as the array of brews with options from
food truck favourites to fine fare from some of the areas most
noteworthy restaurants.
The 21st annual Fest of Ale takes place in the waterfront city
of Penticton BC April 8th & 9th, 2016. The 2-day event features great entertainment, fabulous food, and an opportunity
for 5000+ beer and cider enthusiasts to sample a diverse and
delicious selection of craft brews, cask ales and quality ciders
from 55 exceptional craft breweries.
Entertainment at the Fest of Ale includes a great mix of performances on both the main stage and at busking locations
both inside the venue and on the outdoor tasting deck, while
the on-site liquor store makes it possible for everyone to take
their favourite festival memory home to share (or not)!
The 2016 roster of participating breweries includes favourites
from nearly every corner of the province. Of the 55 participating, 15 are new to the event and many of these are new
to industry. 5 will be featuring craft cider and many will be
offering new seasonal releases and brews created special for
the occasion.
“We are thrilled to have lined up a record number of participants for the event and elated that 5 of these breweries call
Penticton home” says John Devitt, Fest of Ale Vice President
and Marketing Chair. Best known for its orchards, lakes, and
summertime fun, Penticton’s reputation as a craft beer destination is gaining ground. A new brewery will soon be opening its doors in the city bringing the total number of craft
breweries in the city to 5. Penticton offers something for savvy cider drinkers too – with numerous craft cideries opening
up throughout the region. “Consumer interest in craft brewed
products continues to grow and the craft brew scene in Penticton is growing right along with it”.
In addition to sipping a selection of over 150+ suds and ciders guests of the fest can look forward to delicious dishes
from 12 local restaurateurs, a number of which will be offering
New to the festival is a 2-day weekend pass. Priced at only $47.
As a stand alone ticket the 2-day weekend pass is perfect for
the those interested in sampling the wide variety of craft beer
and cider available at the event in a responsible way at an affordable rate; and for those interested in a weekend get away
is offered in conjunction with ticket and accommodation
packages starting at just $109/couple. A 2-day tasting tour
originating in the Lower Mainland is available also through a
partnership with Vine & Hops.
“Ticket and accommodation package bookings to date have
been brisk. We are over 30% ahead of last year on ticket sales
to date, so if you are planning to take in the Okanagan Fest of
Ale this year we recommend purchasing your tickets soon”
says Devitt.
Operating as a non-profit society, organizers are committed
to support and promote the growing world of quality brewery products, local tourism and local charitable organizations.
Since its inception, $537,660 in net proceeds has been gifted
back to qualifying registered charities.
Visit www.FestofAle.ca to find out more then make plans to
Sip & Savour April 8th & 9th in the sudsy Okanagan.
SPRING 2016
7
BUSINESS OF BEER
Southsiders celebrate a goal by Vancouver Whitecaps FC: like craft beer, the game's popularity is on the rise
Beer League: Part I
>> Jeremiah Thunderfoot
>> Images: Brian K. Smith
Pro sports marketing, meet craft beer culture
E
verybody knows that beer is married to sports. The
historic correlation between the two is obvious;
sponsorship of about every pro sports team in the
Western world by giant beer companies is a given.
Depending on your age, you’ve seen decades of marketing
featuring ex-jocks who will gladly tell you the right beer
Tastes Great and/or is Less Filling.
That, of course, is a Big Beer concept. We little brewery fans
reject such notions. But professional sports hold a prominent
role in our society, and I myself am a fan. So I have to question whether the culture of the modern craft beer movement
that I love is aligned with the big-league pro sports I love.
Many in the craft community would say no. Vancouver’s Alibi Room famously rejected sports bar culture by refusing to
bring (working) televisions into the bar. Cumberland Brewing on Vancouver Island has done the same in their funky
tasting room. Mounting flatscreens was a non-starter. The
topic came up and was settled instantly; it would have ruined the vibe.
People aren’t complaining. A random sampling of millennial
hipsters and beer nerds hanging out in the taproom at 33
Acres will probably not turn up a lot of BC Lions season ticket holders. It’s not just the new, young end of the hardcore
craft crowd either; I noticed this about most of my Gen-X
foodie-type beer friends at least a decade ago. The folks at
the core of the artisanal food and beverage movement are
not typically the WrestleMania or monster truck show types.
Riding a bicycle or hiking might be of more interest to this
crowd.
Craft beer: on the bench and watching
from the sidelines
Aside from cultural taste, another reason craft breweries might not inspire a mental association with big-league
sports is down to their inherent commercial limitations. Tiny
businesses don’t pair well with giant sports leagues. It’s natural that small breweries who want to support local athletics
and market themselves in the process would choose to align
with amateur or semi-pro sports teams. A good example of
this is Portland’s BridgePort Brewing, which sponsors minor
league baseball’s Hillsboro Hops. They certainly couldn’t pay
to play as the primary beer brand for a Major League Baseball
team.
However, there’s one North American sports circuit that
manages to legitimately brand itself as Major League, yet still
happens to be somewhat more accessible to craft breweries
due to its smaller scale. Serendipitously, its audience almost
perfectly intersects with the demographic of the craft beer
movement. The football they play is not the customary North
American variety, but it’s the sort that the folks behind the
counter and in the brewhouse of some of BC’s best-known
craft breweries are rooting for.
8
WHAT'S BREWING
Craft Beer finds its dream game
For years, I’ve noticed a striking overlap between craft beer
enthusiasts and supporters of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. At
‘Caps matches, I have regularly spotted craft folks I know
from Central City Brewing, 33 Acres, Mark James Group’s
Red Truck and Yaletown Brewing, Real Cask Brewing, Riot
Brewing, 12 Kings Pub, BC Beer Awards and CAMRA BC’s
Vancouver branch. I’ve also experienced the odd feeling of
seeing contacts that I first met at soccer games eventually
show up at craft beer festivals or even serve on a CAMRA
branch exec.
It eventually made sense to me. Over time, I have casually
observed that soccer supporters are slightly more particular
about the type of beer they’re drinking than are traditional North American sports fans. Other people have noticed,
too. Ben Keene writes in BeerAdvocate, “Across the country,
supporters of Major League Soccer seem to pay particularly
close attention to the beer selection at their stadium.” Daniel
Wiersema, founder of a soccer advocacy website called the
Free Beer Movement, says “The fan is demanding more than
just watered down macro brews while they’re enjoying a
game… The people that are filling MLS stadiums are intensely
local—they’re holding a scarf with their local colors in one
hand and a pint of local beer in the other.”
There’s a certain trendiness about both craft beer and the
Whitecaps (actually, MLS soccer in general). Both are continuing to grow steadily across North America, and both are
trending strongly with millennials. In Vancouver and across
BC, growth has been very strong over the past five years,
with both the Whitecaps and the craft movement appealing
to the same critical young adult demographic that ensures
continued support.
As Jason Notte writes for MarketWatch, “Craft brewers have
long known that…MLS fans love their beer. According to
Nielsen, millennials account for 35% of all beer consumption
and are 26% more likely to drink a craft beer than the average U.S. beer drinker. They’re outdone only by Generation X,
which drinks only 21% of all beer but is 28% more likely than
the average beer drinker to grab a craft beer. Those two demographics overlap nicely with MLS.
“For craft brewers, an MLS partnership provides a footing on
a professional sports landscape that generally treats them like
third-class citizens. For MLS, it provides strong local ties to
a league still building itself one boisterous market at a time.
For both, it’s a way of tapping into a young audience that still
evades most of their competitors.” This is low-hanging fruit
for marketers, and implies good things for soccer’s future.
Beer giants have traditionally tied their marketing to major
league sports like baseball and hockey, but they’re looking
for ways to reach the young consumer and MLS is one of
those ways. Nielsen’s ratings show that viewers aged 21-34
make up less than 17% of baseball’s viewing audience. MLS
broadcasts draw comparatively small viewing audiences,
but 51% of its viewers are age 34 or younger. Meanwhile, its
average gameday attendance beats the attendance of indoor arena sports like NBA and NHL (Whitecaps are dead
average for MLS, at just over 20,500 per game; average for
hockey is more like 18,000). For younger adults, the darling
demographic of the corporate marketer, soccer is where the
growth is.
Likely no corporate marketers are looking at this as closely
as big beer marketers. AB InBev estimates that 44% of coveted 21-27 year old Millennials have never tried Budweiser.
Young adults today are fortunate enough to come of age
in an era when food and beverage choices are much more
enlightened than they were a generation or two ago. Craft
beer is ready and waiting for them, and they’re slurping it up.
Centerplate officials in Seattle’s Safeco Field said craft beer
brands outsell the larger domestic brands by a four-to-one
ratio. That estimate will certainly include ‘crafty’ and non-independent labels, but it underscores the desperation that Big
Beer is starting to face regarding major labels like Bud.
So craft beer and soccer are both trending upwards, and
their growing young audience is great for marketers. But is
there any deeper reason that the two are culturally linked,
here in BC?
A Common Heritage
I’ve long felt that one reason for commonality between North
American soccer supporters and craft beer enthusiasts can
be traced to history. There is a direct and undeniable British
connection in the heritage of both pursuits in BC, blended
with a Pacific Northwest focus.
All of the US Pacific Northwest was British fur-trapping territory pretty much up until the founding of our province, just
over a century and a half ago; we were all one big family. One
manifestation of this legacy is the shared set of values within
our unofficial nation of Cascadia, distinct from the rest of
North America. Unlike in Washington and Oregon though,
the UK/Commonwealth connection persisted in Canada and
BC such that when the craft beer revolution began, founding fathers (e.g., publican and brewer John Mitchell) were
likely to be influenced by what they’d witnessed in England
first, then ultimately the US West Coast second. Our primary
organized craft beer enthusiast group, CAMRA BC, gained
inspiration directly from the UK movement, resulting in the
prioritization of cask culture and the cask-based format of
BC beer events that isn’t typical across the border. We have
our very own mix of UK and West Coast here.
Correspondingly, it’s easy to spot the British connection
amongst footy fans. When you spend time hanging out at
soccer games, you hear the accents from time to time, a reminder of where the game comes from. Indeed, the gameday supporter experience borrows from UK pub culture. On
a typical Saturday match day, English footy fans will gather before the game at their local, walk to the field where the
game is held, then return to the pub after. Beer is an intrinsic
part of the football supporter’s life. It’s a traditional pastime,
and many long-time fans like to enjoy it traditionally, with a
pint of ale in a glass rather than a frosty bottle of Bud.
What makes supporting the Whitecaps simultaneously Cascadian is that their primary rivalry vector is North-South, up
and down Interstate 5 connecting us with Seattle and Portland. This regional intra-MLS competition is substantiated
and symbolized by the Cascadia Cup, a prize since pre-MLS
days for the regional team that has the best record in play
against its neighbour teams, regardless of league standings.
Indeed, for many ‘Caps supporters such as long-time Southsiders capo, beer community leader and brewer Adam Chatburn, the Cup outranks any other prize including the MLS
championship. Unlike hockey and football, soccer here is a
Painting and pre-gaming at the pub.
The South Side, after the match:
tall cans confirm the preference for craft beer
The media has noticed. A superfan addresses a TV camera with a toast
10
WHAT'S BREWING
Northwest affair first, the rest of North America second. It’s
an old English pastime with a West Coast ethic, just like our
craft beer movement.
The Supporter Experience
In soccer culture, ‘supporters’ refers mostly to those hardcore fans that have chosen to align themselves with an established fan group, a UK tradition that has long taken root
amongst North American soccer club followers. Supporter
groups are very active and vocal during a game, typically
choosing to stand, sing, chant, wave flags and vigorously
hex the opposition during play.
The three established supporter groups for Whitecaps FC
are the Vancouver Southsiders, the Curva Collective and the
Rain City Brigade. All three groups occupy an end zone at BC
Place; somewhere in the Southsiders’ portion is a so-called
Brewers’ Row where a number of the aforementioned craft
beer professionals have clustered their season tickets.
Supporter groups are a hallmark of soccer culture that differentiates the soccer match-day experience from attending,
say, a Canucks game. Indeed, Mark Daley of Vancity Buzz
noted recently that “At Rogers Arena I feel like a spectator,
and unless it’s an especially intense game I don’t feel that
much more involved than watching at home”. He contrasts
this with the non-stop involvement at ‘Caps matches. Indeed, a small group of Southsiders experimented by attending a Canucks game in character, standing in the uppermost
seats and chanting during play. It was not well received by
some of the neighbouring patrons, for whom standing anywhere and making noise during play is highly irregular.
Having said that, the Canucks and some other NHL teams
are aware of the value of encouraging vocal support, and are
starting to look into creating a section for similarly enthusiastic hockey fans.
The Canucks have reason to look at the Whitecaps for inspiration. It’s no secret that the demand for hockey tickets
isn’t what it once was in Vancouver; the resale market, once
a gravy train, now offers bargain rate prices for good seats.
