victoria
Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller 2008 vs 2009
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
Driftwood’s Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine is one of my favorite seasonal release BC beers and definitely my favorite barley wine. It’s an American style barley wine that uses three times the grain and five times the hops than you’d use to make a normal beer. If you aren’t a hophead you needn’t worry; the higher levels of malt, and the resulting higher alcohol content (12% ABV), balance out the hops nicely.
Last year was the first year Driftwood made their barley wine, coincidentally it was also the first year they existed. I bought two bottles, drank one, and put the other in the cellar. When the 2009 version came out this year I thought it would be cool to try the 2008 version aged a year in the cellar and compare it with the fresh 2009 version. As far as I know, the recipe didn’t change at all.
I recalled the 2008 version, consumed fresh last year, as having a wonderful hoppy aroma of citrus and floral notes. The same aroma was only faintly present in the aged version. We found the aged version to be much more subdued than we recalled. All of its younger and harsher characteristics had mellowed over time. The bite of the alcohol and the sweetness of the malt had blended into a deeper caramel and molasses like richness. We liked the aged beer, but we were reminded of why we loved this beer last year when we tried the fresh 2009 vintage. Powerful aromas, potent hops on the tonggue right after a sip, then a lingering and complex sweetness for the finish.
While our experiment was fun, we learned that Old Cellar Dweller, despite its name, doesn’t belong in the cellar. The hops in this barley wine make drinking it relatively young an experience you can’t pass up.
Cheers,
Chris
Lighthouse’ First Seasonal: Winter Ale
Sunday, November 1st, 2009 | Beer | 1 Comment
Victoria’s Lighthouse Brewing is releasing its first ever seasonal limited release beer, a winter ale. It’s going to be an English style winter warmer, a malty sweet beer that can sometimes taste a bit spicy, although no spice was actually added to this one. It will be available on draught and in bottles starting tomorrow, Monday November 2nd. There are only 2000 six packs of bottles being released, so make sure to grab a box if you can. Lighthouse generally brews good beer and I imagine that their winter ale won’t disappoint.
What might be more significant than the launch of a tasty new beer is that this is Lighthouse’ first ever seasonal release. They credit their new bottling line as giving them the capability to release small batch beers in an affordable way. I hope this is the first of many seasonal releases for them.
Cheers,
Chris
Great Canadian Beer Festival 2009
Monday, September 21st, 2009 | Beer | 6 Comments
Us guys went to GCBF the other weekend in Victoria for what was an epic beer festival. We left bright and early on Saturday morning and caught the 9AM ferry to make our way downtown before noon. We parked where we were staying at Swans Hotel, but couldn’t check in until later that afternoon, and so headed out to start our day. After a merely adequate breakfast at John’s Place, we walked over to the Royal Athletic Park where the beer festival was to be held. It was a very hot, very beautiful late summer day for BC, perfect weather for an outdoor beer festival.
Beautiful Swans Hotel
Now I’d heard that Saturday was the rowdier of the two beer festival days, but was still blown away by the level of rowdiness. I figured that the stellar craft beer lineup would attract a crowd of beer enthusiasts. However, I think its safe to say that over 90% of Saturday GCBF patrons were college age folk out for a good time. I’d also surmise that the majority of attendees had little to no interest in the quality and craftsmanship of the beer on hand, which isn’t to say they didn’t consume it in large quantities. I was actually quite shocked at just how much of a party atmosphere there really was. Many groups of people made themselves beerfest costumes or uniforms running the gamut from team jerseys to spandex super hero outfits. What with the hot weather and masses of inebriated youth, some might even suggest that far too many people were wearing inappropriately little. In my opinion, the appropriateness of any lack of clothing depended squarely on the attractiveness of the particular person.
This band showed up and started playing
This guy made balloons, including genitalia
Big crowds at GCBF
As for the beer itself, there was a good variety of deliciousness available. My biggest problem with the beer selection was that there were more beers on hand than were advertised in the program. I failed to stop by at a few of my favorite breweries because it didn’t look like they had prepared anything special. It was to my great dismay to later find I’d missed out on a few unique brews, most notably a Blackberry Lambic from Driftwood Brewery. As for the rest, I was very intrigued by many of the Washington and Oregon brewers made the trek. I was also disappointed with our BC brewers who merely offered their regular brews. I’d hoped for some more interesting brews from some of my local heroes.
