When I moved to London in early 2010 I thought I was going to a beer mecca.  I mean, what beer nerd doesn’t hold the English ale in high regard?  While London does have a fantastic social pub scene and numerous epic historic/cosy pubs, the beer itself wasn’t what I expected.  In Vancouver, we revere cask beer, but then the cask beer we get here is almost always incredibly fresh and of very high quality.  In an English pub, there are always at least three beer machines pumping cask ale, but how long has it been sitting there?  I’ve consumed enough stale english ale to last me a lifetime.

BUT THEN IT GOT REALLY GOOD

I did my best to find cool beer stuff in London, seeking out highly regarded pubs, hitting up GBBF, and otherwise searching for good beer (Uto Beer had the only good selection in town). Then BOOM! three new craft beer joints opened up within two miles of my place.  It just goes to show you that people are starting to demand craft beer, even in a place like London where lager is consumed by the bucket-full after work.  Craft, The Euston Tap, Brewdog, and The Kernel all started up in London after I got there, and these are epic places.

AND IT’S GOOD OTHER PLACES TOO

While in London I travelled to other places in Europe as much as I possibly could. I loved the traditional beer cultures of Germany and Belgium, but I also noticed that other countries are starting to forge their own craft brewing traditions.  I had an incredible time checking out awesome beer places in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and even Rome, among others.  What’s interesting is that craft beer establishments all have something in common, they are very young.  The idea of craft brewing is relatively new and it’s spreading throughout the world.  We can trace the roots of craft beer back to the CAMRA movement in the UK during the seventies.  Strange though that the Americans really took craft and ran with it, showing us the way.  We on the west coast are lucky to be situated so near epic beer towns like Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco.  Even in these places, craft beer didn’t get going until the eighties.

BEER IS EXPLODING IN VANCOUVER

Now I’m back in Vancouver and BOOM! doesn’t do the local beer scene justice.  Beer has exploded all over the lower mainland.  It’s tough to find a restaurant worth eating at that doesn’t serve craft beer. My non beer nerd friends have impressive selections in their fridges.  The Big Ridge Liquor Store in Surrey has a selection that rivals Brewery Creek.  I went to a Belgian Beer pairing dinner at Uli’s in White Rock last night (in White Rock! that’s crazy). We have a Vancouver Craft Beer Week (coming soon, buy tickets now) and a BC Craft Beer Month.  There are all sorts of new BC breweries like Hoyne, Tofino, Parallel 49, Townsite, and Coal Harbour, not to mention beer bars sprouting up all over the place.  It’s not just the Alibi Room anymore, though it’s still the best in my opinion.  Then there are numerous cask nights and events listed every week in the CAMRA Vancouver newsletter (which you should subscribe to).  And when I left there were only a few local beer blogs kicking around, but now there are at least twenty.  There are too many cool things to list, but I think you get the idea.

Craft beer is becoming mainstream around these parts.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

I think there are quite a few reasons craft beer is taking off.  Most importantly, craft beer tastes better. It’s probably healthier too, though I can’t prove it.  Craft beer tends to be made with just the four key ingredients, whereas many macro lagers aren’t even vegetarian (so what else is in them?).  Craft beer is also relatively local in that it is brewed locally by locals and hops and water come from here (barley comes from the prairies).  After the financial crisis, I know I’d rather buy beer from that guy I saw at the pub than a giant international purveyor of piss water like AB InBev.  Vancouver is also lucky to be a laid back place where creativity flourishes.  The craft beer influence from nearby Seattle and Portland surely doesn’t hurt either.

What I like best about craft beer is the passion.  Erik summed up his passion for craft beer perfectly.  Making beer is hard work and not all that lucrative hereabouts.  To brew beer you haver to absolutely love it, and our brewers do.  This shines through in the local community and I think people appreciate it.  I sure do.