The ‘Nucks have sent out season ticket renewal letters for
next season, indicating that there will be price drops there
too. Along with fellow veteran sports franchise BC Lions,
they have been on a downward trend in performance and
attendance since peaking in 2011.
The rise of the Whitecaps
Contrast this with a steady rise in popularity and success
for the ‘Caps, who entered Major League Soccer (MLS) that
same year. The former third banana has caught up and begun to surpass the Lions in game-day attendance. In 2015
this caused the Leos to take a page from the ‘Caps and limit
attendance to just the lower bowl of BC Place Stadium. In
contrast, the Whitecaps are starting to look into increasing
their lower bowl capacity for certain games.
Multiple observers have commented on their general perception that soccer is the new, sexy game in town, and
that the other football audience is aging. According to Tom
Mayenknecht for the Vancouver Sun, “Independent sponsor
research shows that Whitecaps fans are younger and more
urban. Fans of the Lions have become older and more suburban”. As somebody who has supported both CFL and MLS, I
would have no argument with that.
HopsCanary: Recalling the Petition
In 2014, Lynn McIlwee of HopsCanary.com introduced a
petition to get craft beer in Rogers Arena & BC Place.
Lynn, your petition received over 450 signatures within a
month of posting, including many comments. Were you
at all surprised by the response?
The idea for the petition came after seeing Toronto petitioning the SkyDome for craft beer. Their petition had
over 2,000 signatures and I thought we'd have a similar
reaction in Vancouver. So while the interest was there,
and was picked up by local media (CBC, Vancity Buzz),
fewer people signed than I anticipated.
Clearly change happened in all BC arenas at some point
not long after your petition. Were you ever given any
indication by the target organizations that the petition
itself had any impact on change?
No, I don't know if my petition was the impetus for the
addition of craft in the stadiums. I believe Parallel 49
already had the PNE on board prior to the petition but
perhaps it encouraged the other stadiums to look at craft
closely. Their ties to the big brands and the associated
advertising revenue stream was an obstacle that needed
to be worked around to bring in craft and not violate their
contracts.
How do you feel about the change in beer selection at
local arenas in 2015?
I'm thrilled to have choices at the stadiums as I can now
enjoy a beer with a game. The US arenas/stadiums still
have more selection but they likely started small as well.
As long as our fans are buying craft, the selection should
grow exponentially. Rogers Arena only had craft in two
sections last season and this year, it's available in at least
six locations.
Mayenknecht continues, “No sports franchise in Canada
has grown more in relative terms over the past five years
— a 280-fold increase — than the Whitecaps. In 2010, the
Whitecaps were a [minor league] franchise valued at about
$250,000 and playing before crowds averaging 4,400 at
Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. Now, in their fifth season in
Major League Soccer, the Whitecaps are pegged at about $70
million in franchise valuation. That’s almost three times the
$27-million price tag accorded the Lions.”
The Golden Opportunity
In Part II, I’ll discuss the history of craft beer in BC
Place, including the fascinating Russell Brewing experiment—perhaps the only instance in Canadian history of a giant stadium awarding their primary beer contract to a local craft brewery. It all leads up to where we
are today and where Vancouver’s sports teams and arenas
could be going in the future. But first, for more on that,
we now turn the mic over to our pal Rebecca Whyman.
Watch for more of Beer League online, and in the next issue
of What's Brewing
At the Belmont Bar: draft craft is the order of the day
On the march to the match; a visually impressive tradition
Above: Arriving at BC Place. Below: Craft professionals and community leaders enjoy the match
FB
SS
SS
fb
Images by Brian K. Smith, excepting
SS
= courtesy Duncan Nicol / Vancouver Southsiders
FB
= Facebook
A tricky booth disguising crafty macro beers
Craft fans aren't fooled; they find the good stuff
Awaiting that all-important first goal
The South Side, after the match:
tall cans reveal the popularity of craft beer
14
WHAT'S BREWING
Give Craft A Sporting Chance
I
can’t even fathom what the new AB Inbev SAB Miller
monstrosity is going to look like, and what it is going
to do to the availability of craft beer. What I do know
is that I need them to stop owning the beer taps and
fridges at Vancouver stadiums! Craft beer is not a rare and
exotic specialty beverage – there’s plenty of it around, it’s
readily available, and it's a beverage enjoyed by the masses. So why, why, why are there so few opportunities for craft
beer to make its way into our stadiums?
The reason, I keep being told, is that there’s just too much
money involved – big corporations are throwing so much
money at owners of stadiums and sports teams that they just
can’t refuse it.
I get that. But in accepting that kind of benefit in the short
term, I think those owners are doing their future selves a disservice. There are fewer bodies in the stadiums these days.
The old hockey and football fan-base is dying off. Owners
need to get the younger folks excited about their product.
And how do you get the entertainment-on-demand generation excited about your product? How about making going
to a game fun and, dare I say, sexy, by providing them with
craft beverages? Craft beer is hot! It’s sexy! It’s what all the
cool kids are drinking! And it follows that they’ll go to places
where it’s available - just like in other craft beer loving lands.
Portland has great craft beer and cider offerings at Providence Park where the Timbers and Thorns play to huge
crowds, even in years when they’re not winning the cup.
CenturyLink Field in Seattle (home to the Seahawks) has
many beer alternatives. Quite a few are from craft breweries
bought by corporate beer (Elysian, Goose Island, 10 Barrel)
and by Pabst’s subsidiary, Craft Brew Alliance (Kona, Red
Hook). But they do have a strong showing of local craft as
well: NoLi, Silver City, Georgetown, Mac and Jacks, Freemont, Diamond Knot, Black Raven, Schooner, Big Al’s and
Bale Breaker, and imports from Alaskan Brewing.
Safeco Field in Seattle offers craft beer to Mariners fans–
and you can bring your own food into the stadium, which
is just so civilized! But what makes Safeco such a craft beer
stand-out is the cask beer sold in, not one, but two areas in
the stadium, via proper beer engines. Friday nights are firkin
nights – local breweries provide the firkin which is tapped
with mallet and tap and served straight from the keg. The Hit
it Here Cafe has eight taps of rotating local craft beer. The list
of what you can drink, and where, at Safeco is way too long
to list here. I want that kind of choice here in Vancouver.
The tiny Pacific Coliseum at the PNE saw an opportunity a
couple of years back.and created a “craft beer corner”, where
they sell several different styles of locally-brewed Parallel 49.
And the equally tiny Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium,
the first local stadium to offer alternative beer choices, has
increased those offerings – because people asked for it and
they actually listened to what their capacity crowds wanted. Their Craft Corner is a collaboration between Big Rock
>>rebecca whyman
Urban, Howe Sound,
Steamworks and Whistler Breweries, each offering several different
craft beer choices.
But the big guys downtown, BC Place and
Rogers Arena, have
been slow to adapt. I
gave up my BC Lions
season’s tickets a few
years ago, partly because there were no
craft beers on tap. I was
very clear to my fan retention agent that that
was a large part of why
I was doing so. I want to
be able to enjoy a craft
beer when I watch a
game. If they’re not going to offer me one at
the stadium, then I’m going to watch the game somewhere
else. I’m not actually suggesting that’s why attendance is
down, but if it’s possible to woo some people back and attract
new ones by offering local craft beer – why wouldn’t you?
Craft beer has started to infiltrate BC Place! But you have to
go looking for it. And you may have to look hard; there are
very few kiosks and they aren’t very well signed. Some even
have fun names, like ‘The Thirsty Pigeon’. But they do exist.
The BC Place beer contracts are shrouded in secrecy. I have
asked around and no one was willing to lose their contract
by telling me the exact contents thereof, and fair enough.
But I have been able to piece together some details on which
I am going to rely for no other reason than it suits me to do
so. It is at your own risk if you rely on them in turn. AB-InBev
(or whatever the megacorporation is calling itself these days)
has rights to 90% of the alcoholic beverage sales opportunities in BC Place. Everyone else has to fight over the remaining 10%. The only exception to that are the private suites,
which can request other beverages, as long as they do it in
advance, and they total no more than 70%. The other beverages available cannot be advertised in or outside the stadium. No logos, no signs – just the generic title “craft beer” on
the top of the kiosk, and tap handles for the draft products
are allowed. However, if you contact the food and beverage
folks at BC Place, they can send you a list of what’s available.
Like, for example, the list below that they sent me when I
asked what I’d be able to drink at the two-day Rugby Sevens
tournament held in March 2016:
Thank you for reaching out to BC Place Stadium. Please see
the beer menu below for the HSBC Canada Sevens:
SPRING 2016
•
DOMESTIC Budweiser, Bud Light, Kokanee
•
PREMIUM Stella Artois, Alexander Keith’s IPA, Corona,
Shock Top, Goose Island IPA, Goose Island Honkers Ale,
Stanley Park Pilsner
•
TALL CANS Steamworks Pilsner, Stanley Park Amber
Ale, Parallel 49 – Gypsy Tears, Red Racer ISA, Mill Street
Organic
15
On that list of beers, I see three craft beers. For those less
caught up in semantics than I am, who may be wondering
what I mean by only ‘three craft beers’: the “domestic” are
all AB-InBev beers; the “premium” are a mix of AB-InBev
brands, crafty brands (those owned by AB-InBev but made
to appear as craft – hello Shocktop), and bought-out brands
(those that were formerly craft but who have been bought
by AB-InBev, and brew their flagship beers in AB-InBev
breweries).
The “tall cans” include three craft (Steamworks, Parallel 49
and Red Racer) and two bought-out by corporate (although
I’m guessing the Mill Street Organic is currently still brewed
at Mill Street in Toronto). All three craft beers are from bigger breweries, which, depending on whose definition of
“craft” you apply, might actually be getting too big to be
considered craft any more. Lovely beers, those three, and
I’m happy to have them on offer. I just want to underscore
that it took three big local breweries and their clout to get
craft beer into BC Place.
Happily, there was even more craft beer in BC Place for the
Rugby Sevens tournament in March. Postmark Brewing
partnered with Rugby Canada to brew 20,000L of their IPA,
named Sevens for the tournament, to be sold at BC Place
in 355ml cans, on tap at rugby pubs and in 650ml bombers at liquor stores. There were two specially-made kiosks
to sell cans of the Sevens IPA, as well as Postmark’s Blonde
ale, at BC Place. Special kiosks! They weren’t branded, but
they were advertising craft beer sales to the rugby-loving
masses. It warmed the cockles of my wee little heart (as did
the 6% ABV of that IPA). Postmark was even allowed to have
their beer sellers in t-shirts advertising ‘local craft beer’ –
and naming the sections where you could purchase it.
Because I am me, I hiked around the stadium each time I
wanted a beer. I wanted to put my money where my mouth
is, and to send a message to the powers that be that craft
beer sells. Especially since the other kiosks around, labelled
in very large letters “Beer Innovations” and suggesting you
“Experience New Beer” (probably to entice the uninitiated)
carried Bud Light Lime, Bud Light Apple, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob Ultra, Shock Top and Goose Island IPA.
My excitement about the amazingness that was the Rugby Sevens (the event in general and the craft beer options
both – it was fun and sexy!) just galvanizes my urge to keep
soap-boxing about craft beer in stadiums. I do not think we
should be mollified by 10%. It’s a lovely start. Now that craft
beer‘s foot is in the door, let’s keep up the pressure and demand more. It only takes a moment to shoot off an email to
BC Place praising their foray into craft beer and asking for
more local brands to be available. When you go to the stadium, vote with your wallet. Don’t buy the Budweiser, even
though it’s more convenient - walk around until you can
find the craft beer and buy it instead – it tastes so much better, and walking is good for you.
As for Rogers Arena, I think a quick trip to their website under
Food and Beverage (http://rogersarena.com/plan-your-visit/
food-and-beverage/) says a lot: Budweiser is the only beer
listed. However, if you contact them, they’ll kindly send the
following list of craft options, available at the new bars in the
West tower:
We are now proud to offer some great craft options:
1. Red Truck Lager
2. Four Winds IPA
3. Central City Red Racer IPA
4. Parallel 49 Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale
5. Bomber Pale Ale
6. Steel & Oak Red Pilsner
7. Steam Whistle Pilsner
• Mill St. Organic Lager
• Goose Island IPA & Honkers Ale
Seven craft options. Not too shabby! Their hiring of new food
and beverage people is to the benefit of craft beer lovers.
Please support craft beer there too, by buying it, and shooting off an email praising their new direction. What’s that stat?
One compliment/complaint represents 100 consumers who
couldn’t be bothered to comment? Give them the numbers to
validate those seven craft options and add more!
I love craft beer. I love Vancouver. I love sports. I want my
loves to come together more often, and not make me choose
between them. And I want my city to become truly worldclass by showcasing all its local wonders, no matter how
much AB Inbev offers them not to.
Moody
Brews
The breweries are actually over on Murray St.,
but this Port Moody street sign yearns to point the way
I
asked my 3 year old niece recently if she liked broccoli.
