The Growler B.C. • Volume 2 Issue 4 • Winter 2016

BEST ENJOYED ALL YEAR

Our year-round Small Batch release balances hops upfront with a solid malt base for a refreshing Pale Ale to enjoy year round.

NEXT RELEASE: Mocha Porter

Nov. 21

Breweries by Region

10 43 31 57 64 73 85 94 103

VANCOUVER

SEA TO SKY

LOWER MAINLAND

FRASER VALLEY

VICTORIA

ISLANDS & COAST

THOMPSON OKANAGAN

KOOTENAYS

NORTHERN B.C.

Editor’s Note

Howdy!

Two years ago, unapologetic beer nerd Stephen Smysnuik birthed e Growler, and raised this little bundle of joy into B.C.’s most trusted craftbeer guide. Like any parent, he should be proud of what he’s brought into this world. As Steve mentioned in his column last issue, he’s leaving us (albeit temporarily) to raise his actual baby, which is a way more important job. In his absence, you’re stuck with me. Who am I? Glad you asked. In addition to serving as editor of the Vancouver weekly arts and entertainment rag, Westender, since 2014, I’ve also been known to partake of the occasional sudsy beverage. I’ve been brewing beer in my tiny East Van apartment for close to three years now, and I bring to e Growler a near-lifelong passion for beer.

Incidentally, I have my own child on the way, but I’ll be continuing to work, putting in the long hours required to taste as much delicious B.C. craft beer as possible. Clearly, I’m going to be a terrible father. But my child’s loss is the beer-drinking public’s gain!

Now that we’ve dispensed with introductions, I promise to talk about myself as little as possible going forward. After all, it’s really about the beer, amirite?

(Oh, and for those wondering how I lost my front tooth, the answer is a Hell’s Angel’s st, a microphone and a snorkel. In that order.)

- Rob Mangelsdorf, editor

LEGEND

GROWLER-APPROVED

Keep an eye out for our 10 favourite beers this winter!

Brewery Details

GROWLER FILLS

BOTTLES / CANS KEGS

LOUNGE ENDORSEMENT

i.e. you can order a pint or ight

ON-SITE KITCHEN OR FOOD TRUCK

TOURS

KID FRIENDLY

GLUTEN-FREE BOOZE OPTIONS

Suggested Glassware

STANGE

Kolsch

Marzen Bock

PILSNER

Lager

Pilsner

Witbier

NONIC PINT

IPA

Stout

Most ales, actually

WEIZEN

Hefeweizen

Weizenbock

Fruit beer

TULIP

Belgian ales

Saison

Strong ales

GOBLET

Berliner weisse

Quad

Tripel

SNIFTER

Barleywine Sours

Anything weird

e complete list of B.C. Beer Awards winners.

e seventh annual B.C. Beer Awards was held on Oct. 15 in Vancouver, and thanks to the hard work of dozens of highly quali ed – and likely very inebriated – certi ed beer judges, we have the ultimate list of B.C. brewing excellence. e judges sampled close to 800 (!!!) di erent beers from across the province to decide the winners, which is completely bonkers.

Here, then, are their picks for the very best beers in B.C.

BEST IN S HOW STEAM W ORKS BRE W ING COMPANY // FLAGSHIP IPA

DAN SMALL HOME B REW AWAR D

S HO O GA W A & N OVIA C HEN RICHAR D S B UELL SUTTON LL P — R OOKIE OF THE YEAR AWAR D

F IELD H OUSE B RE W ING C O.

CBC PEO P LE’S C HOICE A WAR D

B OOMBOX B RE W ING C OMPANY // P ABLO E SCO G NAR IPA

T IM B ER BREWER’S C HALLENGE

BRASSNECK BRE W ERY // OLD MONEY MILD

INTERNATIONAL LAGER

| 1 | 33 Acres // 33 Acres of Darkness

| 2 | Moody Ales // Vienna Lager

| 3 | Central City // Red Racer Pils

GERMAN PALE LAGER

| 1 | Central City // Red Racer Old School Lager

| 2 | Persephone // Keller Pilsner

| 3 | Steamworks // Steamworks Pilsner

KOLSCH

| 1 | Steamworks // Steamworks Kolsch

| 2 | Mt. Begbie // High Country Kolsch

| 3 | Swans // Arctic Kolsch

GERMAN AMBER BEER

| 1 | Gladstone // Gladstone Altbier

| 2 | R&B // Vienna Lager

| 3 | Moon Under Water // Potts Pils

EUROPEAN DARK BEER

| 1 | Steel & Oak // Dark Lager

| 2 | Cannery // Baltic Porter

| 3 | Central City // Red Racer Dopplebock

G ERMAN WHEAT

| 1 | Barkerville // Demimondaine Dunkelweizen

| 2 | Moon Under Water // THIS IS HEFEWEIZEN

| 3 | Steel & Oak // Weizenbock

BRITISH BITTER

| 1 | Foamers' Folly // English Bitter

| 2 | R&B // Red Devil Ale

| 3 | Lighthouse // Beacon ESB

BRITISH PALE ALE

| 1 | Bid Ridge // Clover IPA

| 2 | Nelson // Paddywhack Organic IPA

| 3 | Strathcona // English IPA

BRITISH B RO W N ALE

| 1 | Nelson // After Dark Ale

| 2 | Mt. Begbie // Tall Timber Ale

| 3 | Foamers' Folly // Aethelred the Mild

S COTTISH AND IRISH A LES

| 1 | Steamworks Brewpub // Classic Scotch

| 2 | Ravens // Irish Stout

| 3 | Moody Ales // 1880 Export Stout

B RITISH STOUT

| 1 | Barkerville // 52 Foot Stout

| 2 | Townsite // Perfect Storm

| 3 | Faculty // 710 Oaked Stout

STRONG ALE

| 1 | Central City // or's Hammer

| 2 | Persephone // Wee Heavy

| 3 | Red Collar // Wobbly Bob

F RUIT B EER

| 1 | Tin Whistle // Pinot Noir Raspberry Blonde

| 2 | Red Truck // Red Truck Raspberry Ale

| 3 | Dead Frog // Tropic Vice

SPICED BEER

| 1 | Lighthouse // Jackline Rhubarb Grisette

| 2 | To no // Spruce Tree Ale

| 3 | Brassneck // Hibiscus Wit

SMOKE AND W OOD AGED BEER

| 1 | Dageraad // Entropy Series No. 1

| 2 | Brassneck // Inertia II

| 3 | Central City // or's Hammer Bourbon Barrel Aged

S PECIALTY B EER

| 1 | Steel & Oak // Roggen Weizen

| 2 | Dageraad // Londen

| 3 | Field House // Sour Wheat Gose

N ORTH AMERICAN LIGHT BEER

| 1 | Nelson // Hooligan Organic Pilsner

| 2 | Parallel 49 // Jerkface 9000

| 3 | Granville Island // Cypress Honey Lager

NORTH A MERICAN B LONDE ALE

| 1 | Nelson // Organic Wild Honey Ale

| 2 | Postmark // Postmark Blonde

| 3 | Field House // Dutch Pale Ale

NORTH AMERICAN PALE A LE

| 1 | Yellow Dog // Chase My Tail Pale Ale

| 2 | Callister // One Hop Mind

| 3 | R&B // East Side Bitter

NORTH AMERICAN AMBER ALE

| 1 | 33 Acres // 33 Acres of Life

| 2 | Howe Sound // Troller Bay Ale

| 3 | Tree // irsty Beaver Amber Ale

NORTH AMERICAN BRO W N A LE

| 1 | Foamers' Folly // Bandit Brown

| 2 | Phillips // Slipstream

| 3 | Tree // Kim-Ach-Touch Ale

N ORTH AMERICAN PORTER & STOUT

| 1 | Dead Frog // Commander Imperial Stout

| 2 | Main Street // Stag and Pheasant Imperial Stout

| 3 | Moody // Russian Imperial Stout

NORTH AMERICAN IPA

| 1 | Steamworks // Flagship IPA

| 2 | Yellow Dog // Play Dead IPA

| 3 | Boombox // e Ultra Delux

S PECIALTY IPA

| 1 | Dageraad // Blonde IPA

| 2 | Red Truck // White ISA

| 3 | Steamworks // YVR ISA

IMPERIAL IPA

| 1 | Parallel 49 // 187 On and Undercover Hop

| 2 | To no // Cosmic Wave Double IPA

| 3 | Main Street // Second Anniversary Double IPA

BELGIAN A LE

| 1 | Strange Fellows // Jongleur Wit

| 2 | Old Abbey // Bier de Garde

| 3 | Barkerville // White Gold Witbier

BELGIAN S TRONG A LE

| 1 | Dageraad // Dageraad Blonde

| 2 | Main Street // Saison No. 7

| 3 | Fernie // Old Barn Saison

TRAPPIST ALE

| 1 | 33 Acres // 33 Acres of Euphoria

| 2 | Central City // Central City Belgian Strong

| 3 | Dageraad // 10 Degrees

E UROPEAN SOUR A LE

| 1 | Strange Fellows // Raynard

| 2 | Main Street // Cantus Fermus

| 3 | Phillips // Bizarro

NORTH AMERICAN W ILD A LE

| 1 | Parallel 49 // Bodhisattva

| 2 | Old Abbey // Sour Raspberry

| 3 | Strange Fellows // Little Red One

VANCOUVER

33 ACRES BREWING CO.

15 West 8th Ave. | 33AcresBrewing.ca

MON-FRI 9AM-11PM ^ SAT-SUN 10AM-11PM

EST. 2013

Mount Pleasant’s one-stop shop for co ee, brunch, food trucks and brewmaster Dave Varga’s superb takes on classic beer styles.

33 ACRES OF DARKNESS SCHWARZBIER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%30

e prince of dark lager derives its co ee-cocoa depth from three specialty malts.

VANCOUVER

WES T C OA S T I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 7.0%80

An uncompromising West Coast trip through awe-inspiring pine and citrus.

AN D INA BREWING CO .

1507 Powell St. | AndinaBrewing.ca

HOURS TBD

EST. 2016

Andrés and Nicolas Amaya have hired brewmaster Andrew Powers (Red Truck) to helm this unique operation with a South American twist.

MELCOCHA

A NDEAN MILD A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.0%30

Brewed with panela (raw cane sugar), this is rich and full- avoured, despite a lower alcohol content.

MONITA

B LONDE I NDIA P ALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.5%60

is light IPA’s name is Colombian slang for a light-skinned, fair-haired woman.

33 ACRES OF NIRVANA

BIG ROCK URBAN

B REWER Y

310 West 4th Ave. | BigRockBeer.com

SUN-THU 11AM-12AM ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-12AM

EST. 2015

Taking inspiration from Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, brewmaster Jody Hammell puts a little rock ’n’ roll in each recipe.

MIDNIGHT RHAPSODY

DARK ALE

D ARK A LE WITH B ERRIE S

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.5%25

A dark and tasty jam with aromas of roasted malts, currants, and dried stone fruit.

VANCOUVER

WINTER SPICE ALE

SP ICED A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%12

Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, with a clove and caramel aroma.

BOMBER BREWING CO

1488 Adanac St. | BomberBrewing.com

DAILY 12-11PM

EST. 2014

.

It’s the stu of Canadian lore: a brewery that can be traced back to a hockey locker room, that’s still scoring with fans.

BOMBER PALE ALE

PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%25

A hefty (but dry) malt base highlighted with fruity, piney and tropical hop goodness.

RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT

RUSSIAN IMP ERIAL STO UT

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 9.0%65

Made with 14 types of malt for massive roastiness. A tribute to the 18th-century English exports.

VANCOUVER

BRASSNECK BREWER Y

2148 Main St. | Brassneck.ca

MON-FRI 2-11PM ^ SAT-SUN 12-11PM

EST. 2013

Named after a song by the Wedding Present, ttingly, the brewery has established a beautiful and long-lasting relationship with Vancouverites.

SPIRIT OF DIXMAS

I NDIA PALE A LE

ONE TRICK PONY

IMPERIAL I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 7.0%N/A

An annual tradition reunites former brewers of the legendary DIX brewpub to recreate its IPA.

VANCOUVER

AB V IB U 9.0%N/A

is little pony’s been getting fat on Mosaic hops, winning Best in Show at the 2015 BCBAs.

CA LLIS T ER B REWING CO .

1338 Franklin St. | CallisterBrewing.com

MON-FRI 2-9PM ^ SAT 1-10PM ^ SUN 1-8PM

EST. 2015

B.C.’s four-in-one brewery, with landlord Callister sharing its space with Boombox, Lightheart and Real Cask. Try the homemade sodas!

ZWIRBELBART (CALLISTER)

DUNKELWEIZEN

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 5.7%N/A

Callister’s dark wheat beer hits all the right traditional German notes of banana bread and clove.

BLACKBURN BEST BITTER (REAL CASK)

BES T B ITTER

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 4.5%N/A

Real Cask’s bitter is as authentic as you’ll get in Canada, featuring wonderfully aromatic oral hops.

COA L HARBOUR BREWING CO

.

1967 Triumph St. | CoalHarbourBrewing.com

HOURS N/A

EST. 2010

e quiet but dependable brewery that begs questions, like “Why are they named ‘Coal Harbour’ if they’re in Yeast Van?”

BLACKWING PORTER PORTER

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 7.5%30

With notes of dark chocolate, caramel and dried fruit, it’s complex, yet highly qua able.

VANCOUVER

D OAN’ S CRAF T BREWING CO

1830 Powell St. | DoansCraftBrewing.com

AB V IB U 5.0%19

Brewed in the traditional German Helles style, it’s a lager for all occasions, any time of the year.

SUN-THU 2-9PM ^ FRI 2-11 PM ^ SAT 12-11 PM

EST. 2015

e brothers Doan serve up brilliant, Euro-in ected beer at their cosy nook in Yeast Van. Come for the beer, stay for the Lego and video games.

RYE STOUT

Availability: Year-round Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.5%53

An inky monster from which emanates depths of chocolate, co ee and earthy, spicy rye.

AB V IB U 6.7%71

A boldly fruity IPA that retains notes of pine, citrus and oral notes.

D OGWOO D BREWING

8284 Sherbrooke St. | DogwoodBrew.com

WED-FRI 2:30-9PM ^SAT-SUN 11:30AM-9PM EST. 2015

ere are lots of reasons to support this brewery: it’s all organic, it’s a pioneer in the South Vancouver area, and the beer tastes good, too.

Availability: Year-round

AB

is smooth, qua able stout boasts avours of co ee, chocolate and molasses.

Availability: Year-round

Who says organic hops aren’t as good? is West Coast IPA is proof they are.

FACULTY BREWING CO.

1830 Ontario St. | FacultyBrewing.com

MON-FRI 2-11PM ^ SAT-SUN 11AM-11PM

EST. 2016

An “open source” brewery that happily divulges its recipes, Faculty is an unpretentious operation that prides education over fashion – but also manages to have some of the coolest branding in town.

Availability: Seasonal

A richly malty, full-bodied bitter with to ee notes balanced by the citrus lilt of Centennial hops.

Availability: Seasonal

An experimental beer using Amarillo hop hash – leftover residue from the pelletization process –from Chilliwack Hop Farms.

Availability: Limited

is milky wheat beer is brewed with peppermint tea, giving it a refreshing taste and a smooth nish.

Availability: Limited

is kettle sour wheat ale is refreshing and crisp, with a tart mouthfeel and citrus notes.

School is in session!

Faculty Brewing Co. is the brainchild of husbandand-wife team Mauricio Lozano and Alicia Medina. e name was born out of Mauricio’s experience as a professor, and the beers are numbered like university courses, with 100-level beers being the most approachable, and 700-level beers being the most complex.

516 CENTENNIAL ESB EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

241 MINZEWEIZEN MINT HEFEWEIZEN

505 HOP HASH WHITE IPA WHITE INDIA PALE ALE

323 SOURWEISSE SOUR WHEAT ALE

your surplus suds 10 USES for

by Andrew Fleming

We've probably all found ourselves at some point or another with the unusual dilemma of having unwanted beer. Whether it's cans of Coors Light left in the cooler that a bad friend brought to a party, a failed batch of homebrew, or even an open growler of your favourite local craft brew you forgot in the back of the fridge, it just seems wrong to pour it down the sink. Fortunately there are plenty of ways to “waste not, want not,” since, not only is beer an easy x for a boring party, it has a whole bunch of other uses as well. Here are 10 to keep in mind.

