Archive for January, 2010
Cool Vancouver Beer Guide
Saturday, January 30th, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
I saw a really cool visual beer guide posted by the still honourable Rick Green on Twitter today. It is called Dave’s Vancouver Beer Guide 2010 and it is posted at a site called Foodists, which looks pretty cool itself. The guide is a giant image showing the Canadian beers available in BC. It also traces the chain of ownership of national brand beers. If you are new to the Vancouver beer scene and also a visual learner, then this guide will do wonders for you. Click on the image to see it full size.
Cheers,
Chris
Colbert can suck an R&B Icehole Lager
Friday, January 29th, 2010 | Beer | 4 Comments
Stephen Colbert hates Canada, sucks Icehole
You may recall the controversy created by Canada’s decision to restrict access to Olympic venues for foreign athletes. You may also recall Stephen Colbert’s reaction to the decision. If you don’t, read up on how he called us a bunch of “Canadian Iceholes” here. What does this have to do with anything? Well, I have it on good authority that Vancouver’s own R&B brewing, in direct response to Colbert’s comments, has brewed a new beer called Icehole Lager. I’ve also heard that R&B are sending Colbert a few cases and that he’s been invited to suck on an Icehole. I suspect that Colbert may even mention the beer on his show. In my opinion, this is brilliant non-Olympic Olympic marketing by R&B. Well played sirs.
I think we all know that Colbert was mostly kidding and I’m sure he’ll be able to appropriate the humor in and enjoy Icehole Lager. Colbert, best of luck to your speedskating team (he sponsors them). Just kidding, I hope they all lose to Canadians.
Cheers,
Chris
Stone Brewing soon to be available in BC
Thursday, January 28th, 2010 | Beer | 9 Comments
Last week I speculated that the attendance of Greg Koch, co-founder and CEO of Stone Brewing, at Vancouver’s Beer Wars Screening this Sunday might mean that Stone‘s beers were soon to be available in BC. Today, I can proudly announce that I was correct in my speculation. I laid eyes on the order form that confirms the arrival of Ruination IPA, Levitation Ale, Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Smoked Porter and others. We, the thirsty beer enthusiasts of BC, will be able to purchase these beers from Brewery Creek and other fine beer stores early next week. I’ll be heading straight to the store as soon as I get the word and you’d best be staying out of my way, elbows could fly.
Cheers,
Chris
Refuel
Monday, January 25th, 2010 | Beer, Food and Recipes, Review | 2 Comments
I went to the reincarnation of Fuel yesterday, now known as Refuel. This Vancouver establishment is well known amongst locals for serving quality local cuisine matched with an impressive beer and wine menu. I was beginning to tire of recommending Fuel/Refuel based solely on other’s opinions – I have read so many great reviews that I felt almost as if I had actually eaten there and was comfortable enough to recommend Refuel to some of my food loving friends with an interest in craft beer. Now that I have actually visited Refuel I am pleased to say that my recommendation still stands.
Fuel started out serving locally sourced food to hungry Vancouverites a number of years ago and quickly became a local favourite. Following the recent economic recession, Fuel began to realized that their customers would appreciate the same great food but at a more wallet friendly price. Fuel closed down and re-launched as the more affordable Refuel; the food may be slightly less “sophisticated”, but still delicious, which aside from sustenance and survival is really the reason for eating.
After looking through the menu and the great local beer list I ended up with Vancouver Island Brewing’s Herman’s Dark Lager and a juicy medium rare burger. Yes, that is correct, burger served medium rare and no I am not sick and yes it was delicious. I had to resist the Polderside fried chicken which I have read so much about, but irrelevant of how amazing the other menu items look, including fried chicken, all I really want to eat is a burger with melted cheese and bacon. It also helped that the fries were hand cut and made fresh. The food was delicious, the beer menu was well thought out and that atmosphere was unpretentiously welcoming.
Thank you Refuel for serving a burger made with care that for once is not overcooked and for offering quality local beer that a beer loving food enthusiast can get excited about.