With a disgusted look, she said, “broccoli is for monkeys
and piggies.” OK, no kid likes broccoli; I was no exception. But there then comes a time when mom melts
cheese onto the green veg for a special occasion, probably
Thanksgiving. After that, broccoli is changed forever.
That’s kind of what happened between beer and me.
I live in Port Moody, which, for beer geeks in the know is an
exciting topic. Before Yellow Dog opened up, the only time
you might catch me drinking beer here was when Bud was
on special at the Golden Spike (it's now Brew Street, a craft
taproom). To me, beer was broccoli; Yellow Dog came along
two years ago and provided the cheese. Since then, Port
Moody’s brewery scene has popped up guns a-blazing, making this Vancouver suburb a gold mine to craft beer drinkers.
Of course, the craft beer market is booming in all of BC and
only getting bigger, so what makes Port Moody’s story different from anywhere else?
Brewery Row
Diana Dilworth, Chair of Port Moody’s Tourism Committee,
explains that the brewery industry grew very organically in
the city and that “success has been dictated by the market.”
Regarding tourism, she notes that PoMo is in the very early
stages of a plan, part of which concerns a “brewery district.”
No kidding. For starters, how many neighbourhoods have
four breweries within a few blocks of each other on the same
street? You’re looking at a six minute walk from Twin Sails
to Moody Ales, with Yellow Dog and soon-to-come Parkside
Brewery in between. These breweries, along with adjacent
retailers, operage in close proximity to the Rocky Point recreational area with its beautiful park space, a pier, a walking
trail, a pool and more.
Have you ever heard the saying, “a home away from home?”
Well, Port Moody’s expanding brewery strip is like a downtown away from downtown. With all that the brewery strip
and surrounding Rocky Point have to offer, if you’re a Vancouverite you’re probably asking yourself: how do I get there.
Now that I’ve convinced you to come try out PoMo’s craft
beer scene, let's discuss how to get here.
Do yourself a favour and don’t drive. The beers are so delicious that chances are you’re going to want more than one
(if you’re anything like me). Luckily for you Vancouverites,
Surrey folks and elsewhere, the Tri-Cities are finally getting a
piece of the Skytrain pie. The Evergreen Line will be running
through Port Moody with a convenient stop close to brewery
row. Moody Centre Station will be pretty close to the current
West Coast Express station—just by the over-pass leading
>> Mallory O'Neil
into Rocky Point. The Skytrain line is set to launch in 2017,
but in the meantime there are always buses.
What about Coquitlam?
Port Moody’s craft beer scene is booming, but what about the
neighbours? Coquitlam, over four times larger in land mass
than Port Moody and with almost four times the population,
has yet to open a brewery. According to Statistics Canada,
Coquitlam is the 6th largest city by population in BC. They
have the people, so what’s the hold-up?
Coquitlam City Councillor Craig Hodge explains, “Cities
determine land use via zoning, so that has been central to
the discussion of craft breweries in Coquitlam.” Hodge adds
that because “BC’s legislation has been changing as a result
of consumer demand...Coquitlam has a blank slate [and] the
opportunity to get it right.”
Although no formal decisions have been reached on permitting a Coquitlam-based brewery, there is a name you might
have read about. The Province’s “Brewed Awakening Guide
to B.C.’s New Breweries in 2016” includes Prototype Brewing
Company in its list and assigns the brewery’s address to Coquitlam. How exciting!
Good Neighbours
One of the amazing things that makes these particular breweries noteworthy, Dilworth says, is that they are “so willing to
work with the community in business and charity.” One of
their most recent collective efforts was a local contest asking
artists to design a label for a beer that they collaborated on.
You can’t help but say nice things about these brewery owners. Last year, Moody Ales co-owner Adam Crandall worked
with me personally, giving a budding journalism student
hours of interview time as I covered his journey and the
brewery’s. These guys really do give back and care about their
communities.
Cody Allmin, Co-Owner and Director of Marketing and Sales
at Twin Sails, Murray Street’s third brewery, says they were
lucky enough to come into a scene that already had a good
foundation and “craft/artisanal focuses”. He looks forward to
the upcoming Skytrain connection to Rocky Point, as well as
to Parkside Brewing’s arrival.
Vern Lambourne, Partner and Head Brewer at The Parkside
Brewery, set to open this Spring, thinks that “Port Moody has
the potential to become a destination for beer lovers from all
over the Lower Mainland.” On breweries in the area, Lambourne says, “If we get a few more, that could really put a
spotlight on the brewing scene here. Competition isn't a bad
thing as it forces us all to be better.”
18
WHAT'S BREWING
Profiles: women in Beer
I
>> Lundy dale
Claire Wilson of Dogwood Brewing
honestly can’t remember when or where I first met
Claire Wilson. I do know that anytime I was looking for
a woman to help me out with a Women and Beer event,
Claire was always the first to offer her time, her services
or her beer!
A head brewer by the age of 26, and now owner/brewmaster
of Dogwood Brewing, she has been brewing constantly with
other female brewers in the province over the last two years.
She is a proud member of the Pink Boots Society (a group
that supports and promotes women in the beer profession—
or wanting to get there), and wears her pink boots proudly! She even had them on underneath her beautiful flowing
dress at her wedding. Now that’s pride!
Here are some questions I posed to Claire recently.
How did you discover your passion for
beer?
I have loved beer for most of my life, right from a young
age. My first recollection of this is at 10 years old, when my
parents ordered me a small Guinness with my fresh oysters!
My family moved to Munich, Germany, the beer capital of
the world at that time, so when I started drinking beer it was
undoubtedly of the best quality.
What brought you into the brewing
industry? How were you trained?
I took a direct route right out of high school, went into an
honours Degree in Brewing and Distilling at Herriot Watt
University in Edinburgh, the only internationally recognized
and professionally accredited Brewing degree in the UK at
the time. Students were headhunted out of the course by international brewing companies. I did my degree in Brewing
and Distilling and my Professional exams.
I have worked with and for some amazing brewers who have
shared with me their knowledge and experience. The fasttrack management program I did with Scottish and Newcastle provided me with the highest standard of training.
Lately, I immersed myself in the organic certification process with the help of Brain and Rebecca at Crannog. I am
learning more every day.
What brought you to BC?
My visit to BC in 2008 was supposed to be a fun break from
my career for a year, but when I saw the rapid changes going
on in the beer industry by the consumer-driven love for craft
beer, I knew this was somewhere I wanted to stay for a bit
longer. Under a skilled worker's visa I took a few jobs trying
to find a good fit for me, including RJ Spagnols and Big River
Brewpub in Richmond, before taking the leap of opening my
own Brewery.
What do you love about your job and the
industry?
I love making beer. I love the quiet of the morning in the
brewery when you’re the first in, getting everything set up
for the day. I love to teach people how to brew, share my
knowledge and experience. The best thing about working in
a brewery is people have more of a sense of humour; at the
end of the day, you can have a beer and talk things out. I also
love introducing people to beer, and finding that one beer
that converts the “I don’t like beer” drinker to a craft lover.
I’ve always found operations to be the most interesting and
exciting part of working for a brewery. I chose brewing after
time spent in distilleries, where there were far fewer opportunities for women in operational and managerial roles.
Are there advantages of being a woman in
the industry?
More marriage proposals. I have been proposed to by
beer-loving men on a regular basis (really, who doesn’t want
to be with a brewer?). From a marketing and branding side
there are a number of advantages. I wouldn’t say competition is the right word, but most female brewers are known
because there are so few. I am sure that will change. I think
being a female brewer gives you a different approach to beer;
science says females are better tasters.
Are there disavantages of being a woman in
the industry?
It’s hard to break in/get into the industry. People may assume that you can’t handle the physical labour of the job.
SPRING 2016
You need to work harder and show you willingness to get the
job done to earn respect from you peers.
Do you feel respected in your role?
19
What is International Women’s
Collaboration Brew Day (IWCB) ?
Yes, first impressions can be tricky because people make assumptions about who they think you are. Once people realize I am the Brewmaster, and that I know what I am talking
about, things go smoothly.
What’s your favourite beer outside of your
brewery?
Rodenback Grand Cru is in my opinion one of the best beers
in the world, and Schneider Weiss is always at the top of my
list, but it is impossible for me to pick one favourite of all the
fantastic beer in the world, which I have been privileged to
taste.
Which of your own beers is your favourite?
The four beers we launched with are all my favourites and
in my opinion the best tasting versions of their styles. All are
delicious and sessionable. Dogwood’s IPA is a well-balanced
IPA, less perceived bitterness because of the body, and sessional with lots of hop aroma.
Anything created in your brewery with a
woman's point of view, or for female consumers?
I think it’s pretty clear that our packaging and branding was
designed with a female’s eye—who said flowers were girly
anyway? It’s delicate, informative and unique from the rest.
The same goes for our beers. Not only are we organic and local centric, we do have a clear feminine presence throughout
many aspects of our brand and I think most brewers see this.
But I don’t want to be recognized for “girly beer”. We have
beers that prove organic can be great, accessible, with an environmental conscience. That is what I want people to notice
first about Dogwood Brewing; the female presence can come
after.
Favourite female in the industry?
Rebecca Kneen from Crannog Ales is such a great inspiration. Rebecca does not compromise her principles. Crannog’s respect for nature and sustainability are an example to
us all. My decision to make Dogwood Brewing certified Organic was influenced by the friendship of Brian and Rebecca.
Biggest acheivement to date?
I have set myself various goals throughout my career and
take great pride in achieving them. Like becoming head
brewer before I was 30. My newest achievement is starting
my own Brewery.
As Vancouver’s only—and BC’s third—Organic Brewery, we
are putting our ideals and love of our province into our business. By emphasizing Organic and local and striving to be as
sustainable as possible we are delivering full-flavoured Organic beer in cans, kegs, casks and growlers from our tasting
room.
Also, having the opportunity to help create a community of
women in beer throughout Vancouver and BC. Empowering
and enabling women is very important to me and I want to
continue to build upon that.
IWCB 2016 at Dogwood. Photo: Lucy Lau
Started in England in 2014, IWCB was designed to encourage women brewers (referred to as Brewsters) and
other women in the industry to brew together socially on
International Women’s Day, March 8th, each year. It also
helps in raising awareness of women in the industry and
the profile of beer.
In 2014, 0ver 60 breweries around the world partook
and many BC women in the industry gathered together to brew at Spinnakers Brewpub with Kala Hadfield at
the helm. The beer of choice that year was a 4% United
Pale Session Ale. Last year the ladies all gathered at the
yet-unopened Dogwood Brewing, this time with Claire
in charge. The beer brewed was a ”United Red Ale”, only
available at the Dogwood taproom.
This year’s brew is a Kettle Sour Gose, a top fermented
beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. The beer will
debut during April 2016 at a launch party, and will be on
tap at Dogwood and select craft taprooms.
Any ways that you are hoping to support
women in the industry with your own
brewery?
Of course, we will host the International Women’s Collaboration Brew each year. I have met some amazing women in the
industry since being in Canada and really want to embrace
and carry on this event with these ladies and others to follow.
We are always throwing ideas around as to how we can build
this community. We have come up with some good event
ideas. You are just going to have to wait and see!
20
WHAT'S BREWING
BE LIKE MIKE
For over 20 years, since Grade 2, the guys have known each
other; as little boys growing up in Surrey, they melted plastic army men on the back porch together. Now they have
a grown-up hobby. Mike Garson and Steve Hoffmann are
known in BC craft circles as Mike’s Craft Beer, one of the top 3
beer blogs in craft-crazy British Columbia by most any reckoning. Mike, the face of the brand, is the primary contributor,
and his long-time pal Steve helps out as well. Let’s dial the
clock back and find out how this all began.
Unlike today’s millennials, Mike and Steve didn’t grow up
with the craft wave. The boys weren’t really into micro beer
during college, for instance. In the years shortly after that,
Mike held a couple of keg parties, and for these soirees he
happened to source the needed cylinder from a new Surrey
brewery. Central City opened its doors at the beginning of
the 2000s, and their aptly-named Springboard Lager was
the keg of choice, more because of location than for stylistic
considerations. Still, the fact that he was supporting this local
brewery was a talking point at these parties.
Other than Central City, and the occasional Dead Frog, Mike’s
craft repertoire was fairly limited in these early drinking
years. The man who now has 5 years of Woolly Bugger aging
in the cellar was still primarily buying macro.
Steve was a couple of steps ahead of Mike at this point. One
night, at a family party, he was offered a Guinness and found
that he had a taste for it. Next thing you know, Steve was getting into big ales and stouts, and starting to discover the local
beer scene.
>> Dave Smith | Images: Brian K. Smith
Steve now knows how fortunate he was to get into craft a bit
earlier than some other folks. He was able to witness firsthand the legendary scene at Dix, the cradle of Vancouver’s
current beer movement. Steve attended some cask nights
there, and at least one Caskival.
They say you always remember your first, and in the case
of Mike, the memory is clear. The day Steve turned Mike on
to Phillips Longboat Double Chocolate Porter was a turning
point. For Steve, a key factor in falling in love with beers like
this was that they didn’t taste like ‘beer’, something Mike was
now learning about for himself.
