doppelbock
Winter Beer Season in BC
Saturday, November 21st, 2009 | Beer | 7 Comments
As the seasons change, so does the availability of craft beer. I, for one, am thankful for this, especially as I regard the changing of the current season as going from bad to worse. What better way to cheer yourself up in this dreary weather than to sip a winter warmer from one of BC’s great breweries? I can think of a few things, but none so simple and effective as grabbing a winter ale (or a few) and watching the healing Canucks thrash Colorado.
Many BC breweries have already released their winter beers and a few still have barley wines on the way. Joy to the world! Here are a few BC winter brews you might consider trying:
- Central City Winter Ale
- Granville Island Winter Ale (lovingly referred to as choco beer by my friends)
- Lighthouse Winter Ale
- Vancouver Island Hermannator Ice Bock
- Phillips Barley Wine (coming soon)
- Phillips Instigator Doppelbock (coming soon)
- Nelson Faceplant Winter Ale
- Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine (coming soon)
Also, some other fine non BC breweries have produced tasty winter ales:
- Anchor Christmas Ale (my favorite so far)
- Pyramid Snowcap
- Whychwood Bah Humbug
- Lost Coast Winterbraun
If the rain, darkness, and cold displease you as much as they do me, I suggest one of the above as a temporary and enjoyable remedy.
Cheers,
Chris
A night at the Alibi Room
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 | Beer, Pubs | 2 Comments
Last night I went to the Alibi Room with my friends Peter, Dave and Gavin. Erik was going to come, but he was busy roasting a chicken, it happens. Our visit came about because of comment’s Rick Green left on Dave’s guest post, wondering what Dave might think of the Alibi Room in comparison to Original Joe’s. It didn’t take much convincing to get a group out for beers after work, considering we are always up for some good merry making. That aside, the Alibi Room has a fantastic beer selection to tempt any enthusiast.
The Alibi Room has 19 taps of fresh, relatively local draught beer, plus many more bottled options, as well as the odd cask, all of which are in constant rotation. For a beer drinker, this is heaven. Not only do they have the best beer selection in BC, but there is always something new. In fact, the owner makes special trips to the island to pick up casks and kegs himself
I had a very hard time choosing what four beers to put into my “frat bat”. I ended up going for the Swans Cask ESB, Longwood “Batch 1000″ Doppelbock, Dix Texan Brown, and Steamworks Roggenweizen. I also sampled the Swans Extra IPA and ordered a pint of the Swans Cask ESB later on. I think we all enjoyed the Cask ale the most, but I was also particularly impressed with the Longwood Doppelbock. I didn’t care too much for the Roggenweizen (too spicy) or the Texan Brown, but neither are preferred styles of mine.
Peter and Dave with empty plates/glasses at the Alibi Room
We also had some very tasty, reasonably priced food. After splitting some chicken wings and a cheese plate, we ordered two each of their roast beef sandwich special and their bison dip, which were both quite good. I planned to take some pictures of our glorious spread of beer and food, but I completely forgot until we’d pretty much finished everything to the last crumb/drop. Still, I have a picture of our empty plates and glasses, testament to the good times we shared with great food and beer at the Alibi Room. I hope we end up making this a regular after work occurrence!
Cheers.
Chris