The Growler B.C. • Volume 5 Issue 3 • Fall 2019

BRITISH COLUMBIA

PUBLISHER

Gail Nugent gnugent@thegrowler.ca

E DITOR

Rob Mangelsdorf editor@thegrowler.ca

778-840-5005

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ted Child

Ben Johnson

Kristina Mameli

Rob Mangelsdorf

Brittany Tiplady

Rebecca Whyman

Joe Wiebe

PRODUCTION & DESIGN MANAGER

Tara Ra q tara@thegrowler.ca

PHOTOGRAPHY

Rob Mangelsdorf

Dan Toulgoet

Lara Zuckowsky

COVER ILLUSTRATION

Marcus Hynes

SOCIAL MEDIA

Danielle Boileau

DISTRIBUTION

Craig Sweetman (Newsstand)

Rob Mangelsdorf (Direct) ordersbc@thegrowler.ca

SUBSCRIPTIONS

bc.thegrowler.ca/subscribe

Copyright © e Growler 2019

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Every e ort is made to avoid errors and omissions. If you notice an error, please accept our apologies and notify us.

PUBLISHED BY Glacier Media Group thegrowler.ca |

LOWER MAINLAND / NORTH SHORE

VANCOUVER

VICTORIA / GULF ISLANDS

B.C.'S BUCKET LIST PUBS

REMEMBERING JOHN MITCHELL

TRAVEL: HAMILTON

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

GROW YOUR OWN WAY

PRAISE BE THE TASTING ROOM

CIDER TAKES A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

THE TRUTH WILL SET US FREE

THE WIDE WORLD OF WHEAT

BEER AWARDS ARE BULLSHIT. SORT OF.

CRAFT BEER EVENTS CALENDAR

RECIPE: LAGER-ROASTED HERB CHICKEN SALAD

B.C. BREWERY LISTINGS

BEER TO THE GROUND

VANCOUVER ISLAND

Breweries by Region

34 69 52 72 76 87 93 104 108

VAN C OU V ER

LOWER M AINLAN D / N ORT H S HORE

FRASER VALLEY

S EA TO S KY / S UNS H INE C OAST

VIC TORIA / G ULF I SLAN DS

VAN C OU V ER I SLAN D

TH OM PSON OKANAGAN / K ELOWNA

K OOT E NAYS

N ORT H ERN B. C.

Editor’s Note

e craft beer world lost one of its founding fathers in June with the passing of John Mitchell. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to meet John, but as someone who’s deeply passionate about craft beer, I was well aware of his impact. John fought for years to legalize the production and sale of craft beer, laying the foundation for its very existence. He helped found the rst two craft breweries in this province, and in uenced countless others. Without him, the craft beer industry in B.C. and Canada as we know it today would not exist—and likely neither would e Growler. We all owe John a great debt for ghting the good ght, breaking the corporate monopoly and bringing beer back to the people.

is issue we’ve taken a look at John’s life and his lasting legacy in the words of those who knew him best (pg. 8). Perhaps the biggest testament to John’s legacy can be found in our listings, with close to 190 craft breweries now operating in B.C. (pg. 34) and many more on the way (pg. 112). And I think John would be happy to see the many events that have popped up across the province to celebrate craft beer (pg. 30).

So to the Grandfather of Canadian Craft Beer, I raise a glass, and I encourage you to do the same.

Cheers, John!

—Rob Mangelsdorf, editor

G ROWLER-APPROVE D

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

Brewery Details

GROWLER FILLS

BOTTLES / CANS KEGS

TASTING ROO M

ON- SITE KITCHEN OR F OOD TRU CK

TOURS

KI D FRIEN D LY

G LUTEN - FREE B OOZE OPTIONS

Suggested Glassware

STANGE

Kolsch

Marzen

Gose

PILSNER

Lager

Pilsner

Witbier

N ONI C P INT Stout

Pale ale

Most ales, actually

WEIZEN

Hefeweizen

Wheat ales

Fruit beer

TULIP IPA

Saison

Strong ales

GOBLET

Dubbel

Tripel Quad

SNIFTER

Barleywine Sours

Anything funky

bu et li B.C.'S PUBS

by Rob Mangelsdorf & Joe Wiebe

The pub is a special place, a sacred place. It serves as the living room for its community, where young and old can come together and bond over a pint, a plate of greasy food, some keno and probably a game of darts.

Before our phones and the Internet connected us, our forefathers (and foremothers) had to swing by the pub to nd out all the latest juicy gossip in town. ankfully, some traditions never die, and if you want to put your nger on the pulse of a place, often the pub is where to do it.

Here’s our list of unique and charming pubs around the province that we think you should venture o the beaten track to visit if you haven’t already done so. And if you have, then visit them again! Maybe you’ll even win the meat draw!

THE CROW AND GATE PUB

2313 Yellow Point Rd., Yellow Point CrowAndGate.ca

country pub, that’s because it is. e original owner, Jack Nash, was a native of Sussex and imported much of the materials that went into building his painstakingly-designed pub—including the exposed timbers, furnishings, even the windows—all the way from England.

Fun Fact: e Crow and Gate was the very rst neighbourhood pub in B.C., opening in 1972 before the ink was even dry on new provincial liquor regulations allowing pubs for the rst time.

THE HUMMINGBIRD INN

47 Sturdies Bay Rd., Galiano Island

HummingbirdPub.com

is pub could not be more in the middle of nowhere. A sign marks the turno from Hwy 1, and after a 15-minute jaunt past farms, trees, more farms and some more trees, you end up in a little slice of rural England, transplanted halfway between Nanaimo and Ladysmith. is Tudor-style bucolic country pub features low ceilings, dark wood, a massive replace and bar service only. If it feels like an authentic English

e main watering hole on the hippie haven of Galiano Island is kid-friendly, pet-friendly and replete with small town charm. e bar is festooned with aging photographs of the pub’s regulars, and the creaking wooden oorboards of this cedar cabin in the woods only add to its rustic appeal. e best part of any visit to the Hummingbird, however, might be ride there. From May to September, the infamous Tommy Transit runs a shuttle bus between the pub, the

Montague Harbour Marina and the provincial campsite. Once on board the bright yellow school bus, it’s not uncommon for Tommy to get the passengers going in a sing-a-long or pick up one of the many musical instruments lying about and play along. By the time everyone gets to the pub, you’re all best friends.

THE DINGHY DOCK PUB

8 Pirate Lane, Protection Island, Nanaimo DinghyDockPub.com

all dark wood and dim lights and it’s just dripping with character from the leaded glass to the handcarved banisters. e crowd is an eclectic mix of Nelson locals, with some ski bums and tourists thrown in for good measure. ankfully, the beer list is thick with craft options, including beers from local heroes Nelson Brewing, Torchlight and Backroads. With the Spirit Bar live music venue downstairs, the Library Lounge cocktail bar nextdoor and the hotel above the pub, there’s really no reason to leave the building.

GASTHAUS ON THE LAKE

5790 Beach Ave., Peachland • Gasthaus.ca

Located in Nanaimo Harbour, just o Protection Island, the Dinghy Dock Pub is Canada’s only oating, boat-access only pub. at’s right, if you want to drink at the Dinghy Dock, you’re going to have to take a boat—or swim. ankfully, the pub operates a ferry into town for those of us who are boatless. is kitschy pub is appropriately nautical themed; the walls are festooned with Jolly Rogers, shing oats, life preservers and antique diving equipment. Grab a seat on the patio and watch the otters and seals playing in the harbour as kayakers and boaters pull up to the pub’s private dock for a pint. Or stay inside and check out the eclectic live music lineup. After having undergone renovations this past winter, the Dinghy Dock has never been in better shape, and boasts a new and improved food and drink menu, as well.

MIKE’S PLACE PUB

422 Vernon St, Nelson • HumeHotel.com

Nelson’s favourite pub since forever, Mike’s Place Pub in the historic Hume Hotel is

While many of the establishments on this list take their inspiration from the whimsical country pubs of the U.K. and Ireland, not so the Gasthaus. As you could probably tell by the name, the Gasthaus is very much German. Founded by Werner Fischer and Joerg Hoerath, the hand-carved log cabin pub is straight out of Bavaria, complete with an extensive German beer list and German pub favourites like bratwust and schnitzel. In the summer, the Gasthaus’s expansive patio o ers waterfront views of Lake Okanagan. In the winter, cosy up next to the raging re in a stone hearth so massive that you could park a Volkswagen Rabbit in it. e highlight of any visit is the medieval feast, where groups of eight or more dress up in ridiculous costumes and are served a veritable mountain of meat from a 150-pound cast iron pan the size of a patio table.

GUNBARREL SALOON

1000 Stray Horse Rd., Hedley • ApexResort.com

location in front of a large granite rock face. It has two sunny patios, while the interior features huge saw-blade chandeliers, wood oors, and a hand-built fossil rock bar. In addition to craft beer and cider, the Lion’s Head has an excellent kitchen, featuring a variety of meats that are smoked right on-site.

17 MILE HOUSE PUB

5126 Sooke Rd., Sooke • 17MileHouse.com

Located at the base of Apex Mountain Resort, the legendary Gunbarrel Saloon has consistently been voted the best après ski bar in Canada, and deservedly so. e raucous log cabin pub is open from November to April when there's snow on the slopes and attracts throngs of happy holidayers fresh o the hills with cold beer, hot food and good times. If you’ve had a long day on the mountain and need to warm up, try the Gunbarrel Co ee, which involves aming liqueur being poured down a double-barreled shotgun into your glass. When in Rome!

LION’S HEAD SMOKE AND BREW PUB

2629 Broadwater Rd., Robson • LionsHeadPub.ca

Just across the Columbia River from Castlegar, about 45 minutes west of Nelson, the Lion’s Head Smoke and Brew Pub is an oasis of craft beer in Bud country. Troy Pyett and Carly Had eld (daughter of Spinnakers founder Paul Had eld) bought the pub in 2009 and changed its focus to craft beer immediately, facing a customer backlash when their small stock of Budweiser bottles ran out in the rst hour before they sold any of the craft beer they had on tap. But they stuck to their cheeky motto: “Converting Bud drinkers and vegetarians since 2009,” and it paid o . e Lion’s Head is in a large Tudor-style building set in a picturesque

Built in 1894 as roadhouse on the way to the once bustling (and unfortunately-named) gold mining boomtown of Leechtown, the 17 Mile House Pub is steeped in history. Located exactly 17 miles from Victoria City Hall, the former hotel was once home to Sooke’s only telephone. Today the Tudor revival building is a charming little pub right on the edge of Highway 14 that’s impossible to miss. Inside, it’s warm and inviting, with lots of wood, brick, random antiques and pub staples like foosball, pool tables and darts. Outside, there’s a massive patio with a full-size volleyball court, a horseshoe pit, bocce ball and even an outdoor stage for live music in the summer.

