The Growler B.C. • Volume 4 Issue 4 • Winter 2018

AN EXCLUSIVE CANADIAN HOP

BC Hop Company’s Lumberjack™

We’re proud to introduce trademarked hop, It has a predominately bitter aroma with notes of melon, sweet citrus and spices like clove and allspice. A slight earthiness softens this hop, producing a pleasant mouth-feel in the beer.

We grow and supply Canada’s highest quality hop.

AROMA: floral, herbal, citrus FLAVOUR: floral, herbal, spicy

is perfect for saison, lager, witbier and pilsner.

REPLACEMENT FOR: Hallertau Blanc, or other noble hops.

We deliver volume and customer service.

Saaz, Perle,

Buy our Canadian grown and processed hops direct from sales@bchop.co

.

You can also purchase through our distribution hopscentral.ca

partners at .

BRITISH COLUMBIA

pUBLiSHeR

Gail Nugent gnugent@thegrowler.ca

e DiTOR

Rob Mangelsdorf editor@thegrowler.ca

778-840-5005

cONTRiBUTiNG WRiTeRS

Ted Child

Kristina Mameli

Rob Mangelsdorf

Joe Wiebe

pRODUcTiON & DeSiGN MANAGeR

Tara Rafiq tara@thegrowler.ca

cONTRiBUTiNG DeSiGNeR

Juliana Sauvé

pHOTOGRApHY

Rob Mangelsdorf

Dan Toulgoet

Lara Zukowsky

cOVeR iLLUSTRATiON

Cai Sepulis

SOciAL MeDiA

Danielle Boileau

DiSTRiBUTiON

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Debbie Tang (Direct) orders@thegrowler.ca

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Copyright © The Growler 2018

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pUBLiSHeD BY

THe GROWLeR cRAFT BeeR AWARDS

TRAVeL: ReVeL-STOKeD

GiFT GUiDe: ALe Be HOMe FOR cHRiSTMAS

THe FAULT iN OUR BeeRS

BReWeR VS BReWeR: THe BeLGiAN eDiTiON

BeeR cRiMeS

ceLLAR DWeLLeRS

cRAFT BeeR eVeNTS cALeNDAR

LAGeR LiT: MUST-ReAD BeeR BOOKS

STOUTS AND pORTeRS

Recipe: BeeR AND cHeDDAR SOUp

B.c. BReWeRY LiSTiNGS

BeeR TO THe GROUND

Breweries by Region

34 65 49 69 74 84 90 97 103

VANCOUVER

LOWER MAINLAND

FRASER VALLEY

SEA TO SKY / SUNSHINE COAST

VICTORIA / GULF ISLANDS

VANCOUVER ISLAND

THOMPSON OKANAGAN

KOOTENAYS

NORTHERN B.C.

Editor’s Note

is past year has been an exciting one in Growler Land. We’ve launched our very own collaboration beer series, redesigned our website and our magazine to bring you more great content, and celebrated the opening of another 20 breweries across the province. Well, hold on to your butts, because we have even more big news!

is issue, we’re also excited to announce the rst-ever Growler Craft Beer Awards, AKA the Growlies! Unlike other craft beer awards and contests, the Growlies are decided by you, the beer-drinking public. We tallied up tens of thousands of votes and you can see the results, along with pro les of some of the winning beers and breweries, starting on page 6. We hope you’ll join us and celebrate everything that makes the B.C. craft beer scene such a beautiful, delicious thing.

Speaking of delicious things, ‘tis the season for dark, malty beers, so Joe Wiebe looks at the history of porters and stouts, and what, if any, the di erence is between the two (pg. 30). If you’re thinking about cellaring some of the boozy year-end releases that are out right now, we have a handy guide so you won’t get soaked by gushing bottles of poorly stored beer (pg. 24). We’ve also got lots of seasonally appropriate, non-denominational fun, from gift guides (pg. 16) and winter reading lists (pg. 28), to a recipe for yummy beer soup (pg. 32) that will warm your soul, and your liver!

So enjoy the holidays, and whatever you’re drinking, please drink responsibly.

—Rob Mangelsdorf, editor

GROWLER-APPROVED BADGE

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

Brewery Details

GROWLER FILLS

BOTTLES / CANS KEGS

TASTING ROOM

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

Stout

Pale ale

Most ales, actually

WEIZEN

Hefeweizen

Weizenbock

Fruit beer

TULIP

Saison

IPA

Strong ales

GOBLET

Berliner weisse

Quad Tripel

SNIFTER

Barleywine Sours

Anything weird

e

Growlies have landed!

HERE ARE THE WINNERS OF THE 2018 GROWLER CRAFT BEER AWARDS

Welcome to the inaugural Growler Craft Beer Awards, AKA, the Growlies!

is year, e Growler is launching its rst ever craft beer contest, celebrating all of the awesomeness that is B.C. craft beer. Unlike traditional beer awards, the Growlies have been decided by YOU, the beer-drinking public.

B.C.’s 165+ craft breweries produced an estimated 5,000+ different beers this year. So with the help of our panel of craft beer experts, we narrowed the eld down to between ve and 10 nominees in each category. en the public had their say, with more than 40,000 votes being cast online during B.C. Craft Beer Month in October.

So now, without further ado, we present the very best of B.C. craft beer, according to those who love it most.

Cheers, Rob Mangelsdorf, editor >>

FOUR WINDS BREWING CO. FOUR WINDS BREWING CO.

GOLD – Beer of the Year // Juxtapose Wild IPA

GOLD – Best Sour Ale // Quadrennial IV

GOLD – Best Belgian-Style Ale // Triplicity

GOLD – Best Light/Golden Lager // Elementary Lager

GOLD – Best Fruit Beer // Raspberry Jam

GOLD – Best Barrel-Aged Beer // Pequeño Cabo

GOLD – Best Social Media

SILVER – Brewery of the Year

SILVER – Most Innovative/Creative Beer // Vinland Saison

SILVER – Best branding/packaging

BRONZE – North American-Style Ale // Velo

Where do you even begin with this medal haul?

Four Winds Brewing Co. absolutely dominated the inaugural 2018 Growler Craft Beer Awards, picking up 11 medals, including a whopping seven golds. It’s hardly surprising, however.

Since opening in 2013, the Delta brewery has built a reputation for exceptional, trendsetting beers and über hip branding, earning it Brewery of the Year honours at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards, and then Beer of the Year honours in 2016 for its Nectarous Dry-Hopped Sour. Today, there’s hardly a liquor store, bottle shop, restaurant, bar or pub in this province that’s

worth your time and money that doesn’t carry Four Winds’ beers.

Founded by brothers Adam and Brent Mills and their father Greg, the brewery is still very much a family a air, with cousins and uncles all part of the team. e family will soon be growing, too, with a new brewery and restaurant planned for Tsawwassen’s Southlands development.

Whether it’s session-strength light lagers, barrel-aged sours, or mixed fermentation IPAs, as this year’s Growlies proves, Four Winds seems to be able to do no wrong.

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Contributed photo

VANCOUVER ISLAND BREWING VANCOUVER ISLAND BREWING

BEER OF THE YEAR

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Juxtapose Wild IPA

| 2 | Driftwood Brewing // Fat Tug IPA

| 3 | Backcountry Brewing // Widowmaker IPA

BREWERY OF THE YEAR

| 1 | Field House Brewing Co.

| 2 | Four Winds Brewing Co.

| 3 | Yellow Dog Brewing Co.

BEST SOUR ALE

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Quadrennial IV

| 2 | Fuggles and Warlock Craftworks // Shiori Peach Sour

| 3 | Field House Brewing Co. // Viognier Farmhouse

BEST UK-STYLE ALE

| 1 | Driftwood Brewing // Naughty Hildegard ESB

| 2 | Persephone Brewing Co. // Goddess

Golden Ale

GOLD – Strong Beer // Hermannator

Few beers are as ubiquitous in this province as the mighty Hermannator, Vancouver Island Brewing’s 9.5% ABV gentle giant. e beer was rst launched 31 years ago as a holiday treat for original VIB brewmaster Hermann Hoerterer’s friends and family, becoming the province’s rst and longest-running seasonal beer release.

e German-style eisbock, or ice bock, is a strong dark lager that takes more than three months to make. Bursting with avours like rum-soaked Christmas cake, molasses, dried fruits, hazelnuts, port, tobacco, co ee and cocoa, Hermannator is surprisingly smooth for its robust strength.

“It’s a unique style,” says current brewmaster Ralf Pittro . “ e beer is frozen to condense the avours.”

Over the years the recipe was been tweaked here and there. e standard two-row pale malt was switched to Canadian Superior Pilsner malt, and a new yeast strain was adapted to ferment the beer. But as this year’s gold medal for Strong Beer in the Growler Craft Beer Awards proves, Hermannator is only getting better with age.

| 3 | Riot Brewing Co. // Working Class Hero

Dark Mild

BEST NORTH AMERICAN-STYLE ALE

| 1 | Twin Sails Brewing Co. // Dat Juice

| 2 | Brassneck Brewery // Passive Aggressive

| 3 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Velo

BEST INDIA PALE ALE

| 1 | Driftwood Brewing // Fat Tug IPA

| 2 | Yellow Dog Brewing // Play Dead IPA

| 3 | Backcountry Brewing // Widowmaker IPA

BEST DARK ALE

| 1 | Hoyne Brewing // Dark Matter

| 2 | Crannóg Ales // Back Hand of God

| 3 | Field House Brewing Co. // Salted Black Porter

BEST STRONG BEER

| 1 | Vancouver Island Brewing // Hermannator

| 2 | Driftwood Brewing // Singularity

| 3 | Steel & Oak Brewing Co. // Chazwazza DIPA

BEST BELGIAN-STYLE ALE

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Triplicity

| 2 | Dageraad Brewing // Antwerpen

| 3 | 33 Acres Brewing Co. // 33 Acres of Euphoria

Lara Zukowsky photo

BEST LIGHT/GOLDEN LAGER

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Elementary

Lager

| 2 | Steel & Oak Brewing Co. // Simple ings

| 3 | Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks // Pixel Pils

BEST DARK LAGER

| 1 | Moon Under Water Brewery // Creepy

Uncle Dunkel

| 2 | To no Brewing // Dark Lager

| 3 | Steel & Oak Brewing Co. // Dark Lager

BEST FRUIT BEER

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Raspberry Jam

| 2 | Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks // Kiwami

Plum Sour

| 3 | Bomber Brewing // Park Life

BEST WHEAT BEER

| 1 | Parallel 49 Brewing // Jerkface 9000

| 2 | Dageraad Brewing // White

| 3 | e Parkside Brewery // Dimwit

BEST BARREL-AGED BEER

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Pequeno Cabo

| 2 | Strange Fellows Brewing // Reynard

| 3 | Spinnakers Brewpub // Malus

BEST COLLAB

| 1 | Yellow Dog Brewing & Powell Brewery // Stop, Collaborate and Listen

| 2 | Field House Brewing Co. & Ravens Brewing Company // Pink Guava Gose

| 3 | Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks & Moody Ales // Pears in White Satin >>

DAGERAAD BREWING DAGERAAD BREWING

SILVER – Best Belgian-Style Beer // Antwerpen

SILVER – Best Wheat Beer // White

A lot of breweries in B.C. make Belgian-inspired beers, but there’s something di erent about Burnaby's Dageraad Brewing that makes their beers unique.

So when it was named Brewery of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards a few months ago, absolutely no one in the craft beer community was surprised. Ben Coli, Dageraad’s owner, brewmaster and resident Belgophile, says part of what sets the brewery apart is their patience and attention to authenticity.

“We derive so much of our character from fermentation, rather than malt and hops,” he says. “We ferment all of our beer with special strains of yeast originating in breweries in Belgium.”

e fermentation continues in the bottle itself, as all of Dageraad’s beers are bottle conditioned—meaning the beers are naturally carbonated.

“Bottle conditioning adds a lot of time and expense to the process, but the second fermentation adds character to the beer,” Coli says.

“Because yeast is excellent at soaking up oxygen, it preserves the beer's freshness and improves shelf-life.”

e end result? Exceptional beer, and a mantle full of awards.

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Contributed photo

CANNERY BREWING CANNERY BREWING

SILVER – Unsung Hero

Tucked between the lakes and mountains in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, Penticton has long been a destination for happy hedonists. Earlier this year, Expedia.ca named it the second best beer

town in Canada, and a lot of the credit for that goes to Cannery Brewing. For almost 20 years, the brewery has been quenching thirsts and delighting local palates, helping to form the cornerstone of the Okanagan craft beer scene. Despite being one of the veterans of the B.C. craft beer industry, Cannery has always managed to stay ahead of the curve. It was one of the rst breweries in the province to package a New England IPA—its Hop Chowdah IPA— and its recent seasonal tall can series has been getting attention thanks to eye-popping label illustrations by artist Skyler Punnett.

In 2015, Cannery moved downtown to a spacious new 12,000-sq.-ft. facility, complete with a tap room, growler ll station and kitchen. e modern brewery has quickly become a social hub, welcoming the masses with live music, old school board games and a dog-friendly patio. e extra space has meant more freedom for the brewing team, too. Regularly on Fridays, they release a new beer as part of their ExBEERimental test batch series.

Cannery might not get the attention and hype some of its Big City counterparts do, but they continue to do everything right.

Sponsored content

MOST INNOVATIVE/CREATIVE BEER

| 1 | Field House Brewing Co. // Viognier Farmhouse

| 2 | Four Winds Brewing Co. // Vinland Saison

| 3 | Category 12 Brewing // Raw Ale

BEST NEW BREWERY

| 1 | Electric Bicycle Brewing Co.

| 2 | BREWHALL

| 3 | Vice and Virtue Brewing Co.

UNSUNG HERO

| 1 | Townsite Brewing (Powell River)

| 2 | Cannery Brewing (Penticton)

| 3 | Gladstone Brewing Co. (Courtenay)

BEST BREWERY TASTING ROOM

| 1 | Field House Brewing Co.

| 2 | Phillips Brewing and Malting Co.

| 3 | Parallel 49 Brewing

MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE TASTING ROOM STAFF

| 1 | Brassneck Brewery

| 2 | Phillips Brewing and Malting Co.

| 3 | Strange Fellows Brewing

BEST BRANDING/PACKAGING

| 1 | Driftwood Brewing

| 2 | Four Winds Brewing Co.

| 3 | Phillips Brewing and Malting Co.

BEST SOCIAL MEDIA

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing Co.

| 2 | Phillips Brewing and Malting Co.

| 3 | Backcountry Brewing

Contributed photo

BEST LOCAL HOMEBREWING STORE

| 1 | CBDB'S (Vancouver, AKA Dan's Homebrew)

| 2 | Beyond the Grape (Port Moody)

| 3 | Barley's Homebrewing (New Westminster)

BEST CRAFT BEER SELECTION (LIQUOR STORE)

| 1 | Legacy Liquor Store (Vancouver)

| 2 | Brewery Creek Liquor Store (Vancouver)

| 3 | B.C. Liquor Store 39th and Cambie (Vancouver)

PHILLIPS BREWING & MALTING CO. PHILLIPS BREWING & MALTING CO.