Cheers,
Erik
CAMRA Vancouver Award Winners
Monday, January 25th, 2010 | Beer, Events, Favorites | No Comments
The CAMRA Vancouver Award winners were announced last week. I was pleased to see many of my nominations amongst the winners. I’m extremely proud of CAMRA Vancouver and its members for rewarding true attention to and passion for craft brewing. Unlike many beer awards, these were given out by beer enthusiasts, which makes them more legitimate in my mind. The winners:
Best Local Brewpub
Gold: Central City Brewing
Silver: Steamworks
Bronze: Dix Barbecue and Brewery
Best Local Beer Cafe, Pub, or Restaurant
Gold: Alibi Room
Silver: The Whip Restaurant & Gallery
Bronze: The Railway Club
Best Local Liquor Store
Gold: Brewery Creek Liquor Store
Silver: BCL 39th & Cambie
Bronze: Firefly Fine Wines & Ales
Best Local Cask Night
Gold: Dix Cask Thursdays
Silver: The Whip Real Ale Sundays
Bronze: Yaletown Making it Real (Ale)
Best Local Beer Event
Gold: Alibi Room 100th Beer Menu Rotation
Silver: Dix X-mas X-treme
Bronze: CAMRA on a Mission to Mission
Best BC Brewery
Gold: Phillips Brewing
Silver: Driftwood Brewery, Red Racer aka Central City Brewing (tie)
Best BC Beer
Gold: Red Racer IPA
Silver: Phillips Longboat Double Chocolate Porter
Bronze: Crannog Back Hand of God Stout
Best BC Seasonal Beer
Gold: Driftwood Sartori Harvest IPA, Phillips Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale (tie)
Bronze: Phillips The Hammer Imperial Stout
Cheers,
Chris
GIB / Fullers Beer Exchange
Sunday, January 24th, 2010 | Events | No Comments
Granville Island Brewing let us know last week that they will be taking part in an international beer exchange with London’s Fullers. From January 25th to February 5th, Fullers London Pride will be available at the GIB Taproom and Lions Winter Ale will be available at the Iron Duke in London. GIB will also be hosting a Taproom for the UK event, which is open to all comers, this Wednesday, January 27th at 6PM at the Taproom. While I think this exchange is a cool idea, I have a feeling it has more to do with marketing than beer. Consider the timing of the event and the participation by breweries in the next two Olympic cities. Notwithstanding that neither London Pride nor Lions Winter Ale can truly be considered world class beers, so we can’t say either brewery is really putting their best foot forward. And while Fullers is a major international brewer and their beers are readily available in BC, I wonder if anyone in the UK has ever heard of GIB? That isn’t a slight to GIB who are widely considered BC’s favorite brewery among non beer enthusiasts.
My biggest concern with the event is the quality of the beer itself. While both Fullers London Pride and GIB Lions Winter Ale are both good beers at the best of times, the international travel these beers will undertake won’t favor the quality of the beer. Consider that beer is best served fresh and, save for high alcohol beers stored under the right conditions, will only deteriorate over time. Now consider that these beers were brewed 4708 miles away from each other. The beers must each travel across a continent by truck or train), across an ocean by boat, and then be stored at a liquor distribution center until the appropriate paper work has been filed. I’d guess the age of these beers to be at least three months since packaging, which means that they are probably starting to go stale. I’ve experienced stale Fullers London Pride often, but, considering that I bought this beer at a BC Liquor Store, it could have been up to a year old.
I hope beyond hope that both beers were shipped expediently after they were brewed, stored in optimal conditions, and are both tasting great. What would be even better is if the beers were casked and conditioned (under optimal conditions) on the way, but that might be too hopeful. Best of luck to both GIB and Fullers in this endeavor. However, I’d suggest keeping future international exchanges local in the interest of freshness. Washington and Oregon aren’t too far away.
Cheers,
Chris
Beer Wars Screening in Vancouver
Monday, January 18th, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
For those of you who don’t know, Beer Wars is a movie about the struggles of craft brewers to stay competitive in a beer market dominated by giant corporations like AB InBev and Molson-Coors. The movie itself has gained substantial attention, praise, and scrutiny from beer enthusiasts North America wide. It hasn’t made its way to here yet, but CAMRA Vancouver has organized an upcoming screening for us. The screening was originally supposed to be last night, but unexplained complications resulted in the event being pushed back to Sunday, January 31st at 4PM. To make up for the delay, CAMRA has recruited some of our local brewers to be on hand to serve beer, those being Steamworks, Yaletown Brewing, Granville Island with their new limited release Chocolate Stout, and Red Truck with their Limited Release Porter. Since District 319 is a licensed and private venue, patrons will be able to have a few beers while watching the movie, something many of us haven’t legally ever been able to do. To get tickets, head to the CAMRA event page and purchase away.