Fun Fact: the pub is haunted by a menagerie of spirits, including that of former owner Ma Wilson, who died in the pub in 1970, and the boyfriend of previous owner Mary Jackson, who hung himself either in the hotel or from a tree close by. Spooky! j

JOHN MITCHELL

A look at the legacy of the Grandfather of Canadian Craft Beer

by Rob Mangelsdorf

It might seem hard to believe in today’s craft beer landscape, with close to 190 breweries dotting every corner of this province, but there was a time not so long ago when craft beer simply did not exist. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the North American landscape of beer was barren. Tasteless, homogenous lagers, each indistinguishable from each other dominated the market.

Enter John Mitchell, the Grandfather of Canadian Craft Beer.

Inspired by his love for the rich, avourful ales of the U.K.—and their complete absence in Canada—Mitchell lobbied all levels of government to allow craft breweries the right to legally exist, thus setting the stage for the coming craft beer revolution. He pioneered the country’s rst craft brewery in 1982, co-founded Spinnakers Brewpub—the oldest continuously operating craft brewery in Canada—and mentored countless young brewers at a time when professional brewmaster training programs didn’t exist here.

Mitchell passed away June 16 at the age of 89. Mitchell was born in Singapore in 1929 and raised in England, before immigrating to Canada in 1953. Trained as a ne dining chef, he worked at the Ban Springs Hotel before coming west to Vancouver, where he tended bar at the Vancouver Club and the Sylvia Hotel. By the early 1980s, he had bought into the Troller Pub in Horseshoe Bay, and after a trip back to England with his wife Jenny, Mitchell became convinced he needed to turn it into a brewpub.

Howe Sound Brewing in Squamish still brews many of Mitchell's original recipes he developed for the brewery close to 25 years ago. Contributed photo

e only problem? Brewpubs and craft breweries didn’t exist in Canada and were, in fact, illegal. Not only that, but Mitchell wasn’t a brewer brewing equipment small enough for such an operation was a rarity in North America.

After reading an article in Harrowsmith magazine by brewer Frank Appleton titled “ e Underground Brewmaster,” Mitchell tracked him down to his home in the remote West Kootenay town of Edgewood and recruited him to his cause.

“I read your article and was wondering if you could help me,” Mitchell said in their rst phone

conversation, described in Appleton’s book, Brewing Revolution. “I want to make a beautiful beer, a beer with character, like some you can still nd in England.”

But rst there was still that pesky problem of licensing.

Mitchell took his proposal to the B.C. government and Liquor Control and Licensing Branch and fought to change Prohibition-era laws. He claimed the rules that prevented him from operating were unfair, archaic and amounted to a monopoly for the Big ree—Molson, Labatt and Carling O’Keefe— that controlled 90 per cent of the Canadian beer market. e provincial government, looking to use deregulation as leverage against the big beer monopoly after an ill-timed beer strike and a price xing scandal, was somewhat willing to listen. It took 18 months, but Mitchell got his approval, and the laws were changed.

ere was a catch, though—Horseshoe Bay Brewing would have to be a separate entity, and be located o site of the pub.

And so on June 17, 1982, the rst pint of Horseshoe Bay Brewing’s Bay Ale was served at the Troller Pub, marking the beginning of the craft beer revolution in Canada.

While Horseshoe Bay Brewing was short-lived, its impact was not. e changes Mitchell fought for created an entirely new industry. In 1984, Mitchell and partner Paul Had eld co-founded Spinnakers Brewpub in Victoria, with Mitchell serving as the rst brewer. Today, you can still nd hand-pulled pints of Mitchell’s ESB on the beer list.

“We looked at replicating what Horseshoe Bay Brewing wanted to be,” says Had eld. “So we decided, let’s start over from the ground up.”

“It was John’s dream and he absolutely revelled in the excitement of it all.”

Again, Mitchell had to ght to change the laws: this time overturning regulations forbidding a brewery to serve its own beer on premises.

“He opened the door, with his drive and determination,” says Had eld. “And 35 years later that door keeps getting wider and wider.”

After leaving Spinnakers in 1986, Mitchell worked as a consultant, travelling around North America to teach countless others about craft brewing.

One such brewery was Howe Sound Brewing in Squamish, where Mitchell designed its rst brewhouse and its original recipes, some of which are still in production today, largely unchanged.

“We’re still receiving awards for the beers he designed,” says owner Leslie Fenn. She remembers Mitchell for his quick wit and warm demeanour—a Dickensian character with his trademark cap and thermometer in left breast pocket, ever ready to test the temperature of his beer. Mitchell was a regular at Howe Sound’s tasting room right up until his death, and would visit every Friday for a pint of bitter and a margarita pizza.

“He helped many people, trained many young brewers and helped many breweries get started,” says Fenn. “He brought that [U.K. beer] tradition to Canada… and helped create an entire industry where small businesses can thrive.”

e entire craft beer industry in Canada owes him a debt, she says.

“We wouldn’t be here without him.”

As a craft beer pioneer, Mitchell “started an economic and cultural revolution that went on to challenge the dominance of the major beer brands and changed the way people think about and consume beer,” according to the John Mitchell Foundation, a non-pro t charity named in honour of Mitchell that provides endowments and scholarships for students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s brewing diploma program in Langley.

“My loud mouth got me some attention and it worked,” Mitchell told writer Joe Wiebe in his book, Craft Beer Revolution. “I’m very proud of what has happened. I couldn’t be more pleased.” j

He brought that tradition to Canada and helped create an entire industry where small businesses can thrive.

—Leslie Fenn, Howe Sound Brewing

Hammer Time

CRAFT BEER ADVENTURES IN CANADA’S “STEELTOWN”

Perhaps understandably, Hamilton isn’t on most people’s lists of Canadian tourist destinations. Plagued by outdated images of its former industrial self, who could blame someone for not being interested in a city who’s name tends to conjure images of steel plants belching black smoke, boarded up houses and crippling unemployment?

But that was the Hamilton of the past. e smog is gone (down 90 per cent since the 1970s), the economy is booming and the population has climbed by close to 200,000 people in the past 15 years, many of them eeing una ordable Toronto and bringing their big city tastes with them.

Most importantly, between Collective Arts’ attempts at global craft beer domination and Clifford Brewing being named Canada’s Brewery of the Year for 2019, some of the best beer in Canada is coming out of Hamilton right now. Craft beer needs it needs two things to thrive: cheap

Hamilton's Collective Arts Brewing combines stunning artwork and killer craft beer to create one of Canada's most exiting beer brands.

industrial land on which to put breweries; and a population sophisticated enough to appreciate the beer. Hamilton scores on both counts.

So during a recent trip to Toronto, I decided to spend a day in Steeltown to see what’s brewing. As it turns out, it might be the best-kept secret in craft beer.

CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

I enlisted the help of my trusty beer-loving buddy Nelson for this adventure, and the two of us, sunburnt and soggy in the sweltering humid heat, made our way down the Lake Ontario shoreline on one of Toronto’s incredibly comfortable and blessedly air-conditioned GoTrains. Within an hour and 15 minutes of leaving Toronto’s Union Station we were on the campus of McMaster University in Hamilton.

Words and photos by Rob Mangelsdorf

Despite a metro population of more than 750,000, Hamilton is home to only six craft breweries and they are spread all over the city. Since drinking and driving is for assholes, and Uber—while convenient—tends to get expensive, we decided to get around using the city’s bike share program, SoBi. We set out from McMaster on our bikes, past the hilariously named Cootes Paradise nature refuge and into the bedroom community of Dundas for our rst stop—Shawn & Ed Brewing Co. e brewery is housed in a historic former curling and skating rink, dating back to the 1860s. e vast brick and timber frame building is spacious and provides a rustic beer hall atmosphere, with its many communal picnic tables.

e beer is de nitely aimed at converting the Molson Canadian crowd, with close to two thirds of the beer list on our visit being devoted to North American-style lagers. But it was a hot day to be riding bikes, so we weren’t complaining. at being said, Barrelshed (6.5% ABV, 37 IBU) was an absolute standout. is complex barrel-aged amber ale o ers notes caramel, dark fruit, biscuit, g, clove, oak and citrus with a dry, slightly tannic nish. Unsurprisingly, it won a national gold at the 2017 World Beer Awards.

A short but calorie-shredding ride up the Niagara Escarpment brought us to two of Hamilton’s newest and most exciting breweries, Fairweather Brewing Co. and Grain & Grit Beer Co., located just a block apart in an industrial park in the West End. Fairweather opened in 2017 and has quickly developed a loyal following among locals and beer nerds alike. e tasting room has a familiar minimalist vibe with the requisite whitewashed walls,

wood accents and leafy green houseplants one expects in 2019. But it’s the exceptionally creative and well-executed beer that sets Fairweather apart. In particular, the Nothing More (7.0% ABV) American-style stout wowed us with rich organic cacao, fresh raspberries and notes of roast barley, co ee and dark fruit. ink Black Forest chocolate cake in beer form.

Down the road at Grain and Grit the vibe was a bit more casual. e brewery is housed in a former mu er shop and the garage doors were wide open and the patio packed on this sunny day—largely with the friendly sta of Toronto’s Left Field Brewing, who, much like us, came down for the day to check out what the Hamilton beer hype is all about. e beers were going down fast now, and the In e Palms (6.0% ABV, 90 IBU) lactose IPA went down so quickly we needed to go back for seconds. e luscious tropical fruit avours of mango, passion fruit, pineapple and guava seemed

Tropical flavours abound at Grain & Grit Beer Co.

LEFT: Lagers aplenty at Shawn & Ed Brewing Co. in Dundas. RIGHT: Fairweather Brewing in Hamilton's West End is a must-visit for craft beer fans.

appropriate, given the weather, while the assertive hop bitterness, balanced by the addition of lactose, ensured it nished clean. If a beer could taste how a Hawaiian shirt looks, this would be it.

WORKING CLASS HERO

We cruised downhill into Hamilton proper, and through the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Kirkendall. Here, the working class charm that permeates the city was on full display as we rode past newly renovated historic brick homes while mile-long freight trains trundled noisily nearby. Given Hamilton’s blue-collar roots, it’s only natural that craft beer should ourish here.

We made a well-advised stop for food (and more beer) at Brux House, a craft beer-focused restaurant on Locke Street in a whimsical two-storey Edwardian heritage house. e oysters with mignonette and octopus salad were both fresh and invigorating, but it was the eponymous Brux Burger that stole the show, cooked medium rare to order with bacon jam and crispy onions on a brioche bun. With 16 rotating craft taps and extensive list of cellared Belgian beers, we were spoiled for choice with beer pairings.