SILVER – Best Brewery Tasting Room

SILVER – Most Knowledgeable Tasting Room Sta

SILVER – Best Social Media

BRONZE – Best Branding/Packaging

Victoria’s Phillips Brewing and Malting Co. has long been a trendsetter in the B.C. craft beer scene, but for the longest time it was missing one thing: somewhere of its own that it could actually serve its own beer.

at changed at exactly 4:11 p.m. on April 27, 2018, when Phillips o cially opened its new tasting room at the corner of Government and Discovery in downtown Victoria. e 100-seat tasting room features 16 taps of craft beer, cocktails made with Phillips’ spirits and the entire line of Phillips’ craft sodas available for the kids.

Inside, the walls are festooned with an eclectic array of quirky handpainted art. e far wall features four gigantic windows into the packaging hall, where dancing beer bottles make their way along the production line— you might even glimpse a Lavern & Shirley moment or two.

“We’re happy to embrace our Willy Wonka-esque qualities here,” says Dan Reid, Phillips’ marketing coordinator.

BEST CRAFT BEER SELECTION (RESTAURANT/BAR)

| 1 | e Alibi Room (Vancouver)

| 2 | CRAFT Beer Market (Vancouver)

| 3 | e Drake Eatery (Victoria)

BEST BEER EVENT/FESTIVAL

| 1 | Vancouver Craft Beer Week

| 2 | Great Canadian Beer Festival (Victoria)

| 3 | Whistler Village Beer Festival j

In addition to being a central gathering space for Victoria’s craft beer community, the tasting room has also allowed Phillips to tackle beer styles it would otherwise not be able to release.

“We’ve done everything from a schwarzbier to a lychee sour,” says Reid.

Despite having been open for less than a year, the tasting room managed to win two silver medals in the Growler Craft Beer Awards, one for Best Tasting Room and one for Most Knowledgeable Tasting Room Sta . ere’s even more to come next year, with further renovations planned for the retail space.

“We’ve got a few things up our sleeve,” says Reid.

Sponsored content

Lara Zukowsky photo

by Rob Mangelsdorf

For years, Revelstoke wasn’t much more than a place to ll your tank or pull over to rest for the night on the way to Calgary— so you could be forgiven if you've never strayed from the highway to explore the town itself. For much of its existence, Revelstoke has been a diesel-soaked blue-collar town, thanks to the CPR Rail Yard and the various mills and mines providing local employment.

But all that changed with the opening of the Revelstoke Mountain Resort 10 years ago. In that span, the community has transformed itself from a resource-focused backwater to a sophisticated mountain destination.

Today, Revelstoke is growing. Long-boarded up heritage buildings are being restored, there’s new restaurants, breweries and distilleries. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of savvy Vancouverites and Calgarians are coming to visit, many of them deciding to stay.

While most come for the snow, it’s only part of the Kootenay town’s newfound appeal.

The beer

Revelstoke has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to craft beer. When Bart and Tracy Larson decided to open Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. in Bart’s hometown back in 1996, craft beer was far from the sure bet it is today, especially somewhere so remote. But Mt. Begbie’s award-winning beers won the locals over and have inspired a loyal following—it was even named Brewery of the Year at the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards.

Two years ago, Mt. Begbie moved to its fancy new digs on the edge of town, overlooking the con uence of the Illecillewaet and Columbia rivers and facing its namesake mountain across the valley. With more space comes more variety, and in addition to Mt. Begbie’s line of core beers, there’s an ever-changing rotation of one-o s and experiments on o er at its sleek tasting room. e mildly tart and oral Narcissus Berliner Weisse (4.5% ABV, 9 IBU) is served in the traditional German manner with your choice of four fruit syrups, while the spicy and malty Our Daily

Bread (3.8% ABV, 20 IBU) is made with leftover bread from the Revelstoke Food Recovery Program, with proceeds going to the local food bank and school breakfast program.

e new brewery also has a full-service kitchen, so you can forget the typical tasting room o erings of greasy cheese sticks and desiccated pepperoni. Mt. Begbie has pizzas, tacos, charcuterie and rotating specials, like the delicious pork cutlet with panzanella salad I had during my most recent visit—much needed sustenance after a day on that beast of a mountain.

Heading downtown, I paid a visit to Revelstoke’s newest brewery, Rumpus Beer Co. It’s so new that it’s not even open yet, but owners Fred and Dana Orndor were kind enough to show me around the cosy storefront tasting room on First Street. e focus here will be wild yeasts, sours, mixed fermentation and farmhouse ales.

“I think a four per cent saison is the solution to most problems in life,” says Fred.

When it comes to educating the locals about craft beer, much of the credit goes to the Craft Bierhaus. Since it opened in 2015, its 24 taps of B.C. craft beer and cider have been exposing Revelstoke to the wonders of hazy IPAs, barrel-aged sours and Russian imperial stouts. Even on a weeknight in the middle of the o -season, the place is packed with locals getting cosy at the large communal wood tables.

The spirits

Unlike many ski resort towns, Revelstoke doesn’t have that master-planned Disney-esque feel to it. Walking around the historic town centre, past the many small, family-owned businesses, it’s apparent that this is still a hard working community, and many of the people who live here have local roots going back generations. As a result, great respect has been paid to the city’s architectural history.

Take Jones Distilling, for example. Located in a 104-year-old former elementary school facing the Columbia River, owner Gareth Jones has gone to extraordinary lengths to restore the building to its former glory. e open concept distillery lls up the west side of the building’s main oor, with high ceilings and impossibly tall windows a ording spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Meanwhile, the east side of the building is home to the newly opened (and appropriately named) Old School Eatery, which serves up “sophisticated comfort food” in case you’ve had one vodka too many.

Despite only having started production in January, Mr. Jones Premium Vodka (named for Jones’ >>

Mt. Begbie Brewing's new taproom (on left) is a great place for some aprés pints and bites. Craft Bierhaus features 24 taps of B.C. beer and cider and is a favourite of the locals for good reason. Rob Mangelsdorf photos

Rumpus Beer Co. owner/brewer Fred Orndor hopes to have his craft brewery in downtown Revelstoke open in the new year. Rob Mangelsdorf photo

rogue-ish father) has already picked up a bronze medal for its barley-based vodka at the International SIP Awards, beating out hundreds of other distilleries. Smooth and sweet with a pleasant cereal note, it stands out against most commercial vodkas by actually having some avour.

“It’s a proper David and Goliath story,” says Jones. And much of the credit for that goes to head distiller Megan Moore. While the vodka is the only product Mr. Jones currently o ers, Moore says a line of gin, including a series of single botanical releases, is in the works.

A few blocks away at Monashee Spirits Craft Distillery on Revelstoke’s main drag of MacKenzie Street, owner/distiller Josh McLa erty and bar manager Mike Hallman serve up cocktails made with Monashee’s ever-growing line of certi ed organic spirits and house-made bitters. Made from organically-grown trinticale—a hybrid of wheat and rye—Monashee’s base spirits have a unique bready spice note to them.

“Almost everything we use is sourced within 100 miles of here,” says McLa erty. A rooftop apiary supplies the bar with honey, while much of the botanicals used in their sublime Ethos Gin are foraged locally, including the huckleberries, spruce tips, juniper, wild owers and pine needles. Hot tip: try the barrel-aged Negroni. Made with Odd Society Bittersweet Vermouth, Woods Amaro and Monashee’s own Ethos Gin, then aged for nine months in a rye barrel and served with a slice of dried blood orange and sprinkled with dehydrated Campari—it might be the best cocktail I’ve had this year.

The food

Since it opened last year, the Quartermaster Eatery has lled an important niche in Revelstoke’s growing restaurant scene—that of hip casual ne dining. e room is tasteful and modern and wouldn’t look out of place in Downtown Vancouver—nor would the menu, featuring maple duck con t drumsticks or vegetarian house-made morel mushroom sausages. ere’s even a private bar in the basement where you can sip whisky in the building’s former boiler room.

The snow

Obviously any trip to Revelstoke should include a few days cutting fresh tracks at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, located just a few minutes from downtown. It’s still one of the underappreciated gems of the B.C. ski and snowboard scene, despite boasting the most vertical terrain of any resort in North and South America. Even on the weekends, the runs are largely uncluttered and lineups are minimal. anks to its massive size, the terrain varies wildly depending on what part of the mountain you’re on—as do the conditions—o ering something for all skill levels.

If you’re brave enough, nish your day with a leg-burner from the top of the Stoke Chair all the way down to the village, covering all 1,713 metres of vertical terrain over the 15km run. I had to stop twice as my legs had unfortunately turned to jelly, but by the time I reached the base I was in the perfect mood for some après action. And Revelstoke does not disappoint.

e snow is hardly the only reason to visit Revelstoke, however. With so much great food and drink, stunning scenery and charm, you might not nd time to hit the slopes at all. j

• Rob Mangelsdorf was a guest of Tourism Revelstoke.

Top: Bartender Mike Hallman prepares a cocktail at Monashee Spirits Craft Distillery. Bottom: Jones Distillery's Mr. Jones Vodka has only been on the market for less than a year but has already earned international accolades. Rob Mangelsdorf photos

Ale be home for

Questionable gifts for the beer lover in your life

by Michael Kissinger

Beer not only does a body good, it easily lls up Christmas wish lists for family, friends and co-workers too lazy to get to know the real you. From gun-inspired glassware and phallic-shaped cooling devices to the latest in beer koozie fashion, there’s something for just about everyone in the vast beer-o shoot universe. Keep that in mind when you’re stumped with what to get what’s-their-name.

1 BEER JELLY

Handmade in Vermont, probably by a guy who wears suspenders and has one of those unnecessary handlebar moustaches, Potlicker beer jellies are infused with craft brews such as oatmeal stout, black IPA, porter and apricot ale. On the downside, they all contain gluten—so Chloe and Colton will totally have to wait forever until Cider Jelly comes out. UncommonGoods.com

2 FOAM BLOWN BEER GLASS

You had me at “foam blown.” Handcrafted to always appear full of your favourite emotion regulator, these fun-loving grog glasses are perfect for those nights when you’re lying on the sofa

drinking alone and you catch a glimpse of your re ection in the computer screen and for a second mistake it for a bloated corpse. Oh, they’re also handmade in Mantua, Ohio. UncommonGoods.com

3 CORKCICLE CHILLSNER BEER CHILLER

Two puns for the price of one, the Corkcicle Chillsner Beer Chiller employs “proprietary cooling gel” within its stainless-steel phallus to keep your barley sandwich cold while you discuss IBUs, lactic fermentation and how the last Iron and Wine album put you to sleep. But in a good way. Or you could always drink your beer in a reasonable, non-childish length of time. MrBeer.com

4 BEER BOTTLE CAP HOLDER SHADOW BOX

Whether you’re playfully documenting your descent into alcoholism or your inability to let go of the past—sometimes it can be both—this charming accent piece will go with just about any furniture you’ve purchased from the Brick or Canadian Tire. Plus it looks better the more you drink and use it. Amazon.com

5 BEER AROMA BOOSTER

Using “ultrasonic vibrations and two teaspoons of water,” the Sonic Foamer is not only my next band’s name but it ensures that your beer always has a sudsy, fragrant head even when everyone in the brewery is staring at you and your overpriced contraption with disdain. Amazon.com

6 SKELETON BEER BONG

Beer bongs don’t get more metal than this. Seriously, you pour your beer into its skull cap and drink from the end of a spinal cord… the way nature intended. Hail Satan! BoozinGear.com

7 GIANT FIST GLOVE KOOZIE

In another era, the giant st glove koozie could have been humankind’s wheel, re or tear-away track pants. As it turns out, it’s just a foam glove that looks like a giant st and can perfectly cradle a 12 oz. can of beer while impressing friends, loved ones and the Foodora delivery guy named Doug or something. BoozinGear.com

8 .50 CALIBER BULLET BOTTLE OPENERS

Tell the world you’re a straight shooter—and

a little rearm obsessed—with a bottle opener fashioned out of a .50 caliber bullet. Made from upcycled military ammunition, these beer liberators can also be engraved and, I’m guessing, make going through airport security a real “adventure.”

GroomsmenCentral.com

9 SIX SHOOTER PINT GLASS

Is that wet-hopped ale not dangerous enough for you? Want to inject some bad-assery into your fruited rye saison? Don’t we all. en park your baby-soft tush in front of one of these puppies. Made to resemble a Colt revolver cylinder, each six shooter pint glass is “CNC machined from anodized aluminum.” What does that mean? I have no idea, but it sure sounds tough—a lot tougher than that apricot hefeweizen you’ve been suckling on like a breastfeeding infant.

GroomsmenCentral.com

10 UKEG 64 PRO PACK

Become the brewery dandy you’ve always aspired to be with these steampunk-looking growler kegs. Stainless steel, copper plated, matte black or black chrome—you decide the level of insu erableness you want to evoke. Each vessel also comes with a pressure gauge, dispenser tap, interchangeable tap handle, sight glass, CO2 cartridge, monocle, pocket-watch and book of useful phrases, such as “Tut, tut, that’s a jolly good dunkleweizen” and “You call that a hazy IPA? I had more IBUs in the last opium den I frequented while on shore leave from my ship, the Galilee.” I may have made a few of those up.

GrowlerWerks.com j

by Kristina Mameli

Ever had a beer that was just, well… o ? When good beer goes bad, it can feel like a tragedy. O - avours are a scourge that a ects every style, and without sensory training, it can be di cult to nd the words to adequately describe why you’re blubbering into your pint.

Being able to recognize and diagnose common o - avours is extremely important for brewers and craft connoisseurs (read: “beer nerds”) alike. Sensory training is training—or perhaps, retraining—your palate and other senses to critically evaluate beer, recognize certain avours, and pinpoint what may have caused these aws.

Unfortunately, the best way to learn is to experience these avours for yourself…but, dear reader, I wouldn’t subject you to that! So, alternatively, here’s an abbreviated cheat sheet with much less sciency technical jargon that’ll improve your homebrew and have you sounding like a Cicerone in no time.

ACETALDEHYDE

Tastes/Smells Like: Green or rotten apples, or, oddly enough, freshly cut pumpkin; not to be confused with “pumpkin spice” which, in my opinion, also has no place in beer.

Likely Culprit: Acetaldehyde is naturally produced by yeast during fermentation. Over time, the chemical is converted into ethanol alcohol. is process can take longer in higher alcohol beers or if not enough yeast has been used. So, if you taste green apples in your beer, it’s probably best to give the poor yeast a little more time to work.

ALCOHOLIC

Tastes/Smells Like: Overpowering alcohol, paint thinner (yum!), or acetone (think nail polish remover). is is de nitely one that’ll put hair on your chest!

