Hoppapalooza at the Alibi Room on Monday, May 10 is looking like the pick of the litter so far.  Apparently Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will be on hand to kick off this event, which marks the beginning of VCBW.  For $50, your ticket gets you a taste of over 25 hop forward beers, a dish of bison chili, and the enjoyment of local blues musician Rich Hope.  Buy tickets here.

The BC Beer Awards Tasting Event brought to you by Brewery Creek will be held Friday, May 14 at Heritage Hall on Main street.  At this event, $30 for your ticket lets you taste the winning beers from the first annual BC Beer Awards.  The winners haven’t been announced yet, so that will be part of the fun too.  Buy tickets here.

There are many other beer dinners and pubcrawls to choose from, so make sure to check out the other events. Also, take a look at this video released for VCBW:

I am a Canadian Craft Brewer from VancouverCBW on Vimeo.

Sadly, I’m not going to be able to go to any of the VCBW events, what with moving to another continent and all.  I have consoled myself, if only a little, by buying tickets to the Great British Beer Festival coming up in August.

Cheers,

Chris

Brewery Creek

In the past I’ve expressed concerns about beer awards because I feel like they aren’t true selectors of good beer. Awards should be fairly and honestly given, especially when considering beer companies tend to use the awards they win extensively in their marketing.  I’ve heard that winning some awards can be as simple as entering a beer into one of thirty or more style categories.  That’s ninety medalists right there, and then we aren’t told who actually entered what beers into what categories.  I’ve got it on good authority that almost every beer in BC will be entered into these awards and that the list of competing beers will be disclosed.  When you consider that this blind taste test will be judged by beer, wine, and food writers with considerable palates, I’m encouraged to think we have ourselves a true competition that will select BC’s finest brews.

The blind tasting will take place next Monday at an undisclosed (super secret) location and the winners will be announced during Vancouver Craft beer week.  All the pertinent details are in the following press release:

The Vancouver Craft Beer Week organizing committee is proud to announce the first ever BC Beer Awards by Brewery Creek. On Monday, March 22nd, an expert judging panel will review over 150 beers from all across British Columbia at [a location I'm supposed to keep secret]. Media are invited to join judges and volunteers at 9:00am to witness the judging process, as well as learn about the intricacies of craft beer and to find out more about the upcoming Vancouver Craft Beer Week.

The only blind judged beer competition in British Columbia, the BC Beer Awards judging panel boasts such beer experts as:

•       Don Tse – A BJCP Certified beer judge, freelance beer writer and consultant, Don has been writing professionally about beer for seven years. His articles have appeared in beer publications such as All About Beer, Ale Street News and Beers of the World.

•       Abram Goldman-Armstrong – A beer writer in Portland, Oregon, Abram has been a BJCP National Rank Judge since the age of 21, judging at competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival, the Okanagan Fest-of-Ales, and Portland’s Spring Beer and Wine Fest. He co-organizes the North American Organic Brewers Festival, the world’s largest organic beer festival.

•       Megan Flynn – The publisher of Beer Northwest, a quarterly magazine covering beer, food, and lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest, Megan travels North America in search of the best beer and beer personalities, continuing to develop her pallet into one of the most diverse on the continent.

•       James Nevison – Columnist for The Province newspaper, where his “Wine Guy” column appears weekly each Thursday. He is the co-author of five bestselling wine books, the latest is Had a Glass: Top 100 Wines for 2010 under $20, $25, and $30. Recently James was named a “Top 40 Foodie Under 40” by Western Living magazine.

Winners will be announced at the BC Beer Awards by Brewery Creek award show on Friday, May 14th, one of Vancouver Craft Beer Week’s signature events. For further information please contact:

http://vancouvercraftbeerweek.com
http://twitter.com/vcbw

Cheers,

Chris

If you missed out on Spinnakers, don’t get too down because the Washington Cask Beer Festival is the following Saturday, March 27th in Seattle.  For $35, this one includes twenty tastes to drink from your very own commemorative cup.  I went last year and had a really good times.  With so many free tastes and such a stellar beer lineup, my group had a hard time keeping it together.  We had a really good time until things got out of hand.  Id’ say the Washington Cask Beer Festival is the best beer event in the Northwest, so don’t miss this one.

For those of you not willing to make the trip south of the border, you’ll soon have an opportunity to party in your hometown.  Vancouver Craft Beer Week is happening May 10-16, but I still haven’t heard what it will entail.  That being said, I’m sure it will be super rad and something to look out for.

Cheers,

Chris

Cheers,

Chris

Cheers,

Chris