Heading north, we made our way to easily the most well known brewery in Hamilton. By combining killer craft beer with eye-popping labels by some of Canada’s most exciting visual artists, Collective Arts Brewing is quickly becoming a global brand. Having already conquered Canada with beers like Ransack the Universe IPA and Stranger an Fiction Porter, it has its eyes set on the U.S. market with a second brewery and tasting room set to open in Brooklyn.

While the production facility in Hamilton’s North End is absolutely massive, the tasting room is surprisingly modest, with seating for 30 people, tops. at said, the beer list was extensive, with 15 beers pouring the day we visited. We settled in the tasting room’s “gallery,” a small semi-private room displaying Collective Arts’ hundreds upon hundreds of di erent bottle and can labels on each wall, from oor to ceiling. e Guava Gose (4.9% ABV) was refreshing and light bodied, with tart tropical citrus notes and balanced acidity.

Located on the far east side of town, Cli ord Brewing Co. is well outside the SoBi’s operational area—but being the civilized city that it is, an Uber is only a minute away in Hamilton. e brewery, which won Brewery of the Year honours

at the 2019 Canadian Brewing Awards, began life as a contract brewery before laying down permanent roots in a massive 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse in the city’s heavy industrial district. e cavernous tasting room sports foosball tables, air hockey and tabletop arcade games, in addition to hosting live music weekly. Cli ord’s somewhat traditional beer lineup is all brewed very much according to style, but it is nailing those styles, so it’s little wonder it wins as many awards as it does. e Bourbon Barrel-Aged Porter (8.5% ABV) was an absolute home run of a beer with velvety richness and notes of chococlate, vanilla, co ee, oak and whisky.

Back downtown, we nished up the night at Merit Brewing, a sleek and modern beer hall popular with Hamilton’s recently arrived Toronto expats. About as di erent an experience as you could imagine from Cli ord Brewing, everything at Merit was immaculately put together, with long communal tables and a menu focusing heavily on the delicious housemade sausage. Waves & Waves & Waves (4.5% ABV), a collab with Swedish brewery Dugges Bryggeri, was a titillating raspberry, blackberry vanilla sour with notes of Swedish sh candies, outdoor pools and youthful indiscretion.

And so as the clock approached midnight—with our heads swimming from the 50-plus di erent beers we sampled and our legs aching from cycling close to 20 km—we hurried to the Hamilton GO Centre six blocks away to catch the last train of the day back to Toronto. A mere 12 hours after we had arrived, we were gone, having been thoroughly charmed by this city of steel. j

Collective Arts' can and bottle label gallery showcases the brewery's creative side.

by Ben Johnson

There was a point in time, the early aughts perhaps, when it seemed like the prevalence of social media was something that was changing the world for the better. Like no other time in history, we had access to virtually all the world’s information, Twitter seemed to be helping spread democracy across the globe, Facebook was simultaneously letting us connect with one another 24/7 and giving a voice to the marginalized. e possibilities for achievement seemed limitless.

But then we over did it. We’ve since learned that disinformation can be spread just as fast as actual information, our newfound digital democracy cleared the way for demented despots to dominate our collective conscious, and there is now virtually

no limit to the amount of fucking invites to improv shows and amateur concerts I receive.

e movement to give everyone a voice and share virtually all information all the time has of course had many casualties (see: America, United States of), and so it’s not all that surprising that the beer world has not been spared. Yes, on the one hand, the prevalence of social media has allowed small, independent companies to a ordably share their stories and their brands and, as a result, craft beer has chipped away at a landscape formerly dominated entirely by behemoth industrial breweries..

But on the other hand, the newly-ampli ed conversation about beer has… kind of ruined everything.

Social media platforms—and their proverbial influencers—are changing how we find out about new craft beers - and probably not for the better.

Because social media has created an atmosphere where virtually all content exists as a sort of attention-de cit version of what it once was, we don’t have any time for anything—and that includes good criticism. In the digital age, no one seems to have the patience or inclination to digest considered commentary on any topic, and so when it comes to thoughtful discussion on beer, the chatter has become even more scarce.

An example: I have occasional tendencies toward masochism and, when they surface, I nd myself looking at beer-related Reddit subs. On one such perusal, I read a post where a redditor called writers who were considering larger issues related to the beer industry “insu erable.”

All PeterHoppingtail86 (or something like that) really wanted was to know was “what new beer is out there?” Someone had actually taken the time to write about larger themes shaping the craft beer industry, but people, like this guy, are either too busy or too inundated with content to engage actual criticism and literally just want pictures of new beer.

e result of this need for lowest-common-denominator “news” has, of course, led to a predictable end result: Suddenly, everyone thinks their opinion matters. When no one really gives a shit who has the best information or who wrote the best article about a certain topic, all that really stands out is who was rst, who has a bigger audience, or who presented their point of view in the ashiest way possible. Suddenly, the voices leading the conversation have shifted.

Enter, the Beer In uencer.

As soon as people gured out that you don’t actually need to put thought into a considered review, you don’t need to engage the owners of breweries, take time to interview the people who actually make beer, or taste and sample beer (let alone visit a brewery) with a critical eye, there came a shit storm of people to ll the void. Every alcoholic with an Instagram account, boozer with a decent Twitter following, or craft beer fan with 30 minutes to set up a YouTube channel now fancies him or herself a tastemaker and, as a result, the critical landscape is basically a wasteland.

Newspapers laid o critics—do you even know a mainstream media outlet with a dedicated drinks person or restaurant critic anymore?—and beer magazines closed up shop. Do you have any idea what a rare and beautiful thing it is that you’re holding a print publication that pays for beer writing (subscribe today, please)? e concept of “beer criticism” in 2019 has largely been replaced with Instagram posts, vaguely-toxic Reddit threads, rarely updated websites, and unedited Youtube videos of people drinking beer they got for free and calling it a review.

And I know, coming from someone who has been writing about beer for almost a decade, this might all seem a little Old Man Yells at Cloud, but I’d argue it’s not just the quality of beer criticism that’s deteriorated, it might just be the beer, too.

Just as in uencers have realized how easy it is to get free shit in pursuit of followers and likes, brewers have realized it is a cheap and easy marketing ploy to simply send beer to people who are already happily over-sharing online.

And I can’t say I blame them. e cost of sending a beer to @MaltyMary420 is minimal and the potential that she will take a picture with your beer in it and share it with a couple thousand followers is high, so why not? Whereas, even ve

It’s not just the quality of beer criticism that’s deteriorated, it might just be the beer, too.

years ago, sending a beer to say, author Jordan St. John might have earned you a public tongue lashing if you sent him a sub-par lager on an evening he found himself with some time to write in his blog. Today, brewers can ship a dozen cans of their new release to Twitterati bros or scantily-clad Instarones and there is virtually zero chance of anyone taking a critical stance of the product.

And if someone like St. John does opt to wax poetic on the shortcomings of the beer? Not to worry, few people will take the time to even read anything over 500 words and, instead, your beer will be readily hashtagged with the #excitement at having received free product and you’ll get FOMO-inducing images of your product shared across the Internet for the cost of half a case of beer.

But this has of course created a sort of negative feedback loop.

Brewers send a sub-par beer to “in uencers” and it gets the same dutiful “Look what I’m drinking!” treatment that every other beer gets, so the brewer can infer that the beer is objectively good, and they keep making it. e alternative is that someone with an actual opinion about a beer dares to voice such an opinion and jeopardizes their access to free shit, so they don’t. Because in uencers trade on the currency of being likable (they literally gauge performance based on “likes”), being negative puts that currency in jeopardy: If they don’t get free shit, they don’t get likes, and if they don’t get likes, they stop getting free shit, so it is of paramount importance to remain likable.

e result is that no one is o ering up real criticism anymore. Brewers reward mediocre social media e orts, mediocre social media e orts are rewarded with the desired tra c, and the cycle repeats itself, pushing the industry toward mediocrity.

Of course, there is a cure and it’s called disclosure.

ere are still some voices on social media who are engaging both their audience and the industry they cover with fairness and transparency. Increasingly, they are the only people I bother to talk to. So, if you actively follow “beer people” on social media, seek out those who disclose.

If you want to read the work of critics who conduct themselves with integrity look to those who let you know when they are being plied with freebies. If someone is at a dinner hosted by a brewery and the brewery paid for the ticket or meal or drinks, it should be acknowledged so that followers can take the praise for the spinach dip and dutiful hashtagging with a grain of salt. "PS—I got this shit for free" goes a long way to building trust.

Beware those who seem to gleefully post the free shit they got without much commentary. It is de nitely fun, in the beginning at least, to have a brewery send you free beer in the mail (it’s free beer, what could be more fun?), but that really shouldn’t be what motivates any one to take to their digital soapbox.

If you’re avoiding writing negative stu that beer drinkers would want to hear because you’re worried it will jeopardize your next “beer mail” delivery, just throw your laptop in a lake and never write anything again because you don’t deserve a public forum any way.

And, breweries, you’ll be better o in the long term if you kick the nasty habit of rotating your freebies through the latest glommers-on. Work with reviewers with integrity and experience and you’ll get more than cheap likes and momentary screen time.

Part of the craft beer anthem is that we’re choosing something more substantial than zzy corn water marketed with bikinis and patriotic platitudes about beavers. Let’s put the same consideration into how we talk about craft beer. j

What does B.C. taste like?

Grow way

by Rob Mangelsdorf

Craft brewers are taking to the elds to explore that very question, growing their own hops and malting barley—even harvesting their own wild yeast. e result is beer with a sense of place and a avour that’s exclusive to their own corner of the world.

Field House Brewing in Abbotsford is one of a growing number of breweries in B.C. now growing its own ingredients—in this case, malting barley and fruit, as well as vegetables and herbs for the brewery’s kitchen. Field House has even developed its own strain of brewing yeast, harvested and propagated from its farm.

For founder Josh Vanderheide, the goal is to brew beer with terroir—a avour that’s unique to where it’s made.

“Growing our own ingredients gives us this avour pro le that’s unique to us as a brewery, and that’s really neat to us,” he says. “It tastes like

the Fraser Valley, and you won’t be able to nd beer that tastes like that anywhere but the Fraser Valley.”

Just as important, in Vanderheide’s mind, is that it allows consumers to understand the provenance of what they’re drinking and hopefully raise questions about the food they eat, as well.

“As a culture, I think we’ve lost a lot of our connection with our food and our ingredients,” he explains. “I think [our beers] are a great way to have a conversation about local food and reconnecting agriculture with food culture.”

Barnside Brewing in Delta is growing 700 acres of organic malting barley for use in its locally-focused beers. Contributed photo

B.C. breweries are taking terroir to the next level by growing their own ingredients

We’re not buying avours, we’re growing them.