Likely Culprit: Fusel alcohols; basically things with names that sound like they are what gasoline is comprised of. ese alcohols are caused by fermentation occurring at too high of a temperature.

ASTRINGENT

Tastes/Smells Like: Sucking on a teabag, essentially. If astringency is present, you get a dry kind of puckering mouthfeel and may taste tannins just as you would from the teabag. Go ahead, try. I’ll wait.

Likely Culprit: Astringency has a variety of causes including tannins found on the husks of grain or skins of fruit steeping for too long, as well as over-hopping.

CHLOROPHENOL

Smells/Tastes Like: Plastic or iodine (medicine).

Likely Culprit: Chlorinated water or sanitizer. It may seem crazy, but using tap water to brew or rinse equipment can negatively in uence the avour of beer. Filtered water is king.

DIACETYL

Tastes/Smells Like: Butter, rancid butter, or butterscotch complete with a slick mouthfeel. If this is what they meant by “Butterbeer” in Harry Potter, then childhood me is seriously disappointed.

Likely Culprit: Yeast (hot tip: it’s always the yeast). Diacetyl is naturally produced by all yeast during fermentation and is then reabsorbed. If not, it’s

likely the result of weak or mutated yeast or low fermentation temperature.

DIMETHYL SULFIDE (DMS)

Tastes/Smells Like: Cooked vegetables, especially corn, cabbage, tomato and sometimes even shellsh; none of which you want in your beer.

Likely Culprit: Under-boiling or infection. DMS is essentially a by-product of the malting process and is created whenever wort is heated. It typically evaporates when that wort is boiled.

ESTERY/FRUITY

Tastes/Smells Like: Fruit, especially banana, pear, strawberry, raspberry, and grapefruit.

Likely Culprit: is one is a bit tricky. Esters are naturally produced by yeast during fermentation. Sometimes those lovely naturally occurring fruit avours are even supposed to be there, such as in a hefeweizen—but in a lager? Not so much.

GRASSY

Tastes/Smells Like: Exactly as it sounds: like freshly cut grass, or musty straw.

Likely Culprit: Moldy ingredients are usually at fault here. Always be sure to check for freshness before brewing!

METALLIC

Tastes/Smells Like: Iron, pennies or blood—you’ll feel this one on your teeth.

Likely Culprit: is is caused by beer or ingredients coming into contact with unprocessed metals, or in packaging via bottle caps or kegs.

OXIDIZATION

Tastes/Smells Like: Stale, wet cardboard, sherry, pineapple, decaying vegetables.

Likely Culprit: Before sensory training I never once thought, “I wonder what wet cardboard tastes like?” Now it haunts my dreams. Oxidization occurs when too much oxygen has been introduced to the beer, especially while the wort is still warm or after fermentation is complete. It can also occur from too much headspace in bottles.

SKUNKY

Tastes/Smells Like: Skunk, burned rubber, or cat musk.

Likely Culprit: Light. Beer skunks when hops are exposed to UV light and react with the yeast. Science, science, science, this reaction creates mercaptan—literally the same chemical skunks secrete when they spray.

SULFUR / HYDROGEN SULFIDE

Tastes/Smells Like: Sulfur, rotten eggs, raw sewage, or a beautiful combination thereof.

Likely Culprit: is chemical is naturally produced by all yeast during fermentation. CO2 carries most of it away during conditioning or lagering.

SWEET

Tastes/Smells Like: Overly sweet or sugary; sweet wort; cloyingly sweet.

Likely Culprit: e yeast clocked out early. What did I say? It’s always the yeast.

BREWER e Belgian Edition

by Rob Mangelsdorf

The country of Belgium has long been home to one of the nest beer cultures on Earth.

From the Trappist monks and their abbey ales to champagne-like barrel-aged sours, the country has so much more to o er than chocolate, Tintin, tiny green vegetables that smell like farts and that Colin Farrell movie where he karate chops the racist dwarf. And Jean Claude Van Damme. Can't forget about the Muscles from Brussels.

But what makes Belgian beer so Belgian? Is it the yeast? e acidity? e propensity for strong beers with bold avours?

To nd out, we brought together two of B.C.’s preeminent producers of Belgian-style beer. Iain Hill is the co-founder of Strange Fellows Brewing and one of the rst brewers in the province to make a proper Belgian beer. Cédric Dauchot is the award-winning brewer/co-owner at Townsite Brewing in Powell River, and an honest-to-God Belgian. e two sat down at Faculty Brewing where they were on hand to brew e Growler’s latest B.C. Brewer Collaboration Series release: Poire Blanche, a Belgian witbier made with local pears (available Dec.1!).

THE GROWLER: Tell me about growing up in Belgium. How did you develop your love for the beer there?

CÉDRIC DAUCHOT: My neighbor was a beer distributor. So they would ll the truck with cases of beer and on the weekends I would go over with my neighbour’s kids and help put the cases on the truck. At the end of the day, they wouldn’t pay us, but we’d get a little glass of Hoegaarden or Belle-Vue.

GROWLER: How old were you?

DAUCHOT: I was, I think, 12.

GROWLER: Amazing.

DAUCHOT: I wasn’t drinking, it was mostly… tasting. So I learned how to drive a forklift and put cases on a pallet…

IAIN HILL: When you were 12?

DAUCHOT: Yes. And then I discovered the

Dan Toulgoet photos

science behind the beer. When I was 14 there was a classroom science project, and I asked teacher if I could make it about beer, and he said yes. So I brought beer to class for everyone.

GROWLER: What a country! What about you, Iain? When did you rst discover Belgian beer?

HILL: I was homebrewing in university, and I knew it was a thing, Belgian beer was this really important thing. But I had all these incorrect preconceived notions about it—and it’s the same stu you hear all the time: Belgian beer is strong! Belgian beer has fruit! Belgian beers are sour! But of course, as I discovered, Belgian beer is this tremendously broad category.

DAUCHOT: Could you nd Belgian beers here?

HILL: Yes, you could. You could get La Mort Subite, Belle-Vue. ere was a time in the ‘90s where you could get Giradin raw lambic, uncarbonated, here in Vancouver. I have no idea why it was here, but I remember I bought it and it was so weird to me, because it was at.

DAUCHOT: Even in Belgium that’s very odd.

HILL: Overall, I think my strongest reaction to Belgian beers—besides the fact that it’s this really cool romantic thing—is my background, my biochemistry degree. I’m really interested in cultures, bacteria, yeast, and how can I turn this up. And Belgian beer, as far as beer goes, is the coolest, most interesting beer. And that’s not even a stretch. German brewing culture has its own things going on, but how many styles are there? Compared to Belgian beer, not that many. It’s not even close.

DAUCHOT: I didn’t realize that when I was in Belgium, but now that I’m away, I see there is a tradition of making good beer, but mostly every brewery does its own thing.

GROWLER: In Belgium, they seem to take the best ideas from everywhere, and make them their

own. Look at pilsner malt, and how that led to blondes and tripels. But it didn’t displace the styles that came before it.

DAUCHOT: I think that’s true, up to the ‘60s and ‘70s, when lager became popular. But there is no one Belgian tradition of brewing: there is a tradition of drinking good beers and making good beers.

GROWLER: It’s really like this huge mix of styles, but there's a lot of specialization that exists with each brewery, it seems. You won’t see a Belgian brewery do a blonde, an oud bruin, a stout, and an IPA.

DAUCHOT: No, that’s something that’s very North American. Breweries in Belgium do one or two beers. In Canada, we have so much freedom. I can do a small batch that will sell in a month and never do it again. But I was back in September and there are new breweries opening and they are doing big IPAs, beers in cans. It’s a full circle now. North America is in uencing Belgian beer now. I like the fact that Belgium can be in uenced like that by di erent traditions, and make it our own.

GROWLER: If there’s any commonality amongst the disparate styles, I think it would be bold avours, but balanced bold avours. You don’t get the subtlety that you would see in a German pilsner, say. at’s not the Belgian palate.

DAUCHOT: Yeah, I think that’s true.

HILL: In North America, it’s all very punk rock, kick the door down, push the boundaries, crank up the volume. IPAs in the ‘90s, or even like 10 years ago, were honestly unbalanced. It was all about how bitter you could make it. Fortunately in the last ve years that’s all changed.

DAUCHOT: It’s the same with sours [in North America].

HILL: Jesus, yes! j

ere is no one Belgian tradition of brewing: there is a tradition of drinking good beers and making good beers.

—Cédric Dauchot

e weirdest and worst beers ever brewed

by Rob Mangelsdorf

In the race to be rst with a new avour or style in craft beer, sometimes mistakes are made. Sometimes brewers are so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they don't stop to think if they should. e result is beer that is ill conceived and, quite frankly, often not t for human consumption. And sometimes a brewery is so desperate for attention they’ll come up with the stupidest gimmick imaginable in the hopes that someone will talk about their brand (you’re welcome).

Here’s our list of unusual and largely undrinkable beer, most of which should have never existed. Because sometimes when you swing for the fences, you strike out. Hard.

VOODOO DOUGHNUT MAPLE BACON ALE BY ROGUE ALES

I must admit, I got sucked into this one. e bottle was a bright pink colour, Rogue is a great brewery and Voodoo Doughnuts is one of my favourite

places for a late night snack in Portland. I was intrigued, so I bought myself a bottle. Big mistake. e beer was smoky, meaty, sickly sweet and kind of oily. Every avour was competing with every other avour, except there were no winners here, just losers: namely, me and my poor mouth. Maybe some people like beer that tastes like stale cigarettes and op sweat, but I’m not one of them.

SPAGHETTI GOSE BY WELDWORKS BREWING

With the growing popularity of salted and sour beers, we’re seeing more savoury avours creep into the craft brewer’s palette. is is ridiculous, though. Made with tomatoes, pasta and dryhopped with basil and oregano, the brewery claims Spaghetti Gose was meant to “evoke vitriolic reactions from the Reinheitsgebot purists” and “incite rage the likes of which have never been seen.” By all accounts it tastes like carbonated V8 juice, so I guess all WeldWorks proved was that they make revolting beer and they need to resort to shitty gimmicks to get noticed.

ANDARES BY CERVECA CEREX

Jamón ibérico is the Spanish version of prosciutto, made from black Iberian free-range pigs that are fed a diet of acorns from the oak forests that border Spain and Portugal. But it belongs on a plate—preferably thinly sliced, on toast with tomato and a drizzle of olive oil—not in a beer. But why stop at jamón ibérico! Why not put foie gras in your beer? How about caviar and gold leaf? Why not take a suitcase full of money, set it on re, and dry-hop the beer with the ashes?

BEARD BEER BY ROGUE BREWING

I should have learned my lesson with the Voodoo Doughnut abomination, but the dude on the bottle of Beard Beer looked exactly like my buddy Sean, so I had to give it a try. Said dude-on-bottle is none other than Rogue brewer John Maier, who cultured the yeast used in this beer from his own beard. Gross. Well, not quite. e beer was actually not terrible! Kinda like a tropical saison with a very dry nish. Easily the best beer on this list, not that that’s anything to be proud of.

GHOST FACE KILLAH BY TWISTED PINE BREWING COMPANY

Billed as the “Hottest beer this side of hell,” Ghost Face Killah is made with six di erent kinds of chili pepper, including the notorious bhut jolokia, AKA, the ghost pepper. Chili beers are generally pretty awful, but this beer seems designed to be a bad time. “Utter agony for most, but absolute euphoria for a ery few.” Much like its Wu Tang Clan namesake, this beer ain’t nuthing ta fuck wit.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTER STOUT BY WYNKOOP BREWING

Oyster stout is a legit beer style that uses real oysters to impart a briny quality to the beer, while the shells act as a ning agent to clarify it. e Rocky Mountain oyster isn’t a mollusk, however. It’s bull testicles. While considered an aphrodisiac by some, they’re usually served up as a prank to naïve tourists in town for the convention. is beer apparently began as an April Fool’s joke, and should have stayed that way.

HVALUR 2 BY BRUGGHÚS STEÐJA

Oh, Iceland. I guess if your country is largely devoid of edible vegetation you have to get creative with the local ingredients you feature in your beer. Naturally, Brugghús Steðja decided to make their Hvalur beer with whale testicles smoked with sheep dung. You read that correctly: they put shitsmoked whale balls in their beer. Again with the testicles! Seriously, why do all these dudes insist on putting testicles in their beer?

MAMMA MIA! PIZZA BEER

ere is no better combination in Heaven and Earth than pizza and beer. But that doesn’t mean the two should actually be combined. Only Ninja Turtles with fake IDs should be drinking this garbage.

THE ORDER OF YONI BY BOTTLED INSTINCT

Much like Rogue’s Beard Beer, e Order of Yoni is fermented with micro-organisms harvested from the human body, in this case lactobacillus bacteria from a supermodel’s va-jay-jay (“Yoni” is Sanskrit for vagina, apparently). Just listen to this absolutely batshit sales pitch (apologies in advance for the broken English, and, well, everything else):

“Just imagine woman of your dreams, your object of desire. Her charm, her sensuality, her passion… Try how she tastes, feel her smell, hear her voice… Now imagine her giving you a passionate massage and gently whispering anything you'd like to hear. Now free your fantasies and imagine all of that can be closed in a bottle of beer. A golden drink brewed with her lure and grace and avored with wild instincts. Imagine a beer which every sip o ers a rendez-vous with this hot woman of your dreams… she hugs you and kisses you gently, looking straight into your eyes… How much would you give for such a beer?” [sic]

But wait, there’s more!

“ e secret of the beer lies in her vagina. Using hi-tech of microbiology, we isolate, examine and prepare lactic acid bacteria from vagina of a unique woman. e bacteria, lactobacillus, transfer woman’s features, allure, grace, glamour, and her instincts into beers and other products, turning them into dance with lovely goddess.” [sic]

Wow. Just… wow.j

Cellar dwellers

by Rob Mangelsdorf

While the vast majority of commercial beers we drink are designed to be consumed as fresh as possible, some can actually bene t from some added time—provided it’s under the right conditions. Like wine, some beers can be cellar-aged to improve their avour. But if you screw it up, you’re going to have gushing bottles and a wet, sticky mess to clean up. So don’t screw it up. Here’s how.

DO…

Read the label. If you see things like “Brewer’s Reserve,” “Vertical” or the vintage year is listed on the label, this is a good indication the beer is designed to be cellar aged. Other beers, like Granville Island’s totally legit Cellar Series, spell it out for you pretty plainly. If there’s a clearly-marked expiration date on the beer, drink it ASAP.

DON’T…

Cellar a beer without drinking one rst. I’ve developed the habit of buying two bottles of any beer I nd I think might bene t from an extended stay in the cellar—one for now, one for later. at way I can determine if it’s appropriate for aging and I

can see how the avour changes over time. Take some tasting notes while you're at it.