Mike had followed behind more slowly, but when he got serious things really took off. Like many, his starting point for
sharing about beers was Facebook, where he started to log
things he was trying. At that point, Mike shifted into the ‘don’t
drink the same beer twice in a row’ mode that is the hallmark
of the craft enthusiast, and started to more assiduously keep
track of what he was drinking in FB, using it as a kind of
makeshift Untappd.
Mike says about Steve: “He was my catalyst into craft beer,
basically. When I told him what I was doing [starting to share
and blog about beer] he was jacked to join in.” Before long,
they had outgrown Facebook as a platform and were ready to
set up a website.
Mike started up a WordPress blog and learned on the fly. It got
picked up by the local beer community. He started to meet
people at events too. Wearing the shirt helped.
SPRING 2016
21
regularly send product to folks like Mike for public sampling. They know they stand a pretty good chance of
getting a decent review, given that what they’re sending is craft beer (a “Mike’s Macro Crap Beer” review site
has yet to debut). So the symbiotic relationship between
commercial purveyors of crafted things and critics of
those artisanal creations thrives. As a result, Mike gets
free beer. Is that a fair trade-off for losing sleep? You decide.
He reviews more than beer. You’ll find some interesting
beer-related contraptions getting the “open box” treatment a la the finest YouTube tech blogs. Learn about
a tap system connected to an insulated metal growler
manufactured in China. Read about a CO2 growler cap
system. See Mike try out a fancy Black & Tan spoon replacement. It’s all in his Gadgets category.
“The Shirt?” Right, the thing he’s wearing in these photos. I
didn’t ask, but I don’t think he has a closet full of those. It’s
getting a bit worn out from numerous washings, so in a few
years I think he’ll have to retire it. In the meantime, I can
vouch for the utility of The Shirt. The beard and ever-present ball cap are pretty good identifiers, except in a beer fest
crowded with bearded guys in ball caps. Thanks to that shirt,
I don’t have to worry that I’m approaching the wrong guy.
Who designed the logo? One guess. I’m pretty confident it
hasn’t won any design awards, but I can vouch for its utility.
It’s a beer, with Mike’s name on it. It works.
Come to think of it, maybe the logo says more than that. For
starters, that’s a pretty dark beer. It could be a double chocolate porter, or maybe it’s Woolly Bugger. Hey, you practically
didn’t have to read this story to learn anything about Mike;
it’s all right there on his shirt. Kind of like he’s wearing his
heart on his sleeve, but without sleeves.
Thanks to branding, along
with consistent posting, Mike
made the transition from closet
beer-lover to craft community
figure.
Being a dedicated beer blogger
isn’t as much fun as it sounds.
It means constantly losing sleep
just to get that next bottle review posted. Take a look at the
site; the content is not slowing
down. The day I checked, there
were 10 posts in the past week,
including 4 days that he had
posted twice! That’s not easy
folks. Each beer review generally means opening a 650 ml
bomber, taking a photo, doing
some research, and being inMike Garson
spired to write something. Not to
mention that in those ten posts were beers weighing in at
10%, 8.5%, 9%, 9.5% and a few more above or around 7% ABV.
Try doing this for 5 years and not slowing down. In fact, he
might be speeding up.
But there are perks along with the work. Beer brewers and
vendors are aware of the power of social media, and they
It’s not just staying up after dinner fooling with the
website either. Mike gets around. One of his more popular
features: his “Construction Updates” series, in which Mike
visits locations around BC that aren’t even open yet, and reports on progress. Plus, he gets out to plenty of places that
are open, including a recent visit to Nanaimo’s White Sails.
For a hobby blogger to put in that kind of mileage would
generally be prohibitive. Mike’s secret advantage is that his
day job takes him around BC, and he has a hand in managing scheduling. Makes those out-of-town brewery visits
easier if work is helpfully sending you where the beer is.
Mike gets the attention, but Steve is still there plugging away
too, on a part-time basis. Together,
the two have developed great consistency and are delivering useful
beer information on a regular basis.
What’s next
Steve’s next personal challenge is
homebrewing. He’s already a Cicerone Certified Beer Server, so he’s
studied beer at that level, but now
he’s starting to get his hands dirty
actually making the stuff. Posts
in early 2016 document how he’s
dragged Mike along with him in
this pursuit.
Steve Hoffmann
As for the blog, new features include
a directory map of all BC breweries, and a Donations page.
There is a small amount of advertising, but Mike admits he’s
not a marketer, so he’s trying out voluntary donations as a
way to help subsidize the service. Mike likes the fact that
people sometimes use the blog as a way to choose beers;
maybe some of the many beneficiaries will toss in an extra
couple of bucks as a thank you.
Of course, the satisfaction comes from within. Asked what
he likes about contributing to the blog, Steve points out “the
feedback from website visitors. We have a regular audience,
responding about the beers.”
They’ve come a long way as beer enthusiasts. But some
things don’t change. Asked about his favourite beer styles,
Steve says “the dark beers will always be home.” Based on
Mike’s t-shirt logo I’d say that goes for both of them.
22
WHAT'S BREWING
Books In Review
>> Ted Child
On Aging Beer:
A review of Patrick Dawson's Vintage Beer
V
intage Beer, by Patrick Dawson, came along at
the perfect time for me, with a half dozen or so
of my cellared beers getting close to the year-old
stage. My first experience with aging beers, maybe something a few readers can relate to, was because of
an unfortunately underattenuated home brew. In my case
it was a sherry-like sweet Imperial Stout (if I recall correctly,
its final gravity was somewhere around 1.028). Fresh, this
beer was barely drinkable and then only if the drinker was
really determined. Three years later though, the sherry sweetness had
mellowed, as well as the alcohol burn
and the harsh burnt roastiness. It was
almost the beer that I had originally
imagined when brewing it, maybe
even something more.
Thanks to Vintage Beer I now understand why that overly sweet Stout
might have been the perfect candidate for cellaring. This was due to
many features, such as being dark,
malty, high in alcohol, or having high
levels of residual sugar. If you're curious about why these features and
others make a beer a good candidate
for aging, Dawson's book can explain it better than I can. Choosing a
good candidate to age is just one of
the things Dawson explains about
cellaring, but it's an important one. If
you're in the early stages of cellaring,
this book can save you a lot of time,
money and disappointment.
Using my Stout as an example, dark
beers age better than light, and most
hops (except those high in beta acids)
don’t age well. So if you have a closet
full of IPAs that you had hoped to age
you might as well get drinking.
High alcohol (over 8%), with some residual sugar to keep the
yeast busy is also helpful for aging. Dawson also points out
other features to look for, as well as a more detailed, technical explanation of each. The book discusses the styles that
age the best, including English and American Barleywines,
Imperial Stouts, Belgian Quads, Flanders Reds, Browns and
Gueuzes. He then covers selecting and managing your cellar, again providing information that could save you from
doing more harm than good. He also includes tasting notes
for some common, easy to find beers that have good aging
potential and a list of bars that specialize in vintage beers.
The central question might be: why age beer? Most beers
are designed to be drunk fresh and are better for it, but in my
short experience there is something about a well-aged beer
that is unlike anything you can get in a fresh beer. It's not just
flavors that aren’t usually present; it’s an integration of flavors
into something truly refined and sometimes profound. A beer
might actually become less complex but much more elegant
and more drinkable when aged. It is like a whole new country to discover in the geography of beer, like homebrewing
or food pairing. Or maybe it
might be better compared to
the growing of your palate, in
the same way learning about
sours or cask ales enhanced
your beer knowledge and appreciation. It's a whole new
area of beer to explore and
one, as I can attest, that will be
impossible to turn away from.
Now that I have tasted some
well-aged beers I cannot imagine not aging beers in some
fashion.
Sometimes aging a beer like
my Stout can make a beer
better, but more often it can
change a good or great beer
into a different good or great
beer. It's similar, if I can be so
crude, as bumping into that
older, but still gorgeous, woman that you haven’t seen in
years. The fact that you experienced both young and aged
versions makes it that much more special. It's not always that
brewers need to brew the best beer to start with, as most try to
do, it's that the best beer in the world might have to be aged
to be so. Westvleteren 12, or any number of great beers, might
be an example of this.
Vintage Beer, as far as I know, is the only book of its kind and
indispensable to those aging beers. The amount of experience and knowledge Dawson has crammed into this small
book will have you sipping a completely unique experience
in no time.
24
WHAT'S BREWING
Ullage and Spillage
T
>> J. RANDOM
Head Hopping: for
Hop-Heads on Vacation
ravel south for work or vacation and you will find
reasonably hoppy locally-brewed beer anywhere
in the USA, even Hawaii. Agreed, pickings are
slim in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, but there
is usually something imported from a nearby state. Travel south of the US border, and you are pretty much out of
luck. Some say thin lagers are OK in the tropics, but Corona
doesn’t even help you stay hydrated, because beer is a diuretic. On our 2013 winter vacation, we were lucky to find the
Cayman Islands Brewery producing their seasonal Pirates’
Gold (a Vienna lager). That satisfied my malt cravings, but
did nothing for my spouse’s hop needs.
Fortunately, we had the foresight to take
with us a few cans of highly-hopped IPA
(you can guess which). I was reminded
of Mr. Bean packing for vacation, using
up most of the space in his suitcase for
cans of baked beans. We mixed the IPA
50:50 with the Pirates’ Gold to produce a kind of “hoppy pale ale” and
survived the vacation without hop
withdrawal DTs. I apologise if any
of our local brewers are offended by
such beer blending, but needs must
when the devil drives.
Our 2015 winter vacation saw us heading to Cuba before the Americans got
there. We remembered Cristal (yeuch)
and Bucanero (barely tolerable) from
our 2009 trip. Cervecería Bucanero
S.A. is a joint venture between the Cuban government and a subsidiary of Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. Bucanero, at 5.4%
ABV, described as an “American adjunct
lager” by BeerAdvocate, has a little more malt
flavour than Cristal at 4.9% ABV but, more importantly, it has
no detectable corn. Neither of them has detectable hops,
typical for Central American and Caribbean lagers.
We were planning to take those cans of IPA again, then Saint
Arnold or fate took a hand in the shape of Phillips Brewing’s 13th Anniversary Ale, a gift from Lundy Dale. By way
of a bottle of alcoholic hop extract you put in your glass before you pour in the accompanying beer, the combination
yields 13% ABV (while coincidentally avoiding the additional
tax slapped on beer over the critical number of 12% ABV). My
spouse was intrigued. I would not say that a 100 Watt incan-
descent bulb lit up, but certainly a 30 Watt compact fluorescent flickered into life. She said “how can we get hold of more
hop extract”? I answered “Well, I know some big breweries
like Corona use it to avoid getting skunky aromas in clear
bottles so it must be commercially available. I would not be
surprised to find our homebrew stores stocking it, though I
have never looked.”
Thanks to St. Arnold, Lundy, my brilliant wife, and Dan’s
Homebrewing Supplies, we set off to Cuba with a
dropper bottle of Cascades hop extract. It is a
heck of a lot lighter than cans of IPA and has
a much lower risk of giving your clothes a
beer rinse in transit. We wrapped the bottle in aluminum foil to keep out the light
and stored it in the room fridge. We added
one, two or three drops depending on the
size of beer glass.
It is weird enough putting a few drops
of hop extract in the beer on your table. We never had the temerity to ask
them to put it in the glass before it was
filled. Hence the term I came up with to
describe this approach: Head Hopping.
In an all-inclusive hotel, the size of glass
you get depends on whether your server remembers you left a tip last time.
Bucanero plus hop extract tasted pretty
close to some India Pale Lagers I have
tried; just fine for hot climates. I would recommend any hop head to consider doing the
same when heading out on vacation south of the tropic of
Cancer.
Update: On a recent follow-up trip to Cuba we were unable
to stock up on hop extract because Dan’s has stopped selling it and we could not find it elsewhere. I am hoping this
article will spur them to rethink this, or that another home
brew store will step up. If you ask for it, they will probably be
persuaded to get it in. In the meantime, you can order it from
www.freshops.com.
J. Random does indeed exist, but only randomly.
SPRING 2016
25
A View from the cellar
I
>> Adam Chatburn
Casks 101 series, part II:
A Crash Course in Cellarmanship
n what I plan to be an ongoing series, I hope to further
broader knowledge about real ale, its history, practice
and relevance. Part one was about the history and anatomy of casks. Part two is about using casks.
When about to fill a clean cask, sterilize it thoroughly. I
dunk the whole thing in a bucket of sanitiser for a few minutes then drain it out. There are different schools of thought
on how best to sani casks so do it however you think best
- just don't leave it more than hour or so between sanitizing
and filling or you'll have to do it again!