—Ken Malenstyn, Barnside Brewing

Six months ago, Vanderheide sold his house and moved onto a ve-acre farm to grow barley and orchard fruits for his beer. Soon, he will be adding a brewery to the property—complete with a tasting room and picnic area—where he’ll base Field House’s barrel-aging program.

Field House worked with Washington State University’s Skagit Valley Bread Lab to identify barley varieties that would thrive in the Fraser Valley and be suitable for brewing.

“Grain is the heart and soul of beer, so we thought, let’s take on growing our own grain for our beers,” says Vanderheide. “We really learned a lot about the idea of terroir and grain: just like wines taste like a certain region, the same goes for grain. So we like this idea that the beers would taste like the Fraser Valley, because they’re grown here.”

Field House’s recent Farmland Series features a grain bill that includes 35 per cent unmalted barley grown on its farm, hops that were grown just down the road, and was fermented with wild local yeast. e plan is to eventually grow 100 per cent of the barley used in Field House’s barrel-aged beers.

Vanderheide says spending the time and e ort to grow the ingredients he uses in his beer has changed the way he thinks about them.

“When you just order hops or malt, you tend to treat it like a commodity,” he says. “You have so much more respect for the ingredients when you grow them yourself.”

Whereas Field House is a brewery that decided to start farming, Barnside Brewing in Delta is a farm that has decided to brew beer. Ultimately, the goal is the same, however: to create beer with a distinctive avour de ned by where it is made.

Barnside is a joint venture between four farming families, who between them have more than 700 acres of organic malting barley, a ve-acre hop yard producing six di erent varieties of hops, organic potatoes, cranberries and honey. Plans are in the works to add another 10 acres of hops, as well as a malting facility.

“We’re not buying avours, we’re growing them,” says co-founder Ken Malenstyn. “Delta has the best soil in B.C.—it’s so rich in nutrients—and that imparts great avour characteristics to what we grow. We were already growing the ingredients, so it made sense to make beer out of it.”

e vision for Barnside—which is scheduled to open later this year—is to make as much of the beer with ingredients grown on the farm, and to provide an experience where beer lovers can see exactly where the beer comes from.

However, that will likely place limits on what Barnside is able to brew.

“We’ve chosen parameters where we’re not going to be chasing the constantly moving IPA target, for example,” Malenstyn says. “But we will make the best IPA we can grow, and it’s going to be unique because of that. And some people might say that’s restrictive, and it is, but it’s also a good challenge… because it forces you to get creative.”

Malenstyn, who’s also a member of the B.C. Hop Growers Association, hopes farm-based breweries like Barnside will inspire other breweries to use more local B.C. grain and hops in their beers.

“Terroir makes an incredible di erence in the value of what you’re producing.” j

Try these B.C.

farm-based breweries

Crannóg Ales // Sorrento

Persephone Brewing // Gibsons

The Beer Farmers // Pemberton

Barnside Brewing // Delta

Field House Brewing // Abbotsford

Howl Brewing // North Saanich

Abbotsford's Field House Brewing features local ingredients in its Farmland series of beers, including unmalted barley grown on the brewery's own farm.

by Rob Mangelsdorf

Something truly remarkable has happened in the past 10 years in British Columbia. Maybe you’ve noticed it. Next time you’re at your local liquor-serving establishment, have a look around and you’ll notice that not everyone is completely wasted.

It didn’t used to be this way.

For a long time in this province, a bar or a pub served one purpose: to get you drunk. You didn’t go there because you enjoyed the taste of beer and wanted to appreciate it in a social setting. You went there to get fucked up. And maybe eat some chicken wings. But that’s not the case anymore e way people drink has changed, dramatically. People are drinking more, but they appear to be drinking more responsibly, as well. And there’s data that may back that up.

In 2012, the province passed legislation to make craft brewery tasting rooms legal (and pro table). According to Statistics Canada data, total liquor sales have increased province-wide by 21 per cent during that span, from $2.9 billion in the 2011/12 scal year to $3.5 billion by 2017/18. And yet the total number of alcohol-related driving prohibi-

tions issued in B.C. fell 21 per cent over the same span. Meanwhile, alcohol-related hospitalizations have fallen from 400 per 100,000 in 2013 to 361 per 100,000 in 2018.

Our entire province’s attitude towards alcohol and how it’s consumed has shifted, and I believe craft beer and the brewery tasting room are a big part of the reason why.

I’m not the only one, either.

“It’s driving a responsible drinking culture,” Attorney General David Eby told me in 2017.

Better by design

e tasting room is a unique environment, at least here in B.C. Unlike most pubs and restaurants, tasting rooms tend to o er only bar service, which is signi cant. Bar service creates a more social atmosphere by forcing you to move about the room and interact with your fellow human beings. If you see someone you know, it’s easy to change seats, because you don’t have a tab going with the server. You wait in line for a beer, and you strike up a conversation with the person behind you.

e simple act of going to the bar to grab another drink helps create a friendlier atmosphere.

How craft beer and the brewery tasting room has revolutionized drinking culture

By contrast, traditional table service forces you stay put in your seat. ere’s no reason to get up because everything is being brought to you—but that also means you tend to become stranded at your table.

Other elements of the modern tasting room also add to the congenial vibe. e prevalence of long communal tables and the lack of televisions both encourage conversation with your neighbour.

B.C.’s pubs have long been maligned by those from out-of-province and out-of-country as being unfriendly. And arguably they are, because Prohibition-era regulations, like forbidding patrons to move around the room with a drink in their hand, forced pubs to be antisocial.

But that’s changing. Bars like Magnet in Vancouver and e Drake Eatery in Victoria have adopted elements of the craft brewery tasting room to create spaces that are friendly, unintimidating and—most of all—fun!

The kids are alright

e fact that tasting rooms allow children has also had massive impact on drinking culture. Children have a remarkably pacifying e ect on a crowd. People become more respectful when there are kids around, they’re less prone to violence and antisocial behaviour. Also, kids are hilarious, especially when they aren’t yours.

Tasting rooms were the rst liquor primary establishments in B.C. to allow children and it worked

so well that in 2014 the province decided to allow kids into pubs, too.

By modeling responsible, moderate drinking, tasting room culture will have a positive impact on the next generation and how their attitudes towards alcohol. I hope.

Can’t forget about the beer…

e quality of craft beer, of course, is also a significant factor in how we now drink di erently. Beer is no longer a means to an end (that end being complete annihilation). Beer has avour now! And people drink it not to get drunk, but to enjoy it, to savour it, to experience it.

e smaller serving sizes o ered in tasting rooms encourage moderation (you de nitely can’t buy a pitcher at a brewery). It’s about quality, not quantity. at’s why it’s a tasting room and not a drinking room, after all.

More than any other factor, the craft brewery tasting room has helped create a culture of responsible drinking. For many people, drinking beer is now a mindful act, instead of a mindless one. j

It’s driving a responsible drinking culture.

—David Eby, B.C. Attorney General

Phillips Brewing opened Victoria's first modern craft brewery tasting room in 2018, and it has quickly become a favourite with locals and tourists alike. File photo

CIDER TAKES A WALK ON THE

Craft

cider is taking a walk on the wild side these days, delighting our palates with the complexities of natural fermentation

by Brittany Tiplady

Given that B.C. is the apple basket of Canada, it makes perfect sense that local bars, restaurants and liquor stores are becoming increasingly rich with natural and wild cider options. Especially as folks exposed to craft beer are willing to explore anything bottle conditioned and lled with funk.

Wild cider is by no means a recent trend, however.

Northern Spain is one of the oldest cider regions in the world and there are over 80 varietals of cider apples in the Basque region.

“One of the cideries that we work with has written records of their family making cider on the same location dating back 450 years, and oral history puts them back even further,” explains Shawn Pisio, co-founder of Vancouver-based

Txotx Imports. “Basque cider is naturally fermented and has a very high volatile acidity compared to North American cider, meaning it's tart, sour, briny, and funky.”

To the untrained eye, beer, wine and cider are completely separate—albeit delicious—beasts. But on the contrary—brewers, winemakers and cidermakers have been working in a symbiotic relationship for years; poaching techniques from each other to conceive boundary-pushing, wild and wonderful products. e collective secret is a hands-o approach, letting the powers that be—in this case the yeasts, bacteria and terroir of the environment—do their thing.

B.C. cider houses like Twin Island Cider, Salt Spring Island Wild Cider, Sunday Cider, Dominion Cider Co. and Creek & Gully, to name

Summerland's Dominion Cider Co. uses handpicked, naturally fermented fruit in its Foundation Series of wild ciders. Contributed photo

a few, are embracing this approach—and the results are delicious.

So, what separates a wild cider from the other stu ?

“Essentially what we're doing is sort of mixed-culture fermentation,” says Dominion Cider Co. owner Robin Cairns. at means instead of using a commercial yeast that’s purchased and added to the juice that you've pressed, the juice is allowed to naturally ferment itself with the wild yeasts that are available in the environment

“ ose yeast strains will be available on the skins of the apples and the pomace that we create when the apples go through the grinder,” she says. “When we press the juice from that pomace, it will then start to ferment naturally.”

Dominion Cider Co. is an estate branch-tobottle cidery based in Summerland, helmed by a small team of three. e majority of its ciders are wild fermented and naturally made.

“Our Foundation Series are the blends of cider that we've made since we started, but there's always some natural variation and evolution of those products because they are made in a small scale and by hand,” says Cairns. “In fact, all of the Foundation ciders incorporate wild fermentation.”

While some wild ciders boast avour pro les that ring true to a more traditional cider, others blur the lines and bend the rules.

Creek & Gully is an intimate ciderhouse in Naramata that has been producing handmade, un ltered, bottle-conditioned ciders with little intervention during the fermentation process for the past year.

“We are de nitely cribbing from the wine world and making cider in more of a wine style,” says Kaleigh Jorgensen, co-owner and cidermaker at Creek & Gully. “Our rst release was a Pétillant Naturel, or ‘naturally sparkling’ in French. For that one, we barrel-fermented our juice, until there was a little bit of residual sugar, you pop it in a bottle… [and] it nishes its ferment in the bottle and it carbonates in there.”

Jorgensen’s philosophy is to create cider that’s de ned by its terroir.

“I wanted to highlight where we come from,” she says. “We let [the cider] be what it’s going

to be instead of looking through a catalogue that [would] in turn give a more predictable product.”

In addition to using wine yeast, champagne yeast and beer yeast in some of their ciders, Sunshine Coast’s Sunday Cider has a wild program focusing on spontaneous fermentation.