DO…

Consider aging these beers. Strong beers (7% ABV and higher), malt-forward beers, barrel-aged beers, Brett-fermented beers, imperial stouts, barleywines, pretty much anything Belgian, traditional sours (as opposed to kettle sours), beers with lots of residual sweetness, bottle-conditioned beers and beers that explicitly tell you to age them.

DON’T…

Age these other beers. Hop-forward styles like IPAs, anything hazy, light lagers, beers that are lower in alcohol, very dry beers, anything fresh hopped, most commercial beer.

DO…

Look for bottle-conditioned beers. Bottle-conditioned beer gets a little added kick of yeast and sugar to carbonate the beer in the bottle. ese beers are ideal for aging, as the yeast will continue to ferment (at a glacial pace, mind you) and eat up any oxygen that might sneak past the bottle cap. Most Belgian beers are bottle conditioned, which

e dos and don'ts of hoarding beer.cellaring

is why they have such long shelf lives. Naturally, so is Dageraad’s entire lineup.

DON’T…

Let your beer get too warm (or too cold). e optimal temperature for aging beer is between 10 C and 15 C, with high ABV beers (7% and above) towards the top end of that range. Because the beer you’re storing is likely unpasteurized, that means the yeasts will still be working away. If stored at too high a temperature, like a closet that gets hot in the summer, the yeasts will become active, chewing up any residual sugars and pooping out more alcohol and carbon dioxide. at’s a recipe for a gusher. You do not want to wear the contents of a bottle of cherry lambic all over your nice white shirt. Meanwhile, store the beer in too cold a temperature, and nothing will happen at all. It’s all about consistently staying in that Goldilocks zone. Personally, I keep my beers in an unheated corner of my basement where the temperature stays a balmy 12 C all year round.

DO…

Serve the beer at the temperature you’ve stored it at. You want to be able to taste the complexity of the beer, after all, and avour diminishes with temperature. If you serve a Westvleteren 12 that’s been aged for ve years at 2 C, I’m going to nd you, and I’m going to slap you.

DON’T…

Expect radical changes in avour. Typically, the changes that occur with aging are subtle, but signi cant. Barrel-aged beers will generally mellow with age, with tannic astringency becoming less pronounced. Hop bitterness will fade, while beers fermented with Brettanomyces will tend to clean up and dry out over time. You might notice more balance to the beer’s avour; sours taste less acidic, roasted malts become less acrid and beers with a high alcoholic content will become less “hot.” But don’t expect a completely new beer.

DO…

Look for established releases. Beers that have been around for years like Vancouver Island Brewing’s annual run of Hermannator or most Belgian beers have well demonstrated shelf stability. e new brewery down the street with its rst-ever barrel-aged release? Not so much. You have a higher likelihood of getting

a gusher with these beers. at doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment with them, though.

DON’T…

Lie your bottles at. Beer isn’t wine, so you don’t need to keep it in contact with the cork. Keeping the bottle upright will allow the yeast to settle out of the beer at the bottom over time. Even if the beer bottle has a cork, keep it upright, as it may take on avours of the cork if the beer is in contact with it.

DO…

Open your beer over the sink. Sometimes, despite all your best e orts to treat your beer right, it just doesn’t want to behave and you’re left with a gusher. It happens. Cellaring beer is unpredictable, especially with unstable cellaring temperatures or new releases. Aim away from the face.

DON’T…

Expose your beers to light. Beer is photosensitive and glass bottles let in light, so box up those beers and turn o the lights unless you want that Founders KBS to taste like Pepé LePew’s butthole.

DO…

Share your beers! e best part of aging beers is discovering how the beer’s avour has changed over time. So invite some friends over, crack a few bottles, and share the experience. Better yet, do a monthly bottle share! Fun!

DON’T…

Leave your bottles for too long. Age your cellar-appropriate beers for at least a year, but beyond that, it’s up to you. But don't go crazy. Most will hit their sweet spot at around three years. Some Belgian varieties like lambic or gueuze can be aged for 10 years or more. But once again, beer is not wine. An imperial stout that’s been aged for decades will probably taste like wet cardboard and meaty farts.

imperial stout that’s been aged for decades will uests and talking about himself in

Experiment! Aging beer isn’t an exact science, so have some fun with it! j

• Rob Mangelsdorf is a Certified Cicerone, BJCP beer judge and editor of e Growler. He also enjoys hoarding beer in his basement until he can force it on unsuspecting houseguests and talking about himself in the third person.

NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 1

Christmas Craft Beer Festival (Victoria)

Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre plays host to the third annual edition of the Christmas Craft Beer Show, with close to 50 B.C. breweries and cideries taking part. Live music courtesy of Super Sauce, and tons of food options available. Tickets start at $40 for a one-day pass, or $70 for a two-day pass. ChristmasCraftBeerShow.com

DECEMBER 6-8

Krampusnacht 2018 (Vancouver)

Strange Fellows Brewing is partnering with OH Studio to present an Old World inspired Kristmas market at the brewery, complete with a visit by everyone’s favourite holiday goat-demon, Krampus! Get your photo taken with Krampus (Dec. 6, 7-9pm), peruse the odd and exquisite o erings by local artisans at the Krampusmarkt (Dec. 7, 5-11pm, Dec. 8, 12-11pm), ditch the little ones at the kids table, and help yourself to lots and lots of beer. StrangeFellowsBrewing.com

DECEMBER 16

Brawnywine (Vancouver)

Barleywine might be one of the most polarizing beer styles out there, but if you like your beer to have a kick and be somewhat ammable, then this one’s for you. Parallel 49’s annual barleywine festival features 12 di erent versions on tap, including four of their own creation. But for the love of God, drink responsibly (ha!) and don’t even think about driving. Parallel49Brewing.com

DECEMBER 20

e Growler presents the 12 Beers of Christmas (Victoria)

Celebrate the holiday season with this unique food and beer journey through Victoria’s craft beer scene. Twelve unique and limited edition beers are

paired with a 12-course tasting menu courtesy of Toque catering at this roving long table dinner, with stops at breweries all over Victoria. Learn about the beer from the brewers themselves with Growler editor Rob Mangelsdorf (hey, that’s me!) as your guide. WestCoastBreweryTours.ca

DECEMBER 22

Wheelhouse Brewing Turns 5 (Prince Rupert)

Five years is a big milestone in B.C.’s ever-growing craft beer scene—especially when you’re all the way up in Prince Rupert. If you’re in town, make sure to swing by and raise a pint in honour of this northern trailblazer. WheelhouseBrewing.com

JANUARY 12

Weathered Beer Celebration (Vancouver)

e people behind Farmhouse Fest are putting on this rst-time festival at Heritage Hall on Main that combines art and beer. It’s going to be fancy, and the beers are going to be sublime. We’re talking beers from Mikkeller, Jester King, Tilquin, Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, Alesmith, Firestone Walker, to name a few, as well as a host of local standouts. WeatheredBeer.com

FEBRUARY 23

Hopwired Festival (Vancouver) is celebration of co ee-infused beers at the Croatian Cultural Centre will have you buzzing. Make sure you eat a good breakfast! HopwiredFest.com

FEBRUARY 25

KPU Brewing Career Fair (Langley)

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s annual brewing career fair welcomes the public to check out their Brewery Lab, sample the beers made by the students and learn about B.C.’s only two-year diploma program for brewing. KPU.ca/brewing-career-fair j

Everything you need to know about everywhere you need to be!

THE GROWLER B.C. BREWERS COLLABORATION SERIES

Poire Blanche

4.8% ABV / 21 IBU

White as winter snow and fruitier than a partridge in a pear tree, Poire Blanche is what happens when two of B.C.’s foremost makers of Belgianstyle beer—East Vancouver’s Strange Fellows Brewing and Powell River’s Townsite Brewing—team up for a brew. This witbier is brewed with B.C. pears and features Sterling and Cascade hops for a West Coast twist on the Belgian classic. Subtle pear and floral notes are complemented by a light citrus character that’s sure to get you through the winter.

Ask for it at your liquorindependentfavourite store in B.C.

LagerLit

e Growler's guide to beer books

by Ted Child

The world of beer has never been more exciting and it has never been a better time to be a beer lover. As the world of beer continues to grow and deepen, so has the quality and insight of the books being written about it. So, if you’ve never read a book about beer, if you want to know what to read next, or if you are just looking for the perfect Christmas gift, let e Growler be your guide to the incredible world of beer books.

For the beer lover just stepping into the world of beer books, one place to start is How to Have a Beer by Alice Galletly. Clocking in at just over a hundred pages, this concise read is a self-deprecating beer nerd writing with wit and without pretension. A perfect gateway beer book that will have you wanting to read more while making you laugh out loud, speci cally the chapter on the author brewing a cock ale with her father.

If you read one book this year make it Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch and How Craft Beer Became Big Business. Award winning journalist Josh Noel tells the tale of how Goose Island founder John Hall, with the help of his son, Greg, built one of the most important and well respected breweries in all of craft beer only to agree to one of its most scandalous sales. Well researched, highly detailed but compulsively readable, clear your schedule and stock the fridge with non-AB InBev brewed stout before you crack this impressive work of beer journalism.

For an insiders look at the early craft beer movement in B.C., plus a whole lot more, the must read book is Brewing Revolution by Frank Appleton. Appleton was an instrumental part of bringing craft beer to B.C. and his story de nitely

needed to be told. is lively book also pulls no punches as Appleton recounts his early days at one of Canada’s “Big ree” industrial breweries, consulting on the brewhouses of many early B.C. craft breweries, and his insights on certain craft beer titans, such as Jim Koch of Samuel Adams fame.

For beer travelers, the rst place to look is with Canadian beer writer Stephen Beaumont. Two of his books, Best Beers and e World Atlas of Beer (both co-authored with Tim Webb) have been recently revised and expanded. Beaumont’s newest book, Will Travel for Beer, will give you the lowdown on the most iconic beer tourism spots across the globe but also some lesser well known places to get great beer. Also this book has what might be the single best chapter title in all of beer literature: “Fuck Alexander Keith.”

Since beer writer great Michael Jackson is unfortunately no longer able to update his classic book, e Great Beers of Belgium, the next best thing might be Trappist Beer Travels. Written by a trio of beer writers, this book is, like the Trappists themselves and the beer they produce, one of the more contemplative beer books around. Enjoy it while sipping on a goblet of Orval or Rochefort.

If there has been an explosion of great beer books recently then it is even truer of homebrewing books. Of all the great books on homebrewing out there, there are a few that are especially deserving of your attention. One such read is Je Alworth’s (author of the Beer Bible) e Secret of

Master Brewers. Alworth follows a recent trend of the author not supplying the recipes but in this case getting recipes from brew masters of some of the world's most iconic and well loved breweries. Arguably, the reader doesn’t even need to be a homebrewer to nd tons of insider knowledge of world-class breweries to nerd out about. Also check out

e Brew Your Own Big Book of Homebrewing No matter how much experience you have this book will make you a better brewer.

Lastly, if Randy Mosher’s Tasting Beer wasn’t essential reading for serious beer drinkers before than the newly updated 2nd edition certainly is. A full hundred pages longer than the original, this is the book you need to get very serious about that strange creature in your glass.

e beer literature universe is expanding with ever increasing speed. It is exciting to read great authors writing about the world's most interesting subject with passion, knowledge and skill. Other great beer books to check out are Beeronomics: How Beer Explains the World, the books of Patrick E McGovern, and Pascal Bauder’s e Wildcrafting Brewer, which will teach you how to make your next hike into alcohol. e experience of drinking beer can only be deepened by reading about it. Hopefully you now have some idea of which book to pick up next. j

STOUTS STOUTS & PORTERS PORTERS

by Joe Wiebe

Ask a range of people what the di erence is between porters and stouts and you might get as many answers as the number of people you ask. Conducting a blind tasting might be just as unproductive as the styles tend to overlap considerably.

To try to gure out what the di erence is—if there even is one—I sat down with Sean Hoyne who has been brewing beer professionally in Victoria since 1989 and has considered himself a student of beer history for even longer than that. Fittingly, I sipped from a glass of Hoyne’s Finnegans Irish Stout while we chatted.

In order to understand porter and stout, Hoyne said we have to look at the way beer evolved in Britain.

e earliest ales were brown beers made from malted barley that was lightly roasted over hardwood res. is resulted in a brownish malt that was very

inconsistent in quality. It was slightly smoky and some of the kernels would have torri ed (popped like popcorn), adding a burnt-caramelized avour.

Brewers generally made two styles.

“Mild beer was fresh beer: beer that hadn’t been aged,” Hoyne explained, while brown beer would typically sit in a vat anywhere from four months to a year, during which it would become dry and acidi ed from bacteria in the vat. “ ey called it ‘stale beer,’ but not in a negative connotation. ‘Stale’ just meant it had been kept longer.” Apparently, a certain sourness was a desired avour.

e myth of porter’s birth (according to the Oxford Companion of Beer) states that in 1722, a brewer named Ralph Harwood decided to create a special blended beer for “a publican who ran the Blue Last, a working-class watering hole on Shoreditch’s

So what exactly is the difference between a porter and a stout, anyways? As it turns out, not that much, according to Sean Hoyne of Hoyne Brewing, and creator of Finnegans Irish Stout. Lara Zukowsky photo

WHAT'S THe DIFF?

According to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines, porter is “a moderate-strength brown beer with a restrained roasty character and bitterness. May have a range of roasted flavours, generally without burnt qualities, and often has a chocolate-caramel-malty profile.” Meanwhile, Irish Stout is described as “a black beer with a pronounced roasted flavour, often similar to co ee.” To confuse matters, however, there are other categories for Baltic porter, sweet stout, oatmeal stout, foreign extra stout, and tropical stout, as well as a whole separate section for American porter and stout.

Great Eastern Street.” e pub was frequented mostly by so-called porters, strong men whose job was to carry goods unloaded from ships at the docks to markets, shops and warehouses in the heart of London. e new beer was a hit and came to be named after the porters who loved it.

Beer historians have largely debunked this origin story, arguing that porter wasn’t created in one day, but rather evolved as the population of London swelled and new technological advancements allowed for breweries to grow larger and larger. Porter was certainly a blended style at rst, but as it grew in popularity, breweries came to brew it in a single batch as they would with any other beer.

Some of these porter breweries built enormous aging vats that would dwarf even the biggest fermentation tanks used today. e largest on record held about 32,500 hL (over three million litres). To put that in context, Hoyne believes the biggest in the world currently is a 1,500-barrel (1,760 hL) vessel at Coors in Colorado.

e giant porter vats built in the early 1800s were so big that breweries held promotional dinner parties for dozens of people inside them when they were empty. Sadly, in October 1814, a full tank burst, resulting in a ood of porter that killed eight people.

Porter took England by storm in the 18th century and well into the 19th century. One of the many brewers who made it was Arthur Guinness in Dublin, which nally brings us to stout. Guinness made a strong version called stout porter, but Hoyne pointed out that “all that ‘stout’ referred to was the gravity of the beer: if it was stout it was

considered a stronger beer.” And at this point both versions were still brown beers, not black.