Next, put in the sanitised keystone;
this is the smaller plug that will be
pierced by the tap then lie it on
its side and fill through the side
aperture. You may need to use
props to hold the cask still or just
clamp it between your legs. The
beer should be finished fermenting but make sure there’s a
little yeast still in suspension. It
doesn’t need a lot; just make sure
that it’s not been filtered (if absolutely necessary add a little fresh
yeast). Leave at least a litre of head
space at the top so that the CO2 has somewhere
to gather. Don’t worry about oxygen/
air; the yeast will use that up. Add a
small amount of sugar—a quarter cup
is plenty in a pin, a third for a firkin.
Dextrose works well as it dissolves quickly, is easily fermentable and has no taste. More complex, unrefined sugars
may take longer to ferment; simple white sugar works well
too. If the beer has a high ‘finishing gravity’ (a sweet finish),
then you may want to skip the sugar and leave it a little
longer. The traditional way of skipping priming sugars is to
stop fermentation when a gravity point or so from the end
and allow it to finish in the cask, but this is a tricky tactic.
Often I use syrups like invert sugar for priming, or if you’re
feeling daring you could use a fruit syrup. Just be careful,
as too much sugar means you could have an over-carbonated cask, which runs the risk of “exploding” when
the pressure builds up and pushes out the shive causing
gallons of precious beer to spray all over your walls, floor
and ceiling. This has happened too many times to me. The
best way to check if a cask is close to popping is: each day
that the cask is left to condition, look at the keystone. Plastic
ones will usually be concave, but as the pressure builds up
to dangerous levels the shive will switch to convex. When
this happens, carefully move the cask somewhere cool and
easily rinsable. It should be fine once cooled and moved but
be extra careful when venting!
If you want to dry-hop, this is the time. Leaf hops should
be put in a hop bag (or 'sock'). I tend to use multiple smaller
bags for this, as once the hops hydrate and expand they
become difficult to take out when cleaning the cask. Underfilled tea-bags work well. Be careful adding fruit or herbs
at this point as they can referment quickly and cause (yep,
you guessed it) explosions. Cleaning fruit as well as beer
off the walls is even more irritating. If you want to try this,
add them to a secondary fermenter like a carboy, and wait
for it to calm down before casking/racking - maybe
skip priming sugar too. Fruit should be frozen and/
or cleaned before adding to reduce the chance of
bacterial
infection in the cask.
The optional addition of finings
should be made
here. Finings are
a clarifying agent that cause
yeast and other proteins to clump together and
drop to the bottom of the cask leaving delicious
bright beer. I use cryofine which is an isinglass
derivative but a little gelatine works well too.
There are some vegan options here
too which work very well. Finings
are very effective and you don’t need
very much at all; for example Cryofine,
when mixed, only needs 1g/hec—that is, one
1 gram per 100L of beer! Finings generally
keep on working and so even a fairly small amount
over a long time will clarify the same as a lot for a short
time.
When the cask is sealed up by hammering the sterilized
shive, roll it around a little bit then leave it somewhere
warm (room temp is perfect) for a few days, or a few weeks
even a few months! Periodically you can turn it upside
down then back the next day back again but you don’t have
to - just remember to check the plastic keystone for bulging
frequently. As the cask warms up the yeast wakes up, metabolises the extra sugar creating CO2 which dissolves into
the beer naturally, hardly any more alcohol is produced. The
yeast will continue to secondarily ferment but slowly, the
finings will eventually drop most of it out. Store the cask on
end with the keystone face up. If using a wooden keystone
or shive pay attention to any mould growing on it - this can
be wiped off and sprayed with anti-fungal cleaner.
Next time, we'll discuss stillage, venting and tapping!
Adam Chatburn is Associate Brewer at Real Cask Brewing in Vancouver
and a former President of CAMRA Vancouver. Stay tuned for Part III.
26
WHAT'S BREWING
Homebrew Happenin's
>> Warren Boyer
W
Keep it Simple, Homebrewers
hile contemplating what I wanted to write
about for this issue I started thinking about
my first brews back when I was a first-time
homeowner on a budget. Then I started
thinking about other home-brewers I know and what they
made for their first several brews. (Note: I will assume that
you have moved on from kits and are diving into all-grain.)
Way too many people make the same move and I believe
they are doing themselves a disservice. I am talking about
making that Imperial Vanilla Sour Cherry Coffee Bourbon
Oaked Stout dry hopped with Citra, or whatever similarly
ridiculous and over the top beer that inevitably most newbies envision and attempt. I myself am guilty, although mine
wasn't quite that crazy. Mine was an imperial stout with molasses that could have been 11%.
Why this is not the best idea, I will explain. When you first
start you really should be concentrating on the method, not
the ingredients. I would suggest that in the beginning you
don't want to spend good money on expensive floor-malted
Marris Otter or Bohemian Pilsner. “Why not?” you may ask.
After all, better ingredients means better beer, right? Not always. Before you spend good money on ingredients, refine
your technique. I can pretty much guarantee that your first
half dozen brews will have issues as you navigate unknown
territory and learn the best way, by making mistakes.
Buy some North American 2-row pale malt. Or maybe even
some ESB malt for a bit more colour and flavour. Pick up a
few ounces of a good versatile hop pellet. Pick up a packet of
some quality dry yeast. That's it. Keep it simple. The more ingredients you put in, the less you will understand what each
is bringing to the party. Now you’re ready for your first brew.
I would suggest the most basic recipe there is, a SMASH beer.
What is a SMASH? It is a acronym meaning Single Malt And
Single Hop. Here is an example:
•
•
•
8 lbs 2-row Canadian Pale malt.
3 oz Cascade pellets
1 12 gram packet Safale US-05 yeast
Crush your grain or have your local home-brew store crush it
for you when you buy it. Mash at 153 F for an hour. Now lauter (drain), recirculate, and sparge (rinse), collecting roughly
20 litres of liquid. Bring to a boil. Add 2 oz of hop pellets and
boil for 45 minutes. If you have an immersion chiller put it
in the kettle 15 minutes from the end of the boil. Once it is
boiling rapidly again, add the other oz of hops and boil for 15
minutes. Turn off the heat, chill for approx. 25 minutes until
the temperature is about 25 C. Transfer to your primary fermentation vessel, sprinkle the yeast on top, and seal it with a
one way valve, airlock, or blow off.
Easy enough? Yeah right. Sounds easy here but when you
actually do it you will have difficulty hitting your temperatures correctly, your racking cane will get clogged, you will
drop the spoon into the wort, your fermentation temperature may fluctuate wildly, etc. That's why you need to keep
the recipe simple, the method and technique will be more
than enough for you to worry about. Once you can hit your
times and temps consistently and the beer tastes the same
each time you make it, then you can start messing with recipes. (Anyone who has taken my class but ignored this advice
is nodding their head right now). Make sense? Believe me,
you will become a better brewer following this advice.
Once you can re-create that SMASH one brew day to the
next, then you can start tweaking that recipe. This next bit
is very important. Change ONE ingredient at a time. Do not
change both the hops and the yeast, or the hops and the malt.
Why? Because you won't know how each of those items has
affected the flavour and aromas of your finished beer. If you
change one thing at a time you will be able to have a sideby-side comparison and know exactly what the item you
changed is doing to your beer. For a SMASH I would change
either the hops or the yeast first. You will be surprised how
much the yeast can affect flavour and aroma. Maybe even
just change the fermentation temperature by a few degrees.
You will learn a lot by systematically changing one thing
from one batch to the next.
Once you have been through this process, you will have a
much better understanding of what each ingredient adds to
the final product and you will be able to make better decisions on picking recipes or even making your own recipes. A
very quick way to get through this stage is to visit your local
home-brew store and ask about purchasing a couple oz each
of several base malts and specialty malts. Crush them up and
add each to a cup of hot water and make a tea from it. Let the
grain steep for at least 30 minutes. Take a smell of each one.
Now take a spoon and slurp up a bit of each one. They will
smell and taste different. The ones you think taste better are
ones to remember and use in your recipes. The same thing
can be done with hops.
Remember, this is all about personal preference. If you tailor
your recipes for your palette, you inevitably end up making
the best beer you have ever tasted in your entire life. Until
you tweak it a bit more and make one even better.
Now go make some beer!
Warren Boyer is an award winning homebrewer, Certified Beer Judge,
Past President of CAMRA Vancouver, and and occasional Professional
Brewer. Reach Warren at [email protected]
Beyond the Grape has Greater Vancouver’s
largest selection of home brewing products!
(Some items may be special order)
Online shopping available at shop.beyondthegrape.com
What’s Brewing special: use the discount code whatsbrewing
to receive 10% off your grain order (sacks excluded)
Craft Beer Making 101 with Tim Vandergrift
Next Class: June 4th, 2016
All Grain Brewing with Warren Boyer
April 23rd & October 15th, 2016
Register online at beyondthegrape.com/events
3030 St. Johns St., Port Moody • 604.461.8891
(2 minute walk from Port Moody Westcoast Express Station)
www.beyondthegrape.com
HOPS CANARY
Back Yard Hop Growing
ntering my fourth year of
growing backyard hops, I don’t
consider myself an expert, but
I have produced healthy and
happy mature hops. When we started
growing hops, I found that it was difficult to find a source with basic information; hence this piece (you’re welcome).
E
• Prepare the soil by digging a hole
about 1 foot deep and 1 foot in diameter - fill the hole with fresh top soil,
compost and peat moss
Ordering
• Plant your rhizome 1-2” deep horizontally with the root side down and
bud(s) pointing up
Order your rhizomes early (Feb/Mar)
to ensure that you get your desired
plants when they are ready for shipping
(usually late April). Consider buying
hop twine to support your bines as the
twine will support 100lbs and mature
plants are very heavy.
• Plant the rhizomes approximately
five (5) feet apart to give the roots
ample space to grow
• Water the area daily to keep the rhizome moist but not soaked
Growing: Year One
In the first year, do not cut away any of
the bines as you will build a stronger
root structure by leaving them intact.
Let them grow, clock-wise, up the
trellis/twine. Once your hops find the
twine, they won’t need any help climbing and latching on as they have little
hairs that keep them stable.
Years Two onward
Planting
Depending on your region, your
rhizomes should arrive in late April/
early May. Planting isn’t onerous but
you need to follow some key steps to
give your rhizome(s) the best chance of
survival such as:
• Keep your rhizome moist until ready
to plant
• Plant when there is no chance of
frost
• Select a spot where there is a lot of
sun
• The planting area should have a
trellis or hop twine secured for the
climbing wonder to reach up to 25
feet
• Your hops can start growing vertically then move horizontally along your
trellis/twine, if needed
>> Lynn McIlwee
Select two or three strong bines and
let those climb – cut away the rest of
the growth as it comes up. By selecting
just a couple of bines, the plant puts its
energy into making hop cones for that
limited number and will produce larger
cones.
When your bines reach the top of the
trellis, carefully pull off the bottom 3
feet of leaves. This allows more oxygen
flow around the base and there is less
likelihood of getting diseases.
Watering
Your soil composition (sand, clay, dirt)
will play into how well the water is
absorbed.
The best time to water is in the morning as your plants will have time to dry
out should the leaves get wet. Watering
at night can attract pests to your wet
leaves.
Fertilizing
Use 20-20-20 in the spring when new
growth starts. When the burrs (the start
of the hop cone) appear, use 15-30-15
or similar. Adding compost to the soil is
also encouraged.
Pests
Aphids and spider mites are mortal
enemies to hops. Inspect your plant
regularly to ensure these little creeps
aren’t using your hops as a Holiday Inn.
If you’re lucky, as we have been, lady
bugs will stake a claim on your plants
and eat the aphids.
Harvest
On the West Coast, harvest is usually in
mid to late September. You will know
that your hops are ready for picking
when they are the following:
• Springy: doesn’t stay compressed
when squeezed
• Dry and sticky to the touch
• Strong hop odour – rub one on your
fingers and take a nice, hoppy whiff
• Lupulin – look into the hop and if
you see a thick yellow substance,
lupulin is present
Once picked, you can either use them
that day to make a fresh hop beer or dry
them.
Continued on page 40
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604-831-8611
30
WHAT'S BREWING
A BC Craft Beer Road Trip
C
raft beer and camping are two of my favourite
things about living in British Columbia. Last year,
for my 30th birthday, I wanted to combine the two
in an epic brewery road trip. Living in the small
town of Summerland, BC, I lack the access to craft beer that
some of those fortunate souls in urban areas have. The original plan was to go around the province visiting the newest
and greatest craft breweries. A quick search on Google Maps
helped me realize that this would be impossible in the week
that I had available. Not to be deterred, a new plan was made:
head out to Tofino, down to Victoria, hop over to Salt Spring,
cruise around Vancouver and finish up close to home in
Penticton. Over the course of 9 days and 1,550 KM I visited 19
breweries and drank over 100 unique beers.
I set out in my trusty CR-V, along with my boyfriend/drinking buddy, Scott, and our fur-child, Bohdi. We made it to the
Ferry terminal in record time - it’s amazing how fast you can
drive when you’re thirsty! Arriving in time for a quick couple
of beers at the docks (Four Winds IPA), we headed across to
Nanaimo, and wound up setting up the tent on the side of a
logging road in Coombs. The next morning I awoke to discover a deer carcass beside the tent. When camping in cougar country it’s probably a good idea to scan the surrounding
area with a flashlight before settling in for the night!