“ e reason why we are doing those wild ferments is because we really like the complexity that the wild yeast and the ‘apiculate’ yeast, the starter yeast that’s found on the skin of the apples, add to the cider,” says co-owner Clinton McDougall. “ ose yeasts will typically get the ferment started, but they die o at anywhere between two to four per cent alcohol. But they add something really quite interesting to the cider. ey have their own pro le, there is a complexity to it, there’s a depth to it. And not only does that add to the aroma, it adds to the texture in so many di erent ways.”

While natural products of every variety are a budding and lucrative trend, Pisio believes that craft beer has truly paved the way for the rediscovery of craft cider.

“People are looking for more complex and interesting tastes.” he says. “Naturally fermented cider made from traditional cider apples, aged in Merlot barrels is a far cry from the days of drinking cider from a two litre plastic bottle.” j

Wild fermentation adds complexity, texture and aroma, according to Sunday Cider co-owner Clinton McDougall. Contributed photo

The truth truth

FRee will set us

FRee

Beer labels tell us little about what we’re drinking, and that needs to change

by Rebecca Whyman

The information contained on beer labels is a-changing. And is that Big Beer I see leading the charge?!

In February, Bud Light began labelling its beer boxes with nutrition charts and ingredient lists. ey’re not the rst to list nutritional information, some of the other big guys were already doing that. But Bud Light went a step further and began listing ingredients as well.

ere are no rules compelling beer makers to list ingredients and nutritional information in the U.S. or Canada. So why would Big Beer go for it? It’s not like they’re known for altruism! Ah, it’s because they think millennials want transparency around what’s in their beer, and Big Beer needs to woo drinkers lost to craft beer and spirits. Are ingredient lists and nutrition information enough? I doubt it. But I sure would like to see more of this delightful concept of transparency in beer labelling. What do we want? Transparency! When do we want it? Dec. 14, 2022!

Wait! What?

Canada introduced some new beer regulations in April, but they won’t be enforced until Dec. 14, 2022. While beer will continue to be exempt from the requirement to show a list of ingredients, the new beer standard requires beer to be labelled with a warning if it contains food allergens, sulphites and/or gluten. Huzzah! e new rules also specify

Bud Light now lists the nutritional value of its beer on its packaging, which turns out to be very little.

that beers need to state if avouring is used. Using a “ avouring preparation” will trigger an additional requirement for a mandatory declaration as part of the common name on the label (e.g. “beer with blueberry avour”).

I’m all for the new standard. It codi es what craft brewers are already doing—innovating with herbs, spices and fruit juices, and using bacteria as a fermenter—and gives consumers more information about what’s in their beer. Much as I like it, though, I want more!

I’m not talking about those o cial black and white charts—Bud Light’s shows how little useful information those would contain. I would prefer a beer label tell me which hops and malts were used, the International Bittering Units (IBUs), whether it’s a kettle sour or barrel aged, and (sigh) how many calories it contains. I won’t die without any of this information, but it does help inform my decision of which beer to choose from the myriad of options. To the breweries including this information already—I say a heartfelt thank you!

I would appreciate a best before date, too. Big Beer is on-side for this one—they’ve pledged freshness dates on labels by 2020.

Now, don’t go getting all worried—this isn’t going to be a pro-Big Beer column! Craft beer leaves Big Beer in the dust when we get to my nal, and biggest wish list item—a mandatory declaration of where and by whom the beer is brewed.

Currently, a Canadian beer label need only include: alcohol content by volume, the name of the product, company name and address, country of origin and its life span if it is less than 90 days. And all that must be in French and English, in a font no less than 1.6mm tall.

Yes, there is a name and address requirement. But that’s for the manufacturer’s name and address, not for who actually brewed the beer, and where.

e B.C. Craft Brewers Guild has been working with government to review the Canada Food Inspection Agency Regulations, with an eye to moving the requirement away from the manufacturer’s address to stating where it was brewed. ey want to see, for example: Goose Island Beer Company, brewed at Labatt Brewing Company Limited, 2505 Rue Senkus, Montreal QC H8N 2X8.

I salute this e ort to improve transparency. If they could get the nal piece of the who-brewed-this puzzle included as well, by indicating that Labatts is owned by AB-InBev, I could die happy. Many, many years (and beers) from now.

e newly formed Canadian Craft Beer Association is stepping into the fray; aiming to roll out a voluntary national seal later this year. In order to use the seal, a brewery must be locally owned and operated. CCBA’s website proudly proclaims that “ e Independent Craft Seal is a seal of authenticity that indicates the beer you’re drinking has been developed and produced by a small, independent Canadian craft brewer.” If it bears the seal, you’ll know it is craft, not crafty.

I had great hopes that our naming rules would also help to distinguish independently brewed beer from shadow brands. If a manufacturing licence is required to use the word “brewery” in a business name, and only brick-and-mortar businesses (i.e. actual breweries) can get a manufacturing license—imposters would be outed by their name alone. Alas, subsidiary beer companies are permitted to use the word “brewery” on beers brewed by their parent company. And most breweries in B.C. prefer using the word “brewing” anyway—in a recent blog post Hired Guns Creative showed that only 10 per cent of breweries use “brewery” as their descriptive element, while a whopping 72 per cent went with “brewing.”

Valiant steps are being taken by craft beer organizations toward transparency. In the meantime, please send your thoughts and prayers for that glorious day, when who brewed a beer will be stated clearly and proudly, right there on the beer itself—in a font large enough to read, of course. j

The Canadian Craft Beer Association's new Independent Craft Seal indicates if a brewery is locally owned and operated.

The wide world of wheat

by Joe Wiebe

Beer, at its most basic level, is a waste product produced by uncountable millions of yeast cells as they chew their way through a sugary slurry (called “wort”) that brewers prepare for their feasting. ose fermentable sugars can be derived from a wide variety of starches and grains, but malted barley has long been used as the primary brewing grain.

But why barley and not wheat? e earliest brewers in Babylonia and Egypt used wheat to make beer. However, the beer that our ancient ancestors drank was more of a boozy porridge, not really the same beverage we appreciate today. at’s because most of the proteins in wheat are glutens, and while those gummy, gluey, elastic proteins are ideal for making bread dough, they are not as well suited for making beer. Wheat also lacks certain enzymes that help convert unfermentable starches into fermentable sugars. And nally, it doesn’t have a husk, which can make brewing with wheat a challenging process.

ere is a positive side to wheat’s protein composition: it enhances foam stability, which results in a bigger, longer-lasting head on the beer. at’s one of the reasons why German and Belgian brewers have long used it as a complementary ingredient in several iconic styles, such as hefeweizens and

witbiers. And this is why today’s craft brewers seem to be using wheat more and more often in a variety of beer styles, especially hazy IPAs and pale ales.

Here is a look at some beer styles that use wheat in a variety of ways.

Hefeweizen

is quintessential German wheat beer is a classic Bavarian style that is brewed by most if not all breweries in Germany. e name “hefeweizen” literally translates as “yeast-wheat,” and that speaks to what de nes this beer. In Germany, it must be brewed with at least 50 per cent malted wheat, but that ratio is often closer to 60-70 per cent, resulting in its pillowy soft texture and thick, creamy head of foam. e beer’s de nitive banana/clove/bubblegum avour pro le comes from the characteristic yeast, a warm-fermenting ale variant that has been used in Germany for centuries. Today, if you travel in Germany you will generally nd three core beer styles everywhere you go: helles (light lager), dunkel (dark lager) and weissbier, which translates as “white beer,” but is used interchangeably with hefeweizen. You might also encounter dunkelweizen (dark wheat beer) or kristalweizen, which is ltered for clarity.

iStock photo

Berliner WeissE

Once the most popular beer style in Berlin, this light and tart wheat beer nearly disappeared in the 20th century before being revitalized as part of the craft beer movement. Typically very low in alcohol content (~3% ABV), the original brewing method did not involve boiling the mash, which must have led to some natural sourness. Contemporary brewers use Lactobacillus bacteria to sour the beer.

e grain bill usually includes up to 30 per cent malted wheat, mainly for the creamy mouth feel and u y head.

Gose

Another German style that has become popular in recent years, gose’s de ning character isn’t so much the fact that is brewed with wheat, but rather that it is slightly sour and salty. Typically, it is brewed with at least 50 per cent malted wheat, just like hefeweizen, but the type of yeast used does not impart the same sort of distinctive character. Souring comes from inoculation with Lactobacillus bacteria, and salt and coriander are also added.

Belgian witbier

Although similar to hefeweizen, this Belgian cousin is typically brewed with unmalted wheat, and sometimes other grains such as oats or spelt, as well as spices like coriander and orange peel.

e use of unmalted wheat results in a stronger grain avour, as well as cloudiness and, once again, a u y, foamy head. Much of the avour comes from the speci c Belgian strain of yeast, and a slight acidic tang might also be present; traditional Belgian brewers encourage a small amount of lactic acid production by letting the mash rest at a tepid temperature for an extended period of time.

Belgian lambic

Traditional sour beers in the Brussels area known as lambic beers are brewed with at least 30 per cent unmalted wheat. Apparently, one of the reasons this is done is to provide extra proteins and other nutrients to help ensure the vitality of the various microorganisms (yeast and bacteria) over months or even years of slow fermentation.

Wheatwine

is American take on the traditional British barleywine style was apparently rst brewed accidentally in the mid-1980s by a couple of California home brewers who put too much wheat in a batch of barleywine. e result tasted great,

and later, when one of them became a professional brewer, he recreated the recipe at the brewery and it became a hit. Today, it is still quite obscure, but a few B.C. breweries produce one from time to time. Basically, it is a strong ale (8-14% ABV) that is brewed with 40-60 per cent wheat to give it a softer texture and lighter avour.

Hazy IPAs

Wheat is often employed in hazy IPAs to encourage the hazy character as well as to punch up the head retention. Brewers use wheat, along with oats and various types of barley, to give hazy beers a complex mouthfeel. Some brewers even use wheat our to enhance the haziness. j

Required drinking

This is Hefeweizen // Moon Under Water

Would Crush // Twin Sails Brewing

Roselle // Steel & Oak Brewing

Steam Punk // Longwood Brewing

Guardian IPA // Strange Fellows Brewing

De Witte // Dageraad Brewing

Take a Walk Witbier // Yellow Dog Brewing

Sunrise Sour Gose // Coal Harbour Brewing Co.

Wheat beers, like the traditional German hefeweizen, are characterized by their creamy mouthfeel and pillowy head. iStock photo

Beer awards are bullshit. (Sort of.)

by Ben Coli

The B.C. Beer Awards are coming up again—as well as the 2019 Growler Craft Beer Awards in December—and with them another annual beer nerd tradition: the debate over whether beer awards are total bullshit or not.

As a brewer who has won maybe the biggest award in Canada (Dageraad was the Canadian Brewing Awards 2018 Brewery of the Year—buy our beer!) I am in a position to say this: beer awards are bullshit.