BEER

BEER

SLAY SOME SLUGS

MURDER SOME MICE

HEAT YOUR HOME

If you live in a place where the landlord pays the heating bills and they like to cut costs by keeping the temperature low in winter, a handy heating hack is to place a frozen can of beer on top of the thermostat to trick it into thinking the place is cold, so it will turn up the heat.

Marauding molluscs on the notoriously rainy West Coast can wreak havoc on your garden and/or nearly legal outdoor grow-op. One solution is to bury a jar with the rim level with the surface, ll it a third of the way with beer and wait for the slimy bastards to fall in and drown.

Of course, slugs and sorrows aren't the only easy things you can drown with beer. If you don't have a cat at home, one way to get rid of mice is to put out buckets with beer at the bottom and with a ramp leading to it. e blinddrunk mice who nd their way in won't be able to climb out again.

BEAUTIFY YOUR LAWN

Got ugly brown spots on your lawn? Beer can help! Grass gets thirsty, too, and the fermented sugars in organic beer are great for both aiding plant growth and killing fungi. So just sprinkle some on and wait.

BEER

PUT OUT A FIRE

While obviously not as e ective as the real deal in the event of a re, a shaken up can or three may be able to get the job down in the event of a barbecue are-up. Or, speaking of barbecues...

LATHER UP YOUR LOCKS

While beer is best-known for going to your head, it can also go on your head as a makeshift shampoo for shinier and more voluminous hair. Flat beer is best to help avoid the tell-tale smell and funny looks. Repeat as necessary.

SOOTHE YOUR GUT

While some people swear by hair of the dog as a hangover cure, in moderation beer can also (sometimes) help settle an upset stomach thanks to the same carbonation that makes ginger ale do the trick. Only using real ale instead is more fun.

BEER

BEER

SOAK YOUR DOGS

BEER

BEER

MARINATE MEAT

Beer is slightly acidic and therefore makes for a mean marinade. While it won't alter the avour as much as wine-based marinades might, soaking meat for a few hours before tossing it on the grill is a great way to tenderize leaner cuts. Added bonus: marinating with beer before grilling may reduce carcinogens present in the char.

Beer can make you legless, but it can also put you back on your feet after a long day. Fill a bucket with ice-cold beer and soak your tootsies in it to enjoy the soothing e ect of carbonation on sore feet.

POLISH YOUR POTS

Back in the olden days, breweries would use the last bit of beer from empty kegs to polish the copper vats. Beer's natural acidity makes it a great natural polisher for pots, pans and even jewelry, and it can also help loosen up rusty bolts.

G RAN VI LL E IS L AN D BREWING

1441 Cartwright St. | GIB.com

HOURS 12-8PM

EST. 1984

One of B.C.’s granddaddy microbreweries, GIB has kept a consistent small-batch sideline separate from its parent Molson factory. Under the Granville Bridge, brewmaster Kevin Emms has put together a solid core of limited releases.

SO-CAL STYLE IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Limited

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 7.8%80 AB V IB U 5.3%39

Big and bold, just like the great state of California. Bright citrus and grapefruit notes dominate thanks to an epic dose of West Coast hops.

WEST COAST PALE

ALE

N ORTH AM ERICAN PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.5%38

A well-balanced pale ale featuring fruity Australian hops that’s versatile for food pairing.

is hazy, un ltered pilsner starts with mild hop bitterness and nishes clean and dry with citrus fruit notes.

MOCHA PORTER

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 6.0%25

A luxurious blend of dark malts, cocoa nibs and JJ Bean co ee with a lightly roasty nish.

Green beer?

Granville Island Brewery might be the most environmentally friendly brewery in the province. Granville Island’s Zero Waste Initiative helps prevent 429 tonnes of C02 from entering the atmosphere — the equivalent of taking 90 cars o the road for a year!

MAIN S T REE T BREWING C

O.

261 East 7th Ave. | MainStreetBeer.ca

MON-THU 2-11PM ^ FRI-SUN 12-11PM

EST. 2014

One of the coolest — and most spacious — tasting rooms in the city, housed in the historic Vancouver Breweries Garage. It’s also the only spot where you can taste brewer Jack Bensley’s experimental handcrafted cask ales.

RED BACK

N ORTHWE S T AMBER A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.5%60

e malt backbone nishes dry and lets the hop pro le shine through with tropical fruit, pine and earthiness.

WESTMINSTER BROWN ALE

B ROWN ALE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.0%30

Delicious malty avor with a spectacular hoppy nish. Citrus and pine aromas are balanced by a complex bill of Canadian, English, and German malts.

NAKED FOX IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.8%55

is dry IPA is brewed using a variety of North American and southern hemisphere hops.

STAG & PHEASANT IMPERIAL STOUT

IMP ERIAL STO UT

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 9.0%65

A rich and roasty award-winner with notes of chocolate, co ee, pine — even a nice hint of smokiness.

OLD KNIGHTS PALE ALE

PACI F IC N ORTHWE S T PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.5%50

A Paci c Northwest take on the classic English extra-special bitter. Hop-forward with lots of dank piney notes and a sturdy malt backbone.

NUMBER 7 SAISON

SAI S ON

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.0%15

Light in colour with a golden haze, this farmhouse saison bursts with fruity esters, pepper and citrus notes.

VANCOUVER

OFF T HE RAI L BREWING

1351 Adanac St. | O eRailBrewing.com

SUN-THU 12-8PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-10PM

EST. 2014

is cozy spot overlooks the busy Adanac bike path — the perfect place to try a “Psycle Path.” If that’s not your speed, they’ve got 14 other taps.

EAST BOUND NUT

BROWN

B ROWN A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.0%30

A well-balanced classic that’s appropriately nutty from the chocolate and roast barley.

VANCOUVER

PARALL EL 49 BREWING CO.

1950 Triumph St. | Parallel49Brewing.com

DAILY 11AM-11PM

EST. 2012

INTO

THE BLACK OAT

STOUT

O AT M EAL STO UT

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 4.8%36

Smooth and rich with big hits of roasty goodness, complimented with a mild hop bitterness.

P49 continues to balance serious brewing chops — including evermore impressive output from its barrel room — with serious fun.

TOQUES OF HAZZARD

IMPERIAL W HITE I NDIA PALE A LE

UGLY SWEATER MILK STO UT

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 9.2%76

A dangerously strong, light-bodied wheat ale with bright and bold tropical and citrus hops.

AB V IB U 5.0%30

It’s time to pull on the sweater again. A seductively smooth, roasty stout sweetened with lactose.

P OS T MARK BREWING

55 Dunlevy Ave. | PostmarkBrewing.com

MON-FRI 11AM-11PM ^ SAT-SUN 10AM-11PM

EST. 2014

Postmark shares its amazing location with Vancouver Urban Winery and Belgard Kitchen, making it one of the best places for a night out.

MANDARINA WHEAT

AMERICAN W HEAT A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.3%15

is one is all about German Mandarina hops, so named because of their distinct tangerine aroma.

VANCOUVER

P OWELL S T REE T CRAF T BREWER Y

1357 Powell St. | PowellBeer.com

CDA

CAS CADIAN D ARK A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%48

is Paci c Northwest-style ale is dark and rich with piney, dank hop avours and aromas.

SUN 12-8PM ^ MON 2-8PM ^ TUE-THU 2-9PM

FRI-SAT 12-10PM

EST. 2012

All the acclaim and awards for Old Jalopy Ale over the years hasn’t slowed down Powell Street.

HOPDEMONIUM IPA

N ORTHWE S T I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 7.2%70

A golden-coloured quencher with a nice, smooth bitterness from the oral and grapefruit hops.

CZECH STYLE PILSNER

PIL S NER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%35

A classic pils brewed with Bohemian pilsner malt, with a spicy and oral hop nish.

R & B BREWING CO.

54 East 4th Ave. | RAndBBrewing.com

SUN-THU 11AM-11PM ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-12AM

EST. 1997

R&B enters its 20th year in ne fettle, with a growing roster of interesting brews served up in its busy, yet cosy, retro-styled lounge.

DUDE CHILLING PALE

ALE

NORTH AMERICAN PALE ALE

Availability:Year-round

ABV IBU 5.2%40

Named after the notorious nearby park, this staple is stu ed with Centennial, Citra and Galaxy hops.

VANCOUVER

RED TRUCK BEER CO.

295 East 1st Ave. | RedTruckBeer.com

DOUPLE IPA

DOUBLE INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 8.8%70

is complex IPA is double dry-hopped, with avours of citrus, tropical fruit, oral and resin.

MON-THU 11AM-10PM ^ FRI-SAT 10AM-11PM SUN 10AM-10PM EST. 2005

e Truck Stop Diner is a great spot to eat and sample Red Truck’s beers, which are getting more interesting and diverse every month.

RED PILSNER

AMERICAN PILSNER

BLACKBERRY BOURBON

ALE

MILD PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Limited

ABV IBU 5.0%25

e red hue comes from blended malts, while Simcoe hops provide the citrus/pine aroma.

ABV IBU 5.8%25

Blackberries and bourbon? Why not! is fun little number is a moderately sweet sipper.

Great ed House Debate H

BIZARRE LIQUOR LAWS OF B.C.'S PAST: PART THREE

by Daniel Coles, esq.

Originally a British term, a tied house is a bar or restaurant that has an association ( nancial or otherwise) with a brewery that is likely to cause the brewery’s beer to be favoured over other brands. e association can come in many forms from the brewery actually owning or operating the bar or restaurant, to less direct forms of control by way of loans, mortgages or other contractual relationships. e concept is controversial for pub owners and beer drinkers alike.

For breweries, tied houses guarantee a steady market for their beer, and for a pub owner it may mean cheap credit or other incentives too good to pass up. On the other hand, too many tied houses in your neighbourhood and tap selections start to look pretty similar. For bar owners, getting in too deep with a brewery may result in a loss of operating control or, ultimately, ownership.

In the U.K., the practice remains popular, although not without controversy. Everyone who’s been to England is familiar with pub signs with “Guinness” written in bold letters prominently across the bottom. In most American states, tied houses are strictly prohibited, along with other initiatives that integrate production, distribution and retail. In B.C., we have ended up somewhere in the middle — although it took the better part of a century to get here.

In 1952, the members of B.C.’s Liquor Inquiry Commission faced a startling realization: the province’s breweries, whose chief function they thought ought to be limited to producing beer, wielded signi cant control over numerous hotels, legions and beer parlours.

e nefarious breweries' choice method of exerting control was nancial: the province’s larger breweries would guarantee signi cant loans to licensed hotels and beer parlours in amounts that would otherwise be out of reach for most establishments. In many instances, the breweries would simply loan the money directly to the hotels or beer parlours with little, if any, expectation of repayment. In return, the brewery obtained in uence over the establishment and, above all else, assurance that the bar would only sell its product. For a brewery, this was a considerable asset: an account that could never be lost.

e Liquor Control Branch’s policy during this era, that a beer parlour could only serve one brand of beer at a time (and a formal application was needed to switch brands), exacerbated the situation, driving up the “price” of securing the prized draft lines.

e money the breweries were “loaning” to beer parlours, or kept on their books as guaranteed debts during this era, was considerable. In the fall of 1952, Vancouver Breweries Ltd. had guaranteed approximately $519,000 in loans to hotels and beer parlours (approxi-

mately $4.6 million in today’s money) and Coast Breweries Ltd. had guaranteed over $800,000 (approximately $7.2 million in today’s money). Many of the establishments that had been “tied-up” by the breweries are names still familiar in Vancouver today: the Astoria, the Cecil, the Kingston and the Metropole, all of which were operated as hotels at the time.

Given the vast quantity of money the breweries were securing by the 1950s, the commissioners determined that “local brewers exercise absolute control over numerous retail outlets.”

Had the beer parlours of the day been cheery, clean and safe environments, the Commission probably would have had little interest in peering into their books. Unfortunately, that was not the case. e hotels that were tied to breweries were described by the commissioners as debaucherous slums, and their patrons viewed as “drunken, quarrelsome and disorderly.”

To combat this situation, the Commission recommended legislation banning tied houses and other forms of nancial incentives moving from brewers to retailers.

For almost 60 years, the tied house laws and policies that originated in the 1950s remained

in force in B.C. By 2010, however, the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch began consulting on relaxing some of the historically harsh restrictions on relations between breweries and the bars that sell their suds.

By this time, technical names had been given to the sorts of market conditions and anti-social behaviour that were identi ed in 1952. e intense competition between breweries to secure draft lines — to the point of guaranteeing loans for hundreds of thousands of dollars — is now referred to as “destructive competition.”

e availability of too much cheap beer — thought to be a by-product of tied houses or other inducements provided by brewers — leads to “spillover e ects.” Permitting tied houses in B.C., for the rst time in six decades, would require careful consideration to ensure that the bad old days of destructive competition and spillover e ects did not return.

Ultimately, in 2013, the province settled on new policy, permitting small and medium-sized breweries in B.C. to have tied house relationships with up to three o site bars and restaurants. j

VANCOUVER

STORM BREWING LTD.

310 Commercial Dr. | StormBrewing.com

TUE-SAT 10AM-6PM ^ SUN 1-6PM

EST. 1994

James Walton was making weird and delicious beer in East Van long before the recent explosion of new breweries. ere’s no place quite like it.

HURRICANE IPA

INDIA PALE ALE

BRAINSTORMS

UNIQUE & SPECIAL BEERS

Availability: Year-round Availability: Rotating

ABV IBU 7.0%“Lots”

Back when James rst brewed this IPA. it had chunks of hops oating in it.

VANCOUVER

STRANGE FELLOWS BREWING

ABV IBU N/AN/A

Storm’s beer board is always changing. Check the brewery’s Instagram feed for the latest experiment.

1345 Clark Dr. | StrangeFellowsBrewing.com

MON-THU 2-11PM ^ FRI-SUN 12-11PM

EST. 2014

Further proof that it’s a good time to be Strange. Between weirdo holiday celebrations and their inventive line of brews, SF always stands out.

NOCTURNUM

DARK INDIA PALE ALE

TART SERIES

SOUR ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Limited

ABV IBU 6.5%65

A roasty, chocolate-brown-coloured ale that’s big and balanced, with a wolf-sized hop bite.

ABV IBU 4-5%N/A

Iain Hill’s sour beer series is one of the best around. What will his next tart muse be?

STRAT HCONA BEER C O.

895 E. Hastings St. | StrathconaBeer.com

DAILY 11AM-11PM

EST. 2016

Despite the NIMBY warnings, society didn’t collapse when S.B.C. opened. On the contrary, it has nestled nicely into the neighbourhood.

STRATHCONA VIENNA LAGER

VIENNA L AGER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.2%21

A classic, smooth amber lager with a toasty, crusty maltiness and crisp nish.

STRATHCONA BRITISH IPA

E NGLI S H I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.0%60

A well-balanced English-style IPA with a restrained yet fruity hop pro le. Dry nish.

BL ACK KE TTLE BREWING

106 -720 Copping St. | BlackKettleBrewing.com

MON-SAT 11AM-7 PM ^ SUN 1-5PM

EST. 2014

A loyal local following has Black Kettle bubbling away, producing a dependable line of classics, interesting seasonals and one-o wonders.

BLACK IPA

B LACK I NDIA PALE A LE

PORTER

PORTER

Availability: Limited Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 6.5%60

Roasty avours are kept light so they better meld with citrus, pine and oral hops.

AB V IB U 5.8%30

malt-forward pint for the colder months, with notes of chocolate and co ee.

A comforting

VANCOUVER N ORTH VAN

BRI D GE BREWING C O.

1448 Charlotte Rd. | BridgeBrewing.com

SUN-THU 1-7PM ^ FRI-SAT 1-9PM

EST. 2012

After a recent move a better location, Bridge tripled the size of its brewhouse, allowing it to release six winter beers this season.

BOURBON BLOOD ORANGE WHEAT ALE

AMERICAN W HEAT A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.5%20

Brewed with fresh blood oranges and bourbon, this beer is oral, citrusy, bourbony goodness.

SLEIGH BOOSTER

IMPERIAL R ED I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 9.0%71

Big caramel malt and giant hop avours will get you through the holidaze.

D EE P CO V E BREWERS AN D D IS TI LLERS

170 - 2270 Dollarton Hwy. | DeepCoveCraft.com

DAILY 12-11PM

EST. 2013

Winter is in full swing, and luckily, Deep Cove o ers an ideal shelter for the thirsty on the North Shore.