>> Chelsea McDowell
We left for Tofino early
enough to avoid the RV
traffic and I had a great
time driving while the
boys slept. We stayed at
Surf Junction, right between Tofino and Ucluelet. The tent sites are big
and spacious, rental fees
for surf equipment are
affordable and there’s a
hot tub and sauna on site,
which is amazing after
surfing all day in the cold
ocean. I will stay there
again for sure!
Tofino Brewing has a great
vibe! Big bay doors open
up the tasting room with a small display brewery on one side
and the lounge on the other. The music was blasting and the
place was packed. When I found a seat at the bar, there was
even a copy of the Growler magazine left on my seat, which
was very helpful in navigating breweries for the rest of our
trip. We tried everything on tap and really liked the Spruce
Tree Ale, made with locally picked spruce tips and piney
hops to round out the forest flavour. The Kelp Stout is anoth-
SPRING 2016
er stand-out, made with local seaweed, and is noticeable in
the mouthfeel. I have yet to try a beer from this brewery that
I don’t like.
31
ty to Hoy-
After a few days of surfing we headed down island to Victoria.
It would have been great to check out some of the new breweries along the way, but we had a date with a brewer and did
not want to be late! We stayed at Goldstream campground,
which is beautiful. Spectacular giant trees covered in moss,
filtered golden sunlight, and chirping birds set a peaceful
scene. Even better, it was only 20 minutes to downtown.
A friend who heard about my trip connected me with her
half-brother, Clay, who operates Moon Under Water Brewery and Pub. He spent over an hour showing us the brewery
and offered us tasters right out of the tank. Clay trained in
the European style of brewing, which comes through in his
excellent execution of styles like Pilsners and Hefeweizens.
This can also be attributed to the high-tech, German-made
equipment. Originally destined for a craft-brewery in Korea
which went under, the equipment sat in storage for a while
before being imported to the Island for an English-style
brewery which also went out of business. It sat in containers
for another few years until Moon came along and snapped
it up. If you're in the pub you can see the copper-clad mash
tuns and fermenters around the corner – not only are they
well made, they also look damn good! The space has to be
used efficiently as some beers, like the Berliner Weisse, ferment up to a year “low and slow” to maximize flavour. They
also do a barrel aging program tucked up under the rafters.
I really appreciated Clay taking the time to give an in-depth
tour; it was one of my favourite experiences of the whole trip!
The next day we headed into the city to do some sightseeing
before checking out more breweries in the afternoon. Hoyne
was first on our list for the day and while they don't have an
actual tasting room license you can “sample” their beer by
donation to a local charity. I’ve had Hoyne in bottles before
but was surprised how good everything tasted fresh out of
the tap. This trip really helped me realize how having beer
direct from the source is the best. By the time bottles make
it out to my small-town liquor store they have been sitting
for several weeks – or even months if business is slow- and
can lose a lot of their flavour. The top three were the Summer
Haze Honey Hefe, Down Easy Pale Ale, and Hoyner Pilsner.
We bought a bottle of each to take away with us and headed
across the yard to Driftwood.
I was so excited to go to Driftwood; they were on my “mustsee” list for this trip. You can imagine my disappointment
when I walked up and discovered the tasting room was
closed. Here's a tip: if you're planning a beer trip over a holiday weekend check to see which breweries are closed and
plan accordingly to avoid crushing heartbreak. A worker
from the brewery on his lunch break noticed my distress and
suggested we come back tomorrow – which wasn’t possible
as we were heading to Salt Spring first thing in the morning. He told me to wait a moment, went into the brewery and
came back with three ice cold bottles of Fat Tug fresh off the
bottling line. I never got this fellow's name, but God bless
you, Sir!
Hungry, we headed over to Canoe brewpub and got a seat on
the patio right off the water. If you're in Victoria on a sunny
day, don't miss the opportunity to do this; it was wonderful.
Sampling their lineup of beers we noticed a distinct similari-
Ian Webster with Coal Harbour awards
ne, which I found out later is because Sean Hoyne was the
original brewer at Canoe, and then moved on to start his own
brewery 12 years later.
Phillips Brewery is an iconic destination and, as the first
brewery I ever visited, it played a strong role in my development as a craft beer fanatic. I never get tired of hearing
the story of how Matt Phillips started the brewery by maxing out as many credit cards as he could, then living and
working in his brewhouse. The DIY spirit of this amazingly
successful brewery has probably inspired at least half of the
breweries that have popped up in BC since then. They run an
organized tour 5 days a week for a small fee, which includes
samples and a keepsake tasting glass. It was interesting to
hear how they are launching an on-site malting facility with
plans to use locally grown and malted grain in all their beers.
Also exciting was the Fermentorium Gin and Tonic line, as
the next best thing to a cold beer in the summer is a G&T!
We quickly headed up to Category 12 Brewery just before
closing time. I hadn't tasted any of their beer before, and was
excited to try something completely new. Again we were
lucky as Karen, who owns the place along with her husband Mike, was behind the tasting counter and gave us an
in-depth introduction to their brews. Apparently they have
been blazingly popular since they opened. After trying their
beers (which since have won several awards) it was easy to
see why. Karen informed us she was more into the Belgian
beers while Mike is partial to hops; their brews were a balance of these two styles. All were delicious, but Insubordinate ISA stood out in particular.
After all this drinking we were very hungry, so we stopped by
Canada’s oldest brewpub, Spinnakers, on the way home. It
was tough deciding on what to include in our tasting flights
as there is a dizzying array of options, both beer and cider, to
chose from. We had a great seat by the window and looked
out at the bay as we enjoyed our dinner. I couldn't resist picking up a few specialty chocolates on the way out which we
enjoyed around the campfire later that night. The spicy bacon truffle was amazing!
32
WHAT'S BREWING
We were up brutally early to catch the Salt Spring Island ferry,
but it was a sunny day so that made up for it. It must have
been brew day at Gulf Islands Brewery (makers of Salt Spring
Island Ales) as the forest was filled with the delicious smell of
malt. The beers were delicate, and took on an air of English
subtlety rather than West Coast edge. The Dry Porter, Golden
Ale and Heather Ale were our top three, and we bought a few
bottles of each to bring home.
On arrival in Vancouver we had just enough time to check
out Dogwood Brewing, an organic brewery that created a
buzz with their Kickstarter campaign. Claire and Brendan,
the owners, were behind the counter so it was nice to hear
directly from them about their style. As a home brewer it was
inspiring to see a female brewmaster, and hear about the European inspiration she had for her recipes. The malt-forward
beers seemed to have a feminine touch to them, and I especially enjoyed the Unite Red Ale collaboration beer brewed
on International Women's Collaboration Brew Day.
Next up was Brassneck. I loved the rough wooden interior,
and all of the beers really pushed the limits of their stylistic
category. We tried all 11 beers on tap, each one tasting better
than the next. Changeling is a rotating sour and this week
they had one made with Viognier grape must. Coming from
a grape-growing family I was really intrigued by this as it
blurred the lines between beer and wine. Brassneck is a top
destination now almost every time I'm in Vancouver as it’s
always exciting to see what new creations they have come
up with!
Yeast Van was our destination for the next day, and the first
stop was Storm, the oldest independent brewery in Vancouver. I loved the mad-scientist vibe, and we were impressed
to learn that all of the strange and wondrous flavours are
completely natural and made in-house. As well, James, the
brewmaster and owner, has fabricated much of the brewing
equipment from scrap. The place is part brewery, part industrial art project. The growler-station beers change on a daily
basis; our top 3 on this visit were the Gin and Tonic, Vanilla
Whiskey and Basil IPA. .
A few blocks away was Doan’s Craft Brewing, which had just
opened a few weeks prior. The best art of the trip was the
tasting room mural by Ola Volo. Her artwork also adorns their
bomber bottles. Their beer is inspired by German tradition,
and is more malt-focused than hoppy. We liked everything
on tap, but enjoyed the Rye IPA the best. I was sad to hear
we were a little too early to try out a German IPA made with
Hallertau hops, and will be checking back with them again to
see what's new.
Close by is Powell Street, a small brewery that has quite a few
quality beers on their line up. The tasting room is welcoming
with interesting art and a viewing window looking into the
brewery. The staff were quite knowledgeable and friendly,
and we took our time going through the lineup of beers on
tap. Top for us were the Grisette, a tart and refreshing lowABV saison, and the Ode to Citra which is an IPA lovestory.
This place may be small, but they are brewing some solid hits
and it is absolutely worth checking them out in person.
We headed over to Coal Harbour on invitation from Ian, a
brewer we had met at a beer festival a few weeks earlier. This
is a production-only brewery, so it was cool to get behind
the scenes and check the place out. Probably best known for
their 311 Helles lager, they have also been doing some oneoff bomber bottles – which we discovered are hand labelled
and capped with the same equipment I use at home! We
tried some of the lager fresh off the line, and checked out the
rotating staff-brews in the Keezer. It seems like a really fun
place to work; they even have a basketball hoop in the yard!
I had scheduled a tour at Parallel 49 later that afternoon
with lead brewer, Danny, who I had met at the BC Craft Beer
Awards the year before. Here's a tip – if you have a big tour
planned, try not to drink too much at other breweries first!
We had a very in-depth 3 hour tour, but I have to be honest,
I was a little inebriated and some of it went over my head!
Danny is full of knowledge and loves to share it with fellow
beer-lovers. What stuck most from the tour is Parallel 49’s
commitment to quality; every aspect of the brewing process
reflects this value. We tried several brews straight from the
tanks, and I was most interested to hear about the ‘continuous brew’ method for their sour beer.
The next day we hit the road to head back to the Okanagan and check out a few of the local breweries, joined by
some friends. Martin from Bad Tattoo gave us a great behind-the-scenes tour of their large facility in Penticton. He
honed his love of beer at Kettle Valley Station Pub, the local
craft beer hub, and the food at Bad Tattoo reflects his first
career as a chef. We had a lovely lunch of various wood-fired
pizzas then headed into the brewery to taste some brews direct from the tanks. They are quite popular after being open
for just a short time, and it's easy to see why. Martin really
knows his stuff, so if you have the opportunity chat him up
about what’s currently brewing.
The final destination of our trip was Cannery Brewing's new
facility. At the time of the tour it was just completing construction, and it was interesting getting a sneak peek at the
new digs. They had outgrown the space at the historic Cannery building, and took the opportunity to have a new location custom built on Ellis Street in Penticton. Tin Whistle has
now moved into their old space, making use of the existing
set up. Patt and Ron have been running Cannery Brewing for
over 15 years now; before that, they ran The Country Squire
in Naramata for over 20 years, which had a huge following
locally. Patt gave us a great tour of the spacious new facility
and explained the brewing process in plain language, which
was appreciated by my non-beer geek friends! I have since
frequented the new location many times since it opened,
and love the creativity that having a larger brewery has allowed them to explore. As well they have also started hosting
musical and other community events in the tasting room, so
if you’re in the area stop by and see what’s happening that
week!
Since I did this tour, several new breweries have opened
in BC, and I am already planning future trips to explore as
many of them as possible. I got to see so many different
styles of creating beer, everything from the mad-science
of Storm brewing, to the high-tech labs of Parallel 49. What
struck me most was the willingness of staff at almost every
facility to take time out of their busy day and speak to us
about their love of craft beer. So if you need a getaway this
year, grab your growlers, pack your tent and get out there to
explore!
Look for more BC beer touring facts and info in the Summer
2016 issue of What's Brewing. - Ed.
and refreshing, the perfect beer with which to
rejuvenate and refresh as weather turns warmer.
The light smell and strong orange peel flavors give this brew a
unique flavor that screams refreshment at the beach, the golf
course or anywhere in the summer sun. The citrus notes of orange
and lemon with light malts make for a beer that can
be consumed within seconds on a hot summer day.
Four packs of 473ml tall cans at most
private liquor stores throughout B.C.
For growler fills & off-sales, visit Moon
Under Water 350B Bay St. Victoria
34
WHAT'S BREWING
>> Event Review by BRIAN K. SMITH
Jan 2016 | Portland, OR
F
irst off, let’s take a look at two Oxford definitions for
collaboration:
1) Something produced in collaboration to reach a
common goal
2) (the more sinister version): Traitorous cooperation
with an enemy
The Oregon Craft Beer website states, “This celebration of
Portland craft brewing showcases the camaraderie, innovation and collaborative spirit that helps place Portland at the
global forefront of handcrafted beer and cider.” Seems like a
good enough reason to get on a train from Vancouver BC
and venture down south of the border to check it out!
