driftwood
BC Beer on the Today Show
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 | Beer | 3 Comments
This is pretty cool, some love for BC beer on NBC’s Today Show:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Cheers,
Chris
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
Alibi Room Celebrates 100th beer list
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | Beer, Events | 2 Comments
That’s right, 100th beer list, not beer, but beer list. I find that impressive and am planning on stopping by for the celebration, which is tomorrow, Thursday the 3rd of December at the Alibi Room. I’d heard rumors that an event of this sort might be taking place and the CAMRA newsletter confirms:
This Thursday will be the 100th rotation of the Alibi Room’s beer list. To mark the occasion owner Nigel Springthorpe will be replacing the regular lineup with a special selection featuring great current BC beers along with signature beers from many BC Brewers. Some kegs will be new, others may be kegs collected over the years and aged in the Alibi Room’s cellar. Highlights include a cask of Driftwood’s wet-hopped Sartori Harvest IPA, the last of Swan’s Legacy-Ale barleywine, and Steamworks’ Blitzen & Yaletown’s Le Nez Rouge Belgian-style tripels.
As if that wasn’t enough, The Alibi Room will be releasing the aged bottles they’ve collected and aged in their cellar.
I am pretty excited to give the fresh hopped Sartori Harvest IPA from Driftwood a try. I missed out on the bottled release when I was away in October, but the cask version promises to be even better. One friend of mine has gone on record as saying it is the best IPA he’s ever tasted and he’s a certified hophead. Should be good times, be sure to stop by if you can make it.
Cheers,
Chris
Cellar Update: Bush de Noel
Monday, January 19th, 2009 | Beer, The Cellar | 1 Comment
I was delighted when my wife surprised me with a Brasserie Dubuisson Bush de Noel for my cellar. I mean really, how often does that happen? I believe she may have originally been attracted to the bottle by its shiny, colorful label, but then decided to purchase one upon hearing that Erik found it cellar worthy. This is an epic addition to my cellar, Scaldis Noel being the first beer added (of four total) that I haven’t consumer prior, only to buy another for ageing. I have finally learned my lesson, that strong beers develop more complex and interesting flavors with age. I’ve also found of late that I enjoy high alcohol content beers more once they’ve aged for a good while, which I find helps take the edge off the alcoholic taste. Bush de Noel (or Scaldis Noel) is a strong Belgian Amber Ale (12% ABV) that I look forward to drinking in a year or so. Reviews I’ve read indicate that this one will have a sweet, spicy, fruity taste. I can’t wait.
I also recently added a Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine to my cellar, after drinking one of course. This Northwest style Barley Wine was sweet, hoppy, and full of flavor. I recommend that you immediately buy at least two, one for now and one for later.
Cheers,
Chris
A beer tour of Victoria BC
Saturday, January 17th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Events, Pubs | No Comments
Last September, Erik and I went on a beer tour of Victoria with our fathers. Sadly, it was the weekend after the Great Canadaian Beer Festival. We were busy on GCBF weekend, but will definitely be attending next year. Nonetheless, we still had a great time in Victoria. We stayed in one of the guest houses at Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub. I would definitely stay there again, but not with a group of dudes. We found the guesthouses to be a bit on the romantic side. Spinnakers has everything going for it. In additon to a brewpub and guesthouses, Spinnakers also boasts on an onsite restaurant and bakery, plus scenic views of Victoria harbor from its oceanside plot. We awoke every morning at Spinnakers to fresh baked goods dropped off for breakfast, which was a tasty treat indeed.
At Canoe Brewpub
Our itinerary consisted of first popping into the brewpub at Spinnakers for a late dinner on Friday night. We found the food, atmosphere, and, above all, the beer to be quite satisfying. Upon learning the 11PM closing time was fast approaching, we hastened to sample as many of their beers as possible before being cutoff. Consequently drunk, we abandoned our plans for bed and decided to wander around Victoria until the wee hours of the morning. We somehow ended up at Swans Brewpub across town, enjoying further libations. Now, I can’t say I recall too much about the beer at either Spinnakers or Swans from that night, but I do recall it being rather tasty.
On Saturday, we woke up rather late and worse for wear. We had a leisurely morning enjoying our baked goods from the Spinnakers bakery before setting off for the Canoe Brewpub. I recall Canoe being the plushest and most modern of the establishments we visited. I also recall the Braised Beef Short Rib & Blue Cheese Burger I ordered as being the greatest burger I have eaten in my entire life (surely the healthiest too). The beer there was also tasty, but the rest of the days events seemed to have wiped my memory of particular details. We then ventured to Vancouver Island Brewing for a tour. The tour usually costs $5, but they waived our fee for enthusiastically showing up far too early. Had we paid the fee, it would have been well worth it for the tour and the five glasses of each VI brew we were poured. At this point in the early afternoon, we were roundly drunk, but ventured on to Hugos.