Chris, Erik, Holly at GCBF
There were no beer tokens included in the price of admission, which irked me a little. Tokens cost between $1 and $2 each, depending on how many you bought at a time, and many of the tastes required two tokens. It is for this reason that I did not try nearly as many beers as I thought I would. I kept it mainly to unique to the area or cask conditioned brews, ignoring the draft versions of some of my favorites. Notable standouts to me included:
- Boundary Bay cask conditioned Oatmeal Stout
- Central City cask conditioned Imperial IPA
- Crannog Back Hand of God Organic Stout
- Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
- Elysian Brewing cask conditioned The Wise ESB, Night Owl Pumpkin, and Saison Poivre
- Lagunitas Lucky 13
- Longwood Brewpub cask conditioned ESB
- Swans cask conditioned Scotch Ale
The Crannog Booth, one of my favorites
It might have been good that I tried less GCBF beers than I’d planned on because it enabled me to enjoy the rest of the evening. We returned to Swans to check in and then went down to the pub for a few tasters. We then spent our evening on the patio at The Canoe Club before wandering over to Spinnakers for a completely unnecessary nightcap. We had to make our way back in the morning to pickup some of their delightful malt vinegar, which Spinnakers makes themselves. Also, if you are ever in Victoria and in need of breakfast, head to Mole. It was outstanding.
Eirk with post GCBF tasters at Swans
It was my first trip to GCBF and I enjoyed it. If I lived in Victoria, I would go every year. However, having to come over on the ferry from Vancouver and requiring a hotel have me questioning future trips. While the beer selection was good, it wasn’t outstanding enough to warrant the expensive journey. I consider more accessible beer events like Dix Caskivals and the Washington Cask Beer Festival more enjoyable. What would be even better is a GCBF in Vancouver too.
Cheers,
Chris
New Lighthouse Limited Releases?
Monday, September 14th, 2009 | Beer | No Comments
I was at GCBF last weekend and I have a substantial amount to write about it, but thought I’d first share this juicy little tidbit. I was in a long line for the ATM at GCBF (no beer tokens included?) behind one of the sales managers of Victoria’s own Lighthouse Brewing Company. We got to talking when he wondered aloud at what extortionate banking fees we might be charged for that extra $20 we needed for tokens. We struck up a conversation and talked about his beer, Lighthouse breaking into the Vancouver market, competitive beers, and the like (it was a really long line). I quite like Lighthouse beer in general, but my one beef with them is that they don’t do anything special. I asked him why Lighthouse didn’t do any seasonal releases. He said it was because Lighthouse was only equipped for canning until recently and that cans had to be ordered in minimum batches of 10000. He said that with their new bottling line (Race Rocks Amber and Riptide Pale are now available in bottles) that seasonals were now a possibility and that the brewers were clamoring to do something Belgian. I pushed to know the particular style, but all I got was ‘something Belgian’.
There you have it, the first bit of beer news (or speculation) broken on LoveGoodBeer.com, a potential upcoming limited release from Lighthouse Brewing. If they were to do a seasonal release, and I hope they are, I think it would be great for Lighthouse. Nothing generates more buzz than something new or special and I think Lighthouse’s beers are worth hearing about.
Cheers,
Chris
Last gasp GCBF ticket options
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 | Beer | No Comments
It is indeed the Great Canadian Beer Festival this weekend. This will be my first GCBF and I had no idea how popular it was. I lucked out in getting tickets by just happening to show up at the beer store to grab the last few available. I had planned to buy tickets a few days later, but the fates tempted me out on the first day of sales. Anyway, even though tickets are long sold out, there are still a few ways to get to GCBF:
- Volunteer
- Craigslist, here are a few of my searches
- Ask Nicely
- Win them, I saw a few contests last week, try to find them online.
If you miss out, we’ll post about how awesome it was next week so that you can feel really bad about missing it. Maybe it’ll motivate you to get tickets nice and early next year? Seriously though, it is going to be an awesome time. The lineup looks wonderful and our stay at Swans includes a free tasting, and then we’ll have the excellent Canoe brewpub just down the road…
In preparation for GCBF (and to help recover from the Labour Day weekend) I am embarking on an epic four day beer fast. Wish me luck.
Cheers,
Chris
Great Canadian Beer Festival Tickets on sale
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 | Beer | No Comments
The Great Canadian Beer Festival is taking place on September 11th and 12th this year in Victoria (where it always is). I have never been to a GCBF, but plan on making this year my first one. I’ve heard it is awesome and I’ve also heard that tickets sell out fast. If you want to go, make sure you grab tickets soon after they go on sale this Saturday, July 18th. Brewery Creek and Central City are two of the fine lower mainland establishments selling tickets. The beer lineup from last year looks pretty solid, so best to make your arrangements sooner than later. If you do make it, make sure to say hi to us, we’ll be the ones silly walking around the grounds.