On the East side of the Willamette River is a wonderful nest
of breweries, many within walking distance and just across
the river from downtown. The history on this side dates back
more than 180 years, and is just as rich as that of the downtown core. From its beginnings of orchards and hay growing,
the south, light industrial area of 20th century Portland continues to evolve today. The 21st century sees this historical
area developing hip eateries, breweries, pubs and night spots.
Right in the middle of this new swarm of activity is Base
Camp Brewery, a community leader in its 12th year of production. Mogan Tashea, Events Manager for Base Camp
states, “We started BCBC as a way to combine our two passions, craft beer and the great outdoors—which aren't all that
uncommon here in the Pacific Northwest. We've been lucky
enough to bring a group of incredible people into the Base
Camp family, and with a ton of hard work have been very
fortunate to share our efforts with folks far and wide.”
That takes us to Collabofest—part of Travel Portland’s “Happening Now” campaign that runs through fall and winter
months. A common element in the Portland beer scene is
that many breweries collaborate year round with each other,
so a festival to celebrate this was a sure winner. It is a daunting task to select the 18 out of a total of 67 breweries: a pairing party is held in October at Base Camp, where large and
small breweries with a wide range of products are selected,
then matched together via random draw. Once paired, the
breweries would be returning for the festival in late January
with two beers to serve at each station. Let the collaborations
begin!
The weather certainly can be a bit of a concern in late January at an open air festival, but the sun did shine. We had a
couple of heavy showers but as soon as the sun came out,
Collabofest 2016: what we saw
Here's a sampling of the breweries that were paired up at
random this year, and what they made!
Base Camp Brewing & Culmination Brewing:
Street Steamin’ Common: assertively fruity
Cascadia Uncommon using sacchra-caramel malts
Ex Novo Brewing & Ecliptic Brewing:
Midnight Black Gose w/ Pinot Noir-infused sea salt
Nightfall Black Pilsner w/ cacao nibs and orange peel
Burnside Brewing & The Commons Brewery:
#nofilter: special addition of blood orange
#nofilter: Sweet Heat, fermented with Brettanomyces
Gigantic Brewing Co. & Stormbreaker Brewing:
Something Brown: cacao nibs from Mana Chocolate
The Love Van: chocolate and notes of caramel
Breakside Brewing Co. and BTU Brasserie:
Jack Burton: sweet and slightly spicy
Wang Chi: kettle-soured wit beer
Widmer Brothers Brewing & Fat Heads Brewery:
Metal As Bock! You will kiss the goat!
Rauch You Like a Hurricane Smoked Dopplebock
Occidental Brewing Co. & Hopworks Urban Brewery:
Sticke Alt: German for “secret”
HUB Doppelsticke: toasted biscuits, raisins and plums
Cider Riot & Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider
WTF There’s Palms in #PDXNOW?
with sustainably harvested organic Wild Palm syrup
it was like we had shifted gears and were back in springtime. There were large open tents to protect against adverse
weather, but mostly it was a very pleasant day. Under one of
those tents was human floozball. You had to be there to see it!
This year there were 16 beers and a cider. Supplied were a
stainless tumbler and a beer notebook with which to make
notes after each tasting station. Each 4 oz. (sometimes maybe
more) serving came with a big smile from each of the brewers. Somehow, with more than 1500 attendees, I felt like we
were all part of a big, happy collaborating family.
Next issue: we visit 5 of Portland’s craft breweries in 'Bridges
to Beer'.
36
WHAT'S BREWING
Beer In Paradise
M
aui! Sun, Surf, Palm Trees, Endless beaches,
Craft Beer… Wait! What? Yes!! Craft Beer.
On a recent trip to Maui I was delighted to discover not one but two craft breweries in full pro-
duction.
Maui Brewing Co. is well established and known all over
Hawaii and beyond. The brewery was started in 2005 by exSan Diego native Garrett Marrero who spotted the one thing
this beautiful part of the world was missing – lovingly crafted
beer. Maui Brewing Co. (MBC) has recently moved brewing
operations from its Lahaina brewery to a beautiful new facility in Kihei. This is a very large brewery compared to most
Vancouver craft breweries and is beautifully designed with
a gorgeous tasting room and a patio with views down to the
ocean. MBC offers a very wide range of beers including lagers, ales, wheat beer and their famous Coconut Porter. After
sampling a number of the beers on tap we settled in on the
Lahaina Town Brown a very decent brown ale with a pronounced malty flavour. Also of note was a brand new porter,
Ka’anapali Coffee Porter - the coffee tones were clearly part
of the beer without being overpowering.
The brewery tour was very informative and entertaining.
Everything about brewing is challenging on Maui which, after all, is a tropical island located in the middle of the Pacific
ocean, thousands of kilometers from the mainland. Sourcing
the ingredients is a huge challenge. Neither barley nor hops
are grown in any quantity in Hawaii and so they must be imported from the mainland. There is some potential to grow a
limited quantity of hops on Maui in the cooler so-called Up
>> Simon backer
Country region—literally half way up a volcano—but this is
not a viable proposition at this time. So the brewers depend
on imported pelletized hops. Yeast has been imported too, although the design of the new brewery included a small laboratory which has allowed for the culturing of yeast in-house.
Getting their hands on good ingredients isn’t the only difficulty that Maui’s brewers face. Maui is hot (duh!) so brewing
lager with the requirement for cool storage through the slow
fermentation provides a particular challenge. This is solved
with insulated dual layer fermentation tanks. And it also explains the highly-visible and well-labelled glycol pipes running around the facility.
You will find Maui Brewing beer all over the island in restaurants and bars. However, MBC is an ambitious brewer and
figured out early on that sales growth would depend on finding and developing an overseas market for their beer. To ship
their beer long distances and have it arrive in good condition, MBC decided to focus exclusively on cans over bottles.
Cans have a number of advantages relative to bottles including being easier to cool, lighter and therefore cheaper to ship,
and better at preventing spoilage via oxidation and/or excess
light hitting the beer. The beer is canned on an automated
canning line and loaded directly into refrigerated shipping
containers. Due to their relentless sales efforts, Maui Brewing
Co. products can be found in 15 countries and 25 states.
Sticking true to the original commitments of the owners,
the brewery operates in a highly environmentally conscious
manner. Solar panels provide most, if not all of, the electricity
required to operate the brewery – there are even free charger
SPRING 2016
37
points for electric vehicles in the parking lot. The spent grain leftover from the
brewing process is shipped to local farms
where pigs are said to be seen impatiently smiling as the delivery truck is unloading.
The 100% increase in the number of
commercial craft brewers on Maui is due
to the new boy on the block – Kohola.
The brewery was started by co-founders
Ian Elumba (Chief Beer Officer) and William Ramirez (President), who migrated
to Maui with his family after wanting a
change from a successful IT career. It
took a few years, lots of experimenting,
and “a series of unlikely events” until late
last year when the brewery took over the
facilities vacated by MBC in the outskirts
of the delightful old whaling town of Lahaina.
Kohola is the Hawaiian word for Humpback Whale which explains the whalethemed logo. The brewery and tasting
room are very different from MBC’s new
palatial surrounds. Funky is the word that comes to mind as
you pull into their parking lot located at the back of small industrial park next to the brewery’s grain silos. Inside the cavernous warehouse that serves as the brewery, one corner is
set up with a bar and some high tables and chairs. The staff
are so welcoming and personable, communicating a sweet
feeling of ‘happy to see you ‘ and ‘wow – another new customer found us’. As we sat at the bar, William was patient in
explaining the beers available. Having just opened in late December 2015 the brewery already offers seven different beers
including a good mix of ales and lagers with a very decent
porter thrown in for good measure. My personal favorite was
the Smooth Tide which had a surprisingly pleasant roasted
barley old world ale flavour.
Kohola beers are currently only available at the brewery in
the nice airy tasting room and via kegs in a few select restaurants in Maui. But the owners are working hard to make
the beer more widely available across
the island. It is, however, possible to
take Kohola beer back to your hotel / condo / campsite in a growler.
Even growlers are different in Maui.
They say that necessity is the mother of invention so maybe I shouldn’t
have been surprised to see a stainless
steel insulated growler – picture a big
growler shaped thermos flask for beer!
The Hawaiian islands have a long history of competing and often warring
tribes. So maybe it was no surprise
to hear that amongst Maui’s brewing
community, there did not appear to
be much love lost for Kona Brewing.
Located on Hawaii’s Big Island, Kona
Brewing has been owned by the US
mainland-based Craft Brew Alliance
since 2010. Kona has a big presence
in the Islands. Based on various comments I picked up, Kona seems to use
‘big brewery’ tactics to get its products
placed in restaurants around Maui.
Needless to say these tactics are not
friendly towards the smaller brewers
and make it challenging for them to
gain a foothold on their home turf. That said, MBC and Kohola are clearly very committed to making sure that Maui-created beer becomes another reason to visit this jewel of the
Pacific.
If you have the good fortune to visit Maui, check out the expanding craft beer options on this island paradise.
38
WHAT'S BREWING
Beers, Beaches & Breweries
>> Kim Lawton
A
s we march into spring, the sound of craft beer
bottle caps popping off can be heard as locals and
visitors alike celebrate the mighty craft beer in the
Okanagan.
Things really start hopping here in the spring as Okanagan
Fest of Ale is just around the corner. This will be my 9thyear
being involved with this well-loved craft beer event, which
always marks the start of tourism season in our beach-front
community.
The 21st annual Okanagan Fest of Ale is coming up on April
8th and 9th in Penticton. This year, there
will be 50 craft breweries and 5 Okanagan-based cideries. Many of the breweries
launch new seasonal releases and specially-produced cask ales at the fest. There are
both indoor and outdoor areas with bands
and buskers throughout. With twelve vendors, this is a chance to taste some of the
food from Penticton, some offering special food and beer pairings.
If you’re coming in from out of town,
check out www.festofale.ca for tickets
and Sip and Stay packages starting at $109/
couple. Vine & Hops has created a special
package from Vancouver, which includes
transport, accommodations, fest tickets,
an after-party, stops at Cannery Brewing and Bad Tattoo Brewing, and an optional wine tour. See www.vineandhops.
ca/events/fest-ale-road-trip for details.
If you’re new to craft beer or want to learn even more
about it, check out Joe Wiebe’s Craft Beer Revolution Seminar and Beer Tasting on Thursday April 7th, the eve of Fest
of Ale. It will be held at Bad Tattoo Brewing. Tickets are $25
through EventBrite. As a bonus, everyone who attends will
get a pint of a Collaborale called “Sloppy Joe”, which was
made as a tribute to Joe by local breweries Bad Tattoo, Cannery Brewing, Firehall Brewery and Tin Whistle Brewing.
There are lots of other pre- and post-Fest of Ale events happening in the South Okanagan to make it a great weekend.
One that I recommend is the Murderers Row cask event at
the Kettle Valley Station Pub in the Penticton Ramada. It’s
on Saturday April 9th, immediately following the Fest. There
will be 14 amazing BC Craft breweries each with a special
cask for the event. Tickets are $30 and that includes your entrance, your first beer and a Murderers Row t-shirt. Tickets
go on sale March 25th and it always sells out quickly.
Craft beer lovers will unite for a cask night and the Annual
General Meeting of CAMRA South Okanagan on April 20th.
The newest branch of CAMRA is approaching its first anniversary with almost 80 members, a recent website launch
(www.camraso.ca) and online membership sign-ups and
renewals. For other CAMRA BC members travelling here,
show your CAMRA membership card and enjoy the local
Okanagan CAMRA membership benefits.
Keeping in the craft beer festival spirit, the 2nd annual Great
Okanagan Beer Fest is also quickly approaching. It will be
held in Kelowna, another Okanagan lakefront community,
from May 12th-14th. It will feature more than 40 breweries
and a series of craft-beer events in the area, in addition to the
main festival. There will also be a new Concert Series on the
evenings of May 12, 13 and 14. Visit www.gobf.ca for more
info and tickets.
Okanagan Fest of Ale 2015
While you’re in Kelowna, be sure to visit Tree Brewing and
help them celebrate their 20th year of brewing. Make sure
you also head to BNA Brewing, and if you happen to be in
Kelowna on the last Tuesday of any month, they run a fun,
yet informal, BNA Beer Club featuring cask beer, dinner and
beer chat.
And in new news in Kelowna…..I’m excited for the opening
of Kettle River Brewing. They are aiming to open in May.
The Okanagan’s newest craft brewery will focus on fresh
and barrel-conditioned beer. Visit their new tasting room for
growler fills, bottles and samples.
If you like craft beer, this is a great time to be in the Okanagan. Until next time, cheers.
Kim Lawton is President of CAMRA South Okanagan, Marketing
Director at Cannery Brewing and Okanagan correspondent for BC Craft
Beer Month. Follow Kim @DogLegMarketing.
40
WHAT'S BREWING
Coastal Currents
>> Paddy Treavor
F
or many craft beer lovers in urban areas, having an
almost-overwhelming selection of great BC beers to
choose from is a given. When I lived on Commercial
Drive in Vancouver, I had both St Augustine’s, with
their (at that time) 40-plus taps, and Tangent Café, with their
14 taps, within 300 metres of my front door. Not to mention
that I had two amazing, craft beer-oriented private liquor
stores within five minutes’ walk, stocking hundreds of great
craft beer selections.