LUMINESCENT PORTER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.8%32

is luxurious CBA winner is aged in cocoa nibs and wood-oven-roasted coconuts.

SHAKETOWN SPRUCE

TIP BLACK IPA

B LACK I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 4.8%64

A deceptively dark-bodied sipper that’s brightened up with hops and brewed with spruce tips.

GREEN LEAF BREWING CO.

123 Carrie Cates Crt. | GreenLeafBrew.com

SUN 11AM-9PM ^ MON-THU 11AM-10PM

FRI-SAT 11AM-11PM

EST. 2013

A tasting room that perfectly ts in with the fresh, locally-sourced market vibes of the Lonsdale Quay.

BONFIRE AMBER LAGER

AMBER LAGER

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 4.5%25

is is a big-bodied lager with notes of to ee, caramel, nuts, spice and slight roastiness.

LOLO STOUT STOUT

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.5%35

Chocolatey and roasty. Made for winter nights sipping in front of a replace.

We design, fabricate and install: Custom stainless steel brew tanks Tables • Countertops • Sinks & more for breweries, restaurants and other hospitality services.

www.abcss.ca

HEAR T HS T ONE

BREWER Y

1015 Marine Dr. | HearthstoneBrewery.ca

DAILY 11AM-8PM

EST. 2014

It’s been an agonizing couple of years waiting for Hearthstone’s tasting room to open its doors, but any day now it’ll — wait, it’s nally open!?! Well then, see you there.

Availability: Limited

Brewed with chaga mushroom, the hottest new super-food. Tastes like co ee, earth and ower power.

Availability: Seasonal

Over 50 kilos of graham crackers go into this brew, along with cinnamon and ginger.

Availability: Year-round

Saaz and Marynka hops give this refreshing pilsner a delicate spice.

Availability: Year-round

You like your hops? Good. en strap on your boots comrade, because you are in for a ride!

WHat’s crackin’?

In the year 1829, Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham invented the graham cracker in an attempt at staving o what he considered “unhealthy carnal urges” – AKA masturbation. As a tribute to Reverend Graham, Hearthstone decided to concoct their own Graham Cracker Ale. So instead of knocking one out this evening, knock one back with Hearthstone.

vs

BREWER

EMPLOYER vs EMPLOYEE EDITION

by Stephen Smysnuik

With Brewer vs. Brewer, the concept has always been the same: put two brewers from di erent breweries in the same room, make them ask each other questions, take pictures of them answering these questions, then hope to gawd that the conversation doesn’t bore our faithful readers into a coma.

But what if, instead of getting brewers from di erent breweries, we got brewers from the same brewery to interview each other? Right? at was the idea of the Employer vs. Employee Edition (per the headline).

So we gathered Four Winds’ Brent Mills (“employer”) and Kylo Hoy (“employee”), and had them take some time to nally ask each other the burning questions they haven’t yet asked each other while working together in a professional capacity. at was the idea, anyways.

Alas, Mills and Hoy know each other so well, and spend so much time together inside and outside of work, that there just weren’t too many prodding questions left to ask. Instead, the two pals geeked out over their newfound obsession — cycling — while e Growler geeked out over a test batch of Four Winds’ Vélo (a delicious hazy American pale ale with lemons) and asked the two of them questions instead.

Maybe we should call this e Growler vs. Four Winds Edition instead?

Ah, whatever.

GROWLER: Who comes up with the recipes for you guys?

BRENT MILLS: It’s a combination. I’d say the majority of our creations are done while we’re riding bikes. We try to commute to and from work [on bikes], and then, outside of work, we spend a lot of time riding bikes.

For me — and Kylo would probably agree — riding a bike is meditative. It gives me a clear mind. It’s when the brain is most stimulated, so a lot of creative ideas come up at that point. And because we’re always riding together, we shovel ideas back and forth, which is pretty sweet.

KYLO HOY: Discussing this in a meeting [would be] forced. We have tons of ideas that come out when we’re cycling. is [raises his glass of Vélo] was an idea where we wanted to try to make a beer that tastes like Gatorade. How do we do that?

GROWLER: How do you manage to balance beer culture and beer drinking with, um…

BM: Athletics?

GROWLER: Athletics, yeah. It’s something I’ve had trouble balancing. I think a lot of people do in this industry, what with all those potbellies.

BM: Absolutely.

KH: Cut down beer consumption. at’s the rst thing. We dropped a lot of weight taking up cycling.

BM: Jorden Foss [founder of Steel & Oak Brewing] has a sweet quote. He says, “When you open a brewery, you’re going to work 80 hours a week,

you’re going to be broke and you’re also going to gain 30 pounds.”

And it’s true. Before we opened, I was somewhat t. en I gained probably 40 pounds in a year. I recently dropped some weight due to cycling, but the balance man…

KH: Just cut consumption.

BM: at’s why we love cyclocross, because it’s so beer-related. During a race, somebody in the audience will pass a beer to a cyclist, who will drink it and throw the cup in the crowd.

KH: And it’s a reason to cut back on drinking beer. It’s a competition and if you have that extra weight, you’re just not going to do as well. We’re

I'd prefer sometimes that beer have zero alcohol so I can continue to drink it, but it's not going to happen.

- Brent Mills BRENT MILLS

not exactly t right now, but this is our plan [laughs].

GROWLER: Plus, waking up hungover regularly is a bummer.

BM: Yeah, you get over it. You get to the point where you’re like, “I’ve done this enough, I’d rather feel good in the morning.” We’ve spent enough late nights drinking beer that I don’t desire to do it too often anymore, which is funny. I never thought the day would come. Maybe it’s an aging thing, or it’s an excessive thing, like this has happened far too many times. Enough is enough.

KH: For me, I work so hard here for so many hours, and on the weekend, we have, what, two days? And one of those is all messed up because of a huge hangover? I’m not saying that I don’t get out and get lit. is happens –

BM: Oh, it happens.

KH: – but it’s nice to cut it back. Especially once this cyclocross season comes.

GROWLER: Do either of you have any reservations or guilt about making alcohol for a living, like how that might a ect people?

KH: I’ve thought of that, but we’re making a craft product that should not just be consumed as a 12pack in one day. It’s a pricier product, and I don’t think people are going to treat it that way. I hope they’re not drinking it just to get drunk. It’s more of a taste thing.

But I’ve thought of that. I’ve had the guilt [laughs], especially when I’m making it and getting drunk doing it.

BM: I was just in Denmark, which is one of the fast-growing craft brewing destinations in the world. eir beer styles are very progressive and their beers are very well done. But you can only buy single bottles – 350ml single bottles. ere

are no six packs, no four packs, just single bottles. eir culture is designed around tasting and appreciation, whereas in North America it’s just about consumption.

KH: Quantity and cost. But it is changing here.

GROWLER: It’s even worse in England. e culture seems designed to get you loaded quickly, selling four-packs of tallboys for like £4.

KH: It’s funny. I have a British guy staying at my house right now. He works at some pub, and he said that he got in trouble for pouring pints right up to the brim with no head. It’s di erent in England – they want their beer lled to the brim and you’re cheating them if you give them the head. Anyone in the craft brewing industry knows that the head can show you so much about the beer, about how well made it is.

BM: Beer drinking cultures around the world are interesting. Back to the topic of producing beer or alcohol as a product that’s potentially – well, de nitely poisonous, because just by de nition, alcohol is poisonous – the craft beer movement around the world is taking the step back from overconsumption of beer. ey’re making it more of a conscious drink, where you have to think about it, rather than drinking it without thinking about it.

You want foam on your beer. You don’t want to look at it as this beer that will get me this much more drunk if it’s lled to the top than if it’s not lled to the top. Whereas with craft beer, you don’t even care. Well, I’d prefer sometimes that beer have zero alcohol so I can continue to drink it [laughs], but it’s not going to happen. Alcohol is tasty. j

OFFERING GRANVILLE STREET’S WIDEST SELECTION OF CRAFT BEER.

JOIN US FOR HAPPY HOUR, FEATURING $4 PINTS OF CRAFT BEER!

A-FRAME BREWING CO.

38927 Queens Way | AFrameBrewing.com

HOURS TBD

EST. 2016

Located in Canada’s “outdoor recreation capital,” A-Frame is the perfect place for a well-earned beer after a long day hiking, biking or skiing.

ELPHIN LAKES

BELGIAN ALE

B ELGIAN SINGLE

MAGIC LAKE PORTER

AM ERICAN PORTER

Availability: Year round Availability: Year round

AB V IB U 5.5%35

A fruity, spicy, oral, yet easy-going golden ale. Highly carbonated and dry, in the Belgian style.

SQ UAMISH

AB V IB U 5.8%26

A robust, roasty and dry porter, with caramel, chocolate and subtle fruity notes providing complexity.

H OWE SOUN D BREW I NG CO.

37801 Cleveland Ave. | HoweSound.com

DAILY 11AM-12AM

EST. 1996

ere are few beer-focused locations as stunning as Howe Sound’s pub and restaurant, thanks to the looming Stawamus Chief.

POTHOLE FILLER

IMP ERIAL STO UT

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HOP

IMPERIAL I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 9.0%65

A B.C. classic. ick and complex, with a variety of dark malts and blackstrap molasses.

AB V IB U 8.0%90

One of B.C.’s rst imperial IPAs, Eclipse is bold with spice, herbs and resin.

C OAS T M OUN TAIN B REWING C O.

Unit 2 1212 Alpha Lake Rd. | CoastMountainBeer.ca

MON-WED 1-8PM ^ THU-SAT 1-10PM ^ SUN 11AM-8PM

EST. 2016

Kevin Winter left Pemberton so he could develop his brewing skills at Mission Springs. He’s gone full circle now, opening his own brewery.

FIELD GUIDE

A LE THE SURVEYOR

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.3%30

is is a avourful ale featuring specialty malts and a heap of Cascade hops.

AB V IB U 7.0%68

e “brewer’s favourite,” this bold IPA features Columbus, Chinook, Equinox and Citra hops.

W HISTLER BREWING CO .

1045 Millar Creek Rd. | WhistlerBeer.com

MON, TUE & THU 1-8PM ^ WED & FRI 1-10PM

SAT-SUN 12-8PM

EST. 1989

Pre- or après-ski, Whistler’s Function Junction brewery makes for a thirst-quenching stop on the way in or out of town.

CHESTNUT ALE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.0%25

A rich maltiness complements a bold, nutty character, before a clean, crisp nish.

WINTER DUNKEL D

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.0%24

Whistler’s winter classic boasts chocolate and wheat malts for a chocolatey-orange nish.

D AGERAA D BREWING

114 - 3191 underbird Cres. | DageraadBrewing.com

MON-WED 2-8PM^ THU 12-8PM ^ FRI 12-9PM SAT 12-9PM ^ SUN 12-6PM

EST. 2014

Like the farmhands of Bruegel’s paintings, Burnaby’s Belgian masters work damn hard and are thirsty for good beer.

ANNO 2016

B ELGIAN G OLDEN STRONG

DAGERAAD BRUNE

DUBBEL

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 8.4%30

Dageraad’s swan song to the year is a luscious blend of coriander spice and Keremeos pears.

BURNABY

ST EAMWORKS BREWING

CO .

3845 William St. | Steamworks.com

SUN-WED 12-10PM ^ THU-FRI 12-11PM

EST. 1995

AB V IB U 7.5%25

Trappist yeast meets gs in this heavenly addition to Dageraad’s year-round roster.

Here’s to the big winner at this year’s B.C. Beer Awards. Headbrewer Julia Hanlon and company nabbed ve awards, including two golds.

FLAGSHIP IPA

N ORTHEA S T I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.7%65

Juicy and intensely hopped with a trio of antipodean hops. Winner of Best in Show at the BCBAs.

WINTER WHITE STOUT

W HITE STO UT

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.1%33

A surprisingly light-coloured stout with comforting tastes of winter, aged in espresso beans.

ST EE L & OAK BREWING CO .

1319 3rd Ave. | SteelAndOak.ca

SUN-WED 12-8PM ^ THU-SAT 12-10PM

EST. 2013

ese New Westminsterites have injected a joyful camaraderie — and long-overdue quality German styles — into B.C.’s beer scene. WINDROSE

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 6.0%40

S&O’s porter boasts an oat, rye, wheat and barley grain bill and chocolate, caramel and to ee notes.

B RITTANNIA B REWING CO

.

110-12500 Horseshoe Way | BBCO.ca

DAILY 11AM-5PM

EST. 2016

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.4%27

Probably the best dunkel in B.C., lled with nutty and chocolate avours, and a sprightly body.

Britannia launched its pourhouse in Steveston Village this summer with six beers on tap, tasty grub, and regular cask nights. ADRIFT

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.7%25

Mouth-watering citrus and tropical fruit aroma. Balanced and dry with a small hop bite.

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.7%45

A smooth-sailing hybrid between American IPA and British pale ale.

FUGG L ES & WAR L OCK CRAF T WORKS

103-11220 Horseshoe Way | FugglesWarlock.com

MON-TUE 12-9PM ^ WED-SAT 11AM-9PM ^ SUN 12-7PM

EST. 2012

From its beer-geek name to some of the longest lineups you’ll ever see at festivals, this brewery has certainly come a long way!

ICARUS MOSAIC

SAISON

SAI S ON

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 7.0%35

is Belgian saison was brewed atypically with the distinct and avourful American Mosaic hop.

DARK SIDE

RUSSIAN IMP ERIAL STO UT

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 9.0%40

No doubt we will all be lured by its siren call: “Come to the dark side…”

FOUR WIN D S BREWING

4 - 7355 72nd St. | FourWindsBrewing.ca

DAILY 11AM-7PM

EST. 2013

ey’re still the people’s favourite. Get to Delta for top tacos and some of the most innovative and drop-dead delicious beer in the province.

OAT PORTER P ORTER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.5%25

Oats make this smooth and creamy, while specialty malts lend co ee and cocoa accents.

FEATHERWEIGHT IPA

I NDIA SE SSION A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.5%60

Featherweight by name, heavyweight by avour; namely, tropical fruits and resin hops.

CENTRAL

CITY BREWERS + DISTILLERS

11411 Bridgeview Dr. | CentralCityBrewing.com

MON-FRI 11AM-9PM ^ SAT-SUN 10AM-9PM

EST. 2003

e Red Racer brand rides on tirelessly — and no wonder, with the tireless Gary Lohin at the helm in the Surrey operation’s massive brewhouse.

RED RACER AMBER

ALE AMBER ALE

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.0%25

is well-balanced, avour-packed amber replaces the Red Racer Copper Ale.

SURREY

RED RACER WINTER

ALE WINTER ALE

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 6.0%50

Central City re-releases its winter warmer, which marries Northwest hops with a kick of spice.

RUSSELL BREWING CO.

202 - 13018 80th Ave. | RussellBeer.com

HOURS N/A

EST. 1995

ere’s new ownership for the Surrey brewery, but otherwise it’s business as usual under headbrewer Kevin Wilson.

COCONUTS PORTER

PORTER

NAUGHTY & SPICED

PORTER

Availability: Limited Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 6.5%30

A tropical brew for the cold winter days, with coconuts and light carbonation.

ABV IBU 6.0%30

A rich porter spiked with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, aged in oak and vanilla beans.

THE CASE OF THE SNEAKY WEASEL

Shadow brands, contract brewing, and the rise of “crafty” beers

by Ryan Ingram

Figuring out where a beer is actually brewed can be a bit like solving a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, that comes in a six-pack.

Take Sneaky Weasel. e “real craft lager” rst appeared in the province’s liquor stores around six months ago, with a slickly-designed can, featuring a mischievous rodent wearing a bandit mask.

Aside from the brewery name — appropriately named “Balderdash Brewing” — details were scarce on where this mysterious brew came from.

For those in the craft beer intelligentsia, Sneaky Weasel had the immediate signs of a common frustration: the “shadow brand.”

Although a shadow brand sounds like something illicit — like it’d be whispered about conspiratorially in backroom marketing meetings — it’s a totally common business strategy in the beer business. Albeit, one that consumers might not typically be aware of.

One of the most in-depth looks at the province’s shadow brands came from beer writer Chuck Hallett on his Barley Mowatt blog in 2013. He described the shadow brand as a “beer that sure looks like it’s made by an independent brewery, but in reality is just rolled o the assembly line between batches of Big Brewery Beer No. 3 and No. 4.”