Two technological advances helped to change that. One was the brewer’s hydrometer, which arrived on the scene in the late 1700s. Prior to that, brewers could only guess at the e ciency of the malts they used, with the results varying considerably from batch to batch. Hoyne explained that using a hydrometer showed brewers that they could get much better extract out of pale malt than from the brown malt they mainly used.

en in 1817, Daniel Wheeler patented a new process of roasting barley in a metal cylinder similar to a co ee roaster. e result was black patent malt, and brewers could use it to give porter a dark colour and roasted avour without having to use as much brown malt—instead relying on the more e cient pale malt to make up the majority of the grain bill.

Porters and “stout porters” gradually got darker in colour. Eventually, with the advent of pale styles like IPAs and pilsners in the late 1800s, porters and stouts faded away in popularity. In the early 20th century, British beers became dominated by lower alcohol styles like milds and bitters, and porters disappeared almost entirely. At some point, Guinness dropped the “porter” part of the name and kept making a stout, but paradoxically with a lower alcohol content, and this became the standard to which all stouts were compared.

Whether today’s stouts and porters resemble the original versions from 200 years ago is doubtful, but who cares? Find your favourite version of each and there you have the perfect example of the style—for you. j

Required drinking

Driftwood Brewing // Blackstone Porter

Hoyne Brewing // Finnegans Irish Stout

Nelson Brewing Co. // Blackheart Oatmeal Stout

Persephone Brewing Co. // Brewing Dry Irish Stout

Townsite Brewing // Perfect Storm Stout

Yellow Dog Brewing // Shake A Paw Smoked Porter

East Van Brewing Co. // When It Rains It Porters

Beer and Cheddar Soup

Strange Fellows Brewing White IPA

By Roy Flemming, exe C u tive

Born in the UK and raised in the Caribbean, New York City and Montreal, Tuc Craft Kitchen executive chef Roy Flemming has spent more than two decades in the kitchen, blending classical techniques with inspiration from the rustic flavours and family traditions of the far-flung locales he has lived. At Vancouver’s Tuc, Roy has created a menu that is seasonally informed, locally sourced and showcases his signature brand of nourishing comfort food that is artfully prepared and plated.

Photos by Dan Toulgoet

Why do you love this recipe? Is there a personal anecdote behind it you can share?

I created this beer and cheddar soup for our fall menu at Tuc with the intention of celebrating all that this season brings. As a child, I used to go apple picking in the fall and our family would make pies, crumble and apple cider. One of my favorite snacks growing up was apples with cheddar cheese; I took inspiration from this combination and created a hearty cheddar soup featuring apple cider and a great craft beer.

Tell us why you chose this beer? What sort of foods does it pair well with?

I chose Strange Fellows Brewing White IPA

IN gredients

For the soup

• ¾ cup canola oil

• 3 onions (minced)

• ¾ cup our

• 2 cups Strange Fellows Brewing White IPA

• 4 cups apple cider

• ½ cup Dijon mustard (not grainy)

• 8 cups chicken stock

• 8 sprigs of thyme (stems removed)

• 2 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tsp ground cloves

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• 6 bay leaves

• 2 cups 35% whipping cream

• 1 tbsp kosher salt and pepper

• 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)

For the oat crumble

• 1 cup old fashioned oats

• 2 tbsp our

• ¼ tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter (softened)

Recipe makes four litres of soup

directions

Making the soup

1. Add oil and onions to a pot and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat.

2. Add our and stir and cook for three minutes.

because of its aromatic intensity, balance and mild hoppiness. I nd this beer quite versatile, pairing nicely with a hearty salad or pasta as well as a few bar snacks like spicy wings or a Tuc favourite, pork belly with star anise red wine reduction.

What are some general tips you have for cooking with beer, speci cally with soups or sauces?

Always cook with a beer that you like to drink as the characteristics will be evident in the nal product. Beer with a higher alcohol content will be more bitter than one with a lower alcohol content so go easy when pouring to ensure balance. IPAs, stouts and pale ales tend to go with hearty foods while lagers and pilsners typically pair best with lighter foods.

3. Pour in beer and cook for ve more minutes.

4. Add apple cider, Dijon mustard, thyme, nutmeg, cloves, pepper and bay leaves to soup mixture and simmer on medium heat for one hour.

5. Add whipping cream and salt and pepper to the soup and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.

6. Remove from the stovetop and allow soup to cool to 70 C within two hours and 40 C within four hours.

7. Serve and garnish with oat crumble (see recipe below) and a large pinch of shredded cheddar cheese.

Preparing the oat crumble

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

2. In a bowl combine the oats, our, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.

3. Add the softened butter and use your ngers to crumble it into the oat mixture until everything is moist and the butter is evenly distributed.

4. Spread oat mixture evenly onto a baking sheet.

RED TRUCK BEER CO.

295 E. 1st Ave. | RedTruckBeer.com

SUN-WED 11AM-10PM ^ THURS 11AM-11PM ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-12AM

EST. 2015

While celebrating the grand opening of its new brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, Red Truck continues to brew a schwack of beer at its truckstop brewery here.

TOTALITY

Availability: Seasonal

is deep, dark stout was named for the great North American solar eclipse of 2017.

Availability: Seasonal

A well-balanced dry-hopped pale ale showcasing avours of watermelon, citrus and stone fruit.

STRANGE FELLOWS

BREWING

1345 Clark Dr. | StrangeFellowsBrewing.com

DAILY 12-11PM

EST. 2014

Strange or uniquely brilliant? is beautiful tasting room boasts an incredible range of beer (many of them barrel aged and/or sour) and a quirky line in celebrating pagan festivals.

LITTLE RED ONE

VINTAGE I & II

L AMBIC- S TYLE ALE W ITH B LACKCURRANT S

Availability: Small batch

A BV IB U 6.0%N/A

As close to a Belgian lambic as you’ll nd in B.C. Tart, sweet and fruity, with earthy, herbal notes.

BORIS

BOUR B ON BARREL RU SSI AN IMPER I AL STOUT

Availability: Seasonal

A BV IB U 9.5%74

A monster of a stout brewed with peat-smoked barley and aged in bourbon barrels for a year.

33 ACRES BREWING CO.

15 W. 8th Ave. | 33AcresBrewing.com

33 ACRES EXPERIMENT

25 W. 8th Ave. | 33AcresBrewing.com

After ve years of brewing beer with creativity and style, 33 Acres was named Brewery of the Year at the 2018 B.C. Beer Awards. Congratulations!

Brewer David Varga is still at the helm of 33’s second location—right next door to its rst— where you can sample his latest experiments made in the brewhouse right behind the bar.

ANDINA BREWING CO.

1507 Powell St. | AndinaBrewing.ca

BIG ROCK URBAN BREWERY & EATERY

310 W. 4th Ave. | BigRockBeer.com

e rst brewery in Canada to use Chilean malts to produce beer is still getting creative with plaintain nachos made from chips own directly from Colombia.

Big Rock’s self-styled “urban eatery” has a beerhall feel and a pub-grub menu with something for everyone—including 12 taps of beer, cider and wine.

BOMBER BREWING CO.

1488 Adanac St. | BomberBrewing.com

BRASSNECK BREWERY

2148 Main St. | Brassneck.ca

e tasting room is always bumping at this Yeast Van craft brewery thanks to its perennially award-winning beers.

SUPER

CHOQLETTE PORTER CH

e Main Street hop stop just turned ve years old and continues to set the standard for experimentation in the East Van craft scene.

INERTIA III

BOUR B ON BARRELA GE D IMPER I AL STOUT Availability:

BREWHALL

97 E. 2nd Ave. | BREWHALL.com

CALLISTER BREWING CO.

1338 Franklin St. | CallisterBrewing.com

is modern take on the classic beerhall focuses on small-batch collaborations with other brewers, resulting in a constantly rotating tap list featuring unusual, creative brews.

is East Van craft beer incubator is one of the best places to try something new with three breweries operating under one roof: Callister, Good Buddy and BCBA-winner Sundown.

VANCOUVER

COAL HARBOUR BREWING CO.

1967 Triumph St. | CoalHarbourBrewing.com

CRAFT COLLECTIVE BEERWORKS

1575 Vernon Dr. | CraftCollective.beer

In operation since 2011 and infamous for their simple, clean lager, the East Van spot has slowly started dabbling in some more creative batches.

CHARCOAL

In addition to house brands like Phantom and Spectrum Brewing Company, Craft Collective is also home to recently acquired Postmark Brewing and Doan’s Craft Brewing Co.

PHANTOM YEAR OF THE UNICORN

INDIA

VANCOUVER VANCOUVER

DOCKSIDE BREWING CO.

1253 Johnston St. | DocksideVancouver.com

DOGWOOD BREWING

8284

St. | DogwoodBrew.com

Not your typical taproom experience, but maybe clean yourself up a little and check out this reinvigorated longtime Granville Island spot.

OLD BRIDGE DARK LAGER DARK LAGER

Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas by sampling 12 special Christmas beers at Dogwood’s lounge. You can earn a free gift if you’re dedicated enough.

BEAR

EAST VAN BREWING CO.

1675 Venables St. | EastVanBrewing.com

ELECTRIC BICYCLE BREWING CO.

20 E. 4th Ave. | ElectricBicycleBrewing.com

In its rst year, EVBC has happily embedded itself in its eponymous community, with locals nights, vinyl nights, live music—and some impressive beer from brewer James Labbe.

WHEN IT RAINS...IT PORTERS

Named for its East Van location, formerly an electric bicycle factory, the bold colours and trippy circus vibes are hard to miss!

FACULTY BREWING CO.

1830 Ontario St. | FacultyBrewing.com

GRANVILLE ISLAND BREWING

1441 Cartwright St. | GIB.ca

School is in session, so grab a beer and get educated—and make sure to check out brewer Jacquie Loehndorf’s experimental pilot brews every ursday.

One of B.C.’s original craft breweries, GIB still produces great small batch beers out of its ancestral home on Granville Island.

HASTINGS MILL BREWING COMPANY

403 East Hastings St. | PatsPub.ca

LUPPOLO BREWING CO.

1123 Venables St. | LuppoloBrewing.ca

e only building to survive the great re of 1886 turned into a jazz joint around the turn of the century and is now named for the sawmill located nearby. But you probably remember it as Pat’s Pub.

BRICKTOP PALE ALE

AMERICAN PALE ALE

GRISWOLD WINTER ALE WINTER ALE

New tanks should lead to more cans being available in liquor stores, while adding some mahogany foedres will mean more mixed fermentation o erings. Viva Luppolo!

ROSALBA BARREL-AGED SOUR WITH RASPBERRIES

EVOLUTA II BOURBON BARREL-AGED DUBBEL

Availability: Year-round Availability: Small batch Availability: Seasonal Availability: Small batch

MAIN STREET BREWING CO.

261 E. 7th Ave. | MainStreetBeer.ca

OFF THE RAIL BREWING

1351 Adanac St. | O eRailBrewing.com

One of the most bumping tasting rooms in the city, Main Street is also one of the few places where you can still get a hand-pulled cask ale.

BARKING MAD PLUM PORTER BROWN P ORTER

PARALLEL 49 BREWING CO.

1950 Triumph St. | Parallel49Brewing.com

Celebrate four successful years in business at O the Rail’s anniversary party on Feb. 15. Cheers to many more years of creative, awardwinning beer.

POSTMARK BREWING

55 Dunlevy Ave. | PostmarkBrewing.com

Do you open all the aps in the Alpine Adventure pack on Dec. 1 or will you patiently wait to be surprised each day?

Although the brand was recently acquired by Craft Collective, it’s still business as usual at Postmark’s original Railtown brewery, which shares its space with yummy Belgard Kitchen.

POWELL BREWERY

1357

Fully embracing craft’s canning revolution, Powell’s bold designs pop from the shelves. What goes in the cans pops just as vibrantly, including a certain World Beer Cup-winning Old Jalopy.

At

if it’s not broke, don’t x it. at’s the philosophy behind 21 years of brewing awardwinning beers in the same East Van location.

STEAMWORKS BREW PUB

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

STORM BREWING LTD.

310 Commercial Dr. | StormBrewing.com

Converting the masses to craft since 1995, Gastown’s only craft brewery is home to Canada’s rst steam-powered brewhouse.

No trip to Yeast Van is complete without a visit to the funky little brewery that started it all. You might even catch a glimpse of owner/brewer James Walton in his platform KISS boots!

STRATHCONA BEER CO.

895 E. Hastings St. | StrathconaBeer.com

YALETOWN BREWING CO.

1111 Mainland St. | MJG.ca/Yaletown

In one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods stands this relatively new spot that has built a solid brand on some wonderfully wacky labels.

Vancouver’s original brewpub is still a great place for food and beer—the core list is solid and the seasonals are always worth checking out.

DAGERAAD BREWING

114 - 3191 underbird Cres. | DageraadBrewing.com

MON-WED 12-9PM ^ THU 12-10PM ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-10PM

SUN 11AM-9PM

EST. 2014

If you thought Canada’s reigning brewery of the year would rest on its laurels, you’ve never met Ben Coli, Dageraad’s owner and yeast wrangler-in-chief. Coli and his team have been exploring every nuance of Belgian beer and it’s been quite a ride—with no sign of stopping.

ANNO 2018

Availability: Seasonal

Celebrate another year in the bottle with this divine pear-, coriander- and brett-infused golden ale.

ANTWERPEN

Availability: Seasonal

Gracefully hopped, elegantly smooth, tantalizingly spiced and cripplingly qua able. Antwerpen is a liquid wonder.

Availability: Seasonal

Fabulously complex with alluring malt and stone fruit depths, yet refreshingly crisp thanks in part to a subtle lactic tartness.

LEKKERS

Availability: Seasonal

Caramelized sugar and orange peel add some zip to Lekkers, which will be available in cans this time around.

Y east unleashed

Hops are all very well and avourful, but the Belgians learned centuries ago that you can get way more expression—fruity, earthy, spicy and… barnyardy— from yeast. True to its mission as B.C.’s only all-Belgian-style brewery, Dageraad lets the yeast do most of the talking in its beers, mostly with the Chimay and Ardennes strains.

FOUR WINDS BREWING

4 - 7355 72nd St. | FourWindsBrewing.ca

SUN-WED 11AM-7PM ^ THURS-SAT 11AM-9PM

EST. 2013

Plans are in the works for a second Four Winds facility as part of the Southlands development in Tsawwassen, which will include a new brewery and adjoining restaurant. Back at the original HQ in Tilbury, the kitchen is now serving up tapas and tacos all day long starting in December!

MAISON

Availability: Year-round

Deceptively avourful for such a low-ABV beer, this boasts notes of pepper and tropical fruit.

Availability: Seasonal

is rich, dark porter is smooth and creamy with cocoa and roasted co ee tones.