I’ve also heard a rumor that there might be an epic beer announcement made at the screening. Considering that Greg Koch, CEO and co-founder of the legendary Stone Brewing Company, is said to be attending, I wonder what this rumored epic beer announcement could be? I’ve already guessed at it and have been sworn to secrecy, but I’m hoping our clever readers will be able to guess at my suspicions.
Cheers,
Chris
Vancouver Craft Beer Week?
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 | Events | 1 Comment
I read on the honourable Rick Green’s BC Beer Blog today a mention of a Vancouver Craft Beer Week being planned for May 10-16. This was the first I’d ever heard of such a thing (even Google didn’t know about it!) and was naturally intrigued. When I asked Rick what it was all about he indicated it would be in the vein of San Francisco Beer Week. From that I can only assume that CAMRA, in association with our local breweries, brewpubs and beer bars, will be planning a series of beer related events in Vancouver. Sounds good to me! I wonder if this is the first annual VCBW? I also wonder if those beyond us beer geeks and hangers on will take notice and take part? If the first VCBW is well staged, I imagine the masses will be clamoring to partake. What I am sure of is that this first VCBW is a step in the right direction and will surely be good times. I will post any details that make their way to me.
Cheers,
Chris
I’m back
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 | Beer | 3 Comments
Sorry for my near two month absence, my extended leave is completely inexcusable and I apologize profusely to all of you. I know it is not much of an excuse, but I just moved into a house and it turns out houses are a lot of work and will quickly consume most of your life. Things are settling back down to normal now and Shaw recently ran cable to my house last week and I am now once again connected to the world through the magic of the internet. So I am back!
I put together a post a few weeks ago about Dead Frog‘s latest release – which is a great amber ale. I thought I would be able to steal internet access from my neighbors unsecured wireless network, but the signal was no good and I couldn’t upload the post. I thought is might still be worth sharing. If you you haven’t yet tried Dead Frog’s Amber Ale I recommend you go out a give it a whirl.
Aldergrove’s Dead Frog Brewery recently released a new beer to mark their two and half year anniversary. No surprise to hear that the beer is name 2 ½ Year Anniversary Ale – very creative. This new release is asmoked amber ale and is only available in Dead Frog’s 12 pack mixer. After finding reading about this new release earlier today I stopped in at the liquor store on my way home to find this new beer.
Although I have never been a fan of clear bottles, as they tend to turn delicious beer into foul smelling skunk water, this new beer is delicious. The smokey flavour is relatively mild but is noticeable in the aroma. The 2 ½ Anniversary Ale is malty but not overpowering and is balanced by a mild hop finish. All in all a well balanced flavourful amber ale.
Smoked beer is a scarcity here in BC and often times when found the smokey flavour tends to be overpowering. Cheers Dead Frog for putting together a great smoked amber ale.
Erik
Drinking Vancouver Book Launch party at Alibi Room
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 | Events | No Comments
A few weeks ago I wrote about a new book coming out called Drinking Vancouver, which is about great places to drink hereabouts. I hadn’t got my hands on it yet, but I still wrote about it because it was said to have a strong focus on BC beer. Also, I knew it was written by John Lee, author of the Lonely Planet Vancouver City guides, so it must be good.
Last week, Emily from Touchwood Editions, publishers of the book, let me know that there is going to be a launch party for Drinking Vancouver at the Alibi Room on Thursday the 28th from 6-8PM. There will be books on sale and you may even get to meet the author. Even better, this event is open to all comers. Check out the Facebook page for the event here.
ABOUT THE BOOK
With sharp, witty reviews of the best spots in town to slake your thirst, DRINKING VANCOUVER is the pocket-sized booze bible for locals and visitors craving a night out on the town. Written and compiled by travel and feature writer John Lee, this book is handily divided into eleven neighbourhoods from the heritage bars of Gastown to the slick joints of Yaletown to the gritty pubs of the Downtown Eastside. You’ll find special sections with top drinking, dining and ambience suggestions, as well as recommended watering holes for the next time you’re on the road in other parts of British Columbia.
With Vancouver’s long-overdue bar renaissance upon us, this is the first hands-on guide to toast the city’s newly hot bar scene.
Maybe I’ll see you there?
Cheers,
Chris
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