He dug deep to shine some light on the province’s shadow brands.

THE MURKY UNDERWORLD OF SHADOW BRANDS

For most breweries, the labels on their beers tell you everything you need to know; from what’s in the beer, to where it’s brewed. But not all of them.

During Hallett’s research, he encountered a spectrum of brews that didn’t quite live up to their label. ere was Stanley Park Brewing — actually a Turning Point brand, sold to Labatt last year — that’s brewed on Annacis Island, far away from the Vancouver tourist spot.

ere was also the sub-category of contract brewers. ese are breweries, usually start-ups, without brick-and-mortar spaces that brew elsewhere while waiting for a space. But bigger breweries that don’t have the space to keep up with demand also use contract brewing. Two notable examples of this in the U.S. are Boston Beer Co.’s Samuel Adams and Brooklyn Brewing. Both breweries actually began brewing in Pittsburgh and Utica, New York, respectively.

Hallett’s list of shadow brands ran deeper and more complicated than one might expect, but on the shadow brand concept now, Hallett stressed to e Growler that it isn’t as nefarious as it sounds.

“ is isn’t necessarily underhanded. is is a practice that is common throughout business to promote products to di erent consumer bases,” he explained. “You create a brand to match your demographic.”

But shadow brands can still rightfully raise the hackles of those who care about beer and where it comes from.

“ e worst ones, from that point of view, would be the ones that are pretending to be something that they’re not,” said Hallett. “Let’s take the macros, who are spinning o their sub-brands in a deliberate attempt to mislead consumers into believing a story about the beer that simply isn’t backed up by reality,” referring to Blue Moon and Shock Top, two notorious brands that have the appearance of being craft, despite being created by two of the world’s largest brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev [AB InBev] and MillerCoors.

Ken Beattie, Executive Director of the B.C. Craft Brewers Guild, suggests that the concept of shadow brands might stem from the larger uneasiness of the “crafty” beer strategy that’s capitalizing on the popularity of craft beer.

“ e sociological attraction of craft beer,” explained Beattie, “is the fact that if you go to the brewery, you can meet the brewer and have a conversation with someone who’s completely knowledgeable about those brands.” e crafty beers and shadow brand both obfuscate that.

IT’S CRAFTY

e issue of ownership can be just as important as where the beer is brewed.

Highlighting the most extreme example of crafty brands — and why people might care where their craft beer comes from — Beattie oats the idea of a large multinational operation purchasing a local brewery, but keeping it a secret who was pulling the strings.

Craft beer nerds have su ered a rough fate watching with some high-caliber breweries getting purchased by AB InBev, like Seattle’s Elysian, Chicago’s Goose Island and Oregon’s 10 Barrel, each becoming another brand in the brewing giant’s arsenal.

Which brings us back to Balderdash Brewing. On the spectrum of shadow brands, it’s hard to prove there’s much deception simply due to the lack of information provided by the brewery. On its website, the only tidbits revealed about anyone involved is that it’s a “100 per cent locally-owned company,” sta ed with lovers of craft beer.

And while technically both of those things are correct, Balderdash is not an independent brewery.

SNEAKY WEASEL REVEALED

e biggest reveal about Balderdash Brewing lies in small print on the can: an address that leads directly to Yeast Van, minutes away from a handful of the city’s craft breweries. e address doesn’t lead to a brewery, but to the o ce of the Northam Group. >>

idea of a large multinational operation

Don Gordon, VP sales, is the rst to admit Northam “sounds like we’re selling photocopiers,” but the B.C. alcoholic beverage company was founded in the mid-2000s to buy Whistler Brewing and Bowen Island Brewing from Big Rock, with the goal of bringing beer production back to Whistler.

e use of shadow brands is common in the value market because it distances them from a company’s more prestigious brands.

“You can’t cross-contaminate your brand,” noted Hallett. Cariboo, Hell’s Gate, and Big Surf Brewing are also shadow brands chasing the same “value” demographic, operated by Paci c Western Brewing, Turning Point, and Prohibition Brewing, respectively. And Northam’s the same. Balderdash Brewing was created as a separate entity for branding reasons, even though Sneaky Weasel is brewed and packaged in the same Kamloops facility as many of Northam’s other beverages. Yet even though they’re clearly having fun with the tongue-in-cheek new brand, Gordon still takes issue with the “shadow brand” concept as a whole, dismissing it as simply contract brewing.

- Chuck Hallett

Today, their portfolio also includes Lonetree Cider and Hey Y’all Southern Tea. Gordon — also Chairman of the B.C. Craft Brewers Guild — explained the new brand to e Growler, admitting that he’s glad if people think that “something’s up” when they stumble across Sneaky Weasel.

Sneaky Weasel and Balderdash Brewing were created as a brand to bring “excitement” to what Gordon calls an untapped beer market in B.C.: the value drinker; those looking for a six-packs for under $8. Names aside, another sign of them not taking the new brand seriously is that they also give away whoopee cushions.

“ e consumer that drinks Sneaky Weasel is not a kettle-sour drinker,” said Gordon. “It is targeted towards value beer drinkers who want a good-tasting beer.”

Pointing to Sam Adams and Brooklyn Brewing’s contract brewing past, he says it can be seen as a strength that successful craft breweries can operate without a brick-and-mortar brewery.

But as the popularity in craft beer rises, more people will presumably care about exactly where their beer comes from.

“People have very personal relationships with their alcoholic beverages,” said Hallett. “In some way, if you nd out your beer isn’t brewed by who you thought it was, that’s cheating on you a bit.”

And while Gordon may disagree with the shadow brand label, Balderdash Brewing and Sneaky Weasel are playing with de nitions in an even trickier way. Sneaky Weasel might be something completely unique: the rst shadow brand that’s technically a craft beer while also being purposely crafty.

Or maybe they’re a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a six-pack, that comes with a whoopee cushion.j

In some way, if you nd out your beer isn’t brewed by who you thought it was, that’s cheating on you a bit.

WHITE ROCK BREWING

13 - 3033 King George Blvd. | WhiteRockBrewing.ca

MON-SAT 11:30AM-7PM ^ SUN 11:30AM-5PM

EST. 2015

Although not technically in White Rock, this South Surrey brewery branched o from the neighbouring U-Brew.

OCEAN LAGER

GERMAN LAGER

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.0%22

is no-frills mainstay is popular with all. Goes down smooth with a crisp hop nish.

WHITE ROCK

WHITE ROCK BEACH BEER CO.

DIRTY GOLD ALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.9%69

Un ltered, hoppy and smooth, and best enjoyed in a red Solo cup, presumably.

15181 Russell Ave. | WhiteRockBeachBeer.com

FRI 4:30-7PM ^ SAT 11AM-3PM ^ SUN 10AM-3PM

EST. 2014

With the expansion next door complete, the new pier-themed design gives vibes of beach-drinking at its nest.

WEST BEACH

AMERICAN PALE ALE

BORDER

BALTIC PORTER

Availability: Year-round Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.0%36

e Paci c Northwest pale ale meets English bitter, giving it a nice citrusy grapefruit hop bite.

ABV IBU 6.2%29

A touch of sweetness and light fruitiness complement the big, malty aroma and chocolate notes.

MOO DY A L ES

2601 Murray St. | MoodyAles.com

MON-TUE 3-9PM ^ WED 1-9PM ^ THU 1-10PM

FRI 12-11PM ^ SAT 11AM-11PM ^ SUN 12-8PM

EST. 2014

Moody took home three trophies at the 2016 B.C. Beer Awards, showing they’re doing a lot of things right.

VIENNA LAGER

VIENNA L AGER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.5%22

is style originated in 19th-century Austria and later thrived in Mexico with emigrant brewers.

PORT MOODY

AFFABLE IPA

WES T C OA S T I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.8%60

A light malt body and moderate bitterness allow the tropical, fruity hops to burst out.

THE PARKSI DE BREWER Y

2731 Murray St. | eParksideBrewery.com

MON-THU 2-10PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-11PM ^ SUN 12-8PM

EST. 2016

If you can’t make it to PoMo to check out Brewers Row, fret not: Parkside is now available at government and private liquor stores.

DAWN

PIL S NER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.9%25

We’re not sure if we’re supposed to drink this beer until dawn, or starting at dawn.

GRAFITTI

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.9%60

is Paci c Northwest IPA has big grapefruit, pine and oral hop notes.

PORT MOODY

T WIN SAI L S BREWING

2821 Murray St. | TwinSailsBrewing.com

MON-TUE 2-10PM ^ WED-FRI 12-11PM

SAT-SUN 11AM-11PM

EST. 2015

One of the four fantastic breweries that make up PoMo’s Brewers Row was founded by twin brothers Clay and Cody Allmin.

CREAM & SUGAR

B REAK FAS T MILK STO UT

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 7.5%18

A rich and creamy co ee stout that you can get away with drinking in the morning.

PORT MOODY

BLINK

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.0%35

Powered solely by the piney and fruity Simcoe hop, it’s a hazy-coloured easy-drinker.

YE LL OW D OG BREWING

1- 2817 Murray St. | YellowDogBrew.com

MON-THU 2-10 PM ^ FRI-SAT 11-11 PM ^ SUN 11-8 PM

EST. 2014

Who’s a good dog? Yellow Dog is, scoring two B.C. Beer Awards: a gold for North American Pale Ale and silver for North American IPA.

HIGH 5 HAZY IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

OLD DOG ALTBIER A LTBIER

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 7.0%70

Hazy, hoppy dankness with notes of mango and grapefruit, balanced with a piney, resinous nish.

AB V IB U 5.0%30

Malt-forward with juicy fruit and subtle nuttiness. It’s complex, but nishes crisp and clean.

FOAMERS’ FOLLY BREWING CORP.

19221 122A Ave. | FoamersFolly.ca

SUN-THU 10AM-10PM ^ FRI-SAT 9AM-11PM

EST. 2015

Two separate brewhouses and a rotating crew of brewers allow Foamers’ Folly to put a zillion beers on tap at once — and most of them are great!

FLASHING AMBER

AMERICAN AMBER

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.5%36

is beer features a balanced malt and hop character with subtle toasted-caramel avours.

MAPLE RIDGE

MAPLE MEADOWS BREWING CO.

PRE-PROHIBITION

PILSNER

PRE-PROHIBITION LAGER

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.8%30

e perfect fuel for a debate over prohibition while sitting in FF’s 16-tap tasting room.

22775 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | MapleMeadowsBrewingCo.com

TUE-THU 2-7PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-8PM ^ SUN 12-6PM

EST. 2014

Carlo Baroccio has made it his mission to serve a cross-section of popular craft beer styles in his functional but welcoming tasting room.

DARK NECESSITIES

MOCHA STOUT

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 6.1%42

A sneak peek at beer by Silver Valley Brewing, which made this rich stout at the Meadows.

AMBER EARS

AMBER ALE

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.2%28

Baroccio used just a little too much specialty malt to call this Golden Ears, so he went with amber.

RI D GE BREWING CO .

22826 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | RidgeBrewing.com

MON-THU 2-8PM ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-8:30PM

SUN 11AM-6:30PM

EST. 2015

Ridge has growlers designed for celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and even for proclaiming your a ection for Hairy Donuts.

HAIRY DONUT

AMERICAN AMBER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.4%34

Ah, yes, one of the more memorably-named beers around: to ee-bodied with herbal and oral hops.

LONDON PORTER

PRE- W AR E NGLI S H PORTER

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 4.0%23

Sweet and chocolatey with a hint of hazelnut. Presumably pairs well with bangers and mash.

KP U B REWING L AB

20901 Langley Bypass | KPU.ca/Brew

FRI 1-5PM

EST. 2016

Get a taste of what the next generation of brewers is learning as part of Kwantlen’s Brewing and Brewery Operations diploma program.

KPU PALE ALE

PALE A LE

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 5.0%25

A straightforward pale ale with a oral hop aroma from French Triskel nishing hops.

KPU BELGIAN DUBBEL

A BBEY-STYLE DUBBEL

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 7.0%25

A beer with full-bodied maltiness, and fruit and spice from the Belgian Abbey yeast.

TRA D ING POS T B REWING

107 - 20120 64th Ave. | TradingPostBrewing.com

MON-THU 2-10PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-11PM ^ SUN 12-7PM

EST. 2015

From pride in its Langley roots to the use of quality local ingredients, Trading Post is all about community. RYE AMBER ALE AMBER A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%20

A luscious, bready-toasty malt base mingles with fruity English ale yeast, balanced by Cascade hops.

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 3.9%18

A heady symphony of malt with notes of toast, chocolate and to ee, but it still remains sessionable.

D EA D FROG BREWER Y

1 - 27272 Gloucester Way | DeadFrog.ca

MON-FRI 10AM-5PM ^ SAT 12-4PM

EST. 2005

As new breweries pop up, Dead Frog remains one of the Fraser Valley originals. Funny thing is, it’s more creative and experimental than most.

ATOMIC CHERRY

TART CHERRY ALE

T ART A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.0%12

A crisp red ale bursting with fresh cherries, premium malts, and a refreshingly tart nish.

NUTTY UNCLE

PEAN U T BU TTER STO UT

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 6.1%24

One of the most unusual beers brewed in B.C., you have to try it once.

F IE LD H OUSE B REWING CO .

2281 West Railway St. | FieldHouseBrewing.com

TUE-WED 12-8PM ^ THU-SAT 12-10PM ^ SUN 12-5PM

EST. 2016

Yep, one of the best breweries in the province is in Abbotsford. Fresh o their much-deserved “Rookie of the Year” win at the B.C. Beer Awards.

LAVENDER ESB

E XTRA SP ECIAL BITTER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.5%38

Local, organic lavender lifts this classic ESB with oral aroma and spice notes.

TOASTED COCONUT BLACK LAGER

SCHWARZBIER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%32

With chocolate and co ee notes, this dark lager is still light, complemented by toasted coconut.

LD ABBEY AL ES

1A - 30321 Fraser Hwy. | OldAbbeyAles.com

DAILY 11AM-8PM

EST. 2015

Old Abbey keeps producing the goods — all 24 taps and various bottles of them — at its spacious showcase brewery just o Highway 1.

SCOTTISH MONK

SCOTTI S H A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.5%22

An authentic, strong, malt-forward Scottish ale with satisfying earthy and nutty notes.

EL NINO WINTER WARMER

W INTER A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 8.0%45

Rich, thick and bold with notes of cinnamon and oak.

RAV ENS BREWING CO.

2485 Townline Rd. | Ravens.beer

TUE-THU 12PM-8PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-9PM ^ SUN 12-6PM

EST. 2015

ere are a lot of great tap handles around the province, but none quite like the row of black birds that guard each of Ravens’ tasty taps.

IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 7.0%70

Celebrating the hop dankness, it’s got juicy hits of tropical fruit, citrus and pine.

HOT CHOCOLATE PORTER

PORTER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%25

A big-bodied winter treat with a velvety and rich dark chocolate avor and a hint of vanilla.

C HAOS & SOL ACE C RAF T

B REWING C O.

1 - 9360 Mill St. | ChaosAndSolace.com

DAILY 11AM-7PM

EST. 2016

Chilliwack’s newest brewery is bringing some style to the historic old town. e hip tasting room is all wood and brick, with a nice open vibe.

PARAMOUNT PORTER

PORTER

Availability: Year-round

Chocolate and roasty aroma with a complex, rich malt avour. Goes down extra smooth in winter.

C HILLIWACK

LD YAL E BREWING CO .

404 - 44550 South Sumas Rd. | OldYaleBrewing.com

TUE-SUN 11AM-7PM

EST. 2000

LAKESIDE

HEFE-WEISSE

HEF E- W EISS E

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.4%15

At its new brewery, Old Yale is making lots of interesting new beers to go along with older favourites.

B.C. BACKYARD

LAGER

R YE L AGER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.3%38 AB V IB U 5.0%15

100 per cent of the ingredients in this beer are grown in beautiful British Columbia.

SASQUATCH STOUT

Availability: Year-round

With banana, citrus and bubble-gum aromas, it’s a new twist on the traditional German wheat beer. AB

Canada’s Best Beer (2014 Canadian Brewing Awards) is still as tasty as ever.

Unsung Heroes of Beer:

the tool shed brewing guys

GRAHAM SHERMAN & JEFF ORR

by Stephen Smysnuik

Lately, Graham Sherman might be best known as the Calgarian brewer and co-founder of Tool Shed Brewing who “ red” a critical patron and beer writer. But Sherman’s been making headlines, alongside his business partner Je Orr, since 2013, when the duo helped reshape Alberta’s archaic brewing laws to make them more friendly for start-up craft brewers.

