whistler brewhouse
New BC Brewery: Tofino Brewing Company
Sunday, November 21st, 2010 | Beer | 3 Comments
There is a new brewery starting up in Tofino, BC, aptly named Tofino Brewing Company. Coincidentally, it was started by a couple of guys who went to the same high-school as me. WGSS is obviously cranking out geniuses left, right, and center.
The brewmaster at TBC is one Dave Woodward, formerly of the Whistler Brewhouse. Whistler Brewhouse was one of my favorite apres ski places and I really enjoyed drinking Dave’s beer there, which bodes well for the quality we can expect from Tofino. If you want to learn more, Dave gave an interview regarding the fledgling TBC to CAMRA Vancouver that was published in their newsletter and is reposted on BC Beers here.
TBC gives us one more reason to visit Tofino, which is a great surf town, but also lacking in the nightlife department. I hear TBC is going to have a tasting room, maybe that could turn into a fully fledged brewpub? I’d go.
Cheers,
Chris
Our own Whistler Beer Festival
Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Beer, Pubs | 2 Comments
We heard about the Whistler Beer Festival about a month ago and decided to go, only to find out it would be canceled, but not before we’d booked ourselves in Whistler for the weekend. Long story short, we went to Whistler last weekend to not go to the Whistler Beer Festival. There are definitely worse things in life to contend with than a weekend in Whistler, so we made the best of it and had our own beer festival.
We ended up staying at an awesome complex called Glacier’s Reach, which we booked through the rental-by-owner site alluraDirect.com for a very affordable price. We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a hot tub on our deck(!), and we were right across from the village. I’d definitely stay there again. Erik and I brought up a bunch of good beer, mostly purchased from Brewery Creek, the best of which (besides Erik’s homebrew) being Coney Island Lager and Coney Island Human Blockhead, two very flavorful lagers. We stayed in the first night to make our own pizza and enjoy our tasty beers. The next day, our attempt at being active consisted of a walk through the village and around lost lake. Then the rains came, signaling it was time to head to the Brewhouse.
The Whistler Brewhouse was very apologetic and immediately refunded our beer festival tickets, a wise move by them because we swiftly gave our money right back. While the wives went shopping (blah), Erik and I sat at the bar, where we were treated to a few complimentary pints and a locals discount on the rest of our bill. The Brewhouse had two seasonal’s, a smoked porter and a Belgian wit. I found the wit a bit dull and the smoked porter a bit too smokey, but their Wolf Creek Bitter and Grizlly Brown Ale were as delicious as ever. The wives later joined us for dinner after, thankfully not having bought too much stuff. In the end, I think I was there for almost five hours. I had a great time because the bar their is as close to heaven on earth as it gets for me. Beer, chicken wings, sports on HDTV…done.
Man Heaven - the bar at Whistler Brewhouse
Holly and her sampler
We may have continued drinking beer that night. We may have drank too much. We may have wandered the village and purchased hotdogs unnecesarily, who can tell these things? Whatever we got up to, it was all in the past by the next morning because we had more work to do. We drove down to Squamish and to the Howe Sound Brewing Company for lunch. Erik and I both ordered the sampler there, but decided not to double down when we saw the size of the first one. Ten generous samples! A bit much considering I still had to navigate the remainder of the Sea to Die Highway. Sadly, we found the beer a bit underwhelming. My personal favorite was the Father Johns winter ale, which reminded me of gingerbread. We also enjoyed the Blonde Ale, the Mettleman Copper Ale, and the Diamond Head Oatmeal Stout. Also, I had the half roast chicken for lunch and it was delicious.
Erik and the epic Howe Sound Sampler
This was indeed a very good weekend. It would have been better if we’d had some more activities to do, but the rain held us at bay. Next Winter, head to the Whistler Brewpub for a warming apres ski pint. On the way home, skip the Tim Horton’s when you get hungry and head to the pub at Howe Sound for a tasty lunch. You won’t regret either decision.
Cheers,
Chris
Whistler Beer Festival Canceled
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Beer | 1 Comment
Yep, the first annual Whistler Beer Festival will take place next year at the earliest. Apparently their brewmaster, who was organizing the whole thing, almost died in a mountain biking accident. Godspeed on your recovery sir. Get well soon. I found out today when I asked Gerry at Brewery Creek if he was going. He told me about the accident, but implored me to ask the honourable Rick Green for more info. Rick confirmed the bad news. I’m pretty choked because Rick had already posted the proposed beer lineup on the now removed Facebook event. It was stacked with mouthwatering beer offerings that I was excited to try.
What to do now? Well, we already booked ourselves in Whistler, so we are going anyway. A weekend in Whistler isn’t the worst thing in the world to suffer through, so don’t feel too sorry for us. I called the Whistler Brewhouse today and was please to find them very apologetic. We’ll be redeeming our tickets for fresh beer, which I hope they won’t be out of by the time we make it up there! Their Wolf Creek Bitter and Grizzly Brown Ale are killer, plus they usually have a solid seasonal or two. We might also amuse ourselves by checking out some of the trails, lakes, and nightlife. And a stop at Howe Sound Brewing on the way back down might provide a fitting end to our weekend. I guess we’ll be all right.
Cheers,
Chris
First Annual Whistler Brewhouse Beer Festival
Friday, May 29th, 2009 | Beer, Breweries, Events, Pubs | 2 Comments
The Whistler Brewhouse is an establishment that I love. I’ve been going there for many years, long before I’d even fully discovered my love of beer. Some friends and I stumbled upon it during a ski trip one winter and have been going back ever since. We found the fresh beer and food to be excellent and the atmosphere to be delightfully cozy after a day on the slopes. The Whistler Brewhouse was also where I first enjoyed many lesser known beer styles, including a cherry ale, barley wine, and dunkelweizen that I can recall. When I found out that the Whistler Brewhouse would be hosting a beer festival this year, my interest was piqued.
I heard about the festival via the CAMRA Vancouver email newsletter, but haven’t been able to find very many details online besides the image included in this post and a Facebook event. The festival is said to be happening on Saturday June 27th from 12PM to 6PM and over twenty unknown microbreweries will be on hand. Tickets are $25 ($20 for CAMRA members) and are on sale at the Brewhouse and at Dix in Vancouver. Despite the lack of official details, the mere mention of a beer festival at the Whistler Brewhouse is enough for me. Erirk and I will be heading to Whistler that weekend for the wives for what will surely be an excellent time. To all my friends who expressed interest in previous beer festivals and were less than impressed when I didn’t invite them, please feel encouraged to join us at this one. It is going to be fun.
Cheers,
Chris
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