Sort of. To a certain extent. But I like them anyway and there are good reasons we should keep doing them. Let me explain.

e most common complaint from beer nerds is when a beer they know isn’t very good beats a

beer they know is a very good beer. Well, there are several reasons why that happens.

1. The actual liquid

Unfortunately, judges can’t judge the platonic ideal of a beer, they’re stuck judging the actual liquid they have in the glass in front of them. A beer might be totally amazing served fresh on draught at the brewery, but who knows what condition it was in when it was judged?

Samples for local beer awards are generally submitted just a few weeks before judging begins, but beers heading to national and international awards are entered months in advance and the beer has to travel, sometimes across continents, in which case a brewery’s skill at packaging comes into play in a big way.

Maybe the beer tasted great going into the can, but the judges might have tasted a very di erent beer after three months in transit and storage. Also, every brewery has a certain amount of batch-to-batch variation in their beer. You might remember an amazing batch of a beer and the judges might be given one that’s just okay.

2. Style categories

is is a big one. I’ve heard beer nerds say that the existence of styles totally invalidates beer awards. Who cares whether a beer matches its style category? All I care about is whether it tastes good, so why not just pick the most delicious beer?

Well, awards need categories. You can’t just have a free-for-all where pilsners compete against fruited sours and barrel-aged stouts and expect to have intelligible results. Beers have to be categorized to compete against like beers, and they have to at least vaguely resemble the style category they’re submitted to, so you don’t end up with a hazy IPA being named best kolsch of the year.

A good beer judge will give a decent amount of latitude to professionally brewed beers when it

comes to adherence to style. As long as the beer is in the ballpark of the style, the most delicious beer in that style should win, even if it’s not a perfect example of the style.

at said, the existence of style categories really does screw over certain beers. Some totally delicious beers never win awards just because there isn’t a good category for them to t in. Brewers often have to choose between entering their oddball beer in a category it doesn’t t, or in one of those catch-all categories for experimental styles, where it’ll end up getting drowned in the ood of imperial pumpkin stout and pickle brine gose.

3. Judges are human

Alas, yes, beer awards are judged by human beings. An award is only as good as its judges and some awards have better talent pools of judges to draw from than others. Not every judge is a certi ed or experienced judge.

Many years ago, I volunteered to help pour samples at the B.C. Beer Awards and I ended up getting promoted to judge for a day because not enough quali ed judges had shown up. At the time I was an enthusiastic beer nerd, but I had no o - avour training and zero judging experience, and there I was, judging the work of experienced professionals.

Even experienced judges are awed pieces of sensory apparatus. Every human has blind spots in their palate, and we’re notoriously di cult to keep accurately calibrated. A strong-tasting beer can linger on the

Some totally delicious beers never win awards just because there isn’t a good category for them to t in.

Port Moody's Twin Sails Brewing swept the Hazy IPA category at the 2018 B.C. Beer Awards. Rob Mangelsdorf photo

palate and a ect how we taste the next beer, and an oncoming cold or u can make things taste funny for days before we start feeling sick. And after a day of sni ng and slurping tiny cups of beer, mistakes can creep in. Palates get fatigued and weary judges will sometimes rush the job.

e result is that very good beers, (or at least beers that are usually very good) often lose. Judging is done in rounds, and if one judge in one of the rounds doesn’t totally love a beer, it’s knocked out of contention.

At the same time, rounds of judging mean that it’s quite rare for a bad beer to win an award. It’s easy for one judge to make a mistake and disqualify a good beer, but it’s exceptionally rare that multiple groups of judges will make a mistake and declare a bad beer to be a winner.

Now you’re thinking about that one time a beer you know is bad won an award. Well, I’d say that you should probably give that beer another taste, because in order for a beer to win, a whole bunch of judges have to agree that it’s good.

If awards are flawed, what’s the point?

If you’re looking for someone to tell you what beer you’re going to enjoy the most, beer awards aren’t super useful. Nobody else’s palate is quite like yours and you can’t expect judges to exactly match your tastes.

But beer awards are great for pointing out beers and breweries that are worth checking out. Beer is judged blind, so the judges aren’t in uenced by breweries' reputations or by cool labels and branding. Some of the best beer is brewed by breweries that aren’t exactly fashionable, and beer awards can help to cut through the hype and identify some of the diamonds in the rough.

So this year, don’t succumb to the temptation to argue with the results of the B.C. Beer Awards. You probably won’t agree with the exact ranking the beers are given, and that’s okay. It’s best to take the results as a suggested drinking list, rather than a denitive ranking of B.C.’s beer. ere are going to be many, many excellent B.C. beers that don’t make the list, but there are also going to be a lot of very good beers on that list that you’ve never tried, as well as a few beers that are better than you remember them being, and maybe worth a second try.

If your favourite beer didn’t win an award, that doesn’t mean it isn’t an excellent beer. Any beer or brewery’s absence from the list doesn’t really say anything, either—some breweries don't even bother to enter. ere are a lot of reasons beers don’t win awards, some of which have nothing to do with the beer. j

• Ben Coli is the owner and founder of Dageraad Brewing in Burnaby.

After a day of sni ng and slurping tiny cups of beer, mistakes can creep in. Palates get fatigued and weary judges will sometimes rush the job.

Your guide to get you going to where the beers are owing!

SEPT. 6 & 7

Great Canadian Beer Festival (Victoria)

Canada’s longest-running craft beer festival returns to Victoria’s Royal Athletic Park for 2019 under new management, courtesy of the Victoria Beer Society. With a record number of breweries and cideries participating, this year’s festival features an expanded roster of out-of-province breweries, some of which have never before poured their beer in B.C. VictoriaBeerSociety.com

SEPT. 14 & 15

Whistler Village Beer Festival (Whistler)

Whistler knows how to have a good time, and the Whistler Village Beer Festival is no exception. e festival runs all week long, Sept. 9-15, with the main event at Whistler Olympic Plaza featuring 70-plus breweries and cideries pouring more than 140 beers and ciders. Costumes highly encouraged! GibbonsWhistler.com

SEPT. 20 & 21

Longwoodstock Beer & Music Festival (Nanaimo)

is Nanaimo tradition returns for its fth year, as Longwood Brewery plays host to more than 10 Vancouver Island breweries and cideries. Live music from Current Swell, Carmanah, Dope Soda and many more. Longwoodstock.com

SEPT. 21

Fraser Valley Culture and Craft Beer Festival (Chilliwack)

Support the arts by sampling delicious creations by some of the best breweries and cideries in the province at the sixth annual fundraiser for the Chilliwack Arts & Cultural Centre Society. ChilliwackCulturalCentre.ca

SEPT. 21

White Rock Craft Beer Festival (White Rock) is rst-time festival at Memorial Park next White Rock’s famous pier features locals 3 Dogs Brewing and White Rock Beach Beer joined by a host of breweries from across the province.

SEPT. 27 & 28

Brewloops (Kamloops)

is beer festival has it all: more than 30 B.C. breweries and cideries, a dozen live music acts, a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and a family-friendly event on the afternoon of the 28th. BrewloopsFest.ca

SEPT. 27 & 28

Hopscotch (Kelowna)

More than 2,500 people are expected to attend this celebration of barley-based beverages, with dozens of breweries and whisky distilleries sharing their wares at the Kelowna Curling Club. HopscotchFestival.com

SEPT. 28

Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival (Coquitlam)

Previously hosted at the Westwood Golf and Country Club, this biannual beer fest is moving to the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam for its September event. More than 50 breweries, cideries and distilleries will be on hand serving up samples, with beer-related snacks included in the ticket price. CoquitlamBeerFestival.com

OCT. 4-11

North Shore Craft Beer Week (North Vancouver)

Returning for its third year, North Shore Craft Beer Week kicks o with a Oct. 4 launch party at the Shipyards featuring live music, food trucks

and, of course, all 10 North Shore breweries pouring. For full event listings and updates, visit the website. VancouversNorthShore.com

OCT. 4-19

Vancouver Alpen Club’s Oktoberfest 2019 (Vancouver)

Bust out the lederhosen and dust o your drindl, because Vancouver’s original Oktoberfest celebration is bringing the magic of Munich to you for three weekends in October. Authentic German food and beer, with live music from the Alpen Platters and the Continentals. VACBC.ca

OCT. 5

Oliver Cask and Keg Festival (Oliver) is outdoor event celebrates the many craft breweries, cideries and distilleries of the South Okanagan, with plenty of food trucks, an artisan market and live music from Knackers’ Yard.

OliverCaskAndKeg.ca

OCT. 10-19

Harvest Haus (Vancouver)

After a one-year hiatus, B.C.’s biggest Oktoberfest celebration is back with a new venue at the PNE Forum, doubling its size. e Burgermeister will be there, as will breweries from all over Germany and closer to home. Don’t forget to check out the family-friendly Harvestland, complete with a Bavarian Village, Woodland Labyrinth and Kinder Farm. Harvest.land

OCT. 17 & 18

B.C. Craft Brewers Conference (Vancouver)

Hosted by the B.C. Craft Brewers Guild, this two-day networking and educational

event features 600-plus attendees from all aspects of the Paci c Northwest craft brewing industry. e conference includes peer-led educational sessions, a supplier trade show and plenty of beer. BCCraftBeer.com

OCT. 19

B.C. Beer Awards (Vancouver)

e BCBAs are celebrating 10 years of recognizing the very best beer this province has to o er with another night to remember at the Croatian Cultural Centre. Close to 50 B.C. breweries will be on hand, and with barrel-aged beers being featured as this year’s Brewers’ Challenge style, expect some amazing and unique beers.

BCBeerAwards.com

OCT. 25 & 26

Harrison Beer Fest (Harrison Hot Springs) is weekend of deliciousness features a cask night on the 25th and the main event on the 26th, with 20 craft breweries from the Fraser Valley and across the province pouring beers at the picturesque resort’s St. Alice Hall.

HarrisonBeerFest.com

NOV. 22 & 23

Hopscotch (Vancouver)

Vancouver's original festival of beer and whisky returns to the PNE Forum with close to 150 brands of beer, whisky, cider and spirits available to sample. ankfully there are plenty of food options available, because you’re going to need them. HopscotchFestival.com j

Lager-roasted herb chicken salad with Green Goddess dressing

with Powell Brewery's Hoi Polloi

Lager

If you don’t know who chef Robert Belcham is, then you haven’t been paying attention to Vancouver’s world-class food scene. e 2009 Vancouver Magazine Chef of the Year has been responsible for some the city’s most iconic restaurants, including Fuel, Refuel, Campagnolo, Campagnolo Roma, Campagnolo Upstairs and Monarch Burger. For his latest venture, Popina Canteen at Granville Island, Belcham partnered with an absolute dream team of culinary rock stars, featuring Angus An, Hamid Salimian and Jöel Watanabe. e concept is to bring elevated “fast food” to Vancouver in a remarkable setting—Popina Canteen might be the fanciest concession stand in B.C. with one of the best patios in the Lower Mainland. Case in point, Belcham’s lager roasted herb

BY CHEF RO BER T BELCHAM, PO P INA C ANTEEN

chicken salad with green goddess dressing. is isn’t your auntie’s chicken salad (although we’re sure hers is very nice, too). —Rob

Mangelsdorf

WHY DO YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE?