Prior to 2013, the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission’s Class C liquor policy stipulated that in order to open a brewery, business owners had to brew a minimum of 500,000 litres of beer, or 5,000 hectolitres.

at’s an enormous amount of beer for a start-up, and one that would require a sizeable brewing facility costing far more than the average entrepreneur could put up. As a result, the brewing industry in Alberta was skeletal, with Big Rock and Wild Rose dominating local craft beer sales. A few others cropped up, including Calgary’s Village Brewing, which was launched in 2011 by a collective of former Big Rock executives, with enough savvy and experience to launch a brewery to meet the minimum requirement.

Enter Sherman and Orr, who met while stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan, working as communications contractors for the government and military. ey were hyper-nerdy overachievers with high-security clearance and a penchant for techno-gadgetry. ey bonded over a love of co ee roasting.

ey also spent months at a time isolated from their families in Calgary. When they landed back home after that rst stint, they abandoned co ee roasting for homebrewing, making batches in

Sherman’s backyard tool shed.

“Nobody gives a shit about co ee,” Sherman says now. “People came over and said, ‘Yeah man, that’s some great espresso,’ but that’s as far as it went.

“[But] everything just culminates around the beer. Beer is the connector.”

Once they realized that, they decided to open a brewery together. Craft beer, they noticed, was coming to Calgary. ey quit their stressful, isolating jobs and started making plans for Tool Shed Brewing in Fall 2012.

But — and that’s a huge but — they came up against the AGLC’s minimum brewing requirement. Sherman — about as high energy and obsessive a beer enthusiast as you’re likely to nd — was perplexed.

“Why would this law exist?” he says. “It obviously had to have been from lobbying by big breweries not wanting to have any competition. What could be the reason for there to be a law that says you can’t get started without anything less than 5,000 hecs?”

He says they laid out their plans for the AGLC, showing them economic development case studies of breweries throughout Canada and the U.S., and what the agricultural and economic impact would be. But no — they couldn’t get a license.

“We saw this made absolutely no sense and we had to nd [a solution] in the meantime to pay our mortgages,” Sherman says.

So they took advantage of another AGLC policy that put no tari s or restrictions on importing alcohol into Alberta. So while the AGLC made

it as di cult as possible to make alcohol in the province, they could import as much of it as they wanted from anywhere in the world.

Sherman got a distribution license and sought contract brewers in B.C. ey found what they were looking for in Aldergrove’s Dead Frog Brewery, which agreed to put Tool Shed’s beer into production.

Orr moved out to the Fraser Valley to oversee operations. By September 2013, they were brewing beer in B.C., then shipping every batch back into Alberta to sell, all the while trying to raise enough money to build a brewery big enough to meet the minimum brew requirement.

“ is was insane enough that it got lots of traction,” says Sherman, who pitched this story to just about every media outlet in the province.

Sherman and Orr weren’t alone in the ght. e Alberta Small Brewers Association had been lobbying to change the rules for years, and had even sued the AGLC to force the change. Fallentimber Meadery was also pushing for change around the same time Tool Shed was.

“ e former Class C policy was outdated and it didn’t re ect the best interests of the evolving liquor manufacturing sector in Alberta,” says Heather Holmen, spokesperson for the AGLC. “It was time for a change.”

Much to Sherman and Orr's delight, the AGLC announced the new Class E policy on Dec. 5, 2013, eliminating the minimum production capacity requirements.

Sherman and Orr rushed to the AGLC's head

o ces in St. Albert and were the rst to apply for a brewing license under the new policy. e AGLC tweeted out a photo of the two men, gleefully manhandling their application papers, with the caption: “We’re thinking the new Class E Liquor Manufacturing policies made Alberta’s craft beer brewers happy.”

Holmen couldn’t con rm whether or not Tool Shed’s e orts were the catalyst — or even in uential — in the AGLC’s decision to update the policy, and said it launched its policy review in Fall 2012, which was around the time Tool Shed was getting started.

But people in the brewing industry credit Tool Shed, along with Fallentimber, for in uencing the changes.

“ eir e orts are de nitely why we exist today,” says Derek Waghray, co-founder of Dandy Brewing, the second Calgary craft brewery to open up after the minimum brew policy had been eliminated.

“Our whole company was all about starting small, remaining full owners of our company and things like that. at was huge for us.”

In the end, Sherman and Orr ended up with a brewery much bigger than they had originally planned.

“ e ironic part is, because we made so much noise and got so many people asking for our beer,” Sherman says, “we ended up building a brewery that was bigger than 5,000 hecs anyway.” j

We saw this made absolutely no sense and we had to nd a solution in the meantime to pay our mortgages.

-Graham Sherman

AX E AN D B ARRE L

B REWING CO .

2323 Millstream Ave. | AxeAndBarrel.com

DAILY 11AM-7PM

EST. 2015

Former Swans brewer Andrew Tessier plans to experiment with monthly releases, packaging in bombers and a barrel program.

RYE PALE ALE

PALE A LE WITH R YE

CITRUS WITBIER B ELGIAN W IT

Availability: Year-round Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.2%30

Leaning towards amber in colour, and full-bodied with a dry, spicy and citrusy nish.

VICTORIA

AB V IB U 5.0%10

Brewed with Curacao orange peel, coriander, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves.

CAT EGOR Y 12 BREWING

Unit C - 2200 Keating Cross Rd. | Category12Beer.com

TUE-SAT 12-6PM ^ SUN 12-4PM

EST. 2014

Category 12: e scienti c term for the reaction caused when craft beer recipes meet the inventive mind of brewer Michael Kuzyk.

EXCITATION

C ACAO ESPRESS O STO UT

SUBVERSION

IMPERIAL I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.4%30

Rich organic cacao nibs and a buzz of fairly-traded espresso gives this stout an energetic boost.

AB V IB U 8.8%88

An old-school IPA pushed to its bitter and juicy hop limits for bold and tasty results.

D RIF T WOO D BREWER Y

450 Hillside Ave. | DriftwoodBeer.com

TUE-SAT 11AM-6PM

EST. 2015

Fat Tug was the beer that launched a thousand hopheads, and helped kick o a province-wide craft beer boom.

BLACKSTONE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%N/A

A highly-qua able porter with a rich body that’s full of that co ee and dark chocolate goodness.

SINGULARITY

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 11.5%N/A

A question desperately asked by futurists and beer nerds alike: when is the Singularity coming?

HO Y NE BREWING CO.

101-2740 Bridge St. | HoyneBrewing.ca

MON-FRI 12-6PM ^ SAT 11AM-6PM

EST. 2011

Hoyne Brewing is celebrating its fth anniversary this winter, but Sean Hoyne himself has been brewing beer in Victoria since 1989.

GRATITUDE

W INTER W AR M ER

VOLTAGE

ESPRESS O STO UT

Availability: Limited Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 9.0%N/A

e label features a poem on gratitude; the strong ale inside will leave you feeling grateful.

AB V IB U 5.7%N/A

is fully charged beer is brewed with freshly pulled shots of espresso from Habit Co ee.

BOU RBON B ARREL A GED STO UT

L IGH T HOUSE BREWING CO.

2 - 836 Devonshire Rd. | LighthouseBrewing.com

MON 8AM-4:30PM ^ TUE-FRI 9AM-6PM^ SAT 11AM-6PM

EST. 1998

Despite its size and name, Lighthouse keeps something of a low pro le outside of its Island base. A new tasting room is currently in the works.

SEAPORT VANILLA STOUT STO UT

SHIPWRECK IPA

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.5%17

Madagascan vanilla beans lend a luxurious edge to this rich, satisfying stout.

VICTORIA

AB V IB U 6.5%59

Fruity and oral hop aromas and avours are prominent in this well-balanced brew.

MOON UN D ER WAT ER BREWER Y

350B Bay St. | MoonUnderWater.ca

SAT-THU 11:30AM-11PM ^ FRI 11:30AM-12AM

EST. 2012

Big changes are coming as the Moon plans a massive expansion. In the meantime, the brewpub is hopping and the beer is always top-notch.

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

ION STO UT

ORANJE MAAN

IMP ERIAL MANDARIN W IT

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 4.2%18

Chewy, roasty and avourful, this low-alcohol stout is ideal for dark and dreary winter nights.

AB V IB U 8.2%20

is one’s for you if you prefer your winter warmers with some alcoholic heft.

PHILL IPS B REWING & M A LT ING C O.

2010 Government St. | PhillipsBeer.com

MON 10AM-5PM ^ TUE-THU 10AM-6PM

FRI 10AM-7PM ^ SAT 11AM-6PM

EST. 2001

Victoria’s craft beer titan hasn’t slowed the innovation train since Matt Phillips maxed out those credit cards to start his brewery.

CITRICITY GRAPEFRUIT ZEST IPA

FR U IT I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.2%62

SCARFFACE

C RANBERRY O RANGE W IT

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 4.3%20

Citrus, juice, citrus juice and juicy citrusness. Ever the non-conformist, Phillips’ new winter ale is a bright and breezy fruit-laden wheat beer.

VICTORIA

VANCOU V ER IS L AN D BREWER Y

2330 Government St. | VanIslandBrewery.com

DAILY 10AM-6PM

EST. 1986

Big changes are coming from VIB in 2017. Victoria’s oldest production brewery is set for rejuvenation, having assembled a dream team of sta .

HERMANNATOR EIS BOCK

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 9.5%30

Hermannator won’t be going anywhere, VIB assures us. Which is good – we’d riot if it was axed!

19 IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%60

is light-bodied, heavily-hopped IPA named after the Island Highway is a sign of things to come.

77 7 courtne yst victori abc thesmithspub.co m

Craft beer embraces the lost art of barrel-aging

by Megan Cole

In competitive industries like craft brewing, staying ahead of the curve and on top of the trends is vital to keeping consumers interested. Craft brewers are taking traditional styles and flavours and making them their own using different ingredients. Oak barrels, which have been used in making spirits like bourbon, whisky and wine, have gained popularity in craft beer because of the unique flavours that can be imparted through barrel-aging.

Unlike bourbon makers of the United States who are required by federal code to use new charred oak barrels to produce their product, breweries acquire their barrels from distilleries and wineries that have already bottled their products. But with so many breweries exploring the world

of barrel-aging, and there being only a couple dozen cooperages (barrel makers) left in the U.S., the number of barrels available to breweries is limited.

“Barrel-aging is sort of a popular thing to do these days," says Chloe Smith, manager of Townsite Brewing in Powell River. "Which means we are getting creative with where we get our barrels, because they are so in demand.” Smith adds that it isn't just harder to get barrels, it's also more expensive. Since Townsite began barrel-aging their beers, the price has increased from $100 a barrel, to $150.

“We buy them from wineries, from Jack Daniels, from whisky houses and distilleries,” she said.

“We go together with our brewing colleagues and when they are placing orders, we will do one together. We are reaching out to everybody to see where we can get barrels, and we are getting all kinds of stuff like fruit wine, red wine, whisky and bourbon.”

Even though Jack Daniels, the only major distiller that makes their own barrels, produces half a million empty barrels a year, most of those go to the Scotch whisky industry.

In the world of craft beer, Victoria's Phillips Brewing and Malting Co. have been ahead of the curve with barrel-aging beers. Matt Phillips, founder of Phillips, says they've been producing barrel-aged beers for nearly seven years.

“It's definitely more difficult to get a hold of barrels now,” he says. “I think it has a lot more to do with the Scotch whisky industry and distilleries than breweries.”

Because those two industries are sucking up a lot of barrels, there are fewer left for the craft breweries looking for them, he says.

Phillips built a relationship with Heaven Hills Distillery in Kentucky where he was at one point sourcing up to 150 barrels a year. Now the brewery is only using about 50 annually, and some of this has to do with the challenges of getting the barrels with the right flavour profiles for its beer.

While some craft breweries have looked to their partners in the spirits and wine industries, Rogue Ales and Spirits, based in Newport, Oregon, decided to start coopering their own barrels. This was a natural fit with their DIY mantra, which now includes growing their own hops, producing their own honey and distilling their own spirits.

Unlike other breweries that began barrel-aging their products in vessels they'd sourced, Rogue hadn't put beer in a barrel until they had a “real reason to do it.”

“Once we got inspired to make our own barrels

we really felt we had a story to share and a product we thought would be really unique,” says Brett Joyce, president of Rogue.

In the fall of 2016, Rogue released their first beer aged in their own barrels. Their Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout is a beer that doesn't just go from farm to glass, but from farm to barrels, made by Rogue and soaked in their own whiskey where it is aged for six months before being bottled. “Barrel-aged products provide a lot of complexity that consumers are looking for, which pairs with the experimentation that breweries are into, and there is also the rarity of barrel-aged beers,” says Joyce. “I'm glad that in some small way, we control our own destiny by making our barrels, but that certainly wasn't our intent the way growing our own hops was. We didn't want to be 100 per cent reliant on the open market, and accidentally the barrel making provides that as well.”

While Rogue may have chosen to enter the cooperage industry, it is safe to assume that most craft breweries will stick to sourcing their barrels the way they have been. But with certain barrels, like bourbon, being in high demand, those in the craft beer world think we'll see brewers do what they do best: get creative and use what they can find to innovate great new beer flavours.j

Barrel-aging is sort of a popular thing to do these days, which means we are getting creative with where we get our barrels, because they are so in demand.

- Chloe Smith

VIC T ORIA CALED ONIAN

B REWERY AN D DIS TI LLERY

761 Enterprise Cres. | VCaledonian.com

DAILY 10AM-10PM

EST. 2016

Victoria’s newest brewery is a Scottish-themed spot that sells beer under the “Twa Dogs” brand.

DROUTHY NEIBOR

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 7.6%60

is hoppy IPA will satisfy both you and your drouthy neibor (“thirsty neighbour”).

S OOKE O CEANSI DE BREWERY

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.5%25

With its name inspired by Robert Burns’ “Holy Willie’s Prayer,” you’ll be praying for more.

1-5529 Sooke Rd. | SookeOceansideBrewing.com

WED-SUN 12-8PM

EST. 2016

With an experienced chef like Ryan Orr as owner, you know the beer is going to be avourful and pairing-ready. e branding is killer, too.

RENFREW RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.1%18

SOB is promising a medium-bodied, malty ale with a dry nish.

CEDAR JUNIPER IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 7.3%52

HOLY WILLIE’S ROBUST PORTER PORTER

A unique IPA featuring a pro le of Spanish cedar, juniper berries and noble hops.

RE D ARROW BREWING C O.

5255 Chaster Rd. | RedArrowBeer.ca

Looking for a spot to get craft beer goodness in Duncan? All signs point here, to Red Arrow’s red brick tasting room.

Availability: Seasonal

A devilish concoction with to ee malt, candied orange peel and a dash of vanilla bean.

Availability: Seasonal

is one’s for all the hop-heads. A dankly bitter beauty with notes of guava, herb and spice.

R IO T B REWING C O.

101A - 3055 Oak St. | RiotBrewing.com

MON-THU 11AM-9PM ^ FRI-SUN 11AM-11PM

EST. 2016

It’s taken years, but Riot is here, complete with a full lounge and patio. e beer is in the safe hands of ex-Central City brewer Fabian Specht.

LIPSLIDE LAGER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.8%18

Promises to be as authentic and refreshing a Helles as you’ll nd in B.C.

L ONGWOO D BREWER Y

101A-2046 Boxwood Rd. | LongwoodBeer.com

WED-FRI 2-6PM ^ SAT 12-5PM

EST. 2013

JUNK PUNCH IPA

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.0%70

Harley Smith and his brewing crew keep Longwood humming at peak pro ciency, producing some of Nanaimo’s best beers using local ingredients.

STOUTNIK

RUSSIAN IMP ERIAL STO UT

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 7.5%40

Blacker than a Moscow winter, this beer will warm your cold Russian bones, comrade.

SUPER “G” GINGER

C

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%20

Brewed using an old recipe from Hugo’s, a Victoria brewpub that closed in 2008.

Junk Punch lands in the Island’s IPA market with a bold hop pro le amply balanced by malt.