Cheers,
Chris
A guys trip to Victoria
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Pubs | 3 Comments
This past weekend I traveled to Victoria with twelve guys for my friend Dave’s Bachelor party. We stayed at the historic Swans Hotel, home of the excellent Swans Buckerfields Brewery. Sadly, we were too busy engaging in debauchery to have a proper taste of the great beers available at Swans. We did make our way home laden with a few excellent bottles though. We did get to both The Canoe Club and Spinnakers Brewpub, one each night for dinner and some warmup beers. It wasn’t looking good for us when we showed up to a packed Canoe on Friday night with thirteen guys. Miraculously, we managed to conjure a thirteen man table in less than twenty minutes. We achieved a similar feat at Spinnakers on Saturday, this time in less than five minutes. We are still very proud of ourselves. I really enjoyed the beer and food at Canoe and Spinnakers, but must say I preferred both at Canoe
Needless to say, our weekend was not focused on beer tasting and I have no meaningful beer related tidbits to share, besides that we had a great time at the brewpubs. Our other activities included great rounds of golf at Cordova Bay and Olympic View, neither of which I had played before. Olympic View was particularly beautiful, not to mention challenging. We were a bit rough around the edges on Saturday and were lucky to have chosen a team format for the day’s round. This applied especially to Dave, who actually tossed his club a solid sixty yards on his first full swing, unintentionally. Not fully understanding the Victoria bar scene, we had less luck with our choices in nightlife venues. We had a decent time, but were unlucky to have been involved in an altercation on the first night. Turns out I can take a beer bottle to the head. Although you won’t believe me, no I did not do anything to deserve it. The second night, when Dave went out in his hot dog suit, was much more interesting. I’ll let you guess at what might have happened.
All and all, Victoria was a decent place for a stag. We’ve got another one coming up in Seattle and we’ll need to drink some beer. I’ll keep you posted.
Cheers,
Chris
Some pictures, back to my crappy iPhone camera again:
Dave cannibalizing, you monster!
Kyle and Peter at Canoe, good times.
Jim, Dave, and Tristen at Canoe, good beer.
A beer tour of Victoria BC
Saturday, January 17th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Events, Pubs | 1 Comment
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.
Us guys 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.
Us guys 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
Why we started a blog about loving beer
Thursday, December 11th, 2008 | Beer | No Comments
Chris, Erik and Dads at Swans in Victoria
Earlier this year in September Erik and I took a beer trip to Victoria, BC with our Dads. We visited breweries and brewpubs and drank a lot of good beer. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done, not because of the itinerary, but because I got to bond with my father, father-in-law, and brother-in-law and make some great memories (good stories coming in another post). I love the taste of beer, but what I love most about beer is how it can bring people together. The times that I drink beer, after soccer games with the team, Friday at five with coworkers, and on weekends with friends and family, are generally the most enjoyable times of my life. Such is my passion for beer.
We started this blog because we love beer and we want to learn more about it. I have Erik to thank for kicking my interest in beer up a notch. Erik brews his own beer and is very dedicated to his craft. Spending an entire weekend carefully monitoring a boiling mash and then suffering through the rigorous cleaning of his brewing equipment is his idea of fun. I am already tired thinking about it; I think I need a beer. I on the other hand, being the inquisitive engineering type, love learning about how beer is made, that and drinking it.
I love drinking the beer Erik makes. I once asked him why his beer tastes so much better than the typical liquor store varietals. Turns out he uses high quality ingredients and puts a lot of care into it, which seemed quite obviously like a good way to go about brewing to me. He told me that Anheuser-Busch brews Budweiser using a percentage of rice, which, if you know anything about beer, is blasphemy. Quality beer is supposed to only contain water, barley, hops and yeast. Rice is used because it is cheaper than barley, ferments more quickly, and imparts very little flavor, which basically translates to cheap, flavorless beer. You may not have noticed, but Budweiser has started advertising that it is now brewed with six-row barley, letting it be known that they no longer use rice. The funny thing here is that six-row barley is the less preferred (cheaper, less suited for beer making) kind of barley that craft brewers try to avoid (two-row barley is where it’s at). King of beers my ass. Hearing of this opened my eyes to the disparity that exists in beer and got me much more interested in drinking good beer.
I always knew that I loved drinking beer with my friends, but now I find myself really excited about beer in general, excited enough to start a blog. My goal in starting this blog is to learn more about beer, find better beer to drink, and hopefully help the people who care to read this blog drink better beer too. We plan to blog about:
- beer we drink
- places to drink beer
- making your own beer
- beer events
- beer recipes
- breweries we visit
- anything else beer related that pops up
If anyone has any suggestions for us, we’d love to hear about them. Please comment on any of our posts or email us. Also, don’t drink and drive; it totally sucks. Also, please feel free to send us free beer.
Cheers,
Chris
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