Availability: Small batch

ree malts, three hops and three di erent sugars go into this Growlie-winning fruit- and spice-laden tripel.

Availability: Small batch

Aged in Okanagan red wine barrels and invigorated with wild Brettanomyces yeast for an earthy, funky avour.

H ard core logo

Four Winds’ original logo and packaging was created by none other than celebrated painter, Juno-nominated artist and former musician Andy Dixon. One of Dixon’s works even hangs in the brewery’s tasting room!

MONKE Y 9 BREWING CO .

14200 Entertainment Blvd. | Monkey9.ca

MON-FRI 2PM-12AM ^ SAT 11:30AM-12AM

SUN 11:30AM-10PM

EST. 2017

A year since reopening under new management, Richmond’s bowling alley brewpub has de nitely upped its game in the beer department. Brewer Travis Lang has everything dialed in—he even took home an award at the B.C. Beer Awards in October.

Availability: Year-round

A classic ESB with a big malt backbone and a mild hoppy bitterness.

Availability: Seasonal

If you like your co ee cold, bubbly and boozy, check out this collab with the folks at Steveston Co ee Co.

Availability: Year-round

Nutty and roasty, this brown ale won a bronze medal at the 2018 B.C. Beer Awards.

Availability: Year-round

is stout has a big roasted malt character. Ask for it on nitro.

M onkeying around

Monkeys have long held an important role in many cultures around the world. e Tzeltal people of Mexico worshipped them as incarnations of their dead ancestors, while Japanese folklore reveres the ree Wise Monkeys, who see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. In Buddhism, the monkey is believed to be an early incarnation of Buddha.

STEAMWORKS BREWING CO.

3845 William St. | Steamworks.com

MARINER BREWING

1100 Lansdowne Dr. | MarinerBrewing.ca

e Burnaby brewery’s taproom is a beautiful, spacious, laid-back environment in which to savour the skill of brewmaster Julia Hanlon’s exceptional beer.

NITRO

An exploratory batch is available every ursday, usually a one-o cask to keep the juices owing, both in the brain and the belly.

Availability:

DEAD FROG BREWERY

105 - 8860 201st St. | DeadFrog.ca

KPU BREWING LAB

20901 Langley Bypass | KPU.ca/Brew

ere are now 20+ beers on tap at the new Langley location, some of which are gluten free, alongside a full menu and your pup is welcome, too.

REDRUM SPICED RED ALE RED ALE

Availability:

Unleashing a pack of undergrads in a brewery might sound like a recipe for diacetyl. But under instructor Alek Egi, KPU is actually producing some award-winning beer. KPU BOYSENBERRY PORTER PORTER

TRADING POST BREWING

107 - 20120 64th Ave. | TradingPostBrewing.com

MAPLE MEADOWS BREWING CO.

22775 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | MapleMeadowsBrewing.com

A second eatery is slated for Abbotsford by year’s end, the third location of the locally-owned and operated Lower Mainland spot.

RUSSIAN IMPERIAL

Just in time for Christmas, Carlo Baroccio’s brewery is packaging at last: bottles are for sale at the brewery and will soon have distribution.

RIDGE BREWING CO.

22826 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | RidgeBrewing.com

SILVER VALLEY BREWING

#101 - 11952 224 St. | SilverValleyBrewing.com

e rst Tuesday of every month is open mic night at this popular Maple Ridge haunt. If you can’t make it, no worries—Ridge’s beer is now available in tall cans, as well as bombers.

is place has strong ties to the community with regular monthly yoga and crafting nights, as well as trivia nights, live music and Brewmaster’s Dinners.

MAPLE RIDGE MAPLE RIDGE

LANGLEY MAPLE RIDGE

STEEL & OAK BREWING CO.

1319 3rd Ave. | SteelAndOak.ca

BEERE BREWING COMPANY

312 E. Esplanade | BeereBrewing.com

If you haven’t visited S&O’s warm and welcoming tasting room, its eclectic vinyl collection might entice you to do so. And the beer’s good too!

SMOKED HONEY DOPPELBOCK

BALTIC BALTIC

With a surname like Beere, it wasn’t a matter of if they would open a brewery, but when. And we’re so glad they did. #HaveABeere.

CHERRY WILLIS IMPERIAL STOUT WITH DARK CHERRY AND CACAO

IMAGINARY FRIEND

DOUBLE DRY HOPPED INDIA PALE ALE

BLACK KETTLE BREWING

106 -720 Copping St. | BlackKettleBrewing.com

BRIDGE BREWING CO.

1448 Charlotte Rd. | BridgeBrewing.com

Making it pour on the North Shore, the pair behind this operation opened with just one single brew—a pale ale.

Bridge’s diminutive wood-panelled tasting room is a cosy place to sample some of head brewer Sean Kellock’s inventive brews—and a taco or three.

DEEP COVE BREWERS AND DISTILLERS

170 - 2270 Dollarton Hwy. | DeepCoveCraft.com

GREEN LEAF BREWING CO.

123 Carrie Cates Crt. | GreenLeafBrew.com

In addition to tasty craft beer, Deep Cove also makes a wide range of spirits. Look for a special release from its four-year-old whisky program soon.

HEARTHSTONE BREWERY

1015 Marine Dr. | HearthstoneBrewery.ca

Green Leaf now o ers an extensive whisky list alongside its fresh beer; in fact, it even o ers beer and whisky pairing suggestions.

STREETCAR BREWING

123A East 1st St. | StreetcarBrewing.ca

With a comfortable, welcoming room and one of the more innovative menus around, both in terms of food and beer, Hearthstone has it all going on.

e North Shore is exploding with breweries right now and Streetcar looks to stand out in Lower Lonsdale with its hoppy, citrus-forward beers.

FOAMERS’ FOLLY BREWING CO.

19221 122A Ave. | FoamersFolly.ca

With 20 taps pouring an ever-changing lineup of beer, there’s always something new to try— including Foamers’ rst foray into barrel-aged beers.

NORTHPAW BREWING

TAYLIGHT BREWING

402-1485 Coast Meridian Rd. | TaylightBrewing.com

If you nd yourself thirsty in Fremont Village, these guys have got you covered. And the rst Monday of every month is LGBTQ night, Queers and Beers.

RASPBERRY LOCO POCO CZECH PILSNER PI LS NER IB U A BV 58 6.5% IB U A BV 27 5.0%

ROLLING

HAT NO CATTLE P ORTER Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round JAMAICAN PALE ALE P ALE A LE IB U A BV 23 4.8% IB U A BV 30 5.2% 61 P T. C OQU I TLAM PI TT MEA D OW S PT. COQU I TLAM

MOODY ALES

2601 Murray St. | MoodyAles.com

THE PARKSIDE BREWERY

2731 Murray St. | eParksideBrewery.com

Moody Ales is always a good time with 14 taps of craft beer to choose from. Make sure to check out trivia night every Wednesday.

LUSTY

TWIN SAILS BREWING

2821 Murray St. | TwinSailsBrewing.com

Vern Lambourne and the folks at Parkside know a thing or two about making great beer, and the hip, airy tasting room is a great place to sample them any time of year.

ATTACK

Fresh from its clean sweep of the prestigious Hazy IPA category at the B.C. Beer Awards, Twin Sails is always innovating and experimenting.

SINGLE

e brewery that started it all on Brewers Row managed to pick up three medals at the Growlies, including bronze for Brewery of the Year.

BRITANNIA BREWING CO.

110-12500 Horseshoe Way | BBCO.ca

FUGGLES & WARLOCK CRAFTWORKS

103-11220 Horseshoe Way | FugglesWarlock.com

Brewmaster’s dinners are a regular staple at Britannia’s Steveston restaurant and taproom, on the rst Sunday of each month.

First stop Richmond, next stop the world! e deliciousness of #fuglife has now spread east to ve provinces and across the Paci c to South Korea.

BIG RIDGE BREWING CO.

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

CENTRAL CITY BREWERS + DISTILLERS

11411 Bridgeview Dr. | CentralCityBrewing.com

Surrey’s original brewpub is still pumping out the hits almost 20 years later with rotating seasonals, weekly cask nights and trivia every Wednesday.

Now available coast to coast, Central City is the only Canadian craft brewery to have its beer in every province in the country.

RUSSELL BREWING CO.

202 - 13018 80th Ave. | RussellBeer.com

WHITE ROCK BREWING

13 - 3033 King George Blvd. | WhiteRockBrewing.ca

is place might be one of the grizzled vets of the craft beer scene, but that doesn’t mean the beer isn’t good. Try it again.

SIMCOE/ MOSAIC DRY HOPPED SOURS SOUR ALE TWIN PACK

3 DOGS BREWING

15214 North Blu Rd. | 3DogsBrewing.com

If you like your beer in red Solo cups (and who doesn’t!) then this charmingly unpretentious U-brew-turned-nanobrewery is for you.

WHITE ROCK BEACH BEER CO.

15181 Russell Ave. | WhiteRockBeachBeer.com

Tucked away in a corner of White Rock, these homebrewers turned their craft into a business last year and haven’t even had the time to look back.

BLACKIE THE BROWN DOG

Rent out the taproom for a party of your own making or just stop in for a sip and a snack from local Hillcrest Bakery that uses spent grains from the brewery’s beers.

DOUBLE DOG DARE IPA INDIA PALE

WHITE ROCK

ROCK

FIELD HOUSE BREWING CO.

2281 West Railway St. | FieldHouseBrewing.com

LOUDMOUTH BREWING

103 – 2582 Mt. Lehman Rd. | LoudmouthBrewingCompany.ca

Keep an eye out for limited barrel releases featuring blends of mixed fermentation sour beer aged for more than a year.

BARREL AGED GOOSEBERRY GOLDEN SOUR WI LD SOUR ALE

Nicolas Mielty’s brewery near YXX is taking ight, with a new beer planned every week. Home of the “pizza ight,” beer-yeast pie topped with four glasses of in-house brews.

NORTHWEST HOP

RAVENS BREWING CO.

2485 Townline Rd. | Ravens.beer

FLASHBACK BREWING CO.

1 - 9360 Mill St. | ChaosAndSolace.com

Buoyed by its World Beer Cup win for its Corvus Lingonberry Lime Gose, Ravens continues to experiment alongside its strong core lineup of beers.

Chaos and Solace founder Gord Gagne has rebranded his downtown Chilliwack craft brewery and tasting lounge with a new name, new look and new beers.

OLD YALE BREWING CO.

404 - 44550 South Sumas Rd. | OldYaleBrewing.com

MISSION SPRINGS BREWING COMPANY

7160 Oliver St. | MissionSprings.ca

Now with double the tasting room! Celebrate with a visit during the 12 Days of Beermas (Dec. 12-23), which will feature a unique beer every day.

At Mission’s favourite watering hole, there’s a lot more going down than the beer in your glass. Rustic sign night gets crafty and the Redneck Christmas Tailgate Bu et is coming soon.

MCLENNAN’S SCOTCH ALE SCOTCH ALE

GIBSONS GIBSONS

THE 101 BREWHOUSE + DISTILLERY

1009 Gibsons Way | e101.ca

GIBSONS TAPWORKS

537 Cruice Lane | GibsonsTapworks.com

Small batch brews from a small coastal town have developed into distilled spirits here, where live music is a staple at this converted former auto mechanic shop.

UNCLE BILL’S

PERSEPHONE BREWING CO.

1053 Stewart Rd. | PersephoneBrewing.com

ere’s always something poppin’ at Gibsons— Monday is trivia night, Tuesday is Growler Day, Saturday means live music and the beer’s good, too!

PEMBERTON BREWING CO.

1936 Stonecutter Pl. | PembertonBrewing.ca

It’s still the best kept secret on the Sunshine Coast that mostly everyone knows about, where events like Yoga on Tap and a rotating Speaker Series keep things as fresh as the hops grown nearby.

PBC’s wood-hewn aesthetic is more than tting for this corner of the world, where the wilderness is just steps away. ankfully, there is also the civilizing in uence of delicious beer.

THE BEER FARMERS

8324 Pemberton Meadows Rd. | eBeerFarmers.com

TOWNSITE BREWING

5824 Ash Ave. | TownsiteBrewing.com

is Pemberton brewery’s tasting room is located in the middle of an active organic farm where they grow their own barley and hops.

Powell River has long been one of B.C.’s best kept secrets, but Townsite’s burgeoning reputation as one of the province’s best breweries is changing that. Damn them and their delicious beer!

lunanegra.ca | hello@lunanegra.ca

A-FRAME BREWING CO.

38927 Queens Way | AFrameBrewing.com

BACKCOUNTRY BREWING

#405-1201

Commercial Way |

BackcountryBrewing.com

As cosy as its cabin namesake. is communityoriented brewery o ers a warm welcome and a range of skillfully made beer for locals and Sea to Sky travellers alike.

It’s a bold statement to make, but the crew here says their pizza actually rivals the beer, which this year includes a brew hopped exclusively with 2018 Galaxy hops.

HOWE SOUND BREWING CO.

37801 Cleveland Ave. | HoweSound.com

After more than 20 years, still one of the Seato-Sky’s best eating and drinking spots—with the added bene t of rooms if you have one too many.

B

REWHOUSE HIGH MOUNTAIN BREWING

4355

When you’re done on the slopes, make sure to try Derrick Franche’s beers at this classic après brewpub, located right next to Whistler’s Olympic Plaza.

S QUAMI SH

SQUAMI SH SQUAMI SH

COAST MOUNTAIN BREWING CO.

2 - 1212 Alpha Lake Rd. |

CoastMountainBeer.ca

WHISTLER BREWING CO.

1045 Millar Creek Rd. | WhistlerBeer.com

is craft brewery in Function Junction continues to focus exclusively on the Whistler market, often collaborating with local businesses on special beers and events.

Saddle up and drink up!* WBC is supporting Sea-to-Sky mountain biking associations with partial proceeds from four-packs of Hazy Trail. (*Not at the same time, obvs.)

BREWERY TASTING ROOM KITCHEN

NEVER HIT THE BACKCOUNTRY ALONE

BREW PUBS

VA NCOUVER ISLA ND

BREW ERY

2330 Government St. | VanIslandBrewery.com

TUES-THU 11AM-6PM ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-7PM

EST. 1984

Vancouver Island Brewing has nally completed its second rebrand in as many years, and based on the reaction from the beer community, it got it right this time. e expanded beer lineup with more seasonals and collabs is getting a lot of attention, too.

CHAMPAGNE POWDER (GLADSTONE COLLAB)

Availability: Seasonal

Citrusy, spicy and warming, this burnished rye IPA boasts an orange and pine focused hop blend.

Availability: One-o

e rst in VIB’s new collaboration series, this brilliant Belgian brut IPA is inspired by Mt. Washington’s snowy slopes.

Availability: Seasonal

is annual winter release is the perfect beer to enjoy over the holiday season with notes of chocolate, co ee and brandied plums.

Availability: Year-round

A hoppy beer that isn’t too bitter and provides a hearty malt base that lingers into the nish.