Beer can chicken is something people usually do on the barbecue and only in the summer. It is delicious and this can be done all year. Also, beer is good for you. In moderation.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS PARTICULAR BEER. WHAT SORT OF FOODS DOES IT PAIR WELL WITH?

Powell Brewery brews the Hoi Polloi Lager for us and it’s absolutely delicious and works very well in this application. It’s a clean, crisp, classic

Dan Toulgoet photos

representation of a lager. I like the combinations of lighter fare with a lager—easy on the palate and the digestion. Other lagers will work as well.

WHAT ARE SOME GENERAL TIPS YOU HAVE FOR PAIRING BEER WITH FOOD?

e number one thing to consider when trying to pair food with beer—or wine, or cider—is to drink things you like. A good rule of thumb is lighter or spicier foods match better with lighter, crisper drinks. With heavier foods a darker and robust drink tends to work better.

INgredients

For the green goddess dressing

• 1 clove of garlic

• Juice and zest of 2 lemons

• 2 ice cubes

• 1 avocado, ripe, seeded, and skinned

• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped fine

• 1 tbsp fresh basil, sliced fine (do not bruise)

• 1 tsp fresh scallion, chopped

• 1 tsp fresh tarragon, leaves only, chopped

• 2 tbsp virgin olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the lager-roasted herb chicken salad

• 1 2-pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry

• 1 can of Popina Canteen’s Hoi Polloi Lager by Powell Brewery or your favourite lager (if it has a label, remove it before cooking)

• 5 sprigs thyme

• 5 sprigs parsley

• 5 sprigs sage

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 radishes, sliced thin

• 1 scallion, sliced thin

• 1 head of romaine lettuce, washed and torn into small bite-sized pieces

• 1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced thin

• 1 small fennel, sliced very thin

• 1 small daikon, peeled and sliced thin

• 1 small red endive, sliced thin

directions

Prepare the dressing

1. In a high-speed blender, combine garlic, lemon juice and zest. Blend until very smooth.

2. Add ice, avocado and fresh herbs, blend on high and drizzle in olive oil until fully combined.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and refrigerate until using.

Make the salad

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Rinse chicken with cold water and pat dry. Season with salt and fresh black pepper inside and out. Place sprigs of fresh herbs and 2 crushed garlic cloves into the chicken.

3. Open can of beer and take a sip (this is important).

4. Place can upright in the centre of an ovenproof baking pan. Open the chicken cavity and place it upright over the beer can, maneuvering the can as far into the chicken as possible.

5. Keeping the chicken sitting upright on the baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven until an instant-read thermometer reads 160 F.

6. Take the bird out of the oven and let rest until warm enough to handle. Discard the skin and bones, shred the chicken meat by hand and mix with any accumulated juices from the pan. is can be done up to one day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

7. In a large bowl, add romaine, carrot, scallion, radish, daikon, and endive. Add in about half of the dressing. Toss well but gently, adjust seasoning with salt and fresh lemon juice.

8. Add shredded chicken and toss through as well. Divide salad among 6 plates and serve for a light lunch. j

Popina Canteen chef Robert Belcham's lager-roasted herb chicken is perfect on its own or on top of this delicious salad with green goddess dressing.

STANLEY PARK BREWING RES TAURANT & B REW PUB

8901 Stanley Park Dr. | StanleyParkBrewing.com

DAILY 11AM-11PM

EST. 2009

After three long years, Vancouver’s newest brewpub is nally open. Housed in a newly-renovated 1930s heritage building in its namesake park, Stanley Park’s brewpub o ers West Coast food and a mix of staple beers with one-o batches brewed on-site.

Availability: Year-round

is Canadian take on a classic American blonde ale showcases a local homegrown hero—the Sasquatch hop.

ELECTRO LIGHT

Availability: Year-round

Brewed with barley, oats and sea salt to produce a light-to-medium bodied beer at only 120 calories per sleeve.

HOLLOW TREE LAGER

Availability: Year-round

German pilsner malt and classic lager yeast provide a solid foundation for fruity, aromatic South African hops.

Availability: Year-round

e malt bill remains consistent in this hazy pale ale, while the hops will be ever-changing.

Availability: Year-round

Full bodied, aromatic and juicy, this IPA gets its bold avour from generous additions of Citra and Simcoe hops.

Availability: Seasonal

Lush layers of berry and citrus avours in this auburn-coloured wheat ale invite you to Layer Up this fall.

S TRANGE F ELL OW S B REWING

1345 Clark Dr. | StrangeFellowsBrewing.com EST. 2014

DAILY 12-11PM

Founders Iain Hill and Aaron Jonkheere agreed they wanted to open a brewery, but couldn’t agree on a name for it. After many failed brainstorming sessions, Hill’s wife called them a couple of “strange dudes” and the rest is history.

TALISMAN

W EST C OAST P ALE A LE

Availability: Year-round

A BV I BU 4.0%29

Don’t let the low ABV fool you: this dry-hopped pale ale is big on avour.

REYNARD OU

Availability: Year-round

6.5%N/A

is fabulous Belgian-style sour brown ale smells and tastes like cherries but no fruit was involved.

POPINJAY

DRY-HOPPED SO U R ALE

Availability: Year-round

A BV I BU 4.5% 8

A juicy kettle sour brewed with wheat and barley and dry-hopped with Citra and Vic Secret.

BLACKMAIL

Availability: Year-round

A BV I BU 4.5%28

Rich, round and slightly sweet, this thick, black stout is always deeply satisfying.

Friday night fortunes

Iain Hill started o doing quality control 10 hours/ week at Shaftebury Brewing. He o ered to work Friday nights if they trained him to brew. “It was an easy way in and everybody liked me for that,” he says.

A couple of years later, he landed the head brewer job at Yaletown Brewing, and the rest is history.

A BV I BU

RE D TRU CK B EER CO.

295 E. 1st Ave. | RedTruckBeer.com

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

EST. 2015

It’s hard to believe Red Truck’s massive Brewery Creek craft beer playground has been open for ve years, but what a ve years it’s been. So many parties, so many concerts and so many beers!

HAULIN’ SOME MASS

N EW E NGLAND I NDIA P ALE A LE

HARD DAY

NORTHWEST IPA

I NDIA P ALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

is medium-bodied hazy IPA is packed with intense tropical fruit aromas and pure juicy bliss.

Replete with oral pine and citrus, this easy drinking IPA is loaded with ve kinds of PNW hops.

A BV I BU 6.5%45

A BV I BU 6.3%69

STRATHCO NA B EER C O.

895 E. Hastings St. | StrathconaBeer.com

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

EST. 2016

If you can’t make it down to Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood, this brewery also likes to make appearances at almost every major beer fest in the province.

BEACH

Availability: Year-round

A BV I BU 4.0%15

A light, e ervescent beer that’s thirst quenching and easy to drink with a tart, clean nish.

BIG SEXY FUNK

Availability: Year-round

A BV I BU 5.5%55

is dry, hazy IPA is audaciously aromatic with big citrus accents and fresh tropical fruit notes.

Triple

Pale

L EMON M ANDARIN R ADLER

INDIA PALE ALE

33 ACRES BREWING CO.

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

33 ACRES EXPERIMENT

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

Big changes at 2018’s BCBA Brewery of the Year, where new brewmaster Trever Bass, formerly of Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland, has taken the reins.

33 ACRES OF

ANDINA BREWING CO.

1507 Powell St. | AndinaBrewing.ca

Start your weekend brewery pilgrimage with 33 Acres’ sister location. Here you’ll nd the latest experiment in fermentation science to pair with wood- red pizza.

33B-EXP.001.

33B-EXP.006.

Ave. | BigRockBeer.com

Andina celebrates its South American roots with a ceviche selection that will convert even the most picky of eaters, lively decor and exclusive Canadian use of Chilean malt.

An o -shoot of Alberta’s original microbrewery founded in 1985, the Vancouver location has a full kitchen and serves wine and cocktails alongside its beers.

BOMBER BREWING CO.

1488 Adanac St. |

BRASSNECK BREWERY

2148 Main St. | Brassneck.ca

Now freshly rebranded, Bomber was the rst brewery to open along the infamous Yeast Van bike route on Adanac and remains an essential stop.

SKYLINE

Apparently, owner Nigel Springthorpe wasn’t satis ed with the Alibi Room and Brassneck so he opened e Magnet on West Pender, which o ers food, beer and the occasional sti drink.

BREWHALL BEER CO.

97 E. 2nd Ave. | Brewhall.com

CALLISTER BREWING CO.

1338 Franklin St. | CallisterBrewing.com

It’s pretty hard not to have a great time a Brewhall, what with retro arcade games, live DJs, delicious food and brewer Kerry Dyson’s award-winning beers, of course.

MORE FUN

Vancouver’s smallest brewery is also Canada’s only co-working beer co-op, helping brewers get their businesses o the ground. Stop by for a taste of the future.

COAL HARBOUR BREWING CO.

1967 Triumph St. | CoalHarbourBrewing.com

Having racked up the awards since its inception in 2011, this little Yeast Van brewery knows what it’s doing. Watch social media for pop-up tasting room dates!

Availability: Seasonal Availability:

Availability: Small batch Availability: One-o Availability:

Availability: Small batch

CONTAINER BREWING

1216 Franklin St. | CBrew.ca

is new addition to the Yeast Van scene has a split-level tasting room with lots of natural light, and plenty of interesting beers to sample there.

CRAFT COLLECTIVE BEERWORKS

1575 Vernon Dr. | CraftCollective.beer

is brewing collective is home to an increasing number of brands and is helping make brewing dreams come true. Perfected those home brew recipes? Call Craft.

is brewpub located in the Granville Island Hotel might have the best patio in town, where you can sample its craft beer staples with views of False Creek and Downtown Vancouver.

DOGWOOD BREWING

8284 Sherbrooke St. | DogwoodBrew.com

EAST VAN BREWING CO.

1675 Venables St. | EastVanBrewing.com

Dogwood is pesticide, preservative and GMO free, as well as being organic, vegan and using locally-sourced ingredients. Check out the new four-pack to taste the di erence.