NANAI MO

W HI TE SAI LS B REWING

125 Comox Rd. | WhiteSailsBrewing.com

MON-WED 3-9PM ^ THU 3-11PM ^ FRI-SAT 12PM-12AM

SUN 12-6PM

EST. 2015

White Sails is helping revitalize Nanaimo’s downtown with a space for locals, artists and craft beer enthusiasts thirsty for Tyler Papp’s brews.

SNAKE ISLAND

CAS CADIAN D ARK A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.5%80

is WBA gold medalist has a bold co ee-chocolate maltiness balanced by heaps of hops.

WO L F BREWING CO .

GALLOWS POINT

C HOCOLATE PORTER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.7%35

A malt showcase highlighting a restrained roastiness and seductive chocolate and caramel notes.

940 Old Victoria Rd. | WolfBrewingCompany.com

SUN-MON 12-5PM ^ TUE-THU 12-6PM^ FRI-SAT 12-7PM

EST. 2010

Nanaimo’s south-end brewery is making positive changes to its beer list, re ecting a renewed focus on more challenging and interesting styles.

THE TRIPEL

B ELGIAN T RI P EL

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 9.6%N/A

A big, bold Belgian beer brewed with Trappist yeast, European malts, herbal hops and spice.

THE BELGIAN ABBEY

A BBEY- S TYLE B LONDE A LE

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 6.6%N/A

Full of spicy yeast character with delicate pepper notes and a herbal citrus hop aroma.

Glacier Fresh

The LIFE & TIMES OF THE BEER OUT HERE

WRITTEN BY ANDREW FLEMING & ILLUSTRATED BY NEIL MANUEL

Kokanee was born in 1959 in the Kootenay Mountains, and his proud parents, the Columbia Brewery, named him after the Kokanee Glacier that overlooks their hometown of Creston, B.C.

“Kokanee” is also an Interior Salish word for a type of landlocked salmon, but sharing a name with a fish hasn't hurt his popularity any with Western Canadian beer drinkers.

In the '80s, his fame took o after teaming up with a hapless park ranger and a thirsty sasquatch for an award-winning ad campaign.

A sasquatch is also hidden in various di erent spots surrounding Gray's Peak, the mountain featured on Kokanee's iconic label. It’s a bit like Where's Waldo for lager lovers.

Kokanee headed east in the '90s after striking a deal with Labatt...

...although he soon headed back home after critics pointed out a beer can't be “glacier fresh” if it's brewed in Ontario.

In 2008, he went online and asked fans for help in deciding the future of his relationship with the Kokanee Ranger.

The long-running sidekick was eventually killed in an ad spoofing the finale of The Sopranos.

He made his film debut starring in 2012’s The Movie Out Here, a low-brow buddy comedy shot in Fernie that was panned by critics.

But while Kokanee failed to make it big in Hollywood, the self-styled “beer out here” can today be found as far away as Newfoundland.

Which is probably due to so many Newfies having worked in the oil fields and/or because of their famous fondness for fish.

St. John’s

LOV ESHACK L IBAT IONS

#1-4134 Island Hwy. West | LoveShackLibations.com

HOURS TBD

EST. 2016

is new brewery is likely B.C.’s smallest: a one-man show producing 100-litre batches of bottle-conditioned beer.

KILLER KOLSCH

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.8%25

“A clean, crisp lager-style ale, able to slay the mightiest thirst,” says the brewer.

C UMBERLAND

CUMBER L AN D BREWING CO.

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.5%60

“Dave Paul’s Ale.” is is a full-bodied IPA with a maltiness balancing the Northwest hops.

2732 Dunsmuir Ave. | CumberlandBrewing.com

SUN-WED 12-9PM ^ THU - SAT 12-10PM

EST. 2014

With the opening of the new Rider’s Pizza across the street, there are now two places to taste Cumberland’s impressive beers.

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 4.8%N/A

Cumberland can spare the fermenter space to brew this proper pilsner only once a year.

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.5%N/A

Part of a series of rotating specialty IPAs, this local favourite will return in December.

FORBIDDEN BREWING CO .

1590 Cli e Ave. | ForbiddenBrewing.com

WED-SUN 12-10PM

EST. 2015

Forbidden in name only, the cozy Comox Valley brewery is worth venturing to for its selection of tasty small-batch brews.

FRESH HOPPED SAISON

SAI S ON

FORBIDDEN IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.5%30

A fruity, light saison that’s well-hopped with fresh goods from a local Courtenay hop farm.

AB V IB U 7.0%70

Your taste buds will dig exploring this IPA, which is big on citrus and tropical avor and aromas.

GLADST ONE BREWING CO .

244 4th St. | GladstoneBrewing.ca

DAILY 11AM-12AM

EST. 2015

Courtenay’s downtown brewery is bumping thanks to the delicious beer courtesy of ex-Steamworks brewer Tak Guenette. e pizza’s great, too!

STRAIGHT EIGHT

IMPERIAL I NDIA PALE A LE

CZECH DARK LAGER

B OHE M IAN DUNKEL

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 8.8%100

is hot rod of a beer showcases tropical avours of Australian Ella and Summer hops.

AB V IB U 6.0%25

An obscure style with roasty malts and spicy hops rarely brewed outside the Czech Republic.

BEACH FIRE

594 - 11th Ave. | BeachFireBrewing.ca

HOURS TBD

EST. 2016

Campbell River’s very own craft brewery will be open any day now! Pop in to the tasting room to sample some beers, or nosh on some tapas.

HIGH TIDE PALE ALE

WEST COAST PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.5%45

A West Coast pale ale that focuses on New World hops with big aromas and avours.

WHEELBENDER STOUT

IRISH STOUT

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 4.5%40

A classic, light-bodied, easy-drinking stout that is perfect for cool evening beach re sessions.

TOFINO BREWING CO.

Units C & D, 681 Industrial Way | To noBrewingCo.com

DAILY 11AM-9PM

EST. 2011

Endless beaches, magical rainforests, abundant inlets, fresh seafood and fresh beer await every traveller to To no. Life must be hell there.

TOFINO DARK LAGER

DARK LAGER

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 4.5%15

A ne balance of crisp and brisk mouthfeel with richer, roasted malt aromas and avours.

HOPPIN’ CRETIN IPA

WEST COAST INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 7.5%60

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: is citrus-tropical-pine monster is one of B.C.’s best.

WTF!? is

Funky Beer

An exploration of that funky beer trend

by Lito Howse

The days of massive hop-bombed beers seem to be giving way to more experimental brewing styles in the craft beer scene. One of the major trends right now is melding the fruity funk of dank hops with the fruity funk of wild yeast strains.

Yes, there are funky hops and funky yeasts, and together, they make some funky beers. e best way of describing funk is as “something out of the ordinary,” but many describe the smell and taste of these beers as horse sweat, Band-Aid, and barnyard.

Sounds appetizing, right? No? We didn't think so either, but trust us, give these wild beers a sip and they’ll win you over.

FUNKY HOPS

Hops aren’t always bitter, they can actually bring a wide array of avours to the beer depending on timing and quantities. Mosaic hops produce qualities of passionfruit and mango when used in moderate amounts, but when they cross a certain threshold, depending on the timing and amount, BOOM, gym socks and B.O. become their primary traits.

Polaris hops can have a similar funk potential. Sirachi Ace hops tend to have a lime zest and peppery avour when used in smaller quantities, but will taste like herbs or buttery dill if too many are used or if they’re from a bad crop.

FUNKY YEAST

Regular brewer's yeast is from the Saccharomyces yeast family (Sac for short), which consists of hundreds of strains that have been cultivated to do exactly what brewers want. ese strains add predictable traits to the beer and can do anything, from adding fruity avours to drying out the nish. For example, Wyeast 3711 is a standard

French Saison yeast that dries out the saison without being too heavy on the yeast aftertaste and tastes quite di erent from its Belgian counterparts.

Brettanomyces (Brett for short) is from another genus within the Sac family, and can be used to brew beer, but produces a funky taste and is much more unpredictable to brew with.

Brett is one of the most prevalent yeasts in the natural environment, and is something brewers try to avoid contaminating their batches with, unless they introduce it on purpose. Brett will run wild and take over a beer's avour. is avour domination is because Brett can eat more complex sugars in the fermentation process than Sac. is ability to eat a wider array of sugars allows Brett to dank up the beer with its unique avour, and can take months instead of days to nish fermenting. Sac and Brett can work together and be added at di erent stages of the brew to help tame the funkiness of the Brett.

ere are also di erent types of Brett and some are more funky than others. Brett C generally produces a dank, pineapple avour. Brett B creates that horse sweat avour, and Brett L (Lambicus) can produce that horse sweat avour, but sometimes just a general earthiness or funk.

FIVE DANK BEERS TO CHECK OUT

Brassneck Brewery | Buzzkill

Four Winds Brewery | Operis Brett Saison

Dageraad Brewing and Brassneck Brewery collab | Uncomfortable Silence

Swans Brewpub | Master Blaster North American Brett Saison(ishhh)

Strange Fellows Brewing | Greybeard j

T OWNSI T E BREWING

5824 Ash Ave. | TownsiteBrewing.com

DAILY 11AM-7PM

EST. 2012

Belgian brewmaster Cédric Dauchot has brought the famed styles of his homeland to Powell River. New for 2017: Townsite’s barrel-aged series.

SHINY PENNY

B ELGIAN I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 8.5%80

Fruity and boozy, with loads of avor. It’s a penny worth saving in the cellar, too.

PERFECT STORM

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.5%30

e perfect stout? e Canada Brewing Awards said so. It also placed at the B.C. Beer Awards.

P ERSE P HONE BREWING CO .

1053 Stewart Rd. | PersephoneBrewing.com

DAILY 11AM-7PM

EST. 2013

If we were forced with the “tough” decision to live the rest of our days at any brewery, Persephone’s tranquil 11-acre farm would be our pick.

HOP YARD RED ALE

WES

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.0%45

With big citrus and pine aroma, it’s hop-forward but with notes of dark caramel and toasted malts.

DRY IRISH STOUT

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.5%30

Co ee aroma with a taste of freshly-baked oatmeal cookies. Goes down smooth and nishes dry.

SA LT SP RING I SL AN D AL ES

270 Furness Rd. | SaltSpringIslandAles.com

DAILY 12-5PM

EST. 1998

Salt Spring may enjoy the most bucolic setting of any brewery in B.C., complete with its own hop farm and mountain spring.

CRÈME BRULEE

VANILLA STOUT

IMP ERIAL MILK STO UT

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 8.0%30

Adult dessert in a glass, packed with avours of organic vanilla, chocolate and co ee maltiness.

HEATHER ALE

H EATHER A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%7

Four-thousand years in the making, this ale recreates the brew of the ancient Picts of Scotland.

KAM LOOPS

RE D CO LLAR BREWING CO .

355 Lansdowne St. | RedCollar.ca

TUE-WED 4-10PM ^ THU-FRI 3-10PM ^ SAT 1-10PM

EST. 2014

Red Collar is the culmination of a life in beer for brewing legend David Beardsell, who learned the craft during his extensive global travels.

BLACK DOG QUAD

QUADRUPEL

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

AB

A dark, chewy, Trappist-style ale full of dried fruit avours. Ideal for winter sipping.

is ramped-up dark lager hides its strength well in a silky sweetness.

CRANN ó G A L ES

706 Elson Rd. | CrannogAles.com

DAILY 8:30AM-4:30PM

EST. 2000

Crannog is likely the most ethically sound brewery in B.C. and inspired the revival of the province’s hop industry. Amazing beers, too!

OLD PUDDIN’ HEAD

Availability: Seasonal

U 11.7%35 AB

A deeply malty winter warmer nished with a touch of organic mace, cardamom and coriander.

RED BRANCH

AB V IB U 5.0%22

85

BNA BREWING CO

1250 Ellis St. | BNABrewing.com

.

SUN-THU 1PM-LATE ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-LATE

EST. 2015

Kelowna’s best spot to drink a beer has expanded its production capacity so you can actually nd bottles in Vancouver.

PANCHO

AUSTRIAN C ER V EZA

Availability: Limited

BNA’s rst ever lager is a cross between a Mexican negra and a Vienna lager.

KELOWNA

DON’T LOSE YOUR DINOSAUR

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.2%70

Juicy tropical and stone fruit avours and aromas dominate this big IPA.

B OUN D AR Y B REWING

2 - 455 Neave Crt. | BoundaryBrewing.beer

DAILY 12PM-LATE

EST. 2016

One of the more o -the-grid breweries on our radar is the brainchild of Oliver Glaser. His Kelowna-based tasting room should be open soon.

KELOWNA CROWS

KÖLSCH

K OL S CH

Availability: Year-round

A Cologne-style pale ale brewed with local ingredients. Named after Glaser’s rugby team.

ALTBIER

A LTBIER

Availability: Year-round

A big-bodied but balanced ode to the Düsseldorf style. Maltiness up front, hops at the end.

KE TTL E R IV ER B REWING C O.

731 Baillie Ave. | KettleRiverBrewing.ca

DAILY 12-10PM

EST. 2016

e city’s coolest tasting room is well worth sailing over to. KR is brewing small batches with big ambition and experimenting in many styles.

LOOSE CANOE IPA

I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 7.1%75

Golden sunset-colored, richly hopped with nice citrus and resin aromas and notes.

KELOWNA

DARK PRINCE IMPERIAL STOUT

IMP ERIAL STO UT

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 9.5%97

Brewed for royalty, this velvety stout is luxurious in sweet molasses malt and balanced with hops.

T REE BREWING BEER INS TITUTE

1346 Water St. | TreeBrewingBeerInstitute.com

SUN-TUE 11AM-9PM ^ WED-SAT 11AM-10PM

EST. 1996

Tree’s Beer Institute has its own brewery and tasting room with a kitchen. Unique one-o beers are available to sample or for growler lls.

REDWOOD

W INE B ARREL A GED A LE

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 5.5%25

e barrel imparts a delicious background of vanilla and fruitiness to this solid pale ale.

HOF THE HUNKLEWIEZEN

DUNKELWEIZEN

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 5.5%22

A deliciously, dark and cloudy German wheat beer, perfect for the colder, darker winter months.

TREE BREWING

1083 Richter St. | TreeBeer.com

MON-FRI 11AM-5PM

EST. 1996

Tree is celebrating its 20th anniversary by releasing a swath of new beers and mixer 12-packs. Pop into the brewery tasting room to see what’s new.

BACK COUNTRY

NUT BROWN ALE

PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.0%20

is sessionable brown ale is smooth and malty with hints of chocolate and roasted nuts.

ABV IBU 5.0%30

A golden ale with citrusy Cascade hops and spicy notes from some added rye malt.

BAD TATTOO BREWING CO.

169 Estabrook Ave. | BadTattooBrewing.com

DAILY 11AM-11PM

EST. 2014

Penticton is the Okanagan’s craft beer hub — and Bad Tattoo’s fabulous pizza selection and excellent beer put it on the top of the pile.

MIDNIGHT HOPMARE

BLACK INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 6.6%80

One of brewer Robert eroux’s creations, this pine and resin-laced beast is a stallion of the style.

FULL SLEEVE STRONG STOUT STOUT

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.5%20

An impressively constructed, rich and creamy stout that’s a little sweet, a little dry.

YARD SALE PALE ALE

CANNER Y BREWING

198 Ellis St. | CanneryBrewing.com

MON-THU 12-8PM ^ FRI 12-9PM ^ SAT 11AM-9PM

SUN 11AM-8PM

EST. 2000

A purpose-built brewery with a big, welcoming tasting room, new beers and rebranding; Cannery is better than ever.

DARKLING

O AT M EAL STO UT

THE MUSE AND THE

GOLDEN PROMISE

E XTRA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.5%30

A smooth, well-balanced stout with bittersweet, roasted avours to brighten the darkest winter day.

PENTICTON

AB V IB U 5.5%35

is delicious, hoppy pale ale was rst brewed as a limited release last year.

HIGHWAY 97 BREWERY

954 Eckhardt Ave. | Hwy97Brewery.com

DAILY 11AM-9PM

EST. 2016

Situated right by the eponymous road, Highway 97 should catch the eye of passing beer tourists seeking out Penticton’s newest brewery.

HIGHWAY 97 PILSNER

C ZECH PIL S NER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.5%20

Highway 97 is promising a refreshing, super clean lager, which will likely be its go-to mainstay.

HIGHWAY 97 IPA

WES T C OA S T I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.5%75

Packed with B.C. hops, this amber-tinged IPA aims to satisfy Penticton’s growing legion of hopheads.