When I decided to move the family to Powell River three
years ago, I knew Townsite Brewery was brewing solid beers,
but I also suspected that, due to the isolation of the place and
the fact Powell River is a mill town long accustomed to drinking mainstream lagers, my craft selection would be severely
limited. I was pleasantly surprised that Townsite’s beers were
available almost everywhere, from the local bowling alley to
the Legion to my local dive bar which features only two taps
(one being Blue); however, as I suspected, variety beyond the
local brews and macro-lagers was nonexistent.
Fast forward three years and I have to say the Craft Beer Revolution is alive and well in PowTown, and if variety is the
spice of life, things are beginning to heat up here in a town
that is much more diversified and open-minded than outsiders would imagine.
When CAMRA Powell River was founded in 2013 and started
to advocate for getting more variety in town, I can remember
locals asking me if I was not worried that Townsite would be
angry with me for trying to talk my brewery friends from the
Lower Mainland and Victoria into getting their beers on the
liquor store shelves and pouring from local taps. Little did
these folks know that Townsite Brewery was working with
me to bring their craft cousins into the local market and were
keen to get more variety in town.
“I believe competition is healthy,” states Townsite’s Director
of Sales and Managing Partner, Michelle Zutz. “I believe it
[competition] makes us better and is good for the consumer
as well. [It] gives folks more opportunity to try what is out
there, and gain an opinion on craft product, which in turn
helps all of us.”
“When someone falls in love with a brewery and brew, they
share the product, they buy the product, they post about the
product and they rave about the product. Guess what, people
trust their friend’s advice, which means craft beer sales soar,
which in turn affects us all.”
To help foster this attitude of healthy competition, as well as
to introduce some of their BC craft beer peers to Powell River
and their beers to local consumers, Zutz and the rest of the
SPRING 2016
41
Townsite Brew Crew, along with CAMRA Powell River, promoted and participated in a series of events last Fall at a local
pub, Savoury Bight, entitled Beer Wars.
CAMRA Powell River to help build their BC craft beer portfolio and Duke’s has a selection that could hold its own in the
big city.
The event saw Townsite invite a rival brewery to town to pit
one of their beers against a Townsite beer, head-to-head, in a
blind taste challenge, with the winner being judged by those
in attendance. At stake were bragging rights and a tap in the
pub for the next month. The events proved overwhelmingly
popular, with each of the four events in the series selling out.
The visiting brewery personnel were somewhat surprised
by the support for the events and how vibrant the craft beer
scene is in Powell River. All now have their beers on local
beer store shelves and have had their beers poured in local
craft-friendly establishments.
“We continue to grow with the increased interest in all craft
brewed products,” states Vajai who often brings in craft beers
for regular special tastings to help introduce locals to different brands and beers.
One of those local craft-beer-friendly establishments is The
Coastal Cookery, located on the south end of the main strip
in town on Marine Drive. The eatery is relatively new, having
opened its doors in June 2014, and features ten draft taps,
making it the biggest draft selection in town. Coastal has
quickly become the go-to place for visiting craft beer aficionados wanting to dine out. It is the first place I recommend
to my craft-loving friends and the great menu and amazing
view only enhances the experience. To date, I have had no
complaints about the recommendation.
Coastal started out somewhat conservatively, with all Townsite taps, but has slowly-but-surely branched out. Their current tap list includes offerings from Brassneck, Dagaraad and
Parallel 49 (two taps) as well as Townsite (4 taps), Merridale
Cider and a locally produced Raincoast Kombucha for those
wanting something non-alcoholic. Coastal has also had
beers from Storm Brewing, Hoyne, Red Truck, Persephone,
Whistler and Driftwood, and all have been well received. It
may not sound like much to the jaded and spoiled Vancouver craft beer crowd, but considering there was virtually no
craft beer in town four years ago, having such quality brews
on tap is really attracting attention in town.
“Customers were asking, so we listened” explained Coastal`s owner, Sarah Salome. “Although the town is very loyal
to Townsite, the craft beer opportunities from around BC are
endless, and our guests wanted the opportunity to try other
small breweries on draught as well as Townsite.”
Salome stated ”it is not easy at times to get smaller craft
breweries interested in supplying beer to Powell River” but
with some help from Townsite Brewery and CAMRA Powell
River, they have managed to make connections.
“Townsite Brewing is so supportive of craft beer in BC they
have helped us with introductions in the industry and really
put us on the map as a craft beer community,” she continued.
Just around the corner from Coastal, another relatively
new business has embraced craft beer fully and completely.
Duke’s Liquor Store opened in August of 2014 and initially
had only about 30 craft beer SKUs available in their massive
store. Today Duke’s boasts more than 200 craft beer selections, including some of the hottest limited releases in BC,
and features BC beers heavily, with more than 20 BC breweries represented.
Duke’s has been totally open to bringing in new breweries
and has expanded their craft focus to BC ciders and artisan
spirits. Manager Evelyn Vajai has been working closely with
“The end of craft beer is NOT near,” proclaimed Vajai who
has plans to further increase her shelf space to bring in a bigger craft section.
There are others catching on, and craft beer taps and beers
from around BC are showing up around PowTown. The local
BC Liquor Store has a decent selection and they continue to
tinker and bring new products in to try when they are requested. I have heard there is a plan to open a 24-tap establishment and there is chatter about the need for a brew pub
in town. Capone’s Liquor Store is also bringing in great beers
and is open to testing the market.
It will be interesting to see where Powell River is in another
three years. It's exciting to be part of the growth and discovery that is occurring locally.
“Next we need a brewpub in Powell River; the town is crying out for it,” states Zutz, secure in the fact that Townsite is
fiercely supported by locals.
She is even touting she will be first in line, but knows she will
have to be fast as I will be racing there at the speed of light
to welcome any new brewery to town the minute it opens its
doors.
Paddy Treavor has been President of two different CAMRA BC
branches. Self-described hophead, craft-beer advocate and wannabe
political reporter. Read more from Paddy on VanEast Beer Blog.
Back Yard Hop Growing
cont'd from page 28
Drying
Find a room that is free of wind and light, and where bugs
won’t get in. You’ll need to lay the hops on a window screen
or some other apparatus that allows air flow to the top and
bottom. Turn them daily. This takes 2-3 days. Now weigh,
label and vacuum-seal them for the freezer until you're
ready to brew.
Winter Sleep
If it’s the first year for your rhizome(s), let the entire plant
die back before you cut it a few inches from the ground.
After year one, after harvesting, cut it at the 3’ mark and let
that die back before reducing it to about 3”.
That’s it. They’re pretty easy to grow and don’t need too
much TLC if you follow the basics. Happy growing!
On HopsCanary.com, Lynn writes about our beer related travel around
the world, beer festivals, local beer events and other beer topics of interest.
42
WHAT'S BREWING
Out and About
P
>> Scottie McLellan
Scottie and his Senior Moments
eople think of seniors in many ways; characteristically, not as founders of the craft beer movement.
Love it.
In truth, we pioneered this Movement, with other beer lovers, none of whom knew each other existed ‘till
Spinnakers opened with John Mitchell as landlord behind
the bar. The best beer stories of my life come suddenly with
good beer. Immediately, all the real Victoria aficionados, we
all found each other.
Those good old times had just started; we had CAMRA evolving; meetings in Pioneer-Beer Victoria ; all word of mouth;
fighting for variety, selection, choice, flavor, the works. We
took abuse; mocking; and insulting behaviour, just for openers. Tough sluggin’ looking for real beers; asking for it, demanding it.
Victoria oldsters are still gathered close in this new beer generation explosion. They Make it Real for me.
Beer Fest in Victoria I see hundreds of you about the crowd;
always great to catch up.
Parksville Untapped, Feb 2016
I never miss this event. It’s civilized, entertaining, and showcases what’s shaking in the region. Great high end foods,
excellent Beach Club staff. Every year more and more beer
folks; lots of great questions; lots of great ales.
This year’s breweries of interest: Hoyne, Red Truck, Driftwood, Howe Sound, Red Arrow; White Sails, Steamworks,
Central City, 4 Mile, Stanley Park, Vancouver Island, Whistler,
Longwood, Phillips, Russell, Tofino, Wolf, OK Springs. Let’s
say each one of these had a beer I would certainly drink.
A new trend at festivals is more and more cider and hard liquor. Still we concentrate on the beer and cider and thanks
to all who participated. Parksville-region beer is on the go.
At this event there is a rating sheet for beers by consumers;
which is fun for consumers; while tasting of course. Good
show: Beach Club Resort.
See you on the road somewhere!
VanBrewers Agm Update
Since the winter moved east, the 2016 annual VanBrewers
AGM popped up!
The VanBrewers got busy with their spring cleaning by
voting in their 2016 Elective, sharing some awesome home
brews and buzzing about their new up and coming programs and events.
Welcoming in the 2016 Elective is President, Scott Butchart;
in the Administration seat, Nathaniel Senff; Matt Anderson
is responsible for Competitions; Adam Chatburn is covering
Membership; Jesse Emmerson will be chairing new Presentations and Meetings; and the 2016 VanBrewers Tresurer
is Dave Haywood.
Upcoming highlights to look forward to are the 2016 VanBrewer’s Awards, and presentations on Women in Brewing,
Evaluating your Beers, Mead and other exciting topics at
VanBrewers meetings to come.
- Sheridan Mohammed | Photo: Brian K. Smith
SPRING 2016
The Brewed Awakening guide
to B.C.’s new breweries
>> Jan Zeschky
Jan Zeschky of The Province is well known for maintaining a public web-based list of up and coming and/or recently
opened places to refresh yourself with on-premises craft librations in BC. But there's a chance you haven't seen it. Just in
case, here's are the links to all of Jan's handy notes, so you can update your summer Staycation BC beer touring plans with
up-to-the-minute changes. ** Argghh, crap, hand me that white-out and book another night at that hotel. **
Y
ou know how this intro goes by now: beer writer
is staggered by the number of new breweries still
opening up, when he was worried about the possibility of a bubble way back in 2013.
So let’s fast-forward to the interesting bits:
In 2016, another TWENTY-EIGHT breweries look likely to
open in B.C. Some of these have been on the radar for more
than a year, while some of them only announced themselves a matter of weeks ago. As always, there are rumours
of several more. But if all the projects listed here open their
doors before year’s end, we’ll be looking at almost 140 breweries across the province.
What’s interesting about this latest crop of craft creators?
Perhaps most encouraging is a first and second craft
brewery for Prince George, but there’s also an overdue
surge in Kelowna and along the Sea-to-Sky corridor, while
brewhouses continue to pop up in the Fraser Valley like so
many stainless steel mushrooms.
And it’s all go in B.C.’s smaller communities. Craft beer is
increasing its reach across the province, with breweries on
the way for 100 Mile House, Campbell River, Chemainus,
Port Alberni and two (2!) in Sooke. Which all make for yet
more excuses to plan a staycation/beercation this year.
Latest Rumours
Silver Valley
Address: Maple Ridge (TBC)
Contacts: Facebook, silvervalleybrewing.com
Projected opening date: 2017
The people: Three Maple Ridge homebrewers—Kevin Fulton, Dennis Smith, and Jesse Enders—are hoping to make
the jump to professional brewing.
Hathi Brewing
Address: Abbotsford (TBC)
Contacts: Facebook, Twitter, hathibrewing.com
Projected opening date: 2017
Stay tuned to Jan's web page for more.
With thanks to Mike’s Craft Beer, The Growler and The
Thirsty Writer
Recently opened and upcoming
‘A’ Frame Brewing Company, Squamish
Andina Brewing Company, Vancouver
Beach Fire Brewing & Nosh House, Campbell River
Boundary Brewing Co., Kelowna
Broke ’n Rode Brewing Co., 100 Mile House
Chaos and Solace Craft Brewing Company, Chilliwack
Coast Mountain Brewing, Whistler
CrossRoads Brewing, Prince George
Faculty Brewing Co., Vancouver
Field House Brewing Co., Abbotsford
Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co., Pitt Meadows
Kettle River Brewing Co., Kelowna
Luppolo Brewing Company, Vancouver
One Duck Brewing Co., Squamish
Parkside Brewery, Port Moody
Prototype Brewing Co., Coquitlam
Riot Brewing Co., Chemainus
Savoy Hotel Brewpub, Nelson
Skeena Brewing Company, Terrace
Sooke Brewing Company, Sooke
Sooke Oceanside Brewery, Sooke
Starkhünd Brewing Company, Kelowna
Strathcona Beer Company, Vancouver
Trading Post Brewing, Langley
Trench Brewing & Distilling, Prince George
Twin City Brewing Company, Port Alberni
Twisted Shark Brewery, Aldergrove
Victoria Caledonian Brewery and Distillery, Victoria
Whitetooth Brewing Company, Golden
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