Hugos brewhouse was largely a disappointment. The beer we ordered was all well and good, but there was something off about the place. We felt as though we were sitting in a dark, empty nightclub, not the atmosphere one would expect of a brewpub on a Saturday. I was not surprised to learn later that Hugo’s was largely known as a nightclub in its last days and was closed down weeks after our visit. We then ventured to the Stickey Wicket, tired and unenthusiastic. The pub itself is very cool, convivial, busy, and featuring three floors (the top floor features an open air volleyball court). We weren’t there long as we had hit the wall. We ventured back to Spinnakers for a solid nap (the longest walk of my life, I swear). After our nap, we returned to the Spinnakers brewpub for dinner where two of us couldn’t even contemplate ordering another beer. The night ended shortly after an unrousing game of darts, when we retired rather early.
On Sunday, we awoke refreshed to more Spinnakers baked goods. I had the delivery girl drop our basket off outside “because of the no pants and whatnot”. Erik was none too pleased with my saying “whatnot”, wondering what the poor girl may have inferred. We then gathered ourselves and headed to Swans once more, to give it a fair chance in an uninebriated state. We enjoyed the beer there very much, although I again can’t recall any details. We then ventured back to the mainland, laiden with bottles, after a two day trip where we consumed beer aplenty.
At Swans Brewpub
We had an awesome time in Victoria and it is a tour we’d definitely do again. It was very cool to be able to do this with our fathers before they lose mobility. Just kidding, our Dads are on the young side and much fitter than we are. We learned a lot from this beer tour though, foremost that it is best to pace yourself to get the most out of the day. It was also a shame we didn’t get to visit any of Victoria’s other microbreweries. Before we ventured on our trip, we had planned to visit both Philips and Lighthouse Brewing. I called both breweries and asked if they did tours. They did not, but both said they would accommodate us if we stopped by, which I though was pretty cool. Sadly, our weekend trip did not coincide with the hours of operation of these two breweries. I imagine that new Victoria brewery Driftwood operates similary. I hope to visit all three the next time I’m in Victoria on a weekday.
My next trip to Victoria is already planned and we will be staying at Swans, a more suitable venue for a bachelor party, due to its lively atmosphere, than Spinnakers. It is indeed my good friend Dave’s bachelor party. This time the focus will be more on debauchery than beer. That being said, I hope to visit Spinnakers and Canoe again, and we’ll possibly do a brewery tour. This time I’m going to organize a golf game at nearby Gorge Vale on Saturday morning, to ensure we don’t hit the wall to early.
Cheers,
Chris
The Beer Cellar Updated
Sunday, January 11th, 2009 | Beer, The Cellar | 5 Comments
Further to Erik’s great post on cellaring beer and his creation of The Cellar page, I thought I should post about my philosophy on the beer cellar and what beers I am currently aging. Until very recently, my philosophy on cellaring has been to not cellar anything. I’ve realized recently that I was flawed in my thinking because aging can definitely enhance the flavors and take the edge off of a strong beer. What really helped me realize the greatness of aging beer was the Thor’s Hammer Barley Wine we recently enjoyed at Central City Brewing, which was fantastic. I had the opportunity to compare this barley wine, aged 18 months, to other younger barley wines, where the aged beer far surpassed the young beer in smoothness and in flavor.
I’ve learned the hard way that strong beer should be aged, having impatiently consumed a Fullers 2008 Vintage Ale, a Philips Burley Barley Wine, and a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron far too early. In fact, I’ve noticed the pattern that I always immediatly drink a strong beer worthy of aging, only to have Erik realize my folly and buy the same beer for his cellar. This works out well for both of us, Erik gets to taste the young beer I hasten to enjoy, and then I get to taste Erik’s aged bottle a year or so later. Look forward to some great reviews of aged beer in the coming year, complete with first hand insight on how the beer has matured with age.
As for my cellar, it is humbly located in a dark, tucked away corner of my garage where the temperature ranges from 10-20 degrees Celsius throughout the year. I may have to make other arrangements in the summer during heat waves. My cellar consists of very few beers at this point in time, but my stockpile will grow. The meager number of bottles in my cellar has to do with my lack of patience and the knowledge that Erik will probably share his aged goods with me.
My cellar currently contains:
- Phillips Burley Barley Wine (November 2008)
- Fullers Vintage Ale (2008)
The stock in my cellar will surely grow this year. That being said, old habits die hard. I have a Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine in the fridge right now, ready to be warmed up and consumed at a moments notice. When will I learn?
We’ll be updating our Cellar Page with new acquisitions as they arrive. Please check back with us for reviews of aged brews as we consume them. Also, we’d love to hear of other worthy candidates for our cellar if anybody has any recommendations.
Cheers,
Chris
Search
Categories
Archive
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008