HOME B REWING IN YOUR CONDO : 101

by Shawn Conner

Have you ever thought, “Man, I’d love to brew my own beer, but I just don’t have the space?”

ink again.

Unless you live under a bridge, you probably have all the square footage you need to brew your own at home.

Warren Boyer teaches homebrewing at Beyond the Grape in Port Moody, and he often hears people say they don’t have the space.

“ ey’ll say, ‘I live in an apartment, or I live in a basement suite.’ I just say, ‘ at’s not an excuse.’ It’s never stopped me, I have blue ribbons, I have medals, I have best-of-shows that show you can make quality beer in a small space.”

To be fair, Boyer lives in a nearly 900-square-foot one-bedroom-and-den. Still, one doesn’t need much space to make a decent batch of homebrew.

ere are di erent methods of homebrewing, varying in complexity, and nearly all can be accomplished in a small space.

e simplest method requires only a carboy (a plastic bottle that comes in various sizes, used for fermentation) and bottling equipment. is method uses a brewhouse kit of concentrated wort (liquid extracted from the mashing process, which uses hot water to steep the grain). e wort is poured into the carboy and water and yeast are added.

e is the most space-and-cost e ective, notes homebrewer Corey Baker.

“Your equipment investment would be $25 for a carboy, the bottles you can probably get free if you’re resourceful, and maybe some siphoning equipment. For a $50 investment, you can make beer at home.”

Tip: throw out the yeast that comes with the kit and get better yeast from any homebrew shop in town.

Baker now lives in a duplex, but started brewing in a one-bedroom condo.

“My challenge was that I wasn’t allowed to brew indoors,” he says. “So we brewed on the deck. We ran garden hoses back to the kitchen and bathroom sink.”

A step up from using a brewkit is brewing with extract, which is wort that has been dehydrated into a syrup.

“You can get away with a single-vessel system, which is basically just a pot that you pour hot water and syrup into, and then add hops,” Baker says.

All that is required is a pot for boiling, a carboy and bottling equipment. Generally, a ve-gallon kettle will make a three-gallon batch.

A step up is brewing with specialty grains. Here, the brewer’s options become “dramatically broader than when using extract,” Baker says.

To brew with grain, the brewer needs a mash tun (this could be a Coleman cooler or another vessel that can steep grain and water for an hour) and a kettle or pot for boiling, as well as the carboy and bottling equipment.

“Now you have two vessels, which might not be as condo-friendly,” Baker said. “So a couple of smart guys came up with brew-in-a-bag.”

Brew-in-a-bag began in Australia, and at rst, many brewers believed it produced inferior beer to all-grain methods, although now it’s fairly widespread.

With BIAB, the grain comes in a mesh bag, which is put directly in the kettle or pot, no mash tun involved.

“From an equipment perspective you only need the one kettle,” says Baker. “You compost the grain and reuse the mesh bag.

“From an investment perspective, it’s practically nil, you have the same kettle and carboy you’d use in an extract setup. Your carboy will pretty much t in the kettle which ts in the closet and all you’ve brought into it is this mesh bag.”

In both the extract and brew-in-a-bag method, the brew needs to be chilled before the yeast is added and after it’s been brought to a boil. It can be left out overnight or put in a cold-water or ice bath in the tub or kitchen sink.

“Necessity is the mother of invention when you’re dealing with small spaces,” Baker says. Many experienced homebrewers use a copper coil to chill the brew more quickly. “You hook that up to your faucet and run cold water through the kettle.”

In general, temperature is a more important factor than space when it comes to brewing at home.

“Temperature control is one of those things that gets people into trouble,” Baker says. “You need a

decent, steady room temperature.”

Lagers need to ferment at refrigerated temperatures, ales at cooler room temperatures.

Nevertheless, “It’s completely and totally possible to make good beer in a small space,” Baker said.

“Even if I was in only a 4-or-500 square foot apartment, the only thing I’d be thinking that you might not solve with creativity is the temperature.

“But even in a non-temperature controlled apartment, you can probably make decent beer eight months of the year.” j

To learn more about homebrewing, visit your local homebrew shop.

Contarary to popular belief, the equipment required to brew beer at home may be minimal, depending on your method.

It’s completely and totally possible to make good beer in a small space.

- Corey Baker

THE TIN W HISTL E B REWING C O.

112-1475 Fairview Rd. | No website

MON-SAT 11:30AM-5:30PM

EST. 1995

Penticton’s rst craft brewery had been quieter than the name suggests. But last year’s move to a bigger space means more room to make some noise.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE PORTER PORTER

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%20

Orchard-fresh cherries stand out in this rich brew, complimented by cacao and chocolate barley.

FIREHALL BREWER Y

6077 Main St. | FirehallBrewery.com

SUN-THU 12-8PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-9PM

EST. 2012

OSPREY WHITE IPA

W HITE I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.5%45

Fruity sweetness from freshly-pressed Okanagan pear juice and balanced with a nice hop bitterness.

Building a brewery near Canada’s only desert was a smart move. Sid Ruhland and co. have been slaking three-alarm thirst for ve years now.

STOP, HOP & ROLL

O AT M EAL I NDIA PALE A LE

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 5.6%62

Rolled oats and local hops give this IPA a silky texture and heady citrus aromas.

WIND & FIRE

H AR VES T A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 5.5%19

is blend of rye, wheat, barley, honey and hops was brewed in memory of Ruhland’s late brother, Carson.

ROSSLAND BEER CO.

1990 Columbia Ave. | RosslandBrewing.com

SUN-THU 12-7PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-9PM

EST. 2012

is tiny brewery’s tasting room (capacity 30) is always full, but plans are in the works for an expansion at a new site in the next few years.

SEVEN SUMMITS

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.9%20

is beer is reddish-black with a sweet co ee/ chocolate milk aroma and avour.

NELSON

BACKROADS BREWING CO.

460 Baker St. | BackroadsBrewing.com

HOURS TBD

EST. 2016

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 6.5%55

e hops in this IPA explode with orange, lemon, apricot and pineapple avours and aromas.

When Backroads opens, Nelson’s brewery concentration will hit Port Moody heights, with four beer producers within short strolling distance.

WHITE IPA

WHITE INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 6.5%60

Former Nelson Brewing brewmaster Mike Kelly is looking to this IPA for his debut at Backroads.

KELLERBIER KELLERBIER

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.0%23

In addition to regular o erings, Kelly plans to release specialty one-o s and cask beers.

MILK STOUT

FOUR ON THE FLOOR INDIA PALE ALE

NEL SON B REWING CO .

512 Latimer St. | NelsonBrewing.com

DAILY 8:30AM-4:30PM

EST. 1991

A tasting room and growler station are coming to B.C.’s biggest allorganic brewery, which won three golds and a silver at the 2016 BCBAs.

ORGANIC FACEPLANT WINTER ALE

W INTER W AR M ER

PRINCE OF DARKNESS

CO FF EE STO UT

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 6.5%20

is delicious dark ale is brewed with organic brown sugar and molasses.

AB V IB U 5.0%30

Brewed with organic co ee roasted by Oso Negro, the brewery’s neighbour in its historic building.

TORCH L IGH T BREWING CO.

511 Front St. | TorchlightBrewing.com

TUE 11AM-6PM ^ WED-THU 11AM-7PM

FRI-SAT 11AM-9PM

EST. 2014

Nelson’s “little brewery that could” produces almost 50 di erent beers throughout the year despite being one of the smaller breweries in B.C.

ELEVENTY ONE

IMP ERIAL STO UT

OH BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

W INTER A LE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 10.0%50

A potent stout that begins the brew process at Original Gravity 1.110.

AB V IB U 5.6%19

is holiday-themed beer brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla will warm your insides.

F ERNIE BREWING CO .

26 Manitou Rd. | FernieBrewing.com

If you like snow, Fernie should be on your winter bucket list thanks to three ski hills around the town. And Fernie Brewing has all your aprés-ski needs covered, too. ankfully, you don’t have to travel to the Rockies to try its beer — it’s available at a liquor store near you.

Availability: Limited

is is one of the most complex — and tasty — winter beers brewed in B.C.

Availability: Seasonal

is satisfying beer is brewed with added lactose and co ee from Crowsnest Roasters.

Availability: Year-round

Deep amber colour, this refreshing ale blends seven specialty malts, with additions of Warrior, Willamette, Cascade and Centennial hops.

Availability: Year-round

Galaxy and Mosaic hops are responsible for the citrusy, tropical fruit avours in this easy-drinking IPA.

And the oscar goes to...

e historic town of Fernie is surrounded by the picturesque mountains of the Elk River valley (which get close to 30 feet of snow annually) and was the main lming location for the timeless, cinematic masterpiece, Hot Tub Time Machine.

OVER T IME B EER W ORKS

136A Wallinger Ave. | OverTimeBeer.ca

DAILY 10AM-7PM

EST. 2016

e folks behind the Kootenays’ newest brewery have been takin’ care of business, workin’ over time to brew a line of dependable brews.

MOUNTAIN STANDARD

G OLDEN A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%25

A bright golden, medium malty body with the crisp, dry nish of a lager.

A RROWHEA D BREWING CO .

PRESENT IPA

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.8%80

A whack of piney and citrus notes in this hop-bursting IPA, brewed the West Coast way.

481 Arrow Rd. | ArrowheadBrewingCompany.ca

SUN-WED 11AM-7PM ^ THU-SAT 11AM-8PM

EST. 2012

Yes, Invermere is nine hours from Vancouver, but Arrowhead is one of B.C. beer’s hidden gems in a beautiful region. Plan a trip in 2017.

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL CO FF EE PORTER

Availability: Limited

AB V IB U 7.9%N/A

Roasted malt avours enhanced by espresso from Kicking Horse Co ee right across the street.

LOUDMOUTH SOUP

DOU BLE IPA

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 9.0%98

is huge beer’s recipe has been tweaked to showcase a fresher, brighter hop pro le.

WHI TET OO TH BREWING

623 8th Ave. North | WhitetoothBrewing.com

HOURS TBD

EST. 2016

Golden is latest small town to get their own craft brewery. Whitetooth will be pouring Belgian-inspired and West Coast-in uenced brews.

LAUNCH PAD

B ELGIAN R YE A LE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.3%26

A copper-red ale that combines three rye malts, noble hops and eclectic Belgian yeast.

SPEED METAL FOREIGN E XTRA STO UT

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 6.5%50

Earthy and herbal hops balance the heavy, dark chocolate malts in this heavy-duty stout.

MT. B EGBIE BREWING CO .

521 1st St. West | Mt-Begbie.com

DAILY 9AM-5PM

EST. 1996

Revelstoke is abuzz over Mt. Begbie’s bigger digs downtown, replete with tasting room. Recent award wins prove the beer’s as good as ever.

REVELSTOKE LAGER

L AGER

Availability: Limited release

AB V IB U 4.5%15

is “old-style” lager is the rst of four Heritage Series beers celebrating Revelstoke’s brewing history.

STOKED WINTER ALE

W INTER A LE

Availability: Seasonal

AB V IB U 6.0%22

A robust, malty, dark ale subtly avoured with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa.

RE V EL S TOKE

THREE RANGES BREWING CO.

1160 5th Ave. | reeRanges.com

WED-SAT 3-8PM ^ SUN 1-6PM

EST. 2013

Plan: open in a tiny, remote ski town and expect slow and steady growth. Reality: work at maximum capacity to keep up with all the demand!

SNOWDANCE PORTER BALTIC PORTER

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Limited

ABV IBU 7.0%28

Smooth and chocolatey, this beer will warm you up after your very own snow dance.

BARKERVILLE BREWING CO.

185 Davie St. | BarkervilleBeer.com

ABV IBU 4.9%50

Only available in the brewery’s tap room, this one is all about the Mosaic hops.

MON-WED 12-6PM ^ THU 12-8PM ^ FRI 12-9PM SAT 11AM-6PM

EST. 2014

Fresh o winning two golds at the B.C. Beer Awards, Barkerville is arguably northern B.C.’s best craft brewery.

STERNWHEELER SCOTTISH ALE

52 FOOT STOUT FOREIGN EXTRA STOUT

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 7.7%19

A traditional Scottish “wee heavy” with rich caramel avours and a slightly sweet nish.

ABV IBU 7.0%52

Big and bold with roasted malts kept in check by sweet birch syrup from Quesnel.

MOSAIC PALE ALE PALE ALE

6 X Brews from the

THE GROWLER GUIDE TO TORONTO

by Stephen Smysnuik

Toronto’s claim as Canada’s beer capital has its merits: ere are more breweries within T-Dot city limits than anywhere else in the country; these breweries and the seemingly endless beer bars are embraced fully by the locals (and, increasingly, by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario); and for the most part, the beer coming out of this city is approaching the quality you’d expect out of Chicago or Seattle.

Yet, for everyone on the West Coast, Toronto might as well be on the moon, given how little most Vancouverites seem to know (or care) about the city’s beer culture. But Toronto is enormous, vibrant and experiencing some kind of Golden Age on all cultural fronts.

A tour of Toronto breweries is really a tour of its many unique neighbourhoods. With few exceptions, these neighbourhoods don’t have the same concentration of breweries that Yeast Van,

East Portland or Seattle’s Ballard do. It’s next to impossible to visit more than six breweries in a day, and that’s only if you have a chau eur driving you all over the city.

As such, this guide isn’t intended to cover everything the city has to o er. Instead, it’s a guide to the most creative, artisanal and neighbourhoodfocused breweries and brewpubs in Central Toronto that we visited over our three days in town.

at means we haven’t included Great Lakes Brewing — which is arguably the most popular craft brewery, and certainly one of the best — because it’s out in Etobicoke. Nor did we include Steam Whistle Brewing because it only makes one beer, even though it o ers one of the all-time great Canadian brewery tours and employs probably the nicest people in all of Toronto. You should de nitely visit both of these places if you can.

Henderson Brewing

HendersonBrewing.com

e Junction is the lone neighbourhood that’s home to multiple breweries, which is ironic, considering the area was dry until 2002. But once city council opened the area up to liquor licences, the mix of low rents and adequate zoning made it an attractive area for the city’s entrepreneurs to launch new breweries.

Henderson Brewing — the Junction’s newest brewery — takes its name from Toronto’s very rst brewery, which was founded by Robert Henderson in 1800. e tasting room’s walls are adorned with fake ads and memorabilia from a ctional history in which Robert Henderson’s original brewery never closed.

e intention here is to provide a community space, a place for Junction residents to pick up their beer the way they would pick up pork from the local butcher. Its beers — three cores and a monthly limited release — are all designed for approachability. No funky yeasts or 85 IBUs here. Instead, Henderson favours “craft regular beer,” according to owner Steve Himel. It’s not going

to blow any palates apart, but it will do wonders for anyone who’s skeptical about craft brewing’s weirder inclinations.

Added bonus: e air here reeks of chocolate from the Nestlé factory down the block.

Indie Alehouse

IndieAlehouse.com

is brewpub is centrally located o the Junction’s main intersection. And after only four years in business, it also has quite possibly the most impressive lineup of beers e Growler has seen outside of Portland, brewing everything from IPAs to Flemish sours. Never mind that the great bulk of these are astounding. Nor should you mind that the venue is all exposed brick, re nished wood and oozes the kind of next-level cool that you’d expect out of a city as trendy as Toronto. But you should de nitely mind the bacon popcorn. Bacon.

Popcorn.

Left Field Brewery

LeftFieldBrewery.com

Now we go to the complete opposite side of the city, to the up-’n’-coming Leslieville neighbourhood, where the husband-and-wife duo of Mark and Mandie Murphy started the baseball-themed Left Field. e brewery’s aesthetic is the most indebted to the Portland or Seattle style than any other we visited in Toronto — and, in fact, it's the rst to feature an open concept and a tasting room as most understand it. As of two years ago, there was nothing operating quite like this. It o ers a neighbourhood-pub vibe with a solid lineup of approachable brews, including Eephus, which is the rare brown ale to serve as a agship beer for a Canadian brewery.

Bandit Brewery

BanditBrewery.ca

Bandit has the most hype surrounding it of any of the breweries we visited, possibly because it had only opened earlier this year, and is located in the relatively hip Roncesvalles neighbourhood. Or maybe it’s because of the physical brewery itself. Tasting-room culture is just nding its footing in Toronto, and Bandit arguably does it best, with an interior design and sizable patio custom-built to lure millennials in to stay for four or ve hours at a time. is is an excellent place to drink beer.