Brewdog in London, drinking beer is tasty and fun

PERSPECTIVE

I’ve noticed some people getting really worked up about beer lately.  I think it’s important to remember that beer is an extracurricular activity in our culture.  It used to be food, but now it’s just fun.  When I saw CAMRA’s FUSS Campaign (which I do agree with in principle), I wondered why people care more about serving sizes than helping people who actually need help?  In the grand scheme of things, beer isn’t a real issue.  That being said, BC has the stupidest liquor laws on the planet. In Germany, everyone drinks in parks and it’s considered civilized.  I want that.

Cheers,

Chris

Update: They have a website now.  Also, they are doing beer making seminars for newbies, contact them for info.

Cheers,

Chris

After an excruciating and lengthy setup period, Coal Harbour Brewing is now open for business! We are ready to debut our first round of beers, all ready to be packaged and sold in 58.7 L kegs.

We want to be a craft brewery that serves our tastes rather than replicating the styles being brewed by others. With that in mind, we will not be exclusively brewing hop bombs. We like lagers, as do our friends, and it is important to enjoy beer with friends! Also, we take great pride in brewing intriguing, satisfying and unique ales:

“three-11” helles lager – A genuine, Munich style pale lager. Brewed with care and aged appropriately to provide a mellow and refreshing drinking experience that pairs well with any occasion. Priced very competitively, this beer is your best choice to satisfy diverse groups of people.

“Vancouver” Vienna Lager – A painstakingly brewed authentic golden coloured European lager. The 3-step mash ensures excellent body and maximum conversion of sugars.  The massive amounts of German malts contribute to the continental flavour. This is a fine lager for a more upscale market.

“Triumph” Rye Ale – A true Pacific Northwest style craft ale, not quite like what you have tasted before. High portions of rye malts combine with northwest hops to give this copper coloured ale a complicated and intriguing, yet smooth and surprisingly drinkable flavour.

Our plans for the future include introducing some unique new ales into our catalogue, and producing seasonal and ‘one off’ batches of very special beers.

Sounds promising, I look forward to trying their beer and I wish them all the best!

Cheers,

Chris

Cheers,

Chris

Sweet, sweet Central City IPA

I didn’t realize quite how much I missed a 60 IBU West Coast IPA until I had a slew of visitors gift me fantastic bottles from the motherland. Amongst my blessings I counted Central City IPA, Granville Island Imperial IPA, and Deschutes Hop Trip. They were delicious, thanks for asking. Of course there are British exceptions, such as the brilliantly hoppy offerings from Brewdog in Scotland, but I can definitely say that UK brewing lacks the adventurous extremes of the North American west coast and Belgium. Lucky for me, I’m making a quick return to Vancouver next week. Canucks woooo!

I knew that I missed hockey, but (again) I didn’t realize how much until I was reminded of it’s absolute awesomeness. Game 4 of the Vancouver Canucks vs San Jose Sharks series was at noon pacific time, meaning it was on in London at 8PM. I seized my big chance to watch live hockey for the first time in over a year at the Maple Leaf pub in Covent Garden, as did every other hockey starved Vancouverite in London. I can honestly say it was one of the best atmospheres in which I’ve ever watched a hockey game. The place was packed out with fervent Canucks fans decked in blue and teal, complete with UK levels of alcohol consumption, which resulted in really good times. What choice do I have but to come home for the parade?

At the Maple Leaf for game 4

Hank didn't touch it, we're good

Cheers,

Chris

If Dix is indeed closing down permanently in a few weeks time, this is sad news to say the least.  Dix Cask Thursdays, Dix Caskival events, and pre-sporting event beer drinking will all be sorely missed.  I spent a good part of the Olympics at Dix and I can’t imagine it not being there when I return to Vancouver.  At least I’ll always have the memories of the good times.

Anyway, apparently the pub crawl will feature a march from Steamworks to Dix where a Dix Funeral will be held, then onto Yaletown and Dockside.  Tickets are $65 and include beer and food.  If Dix was special to you, now’s your chance to say goodbye with a rip roaring good party.

