Tag Archives: bc

Thor’s Hammer Barley Wine in bottles

thor's hammer barley wineThor’s Hammer by Central City brewmaster Gary Lohin was the first barley wine I ever tasted.  It was five years ago at the Central City brewpub in Surrey and it was one of the first times a beer every blew me away.  I’ve tasted similarly good or better barley wines since, but I’ll never forget that first sip of the golden nectar of the gods.

If you don’t know, barley wine is very strong beer that is often very sweet and aged a long time to both add flavour and subdue the high alcohol content.  Barley wines usually come out around Christmas time and are warming, festive drinks, perfect for dulling the harshness of relatives.

You used to only be able to get Thor’s Hammer at special beer events or in the Central City Brewpub (or at Sailor Hagars before that).  This past summer Central City released a limited collection that included Oak Aged Thor’s Hammer and now, for the first time, they are releasing a bottled run at the appropriate time of year.  Thor’s Hammer jostles with Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller for the title of best barley wine in BC and is a must buy for BC beer nerds.

It should hit stores in Vancoucer this week or next, likely on a Thursday.  If you don’t want to miss out (only 99 cases made), I suggest you like Brewery Creek or Legacy on Facebook to get their notifications.

Cheers,

Chris

Old Yale Brewing is back

old yale brewing logoHappy New Year to BC beer geeks, Old Yale Brewing is coming back!  Old Yale was a pretty cool brewery, brewing out of a strip mall in Chilliwack of all places.  Their IPA and Pale Ale were both delightful and I was sad to hear of their demise a couple years ago.  Luckily, some passionate beer people purchased the brewery and are reopening it with the same brewmaster and recipes.  They are also going to be selling their beer in cans, signalling greater ambition this time around.  Here’s the blurb I received:

I wanted to let you know that Old yale Brewing co. is back open and brewing again! It has been purchased by a small group of beer lovers and we have the same brewmaster, Larry Caza. The recipes are the  same and the first few batches have come out excellent. Our new group is excited about getting our superb beer to more people.

We have just began shipping beer in large bottles to a few liquor stores in the Chilliwack and abbotsford area. We have a few establishments with our beer on tap again. We are in the very early stages and a lot will be happening over the next month or two.

We will be offering our Sergeant’s IPA and the Old Yale Pale Ale in cans soon.

old yale brewing beers

I’m wishing them a very successful 2012!

Cheers,

Chris

BC Craft Beer Month

bc craft beer monthThere have already been two Vancouver Craft Beer Weeks and now there is going to be a BC Craft Beer Month.  Apparently October is to become craft beer month this year and every year, featuring events and specials at many BC craft beer venues.  All I know of this I learned from the website, which I found out about because one of my friend’s made it.  BC craft beer fans should surely keep an eye on the site to see what awesomeness appears.

Cheers,

Chris

Phillips Dr. Funk Dunkel

Jenn from Phillips sent us this video a few days ago:

Looks like Phillips has a new beer called Dr. Funk coming out soon.  It’s a Dunkel style lager, which is one of my favorite beer styles.  The style tends to be easy drinking like a lighter lager, but is then also full of roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee flavors like a porter. I really like Phillips and I think they are one of BC’s best craft breweries.  And thanks to their continual seasonal releases and clever marketing, I think they have a chance to take over some big market share from the big boys in the mainstream (lame) beer world.  At least I hope that happens.  If you see this beer, you should buy it and help them on their way.

Cheers,

Chris

More BC Winter Beers

I made some glaring omissions in my previous post about BC Winter beers.  My list was not complete and so I felt compelled to add the following beers to it:

Also, from outside of BC:

Any of the above beers will warm you up on a cold winter day and I highly recommend picking them up should you find them.

Cheers,

Chris