WH at’s in a name?

Vancouver Island Brewing opened up all the way back in 1984 in Central Saanich as Island Paci c Brewing, and was one of only four microbreweries in the province at the time. e brewery moved to downtown Victoria in 1996 and wisely changed its name to re ect its Vancouver Island roots.

TWA DOGS BREWERY AT VICTORIA CALEDONIAN

761 Enterprise Cres. | VCaledonian.com

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

EST. 2016

If you nd yourself between the ferry and downtown Victoria, head here where craft brews are on tap alongside single malt whiskies distilled onsite.

MYSTIC KNOT WHITE COFFEE STOUT

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.0%N/A

Co ee and vanilla are paired with biscuity Marris Otter malt and creamy oats and lactose.

REBEL RUN

EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.4%N/A

A proper U.K. bitter with rich to ee and caramel notes balanced with earthy bitterness and fruitiness.

CANOE BREWPUB

450 Swift St. | CanoeBrewpub.com

Tucked away in a corner of downtown Victoria, right on the water, this hoppin’ spot was once used as the power generation station for the city’s street lights when it was built in 1894.

VICTORIA VICTORIA VICTORIA VICTORIA

HOYNE BREWING CO.

101-2740 Bridge St. | HoyneBrewing.ca

DRIFTWOOD BREWERY

450 Hillside Ave. | DriftwoodBeer.com

With nearly 30 years of experience, Sean Hoyne knows how to brew a pitch-perfect lager, stout, dark ale, pale ale, ESB... you get the idea.

FINNEGAN’S IRISH STOUT

After more than 10 years, Driftwood still manages to keep it fresh with new beers, new labels and, for the rst time ever—tall cans for its core lineup.

ÎLE SAUVAGE BREWING CO.

2960 Bridge St. | IleSauvage.com

NAUGHTY IBU ABV N/A 7.3% IBU ABV 12 4.8% IBU ABV N/A 5.1% IBU ABV N/A 6.5%

is long-awaited brewery is focusing on Belgian-style wild and sour beers, so expect lots of Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, Pediococcus and secondary fermentations with fruit.

EXTRA SPECIAL IBU ABV N/A 6.5% 79

MOON UNDER WATER BREWERY

350B Bay St. | MoonUnderWater.ca

PHILLIPS BREWING & MALTING CO.

2010 Government St. | PhillipsBeer.com

e Moon would be a cracking boozer even without Clay Potter’s damn ne beer… and the new distillery, whose tasting room should open sometime this century (thanks, City of Victoria!)

You can expect to nd small batch beers on tap in this raucous tasting room you can’t try anywhere else, along with a range of Phillips’ standards.

SPINNAKERS BREWPUB

308 Catharine St. | Spinnakers.com

SWANS BREWPUB

506 Pandora Ave. | SwansHotel.com

North America’s oldest continuously operating brewpub is where the craft beer revolution started and it’ll soon be celebrating its 7,000th brew!

Swans is celebrating 30 years of craft beer excellence in 2019 and will be undergoing renovations in time for Victoria Beer Week in March.

CATEGORY 12 BREWING

C - 2200 Keating Cross Rd. | Category12Beer.com

LIGHTHOUSE BREWING CO.

2 - 836 Devonshire Rd. | LighthouseBrewing.com

If you’re visiting C12, maybe ensure you have a designated driver because once you start sipping the creative, well-engineered beers produced here you’ll have trouble stopping.

Twenty years of brewing and a brand new taproom make for some good excuses to get tipsy in Esquimalt, where a new feature hop keeps every batch of Numbskull worth tasting.

AXE & BARREL BREWING CO.

2323 Millstream Ave. | AxeAndBarrel.com

Langford’s brewery is celebrating its recent wins at the B.C. Beer Awards (for the beers highlighted here) with the release of its core lineup in bombers.

LANGFORD

MAYNE ISLAND BREWING CO.

490 Fernhill Rd. | MayneIslandBrewingCo.com

HOWL BREWING

1780 Mills Rd.

Tiny Mayne Island is home to one of the smallest breweries in the province, but that didn’t stop it from winning bronze at the 2018 B.C. Beer Awards.

EVENTIDE OAT

is small batch nanobrewery nestled away on a farm in North Saanich uses 90 per cent homegrown ingredients. Look for Howl at the Christmas Craft Beer Show, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

SILVER RILL BLACK CURRANT SAISON SAISON

SALT SPRING ISLAND ALES

270 Furness Rd. | SaltSpringIslandAles.com

BAD DOG BREWING COMPANY

7861 Tugwell Rd. | BadDogBrewing.ca

is bucolic brewery is one of the few that can boast their own freshwater mountain spring— piped directly to the brewhouse—as a water source for its beer.

EARL GREY IPA

INDIA PALE ALE WITH BERGAMOT

is great little brewery in the middle of nowhere is celebrating its rst anniversary by getting to work on an extension to its tasting room and retail space.

OCTODOG APOCALYPSE SQUID

SALT SPRING SOOKE

MAYNE ISLAND NORTH SAANICH

SOOKE BREWING CO.

2057 Otter Point Rd. | SookeBrewing.com

SOOKE OCEANSIDE BREWERY

1-5529 Sooke Rd. | SookeOceansideBrewing.com

Only a year old in November, this awardwinning brewery picked up Rookie of the Year and Best Tasting Room at this year’s B.C. Beer Awards.

4 MILE BREWING CO.

199 Island Hwy. | 4MileBrewingCo.com

Its location next to a gas station on the highway might not look like much, but SOB is making great beer and racking up awards.

Traditional English ales are the specialty here where the secret weapon is the Peter Austin Brick Kettle Brewing System, a simple way to conjure up some solid brews.

WINTER ALE W INTER A LE

BEACH FIRE BREWING

594-11th Ave. | BeachFireBrewing.ca

R

is fabulous restaurant and brewery—boasting an ever-changing, hyper-local food menu and well crafted beer perfect for pairing—makes the trip to Campbell River more than worthwhile.

It’s ironic that a brewery called Riot has had a runaway success with a mild. Nevertheless, the Riot squad is tearing it up with many other styles, too.

FORBIDDEN BREWING CO.

1590 Cli e Ave. | ForbiddenBrewing.com

It may have been cute, but Forbidden’s dinky six-kettle U-brew setup has nally been replaced by a 10-hL system, meaning plenty more beer for the people of Courtenay.

GLADSTONE BREWING CO.

244 4th St. | GladstoneBrewing.ca

CUMBERLAND BREWING CO.

2732 Dunsmuir Ave. | CumberlandBrewing.com

is downtown Courtenay brewery has a big following on the Island thanks to its impressive array of beers and Taqueria Guerilla located next door.

BEST BITTER

BEST BITTER

CZECH DARK LAGER DARK

Cumberland Brewing recently nished its renovations, adding more seating and brewing space. Look for more beers on tap and more experimentation from brewer Anders Petersson.

FOREST FOG

AMERICAN

CRAIG STREET BREW PUB

25 Craig St. | CraigStreet.ca

RED ARROW BREWING CO.

5255 Chaster Rd. | RedArrowBeer.ca

Downtown Duncan is a cute community that’s found an anchor in this cozy brewpub, housed in a 1940s building. Lots of options when it comes to seating, food and beer.

Make sure to pull o the Island Highway on your way through Duncan and visit this delicious roadside attraction, housed in a charming brick building covered in hops.

SMALL BLOCK BREWING CO.

203-5301 Chaster Rd. | SmallBlockBrewery.com

Duncan’s newest brewery is up to some innovative stu , including brewing beer from unused bread courtesy of the Cowichan Green Community.

RYECYCLED PALE ALE

FRESH HOPPED RYE ALE

LONGWOOD BREWERY

101A-2046 Boxwood Rd. | LongwoodBeer.com

All of Longwood’s beers are vegan—even the Honey Hop Pale Ale features honey malt, not actual honey, so no bees were a ected or o ended.

CAKE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY STOUT Availability:

LONGWOOD BREWPUB

5775 Turner Rd. | LongwoodBrewpub.com

ESB

EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

GREEN GOBLIN IRISH RED ALE IRISH RED ALE

SCOTTISH ALE WEE HEAVY

11 6.2%

OWN WEIZENBOCK

87 NANAIMO DUNCAN NANAIMO

WHITE SAILS BREWING

125 Comox Rd. | WhiteSailsBrewing.com

WOLF BREWING CO.

940 Old Victoria Rd. | WolfBrewingCompany.com

ree years old and winning national and international beer awards left and right, White Sails is a must-visit if you’re passing through the Hub City.

is Nanaimo operation has kegs for rent, and regularly accepts submission from artists for label designs.

MOUNT ARROWSMITH BREWING CO.

109-425 East Stanford Ave. | ArrowsmithBrewing.com

TWIN CITY BREWING

4503 Margaret St. | TwinCityBrewing.ca

Head brewer Dave Woodward brings 16 years of craft experience back to his hometown after stints at Whistler and To no Brewing. BRIX

Racking up awards from Vancouver Craft Beer Week and the B.C. Beer Awards is just one more push to get you to the Island because these brews are only available onsite.

LOVESHACK LIBATIONS

1 - 4134 Island Hwy. West | LoveShackLibations.com

TOFINO BREWING CO.

691

Wednesday is the night you want to hit up this spot where a new beer is released every week and the brews you take home are hand bottled and bottle conditioned. DINGO

is brewery has been an important part of the To no community for a long time, employing locals and brewing beer for locals and tourists alike.

BIG WHITE KAMLOOPS

ELEVATION 57 BREWING COMPANY

20 Kettleview Rd. | SessionsTapHouseAndGrill.com

IRON ROAD BREWING

980 Camosun Crs. | IronRoadBrewing.ca

Visit Canada’s highest brewery located at the Sessions Tap House and Grill, a ski-in/ski-out pub at the Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna.

PATROLLER

Trust two geologists to research the lay of the land before opening a brewery. Kamloops is clearly crazy for beer, as evidenced by Richard Phillips and Jared Tarswell’s ever-busy taproom.

KAMLOOPS KAMLOOPS

RED COLLAR BREWING CO.

355 Lansdowne St. | RedCollar.ca

THE NOBLE PIG BREWHOUSE

650 Victoria St. | eNoblePig.ca

e 12 days of Christmas take on new meaning here where tasting room deals run for the 12 days leading up to Dec. 24. And don’t forget—it’s $2 o growlers every day between 1 and 3 p.m.

Brewpubs that serve creative, fresh, wellcrafted food are sadly still a rarity in B.C. Kamloops is lucky to have one of the few that excel.

BNA BREWING CO.

1250 Ellis St. | BNABrewing.com

BOUNDARY BREWING

2-455 Neave Crt. | BoundaryBrewing.beer

A beautiful building, arcade games, a bowling alley, amazing food—you might think the beer was an afterthought. But it turns out it’s the best part!

TENNESSEE

Availability:

FREDDY’S BREWPUB

124 McCurdy Rd. | McCurdyBowl.com

Oliver Gläser’s gemütlich brewery o ers a ne line of German-style beer brewed in what’s believed to be the only oak kettle system in Canada.

ROGGENBIER

KETTLE RIVER BREWING CO.

731 Baillie Ave. | KettleRiverBrewing.ca

ere’s de nitely a Big Lebowski vibe to this bowling alley brewpub—they even named a beer after the Dude himself.

Availability: Small batch

RED BIRD BREWING

1086 Richter St. | RedBirdBrewing.com

TREE BREWING BEER INSTITUTE

1346 Water St. | TreeBrewingBeerInstitute.com

It feels like Red Bird only just opened, and now an expansion is already in the works. Clearly the brews are going down well with Kelownians.

While the original brewery is no longer, Tree’s downtown microbrewery and tasting room is still going strong with fresh beers, great food and daily tours.

VIRTUE

1033 Richter St. | ViceAndVirtueBrewing.ca

ey’re calling Kelowna’s North End the Brewery District, and V&V is its newest member. Inventive beer and a locally, seasonally driven food menu.

is brewery focused on “rustic ales with a bit of a wild side” just opened, but its rst batch of barrel-aged beers is already starting to mature.

FIREHALL BREWERY

6077 Main St. | FirehallBrewery.com

BAD TATTOO BREWING CO.

169 Estabrook Ave. | BadTattooBrewing.com

Firehall’s Beer Shop & Social has a busy calendar lled with trivia nights and jam sessions. Also watch out for a bourbon-barrelaged stout coming out soon!

STOKED EMBER

A tourist draw in its own right, this impressive, custom-built brewery and restaurant packs them in with the promise of great pizza and beer.

BARLEY MILL BREW PUB

2460 Skaha Lake Rd. | BarleyMillPub.com

CANNERY BREWING

198 Ellis St. | CanneryBrewing.com

is popular community brewpub has a welcoming atmosphere, tasty food and delicious beer. Celebrate New Year’s Eve at a dinnerdance with music by the Hillside Outlaws.

Cannery is ramping up the fundraising, with movie nights for local charities, Santa visits for the kids with proceeds of Power Chord Pilsner donated to the Canadian Mental Health Assn.

HIGHWAY 97 BREWERY

954 Eckhardt Ave. | Hwy97Brewery.com

THE TIN WHISTLE B

CO.

Pull o the highway to check out this familyrun open-concept brewery, where you can sample the pints right next to where the beer’s being brewed.

Long thought of as kicking o the craft movement in the Okanagan back in 1995, everything you sip on here is preservative and chemical free.

BARLEY STATION BREW PUB

20 Shuswap St. N. | BarleyStation.com

You’re not going to get the newest, trendiest beer fads at Barley Station, but you will get well-crafted, classic beer styles brewed as they were meant to be.

CRANNÓG ALES

706 Elson Rd. | CrannogAles.com

DETONATE BREWING

#104-9503 Cedar Ave. | DetonateBrewing.com

e brewery’s associated farm, Left Fields Coop, is the only place you’ll nd an indigenous hop variety called Sockeye.

OLD PUDDIN’ HEAD WINTER ALE

Availability: Seasonal

THE RISING ESB EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

Availability: Rotating

It may have B.C.’s smallest tasting room, but Detonate has some pretty big beers. Worth a detour if you’re passing through Summerland.

BIG BLAST KETTLE SOURED BROWN ALE

Availability: Seasonal

WHITE IPA WHITE INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: One-o

MARTEN BREWING CO.

2933A 30th Ave. | MartenBrewpub.com

KIND BREWING

2405 Main St. | Facebook.com/KindBrewer

After re-introducing Vernon to craft beer (OK Spring was an early pioneer, after all), Marten is getting playful with barrel releases and other unusual styles.

OL’ SCOTT BARREL-AGED

Availability: One-o

BACK IN BROWN

MILK BROWN PORTER WITH LICORICE ROOT

West Kelowna’s only craft brewery is always a fun time with live music, a full kitchen, games nights and happy hour deals from 3-6pm.