Cheers.

Chris

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Cheers,

Chris

• Beer Wars On Demand – I missed the Vancouver screening of Beer Wars last weekend, which I’d heard was a really good time (could have been the ten or so kinds of beer available).  At the screening, it was announced that Beer Wars would be available on demand from your cable provider.  I watched it last night at my convenience and it only cost me $5.99 from Shaw.  I really enjoyed the explanations of the three tier distribution system, the beer lobbyists in Washington DC, and the plight of craft brewers like Dogfish Head‘s Sam Caglione, which made the movie worth watching.  I also found the documentarian Anat Baron insufferable.  She eventually gets into the movie after enlightening us as to how great she is for ten minutes or so.  She also describes her experience in the beer industry with Mike’s Hard Lemonade.  Wait, what?
• Stone! – At the same Beer Wars Screening, Stone Brewing‘s Greg Koch did announce that Stone would be making a one time shipment to BC.  I was mostly right in my prediction, but I’m pretty choked at the one time part.  Brewery Creek got their shipment in on Thursday, what followed was my single most expensive beer purchase of all time.  I got one of everything, those being their Imperial Stout, Old Guardian Barley Wine, Smoked Porter, Vertical Epic Ale, Ruination IPA (six pack), Pale Ale (six pack), Levitation Ale (six pack), and Oaked Arrogant Bastard.  If you want to buy any of these, it would be best to get to your local independent purveyor of fine beer as soon as possible.
  

  R&B Iceholes Celebration Lager is now available! Colbert can suck one.

• Syrup Sucking Iceholes – I was the first person on the entire internets to write about R&B’s Iceholes Celebration lager, but now the bigger sites have gone and stolen my SEO.  Oh well, who wants to be the first search result on Google anyway?  R&B launched the beer last night at Capones in Vancouver and the Pumphouse Pub in Richmond.  I managed to get a bottle last week.  I haven’t had it yet, but I’ve heard it’s a good pilsner.  Apparently Iceholes will be available at Capones and independent beer stores this February only.  And it has reportedly been arranged for Colbert to suck as many Iceholes as he pleases.
• Olympic Beer Selection Fail - Since Molson is the official sponsor of the Olympics, the only beers available at anywhere affiliated with the Olympics will be Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Molson Ex, and maybe Rickards (sometimes, if you’re lucky).  And get this, venues that used to server other, better beers can no longer do so.  Lame.

Cheers,

Chris

My biggest concern with the event is the quality of the beer itself.  While both Fullers London Pride and GIB Lions Winter Ale are both good beers at the best of times, the international travel these beers will undertake won’t favor the quality of the beer.  Consider that beer is best served fresh and, save for high alcohol beers stored under the right conditions, will only deteriorate over time.  Now consider that these beers were brewed 4708 miles away from each other.  The beers must each travel across a continent by truck or train), across an ocean by boat, and then be stored at a liquor distribution center until the appropriate paper work has been filed.  I’d guess the age of these beers to be at least three months since packaging, which means that they are probably starting to go stale.  I’ve experienced stale Fullers London Pride often, but, considering that I bought this beer at a BC Liquor Store, it could have been up to a year old.

I hope beyond hope that both beers were shipped expediently after they were brewed, stored in optimal conditions, and are both tasting great. What would be even better is if the beers were casked and conditioned (under optimal conditions) on the way, but that might be too hopeful.  Best of luck to both GIB and Fullers in this endeavor.  However, I’d suggest keeping future international exchanges local in the interest of freshness.  Washington and Oregon aren’t too far away.

Cheers,

Chris

I’ve also heard a rumor that there might be an epic beer announcement made at the screening.  Considering that Greg Koch, CEO and co-founder of the legendary Stone Brewing Company, is said to be attending, I wonder what this rumored epic beer announcement could be?  I’ve already guessed at it and have been sworn to secrecy, but I’m hoping our clever readers will be able to guess at my suspicions.

Cheers,

Chris