Granted, the beers are hit and miss. Anyone with a (pretentiousness alert!) re ned palate may nd the o erings here not up their alley, but the feedback we heard from non-snooty beer consumers is that the beer is perfectly acceptable. Plus there’s 20 of them on tap.

And that’s ultimately what makes Bandit so appealing — it’s a great-looking and -feeling establishment where regular people can hang out for hours with friends and get a good buzz on.

Bellwoods Brewery

BellwoodsBrewery.com

is Ossington brewpub is notorious for its lengthy queues, good food, and small lineup of brews that are fruity, citrusy and just about perfectly suited for the unrelenting hipness of its customers. We hate to peg anything as a “hipster” establishment, but more than any other brewery we’ve visited, this one ts the bill.

We mean this in the best possible way — there’s a re ned attention to detail right down to the candle holders that makes this an immersive, high-quality experience that is absolutely worth the trek and worth the wait in line (unless you get

there early enough to avoid said line). It also has one of the all-time great Toronto patios.

RAinhard Brewing Co.

RainhardBrewing.com

Oh shit, we need to go aaaaaall the way back to the Junction. Rainhard, which opened in 2015, is known primarily for its American-style pale ales, but its monthly specialty releases allow founder Jordan Rainhard to experiment with whatever styles he wants. e facility has an open concept, inspired by West Coast breweries, with a tasting room looking out onto the workspace. e brewery will likely see increased tra c within the next year, when another Junction brewery — aptly named Junction Brewery — will move its operation to the enormous renovated heritage building right next door.

Getting around

e Beer Lovers Tour (BeerLoversTour.com) o ers a variety of tours of the city’s breweries, one of which is a historic brewery tour, exploring sites and scenes that have relevance to the brewing industry of the past.

Also, the city has Uber, which is really just the best thing going, really. Vancouver council, if you’re reading this, I mean, Uber is just the best. Really, the best. Hint, hint.

Where to stay

e Chelsea Hotel Toronto (ChelseaToronto.com) is centrally located at Yonge and Gerrard Streets, which, while not anywhere close to any of the breweries mentioned here, is smack in the middle of the city and close to all public transport. It’s also a ordable, comfortable and o ers close proximity to the blissful chaos that is Dundas Square on any given rush-hour day and/or weekend evening. j

CROSSROA DS BREWING

508 George St. | CrossroadsCraft.com

HOURS TBD

EST. 2016

Prince George is nally joining the craft beer revolution (sorry, PW doesn’t count) with the arrival of this downtown brewery.

CLEARCUT LAGER

MU NICH H ELLE S L AGER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%25

A German lager made properly with traditional German ingredients. Clean, crisp, and refreshing.

TERRACE

CUTBANKS PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.0%40

A classic West Coast pale ale combining English pale ale malts with Yakima Valley hops.

S HERWOO D M OUN TAIN BREWHOUSE

Unit 101 - 4816 Hwy. 16 West | SherwoodMountain.beer

MON-FRI 11AM-7:30PM ^ SAT-SUN 12-6PM

EST. 2014

Increased capacity will give B.C.’s northernmost brewery the chance to brew a wider range of styles and expand its sales range to Prince George.

FRIAR HOUSE LAGER

L AGER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 4.7%20

Hands down the customers’ favourite, this beer is crisp and dry and just plain refreshing.

COAST

MOUNTAIN PILSNER

C ZECH PIL S NER

Availability: Year-round

AB V IB U 5.2%32

A little more malt complexity, specialty hops and yeast result in this authentic Czech Pilsner.

THU,

is microbrewery is o the beaten track, “at the end of the road” in Prince Rupert. Wheelhouse is a charmingly rugged little brewery.

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Limited

Hot o winning a 2016 Canadian Beer Award, this well-rounded and smokey porter returns.

e spruce trees make a fresh addition to a traditional co ee and chocolate-tasting Irish stout.

Here it is again! e brewpub section!

e brewpub is a unique place in which to imbibe craft beer. e focus of the brewpub may not necessarily be on the beer itself, but instead, the menu, or the patio, or the hockey game on the giant projection screen.

e brewing operations in many of these pubs are modest, but that doesn’t stop them from making some seriously fantastic beer.

Since few brewpubs o er their wares outside their own establishment, if you want to try what they are brewing, you’re going to have to go to the source. Which is a great excuse for a road trip!

VANCOUVER

DOCKSIDE BREWERY

1253 Johnston St. | DocksideVancouver.com

One of Vancouver’s older brewpubs, Dockside’s patio rivals Canoe’s as one of the best waterfront spots to drink a beer in B.C.

VANCOUVER PAT’S PUB & BREWHOUSE

403 East Hastings St. | PatsPub.ca

Yes, Pat’s Pub, located in the historic Patricia Hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, brews it’s own beer onsite, and has been doing so for decades, so technically it’s a brewpub. Pat’s Lager isn’t going to win any awards, but this pub is a good place to catch a live show.

VANCOU V ER

STEAMWORKS BREW PUB

375 Water St. | Steamworks.com/Brew-Pub

is Vancouver classic seems ageless. e beer continues to be solid and the many di erent rooms provide great options for eating. Location-wise, it’s pretty tough to beat its waterfront spot in the heart of downtown.

VANCOU V ER

STEEL TOAD BREWERY

97 E 2nd Ave. | SteelToad.ca

An incredible heritage renovation to the historic Opsal Steel building created this massive restaurant that resembles a giant German beerhall. Watching brewer Chris Charron work his magic in the brewery behind the glass wall is fun. e food is good, too.

VANCOU V ER

YALETOWN BREWING CO.

1111 Mainland St. | MJG.ca/Yaletown

is big, dependable place might be the oldest brewpub in Vancouver (dating back to 1994), but it remains current and well-maintained. e restaurant is solid and the brewery still puts out the same quality of beer it did when Iain Hill (Strange Fellows) was in charge.

WHISTLER

BREWHOUSE HIGH MOUNTAIN BREWING

4355 Blackcomb Way | MJG.ca/BrewHouse

Brewmaster Derrick Franche makes great beer here, but you have to go in person to taste it because it is never packaged and he rarely brings it to events outside of Whistler.

S URREY

BIG

RIDGE

BREWING CO.

5580 152 St. | MJG.ca/Big-Ridge

Head Brewer Ashley Brooks, a graduate of the KPU Brewing program who is one of only a few female brewers in B.C., is doing a great job here. Recent validation came in the form of a gold medal at the B.C. Beer Awards.

MISSION

MISSION SPRINGS BREWING CO.

7160 Oliver St. | Mission Springs.ca

is big, popular restaurant is jammed with automobile-related memorabilia. e beer list has always been strong. It’s a fun spot for a weekend road trip.

DUNCAN CRAIG STREET BREW PUB

25 Craig St. | CraigStreet.ca

Before Red Arrow opened across the highway, brewer Chris Gress was the brewer here. e beer list is solid, and the pub itself is very comfortable with a decent menu.

4 MILE BREWING CO.

199 Island Hwy. | 4MileBrewingCo.com

is popular pub is located in one of the oldest buildings in Greater Victoria dating back to 1858, which once served as a roadhouse for stagecoaches in the 19th century. It’s a fun spot with a great kitchen and a beer list that has improved a lot in recent months.

VICTORIA CANOE BREWPUB

450 Swift St. | CanoeBrewpub.com

is historic one-time power station on Victoria’s waterfront is one of the most impressive buildings housing a brewery in B.C. Also, the harbourside patio is the best one in Victoria, if not all B.C. e beer’s good, too.

VICTORIA SPINNAKERS GASTROPUB

308 Catherine St. | Spinnakers.com

Canada’s original brewpub dating back to 1984, Spinnakers should be on every B.C. beer lover’s bucket list. e beer is consistently solid and sometimes innovative (tequila barrel-aged sours anyone?) and the kitchen is highly underrated. Guest houses are also available next door.

VICTORIA SWANS BREWPUB

506 Pandora Ave. | SwansHotel.com

Dating back to 1989, Swans is one of B.C.’s original brewpubs. New brewer Chris Lukie (exLighthouse) is working hard, along with the rest of the management team, to improve to refresh its image and o erings.

KA M LOOPS

THE NOBLE PIG

650 Victoria St. | eNoblePig.ca

Kamloops’ only brewpub boasts a great kitchen and a solid beer list, originally created by David Beardsell, who opened Red Collar Brewing a few blocks away. e patio is a beautiful spot, especially in the summer when hops grow across the trellis above the tables.

VICTORIA

MARTEN BREWING CO.

2933 30th Ave. | MartenBrewpub.com

Stefan and Pearl Marten have worked hard to transform this one-time nightclub at the corner of 30th and 30th in downtown Vernon into one of the most attractive brewpubs in B.C. ey also operate the Naked Pig BBQ and Smokehouse next door.

BARLEY STATION BREW PUB

20 Shuswap St. North | BarleyStation.com

is place is more than just the perfectly situated pit stop on a road trip from the coast to Alberta. e beer is actually quite good and the kitchen makes great grub, too.

BARLEY MILL PUB

2460 Skaha Lake Rd. | BarleyMillPub.com

e Barley Mill is a straightforward sports bar pub with its own resident brewing system. e beer produced on-site is approachable, if somewhat unchallenging, but it gets the job done.

FREDDY'S BREW PUB

124 McCurdy Rd. | McCurdyBowl.com

Kelowna’s rst brewpub is located in a bowling alley, so it’s tting they should o er a Lebowski Lager.

THE HEID OUT

821 Baker St.

is was once a popular restaurant called Heidi’s. Following a renovation and a generational takeover by Heidi’s daughter and son-in-law, it has been transformed into Cranbrook’s only brewpub.

THE SAVOY BREWERY

198 Baker St. | SavoyHotel.ca

Although the brewing system in the Falls Music Lounge in the Savoy Hotel was installed a while ago, it only started producing beer in the past couple months, with a modest list of o erings.

KELO W NA

C RANBROO K

N ELSON

Photos by Jamie-Lee Fuoco

Beer mac and cheese with

Hoyne Dark Matter

BY DARCY WIE BE

is stove-top beer mac and cheese requires no baking. Make your cheese sauce, toss with cooked pasta and garnish with crispy breadcrumbs.

Serves: 4

Cooking time: 30 minutes

INgredients

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups Hoyne Dark Matter

3 tbsp butter

4 tbsp our

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb macaroni or fusilli

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 tbsp olive oil

Step 1

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter on low heat. Add the our and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Step 2

Add the milk and beer, and stir until the mixture starts to thicken. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and mustard. Stir to combine and remove from heat.

Step 3

Immediately after removing from heat, stir in your grated cheeses, one at a time, until melted and smooth. Pour over cooked drained pasta and stir until combined.

Step 4

Over medium heat, sauté the breadcrumbs in olive oil. Keep stirring until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 5

Dish up your creamy mac and cheese, and top with the crispy breadcrumbs. Serve with an icecold glass of Hoyne Dark Matter.

by Rob Mangelsdorf

It might be hard to believe now, but there was a time – not too long ago, in fact – when beer was actually marketed as a health drink.

Guinness is Good For You,” was the popular catch phrase for the world’s most famous dry stout, and doctors once routinely recommended nursing mothers have a pint a day to help with breast milk production.

Anheuser-Busch (the people behind Budweiser, and other watery garbage) even sold a low-alcohol “health beer” called Malt-Nutrine, marketing it directly at nursing mothers. As one magazine ad stated: “ e Healthy, Happy Mother owes to Malt-Nutrine, liquid food and tonic, her excellent state of well-being. It gives her endurance and quick restoration and an ample supply of nourishment for the little one at her breast.”

Of course, people also used to drive without seatbelts, smoke in hospitals, and take morphine for colds. Today, we know better (thanks, science!). e only thing alcohol cures with any consistency, is sobriety.

My wife is currently extremely pregnant, so being the supportive husband that I am, I’ve been researching (AKA Googling) di erent ways to help ease her transition into motherhood. Naturally, my “research” led to beer, and lo and behold, there might actually be a kernel of truth to the longheld belief that beer can help with breastfeeding. Beer, especially stouts like Guinness, contains these things called galactagogues. And what are they, you ask?

“Galactagogues are substances that help promote breast milk supply,” says Vancouver-based International Board Certi ed Lactation Consultant Roxanna Farnsworth (who obviously knows way more about this stu than I do).

As it turns out, oats, hops and brewer’s yeast are all galactagogues, and can help promote the release of prolactin, a hormone that allows for the production of breast milk.

While Farnsworth is quick to point out that research on non-pharmaceutical galactagogues is sadly sparse, she added that, “many mothers nd that consuming natural galactagogues – whether it’s oats or fenugreek (when paired with blessed thistle) – helps their milk supply.”

But then there’s the issue of alcohol. Just to be clear, neither myself, nor Farnsworth, are advocating for nursing mothers to consume alcohol. e research is clear and unequivocal: getting drunk while breastfeeding is a really bad idea. About two per cent of the alcohol a mother consumes will make it through to the breast milk, so if you’re getting wasted, baby will be too.

According to a study by the American National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “infants actually ingest less milk at the breast during the hours immediately following maternal alcohol consumption. Furthermore, exposure to alcohol in mothers' milk disrupted the infants' sleep wake pattern and motor development in ways that are contrary to the folklore.”

So, while there may be bene cial properties to the galactagogues present in some beer, they seem to be o set by the presence of alcohol. And, unfortunately, O’Doul’s doesn’t make a stout.

ere’s been little (actually, none, as far as Farnsworth can tell) research into the e ectiveness of low-alcohol, galactagogue-rich beers on breast milk production, but Farnsworth notes that it’s perfectly ne for breastfeeding moms to have a beer (Lord knows they earned it).

“It’s important for breastfeeding moms to be relaxed, and for some people a glass of beer can help with that,” she says. “If mom is super stressed, that doesn’t help anyone.”

I’ll drink to that! j

the

BEER GROUND To

A NGRY H EN B REWING CO.

Kaslo (Late spring) Longtime B.C. brewer

Shirley Warne (ex-Steamworks and Big Ridge Brewpub) will be the brewer here.

A NOTHER B EER CO.

New Westminster (Fall 2017) New West’s second brewery will be a small operation located in the historic brewing district in Sapperton.

B ACKCO U NTRY B REWING CO.

Squamish (March) With John Folinsbee (ex-Steamworks) con rmed as brewer and a good-sized brewing system in place, Backcountry should be producing lots of tasty beer by the spring.

DIS TRICT 43

Tri-Cities (2017) e rumour is that a husband and wife team are working to bring a brewery to the Tri-Cities. Not much to go on, but there you go.

FACTORY B REWING

Vancouver (Spring) is contract brewer will brew some American brands that normally aren’t distributed here along with some core brands for locals that don’t have enough capacity themselves.

L

ANGLEY B REWING

Langley (Spring?) From the same folks who opened Old Abbey Ales, this brewery joins Trading Post in Langley.

MAYNE ISLAND B REWING CO.

Mayne Island (Not sure?) Apparently this Gulf Islands startup has run into a roadblock because of water access issues.

MO U NT A RROWSMITH

Parksville (Early 2017) Dave Woodward (ex-To no, ex-Axe & Barrel) returns home to brew the beer at this Island operation.

O NE DU CK

Squamish (Likely never) Sadly, the good people at One Duck announced on Facebook recently that they might not open at all, after getting righteously screwed by the person that sold them their brewing equipment (allegedly).

PROTOTY P E B REWING

Coquitlam (2017) Coquitlam's rst brewery is apparently on track to open in 2017, but apart from that we know very little about it.

SILV ER VALLEY B REWING

Maple Ridge (Early 2017) is downtown Maple Ridge brewery was started by three local homebrewers.

SOOKE B REWING

Sooke (Spring?) is is a purpose-built facility next to an auto shop in downtown Sooke.

STARKHÜND B REWING

Kelowna (Not sure?) is big, German-themed brewery seems to be on hold.

T RENCH B REWING & DIS TILLING

Prince George (Late spring) Beer, vodka and gin will be the focus of this second brewery to open in Prince George.

T WIN C ITY B REWING

Port Alberni (February) is mid-Island brewery has been in the works for a long time, but soon there will be a craft beer pitstop halfway to To no!

e Growler team has been hard at work, tracking down the latest intel on the many new B.C. breweries in the works. If you thought the craft beer revolution was slowing down, boy were you wrong! Here's our list of new and rumoured breweries we hope to see opening up across the province in the next year.