BALTIC PORTER

BLONDE ALE BLONDE ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

Availability: Seasonal

FERNIE BREWING CO.

26 Manitou Rd. | FernieBrewing.com

MON-THU 11AM-7PM ^ FRI -SAT 11AM-8PM SUN 11AM-6PM

EST. 2003

As the snow falls, the fun in Fernie picks up—and the town's brewery is a top spot to round out another day on the slopes. A recent clean, colourful rebranding and Limited Release IPA series in 473mL cans means the takeout options are appealing, too.

FIRST

TRAX

BROWN ALE

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.0%14

A Fernie classic, with eight specialty malts lending notes of chocolate and hazelnuts.

PROJECT 9

PILSNER

Availability: Year-round

ABV IBU 5.0%35

Clean and crisp as a bluebird day, with a restrained, balancing bitterness.

SNOWBLIND

BELGIAN-STYLE INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Small batch

ABV IBU 5.5%35

A sumptuous winter treat that Canadianizes a British classic with a judicious hit of maple syrup.

Availability: Small batch

ABV IBU 7.9%78

Galaxy and Vic Secret hops add passionfruit and grapefruit notes to fruity Belgian yeast esters.

Coal country

While Fernie’s economy is based around outdoor activities, the city was founded on coal—it was prospector

William Fernie who established the area’s coal industry in the 19th century. While mining has moved away from the city proper, its legacy can be seen in the mining infrastructure preserved at the tourist information centre, close to the brewery.

SAP SUCKER MAPLE PORTER

Photo: Mike McPhee

CRANBROOK

FISHER PEAK BREWING CO.

821 Baker St. | eHeidOut.ca

WHITETOOTH BREWING

623 8th Ave. N. | WhitetoothBrewing.com

Fisher Peak’s award-winning beers are available at the Heid Out Restaurant and Brewhouse, where the food is made by its team of Red Seal chefs.

HELLROARING SCOTTISH SCOTTISH ALE

Availability: Seasonal

WHITE WOLF IPA

INDIA PALE ALE

Tucked away in tiny Golden, Whitetooth is nally getting the recognition it deserves with a pair of gold medals at the 2018 B.C. Beer Awards.

THE GOLDEN BLACK BELGIAN

INVERMERE KASLO

ARROWHEAD BREWING CO.

481 Arrow Rd. | ArrowheadBrewingCompany.ca

is kitschy spot in scenic Invermere serves up classic West Coast craft styles in its ‘50s gas station-themed tasting room.

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING

RASPBERRY DARK ALE

KICK ASS COFFEE CREAM ALE

ANGRY HEN BREWING

343 Front St. | AngryHenBrewing.com

Kaslo’s craft brewery located on the shore of Kootenay Lake celebrates its rst year in operation on Dec. 15. Time ies when you’re having fun!

HAZY IPA INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Small batch Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

LIL RED HEN IRISH RED ALE

KIMBERLEY NELSON

OVER TIME BEER WORKS

136A Wallinger Ave. | OverTimeBeer.ca

BACKROADS BREWING CO.

460 Baker St. | BackroadsBrewing.com

In the province’s highest city you’ll nd the warmest people and the coldest beer—lots of small batches to be had, but only on tap so you’ve gotta come hang.

RIGHT ABOUT NOW

COPPER TOP

Good news! is Baker Street brewery is expanding its capacity by adding 10 new tanks so that they can better keep up with local demand.

FRESHLY SQUEEZED BLOOD

NELSON BREWING CO.

512 Latimer St. | NelsonBrewing.com

THE SAVOY BREWERY

198 Baker St. | SavoyHotel.com

When the brewery was rst built in 1892, Ward Creek was diverted to run through it as a water source. NBC doesn’t use it for brewing, but the creek still runs right through the brewhouse.

PRINCE OF DARKNESS

FACEPLANT WINTER ALE

Billed as a mini-resort in the heart of e ortlessly awesome Nelson, the Savoy Hotel’s many facilities include a nanobrewery that services its other venues.

STOUT 'N' ABOUT NITRO STOUT

SPRUCEY GOOSEY IPA

TORCHLIGHT BREWING CO.

125 Hall St. | TorchlightBrewing.com

MT. BEGBIE BREWING CO

2155 Oak Dr. | Mt-Begbie.com

Say goodbye to bombers, because Torchlight’s beers are now available exclusively in tall cans. You can always try them on draft at the brewery, along with great food, sodas and craft bar syrups.

MOUNTAIN KING GOLDEN STOUT

Availability: Seasonal

ROSSLAND BEER CO.

1990 Columbia Ave. | RosslandBeer.com

Craft beer might be a relatively new scene but this small mountain town has been brewing since the late 1800s when 10 breweries were pouring thanks to the mining boom.

HELTER SMELTER AMBER ALE AMBER ALE

Availability: Year-round

IMPERIAL IBU ABV 60 10.0%

Availability: Seasonal SEVEN SUMMITS

Availability: Year-round

STOKED WINTER ALE

Availability: Seasonal

GROND: HAMMER OF THE UNDERWORLD IMPERIAL IPA

Availability: Seasonal

TRAIL BEER REFINERY

1299 Bay Ave. | TrailBeerRe nery.ca

e Trail Smoke Eaters hockey team has a storied history so it’s pretty cool that this brewery makes the o cial canned beer sold at the arena.

COLUMBIA CREAM ALE GOLDEN CREAM ALE

Availability: Seasonal

ELEVENTY-ONE IBU ABV 20 5.5% IBU ABV 36 5.9% IBU ABV 18 5.0%

Availability: Year-round

IBU ABV 20 6.0% IBU ABV 88 10.0% 102 NELSON REVELSTOKE ROSSLAND TRAIL

JACKSON’S SOCIAL CLUB & BREWHOUSE

175 Hwy. 97 | JacksonsSocialClub.com

BEARD’S BREWING CO.

10408 Alaska Rd. N. | BeardsBrewing.ca

Keith Jackson is a DIY kinda guy—he brews the beer, serves the beer, built the patio himself and even roasts his own co ee beans for his Giddy Up Brunette co ee ale.

WRANGLER IPA INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

MIGHTY PEACE

BREWING CO.

UP

Life is brewtiful in the northeast where Hump Day means Whiskey Wednesday and 12 di erent varieties of B.C. grown hops means a taste of something for everybody.

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Small batch

Availability: Year-round

CROSSROADS

BREWING

508 George St. | CrossroadsCraft.com

10128 95th Ave. | MightyPeaceBrewing.ca

All those Site C workers are bound to be working up a mighty thirst, so it’s just as well Mighty Peace came on line in June. Now in cans!

CHOCOLATE

Availability: Semi-regular

Downtown Prince George’s hottest spot even in the middle of winter, thanks to solid brews and killer wood- red pizzas.

Availability: Year-round Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

FORT ST JOHN PRINCE GEORGE

One part East Van-style brewery, one part distillery and one part community centre, with trivia, movies, board games, yoga, live music and DJs featured on any given evening.

is plucky little brewery at the edge of the world turns ve on Dec. 21. It ran out of beer ve days after it rst opened, but that won't happen again thanks to a recent brewhouse upgrade.

SMITHERS SMITHERS

BULKLEY VALLEY BREWERY

3860 1st Ave. | BulkleyValleyBrewery.ca

SMITHERS BREWING CO.

3832 3rd Ave. | SmithersBrewing.com

is community-focused brewery was founded by two Smithereens with a passion for the Northern B.C. lifestyle of skiing, boarding, shing and biking in unexplored wilderness.

RIPPY RED ALE RED ALE

A purpose-built brewery with stunning views of the surrounding mountains and an inventive line of beer.

SHERWOOD MOUNTAIN BREWHOUSE

101 - 4816 Hwy. 16 West | SherwoodMountain.beer

THREE RANGES BREWING CO.

1160 5th Ave. | reeRanges.com

Crafting German-style brews from the great north of B.C. was the brainchild of a craft beer industry veteran and his science-minded partner.

Having brewed the best beer in the northern Rockies for ve years now, ree Ranges recently got province-wide recognition with a gold at the B.C. Beer Awards.

We are Northwest Hop Farms—a full-service hop farm and hop distribution company based in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

From our family farm in Chilliwack, we harvest, package, and ship hops to 17 countries worldwide. In addition to our own hops, we partner up with the best farmers in B.C., U.S.A., and around the world, to offer over 180 varieties of quality hops to the brewing industry.

Our mission is to raise the profile of our many partner farmers in the area, as well as to promote the resurgence of hop farming in British Columbia. We are incredibly passionate about hops and the craft brewing industry and we are excited to share our passion with you!

NORTHWEST HOP FARMS

Chilliwack, B.C.

604-845-7974 • sales@northwesthopfarms.com www.northwesthopfarms.com

BEER GROUND To the

A NOTHER BEER CO.

New Westminster (early 2019) is one has been on the drawing board for a while now, but it looks like ABC is creeping closer to reality with a facility on Capilano Way in Sapperton. AnotherBeerCo.com

T HE BAKERY BREWING CO.

Port Moody (summer 2019) Can Murray Street handle another brewery? Moody Ales’ Adam Crandall thinks so, and judging by the lineups on a Saturday night (or a Tuesday, for that matter), we think so too.

C LOV ERDALE BREWING

Surrey (spring/summer 2019) Located near 176th St. and 64th Ave., the team behind this craft brewery has started construction and hopes to be pouring early in the new year.

D OG MOU NTAIN BREWING

Port Alberni (summer 2019) e Twin City’s second craft brewery is looking to open shop in the heart of Port Alberni’s historic downtown at ird and Argyle. Brewer/owner Robin Miles is hoping to o er sessionable classics and mixed fermentation experiments. DogMountainBrew.com

FARM COU NTRY BREWING

Langley (summer 2019) e rst craft brewery in the City of Langley (Trading Post is technically in Langley Township), Farm Country hopes to open its tasting room (complete with patio!) next to the Cascades Casino by the summer. FarmCountryBrewing.com

FO U R W IND S BREWING CO.

Tsawwassen (2019) Delta’s favourite sons are bringing their operation back to their hometown with this impressive brewery at the centre

of the new Southlands development. e new, purpose-built Four Winds brewery will feature a bigger tasting room, more taps and an expanded kitchen featuring local ingredients. Be still my beating liver! FourWindsBrewing.ca

FRA S ER M ILL S FERMENTATION C O.

Coquitlam (late 2019) e centerpiece for the new waterfront Fraser Mills development in South Coquitlam. Expect beer, wine, cider, mead, spirits and delicious food—everything you could ever want, really. FraserMillsFermentation.com

HATCHERY B REWING

Penticton (summer 2019) is welcome addition to the Penticton beer scene will feature an open concept tasting room with seating for more than 250, barrel-aged beers and a food program to rival any restaurant in town. HatcheryBrewing.com

T HE H ERALD STREET BREW WORK S

Victoria (2019) e good folks at e Drake

Eatery and Steel & Oak Brewing are teaming up to make this brewery just north of downtown a reality. Given the people involved, it’s safe to say this place is going to be friggin’ sweeeeeet.

HO US E O F F U NK BREWING

North Vancouver (spring 2019) is brewery is going to get funky with its wild and Brett-fermented ales. e doors aren’t open yet, but cans of Funky Street, its recent collab with Streetcar, have already popped up in North Van. HouseOfFunkBrewing.com

JACKKNI F E BREWING

Kelowna (late 2019) Kettle River brewer Brad Tomlinson is moving right next door and opening his own brewery, promising a heavy metal edge and big weird beers.

Just when you think the craft beer revolution might be slowing down, another dozen breweries pop up out of nowhere. We’re working overtime to keep up with them all!

LAND & SEA BREWING CO.

Comox (early 2019) Beer industry veteran Tessa Gabiniewicz is behind the beers at this hotly anticipated brewery. Should be open any day now... LandAndSeaBrewing.ca

MERRIDALE BREWERY AND CIDERY

Victoria (fall 2019) Merridale’s spi y new purpose-built boozatorium at Dockside Green in Vic West will feature a brewery, cidery, distillery, full-service restaurant, tasting room and retail space. is one is going to be spectacular. Merridale.ca

MOUNTAINVIEW BREWING CO.

Hope (2019) One of the last craft beer holdouts in the Fraser Valley will hopefully get its rst brewery next year. Mountainview will be located on the Old Hope Princeton Highway at Fourth Ave. MountainviewBrewing.ca

NEIGHBOURHOOD BREWING COMPANY

Penticton (2019) is new project from Yellow Dog’s Mike Coghill will be located at the corner of Westminster and Winnipeg, smack dab between Bad Tattoo and Hatchery Brewing. Penticton was named the second best Beer Town in Canada this year by Expedia, and it looks like it’ll be gunning for No. 1 in 2019.

NEW TRADITION BREWING

Comox (spring 2019) Located at the Comox Centre Mall, New Tradition is just steps away from the former site of the Lorne Hotel, B.C.’s oldest licenced drinking establishment before it burnt down in 2011. NewTraditionBrewing.com

RED BIRD BREWING

Kelowna (2020) is little tasting room at Baillie and Richter is set to take ight in 2020 with a new brewery right around the corner with a 10hL brewhouse and food options. RedBirdBrewing.com

RUMPUS BEER COMPANY

Revelstoke (spring 2019) is funky little brewery and tasting room is opening up in downtown Revy and is going to focus

on farmhouse ales and session-strength beers. RumpusBeerCo.com

RUSTIC REEL BREWING COMPANY

Kelowna (summer 2019) An ethically and socially conscious brewery focussed on creating community around craft beer. Also home to e Tackle Box, an artisan market featuring local crafts and goods from the Okanagan and beyond. RusticReel.com

STANLEY PARK BREWPUB

Vancouver (summer 2019) e historic Fish House restaurant in Stanley Park is currently being renovated by the eponymous beer brand owned by AB-InBev and will feature a full-service kitchen, tasting room and small batch beers brewed on site. StanleyParkBrewing.com

SUPERFLUX BREWING

North Vancouver (2019-ish) Everyone’s favourite IPA-makers are working on getting a brewery of their own on the North Shore. No timeline yet for when that will happen, though. Super uxBeer.com

TIN SHED BREWING

Port Coquitlam (2019) e craft beer oodgates have opened in PoCo. After being the largest municipality in Metro Vancouver without a craft brewery, the ‘burb saw two open last year and Tin Shed is poised to be the third. Conveniently located just around the corner from Northpaw Brewing on Sherling Place. TinShedBrewing.ca

UCLUELET BREWING CO.

Ucluelet (summer 2019) Located in a former church, Ukee’s rst craft brewery hopes to have a full beer and food lineup ready to go for the tourist season. UclueletBrewing.ca

WILDEYE BREWING

North Vancouver (early 2019) is Seylynn brewery plans to have its own cider and housemade craft sodas on tap alongside its beer. Expect a full kitchen, too. WildeyeBrewing.ca j

• Got a hot brewery tip?

Let us know at editor@thegrowler.ca!