Love Good Beer

After 25 years it is finally here: Brockton IPA

Friday, April 24th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries | 5 Comments

The Granville Island Brewing Company turned 25 this year, and to celebrate they released a new beer titled Brockton IPA. Granville Island Brewing is one of British Columbia’s first craft brewers – all BC beer fans, even those whose tastes are not always satisfied with Granville Island’s regular offering, owe a big thank you to this brewing pioneer.

Granville Island’s non-seasonal six-pack beer is generally speaking, not brewed to please the discerning pallet of a passionate beer drinker, but that is good. Not all craft beer needs to be challenging and thought provoking. Granville Island’s beer serves as a great entry point into the world of craft beer. This brewery has done a great deal of work in developing a market for craft beer in Vancouver. Although I am no longer a diehard fan of Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale, I still have a great deal of respect for this ale. Had this mild pale ale never existed I may not have been exposed to BC’s burgeoning craft beer scene – English Bay Pale Ale was one of the first craft beers that I tasted, enjoyed and began to purchase regularly.

To please fussier beer drinkers, such as myself, Granville Island Brewing offers a good selection of creative and flavourful seasonal beers. Unlike their regular offering, which is now brewed in Kelowna, their season beer is still brewed on Granville Island. To me, the true definition of a craft brewer is not how many liters a brewery produces annually, but whether or not a selection of seasonal beer is offered. Seasonal releases are a great way for brewers to challenge their customers’ taste buds and push the boundaries a bit. Having achieved success with a previous IPA seasonal release, Granville Island Brewing decided that now was the perfect time to release a milder version of their seasonal IPA.

Because I fall into the “fussy” beer drinking category, I assumed that Brockton IPA would not be for me. My assumptions were correct – there is nothing wrong with this beer and I believe it is a great IPA for those who have never experienced the full on flavour assault of an IPA, I just prefer a bigger, bolder IPA. Knowing that Brockton IPA was not for me, I decided to invite a few friends over, all who like beer to varying degrees, to sample the beer and offer their unbiased opinions.

Here is what they thought:

Brad Wiens:

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It is a good beer, but somewhat weak. Similar to other Granville Island Beer.

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Cheryl Wiens:

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It tastes like a pill that I tried to swallow and then coughed up

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Holly Wolfe:

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It is okay, but a bit too bitter. I prefer their Winter Ale.

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Rachel Richardson:

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Piney tasting – Where is the citrus flavour?

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Chris Richardson:

Chris has already posted his comments, but to reiterate:

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It tastes like a hoppier version of English Bay Pale Ale

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No one seemed to fall in the love with Brockton IPA, but aside from Cheryl, everyone did finish their beer. Subjective opinions aside, Brockton IPA is a great introduction to hoppier, flavourful beers and I am always excited to see a brewer release a new beer. I look forward to seeing what Granville Island brews next.

Cheers,

Erik

Tags: Brockton IPA, english bay pale ale, Granville Island Brewing, hops, IPA, Review

Granville Island Brockton IPA

Thursday, April 9th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments

When we started this blog we set out to learn a lot and have a good time, which we have done thus far.  It was also our hope to somehow achieve the level of celebrity that warrants free beer.  I think we are getting closer to meeting this goal.  This week we were contacted by the PR firm of Granville Island Brewing and invited to attend the launch of their recently released Brockton IPA.  This isn’t the first press release we have received, but is certainly the most applicable.  We are going to go to the launch on April 23rd and will definitely be writing a post about it.  What I find a tad funny about this launch party is that the Brockton IPA has been out for a solid two weeks now.  I picked up a six pack from Brewery Creek the day it came out in stores.  So technically the beer was already launched, but who doesn’t like a party?

Since I’ve already tasted Granville Island’s IPA, I can give you my thoughts on it.  I thought it tasted like their English Bay Pale Ale with extra hops. I really wondered if it was the same recipe with added grain, plus the extra hops.  It had the same vanilla taste (maybe imparted by their yeast strain?) that I associate with the other widely available Granville Island beers.  If you like Granville Island’s other beers and don’t mind the added hop bitterness, you’ll like the Brockton IPA.  If you are a serious IPA drinker, I doubt you’ll find this “finally a west coast IPA” anything special.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy this beer for what it is, but I’m not buying the marketing hooplah.  That doesn’t mean I think it won’t be widely successful, because I think Brockton IPA will be a big hit with Vancouverites.  Granville Island has done really well at positioning themselves as Vancouver’s beer, even though their main lineup is brewed in Kelowna.  Only their seasonals are actually brewed on Granville Island, and by a different brewer no less.  Apparently, the Brockton IPA recipe was taste tested by Vancouverites for Vancourverites before being put into production, a fact that will surely tickle the locals.

I really like it when breweries release new beers; it gives me something new to try and something to write about.  While I don’t think that the Brockton IPA is a truly special beer, I appreciate that Granville Island will be broadening the horizons of many macro swilling Vancouverites with a new craft beer offering, for many will find this new beer in their Minglers.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: brewery creek, Brockton IPA, english bay pale ale, Granville Island Brewing, launch party