FRENCH GINGER

GINGER SAISON

Availability: Year-round

IPA INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

ELECTRIC BICYCLE BREWING CO.

20 E. 4th Ave. | ElectricBicycleBrewing.com

Named for the eclectic community from which it draws inspiration, come by on Tuesdays for $5 beers, vinyl on Wednesdays and live music on ursdays.

WHEN IT RAINS IT PORTERS PORTER

Availability: Seasonal

HUMBLE HIVE ENGLISH BROWN ALE

Availability: Year-round

FACULTY BREWING CO.

1830 Ontario St. | FacultyBrewing.com

Good beer, gourmet grilled cheese and a funky atmosphere. Electric Bicycle Brewing in Mount Pleasant is all about lowering inhibitions and not taking yourself too seriously.

CASCADE

Availability: Year-round

YOGA PANTS CUCUMBER BASIL SOUR

Availability: Seasonal

Class is in session at Faculty Brewing, where anyone looking to learn more about beer or prepare for their Cicerone exam can take part in one of the brewery’s “Study Groups.”

402 RYE S.A. INDIA SESSION ALE WITH

Availability: Seasonal

516

CENTENNIAL ESB

EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

Availability: Year-round

RYE

GRANVILLE ISLAND BREWING

1441 Cartwright St. | GIB.ca

HASTINGS MILL BREWING COMPANY

403 East Hastings St. | PatsPub.ca

Enjoyed by locals and tourists alike, Granville Island Brewing is a bustling spot for a pint, some grub and a host of live events.

Did you know that downtown Vancouver’s Pat’s Pub has its own on-site brewery?

Hastings Mill Brewing is named after a historic sawmill that used to be located nearby.

VANCOU V ER V ANCOU V ER

LUPPOLO BREWING CO.

1123 Venables St. | LuppoloBrewing.ca

MAIN STREET BREWING CO.

261 E. 7th Ave. | MainStreetBeer.ca

Luppolo (which is pronounced loop-o-lo) means hops is Italian. Don’t fret if your Italian is a bit rusty because this brewery speaks the universal language of delicious beer.

Five years old and still going strong, Main Street remains one of Vancouver’s friendliest tasting rooms, and easily the best place in town—if not B.C.—for real cask ales.

ROBUST Availability: Small batch

OFF THE RAIL BREWING

1351 Adanac St. | O eRailBrewing.com

Availability: NEW WORLD SOUR SOU R A LE INTO THE BLACK OAT STOUT S TO UT

VANCOU V ER VANCOU V ER VANCOUVER

BERRY DELICIOUS FALL SOUR K ETTLE SO U R ALE I BU A BV N/A 6.7% I BU A BV 32 5.0% I BU A BV 72 8.0%

PARALLEL 49 BREWING CO.

1950 Triumph St. | Parallel49Brewing.com

Between the 40 taps of beer at the tasting room and the ever-growing list of barrel-aged sours in its Cork & Cage series, there’s always something interesting coming out of P49.

SCHADENFREUDE PUMPKIN O KTO B ERFEST B IER

I BU A BV 55 4.5% I BU A BV 20 4.5% I BU A BV 36 4.8% I BU A BV 27 5.0%

I BU A BV 5 4.0% 48

VANCOUVER VANCOUVER

POSTMARK BREWING

55 Dunlevy Ave. | PostmarkBrewing.com

POWELL BREWERY

1357 Powell St. | PowellBeer.com

Postmark’s “Innovation Brewery” in Railtown pours a constantly revolving lineup of small batch, limited brews on tap at its tasting room, e Belgard Kitchen.

PRESERVED

VANCOUVER

R & B BREWING CO.

54 E. 4th Ave. | RAndBBrewing.com

Powell is celebrating ve years at its current location this September, and the awardwinning beers are just as innovative and delicious as ever.

VANCOUVER

SLOW HAND BEER COMPANY

1830 Powell St. | SlowHandBeer.com

While indulging in a Mount Pleasant brewery crawl, hit up R&B for the ultimate combo: great beer and delicious pizza.

GOLD CRUSH

Founders Kurtis Sheldan and Chris Charron started Slow Hand Brewing with a unique mission: to create a brewery devoted to making nothing but great lager beers.

CERVEZA

STEAMWORKS BREW PUB

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

STORM BREWING

310 Commercial Dr. | StormBrewing.com

is iconic brewpub in Gastown is Canada’s rst steam-powered brewery and a great place to sit back and enjoy an award-winning beer. HAZY

Storm is Vancouver’s longest running craft brewery. Fun fact: much of Storm’s brewing equipment was salvaged from a scrapyard in New West and was never meant to be used to brew beer.

Founded in 1994, YBC is Vancouver’s original brewpub, built with the vision of being a true neighbourhood pub and a welcoming gathering place for all.

BRIDGE BREWING CO.

1448 Charlotte Rd. | BridgeBrewing.com

DEEP COVE BREWERS AND DISTILLERS

170 - 2270 Dollarton Hwy. | DeepCoveCraft.com

Bridge Brewing was Norths Vancouver’s rst nanobrewery and is deeply committed to its environmental impact, now operating 99 per cent waste-free.

An essential part of your North Shore brewery experience, Deep Cove o ers an extensive lineup of craft cocktails, wine, cider and a robust menu in addition to its qua able beer.

GREEN LEAF BREWING CO.

HEARTHSTONE BREWERY

1015 Marine Dr. | HearthstoneBrewery.ca

HOUSE OF FUNK BREWING CO.

350 E. Esplanade | HouseOfFunkBrewing.com

ere are few things in life better paired than pizza and beer, and Hearthstone—with its authentic il forno oven—has delicious examples of both.

WIMMELBILDER

House of Funk opened on the North Shore earlier this year and it’s already making waves. It also doubles as a café, with freshly roasted co ee beans available for purchase.

FUNK

STREETCAR BREWING

123A East 1st St. | StreetcarBrewing.ca

WILDEYE BREWING

1385 Main St. | WildeyeBrewing.ca

Lower Lonsdale’s newest brewery opened its doors in July and has quickly proven to be a welcome addition to the newly-designated Shipyards Brewery District.

Wildeye has become a local favourite since opening earlier this summer thanks to its 12 taps and delicious snacks from its kitchen. Its beers are available in tall cans and bombers, too.

CZECH

DAGERAAD BREWING

114 - 3191 underbird Cres. | DageraadBrewing.com

SUN-THU 12-9PM ^ FRI 11AM-10PM ^ SAT 11AM-9PM

EST. 2014

Ben Coli is ve years into his mission to educate the masses on the joys of ester-forward, bottle conditioned ales and is still consistently committed to quality. For fans of Belgian-style beer—always a bit rare ed on the B.C. shelves—Dageraad is a godsend and its tasting room is a must-visit.

Availability: One-o

Brewed with pink peppercorns and rose petals for a light, fruity, peppery note.

Availability: Limited

With an aroma of noble hops and oral alcohol, this tripel is a multiple award-winner.

Availability: Seasonal

A lacto-fermented rich, dark brew that is brie y kettle soured and spiked with 400 pounds of Montmorency cherries.

Availability: Limited

Once a year, fresh Centennial hops are added to Dageraad’s Blonde Ale, which adds a fresh, juicy character.

Belgian Beer and Food

No culture in the world has embraced the culinary aspects of beer as much as the Belgians and Belgian-style ales pair exceptionally well with food. For instance, Dageraad’s Blonde with its fruit and spicy notes compliment salads and desserts while its tartness and e ervescence make it a good pairing with heavier dishes.

FOUR WINDS BREWING C O.

4 - 7355 72nd St. | FourWindsBrewing.ca

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

EST. 2013

Sitting just o the banks of the mighty Fraser River, Delta’s heavilyawarded Four Winds is inspired by ingredients and avours from around the globe. Serving a rotating array of tacos and tapas in its inviting tasting room, Four Winds is a fan favourite and always worth the trip.

LA MAISON

WILD SAI S ON

Availability: Year-round

Brewed with oats and rye and fermented with wild yeast, this light-bodied table saison has notes of pepper and tropical fruit.

POMONA

BARREL-AGED S OUR ALE

Availability: Seasonal

is bold and bright sour wheat ale was aged on nectarines and apricots in French oak foeders.

JUXTAPOSE

W ILD INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

Celebrating the juxtaposition of ripe tropical fruit esters and wild yeast funk, this wild IPA is moderately bitter and gracefully balanced.

MÉLANGE

BARREL-AGED FARMHOU S E ALE

Availability: Seasonal

A tart table beer blended with select barrel stock and then conditioned on second-use cherries and red currants.

A welcome addition

Four Winds’ plans to build a agship brewery and restaurant in Tsawwassen might have been scuttled by Delta council, but it recently got the green light to expand its existing lounge from 30 to 50 people. at means more room for award-winning craft beer and tacos!

STEAMWORKS BREWING CO.

3845 William St. | Steamworks.com

MARINER BREWING

1100

Dr. |

Don’t feel like you have to head to Gastown for some Steamworks, because this production brewery’s taproom is open for beer, tours and growler lls.

Mariner looks to explore the boundaries of brewing through experimentation and collaboration. Hang out at Mariner’s tasting room for great food and a vibrant atmosphere.

DEAD FROG BREWERY

105 - 8860 201st St. | DeadFrog.ca

FIVE ROADS BREWING

6263 202nd St. | FiveRoadsBrewing.com

Dead Frog has one of the longest tap lists of any craft brewery tasting room in B.C. and it now features a line of beers made with completely local ingredients.

One of the newest editions to the ourishing Langley beer scene, Five Roads was inspired by the historic Five Corners intersection and alludes to the importance of community.

LANGLEY GOLD

KPU BREWING LAB

20901 Langley Bypass | KPU.ca/Brew

TRADING POST BREWING

107 - 20120 64th Ave. |

KPU Brewing will be pouring at the Great Canadian Beer Fest in September, as well as at the B.C. Craft Brewers Conference and 2019 B.C. Beer Awards in October.

50/50 HEFE

Both the brewery in Langley and the taphouses in Fort Langley and Abbotsford regularly host events, including a special Oktoberfest celebration. Check Facebook for all the details.

MAPLE MEADOWS BREWING CO.

22775 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | MapleMeadowsBrewing.com

RIDGE BREWING CO.

22826 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | RidgeBrewing.com

With more taps than bar seats, Maple Meadows is an intimate, 10-seat nanobrewery full of creativity and craft beer.

Open seven days a week with a family-friendly tasting room, Ridge Brewing also hosts an open mic night on the rst Tuesday of each month.

SILVER VALLEY BREWING CO.

#101 - 11952 224 St. | SilverValleyBrewing.com

ANOTHER BEER CO.

#11 - 30 Capilano Way | AnotherBeerCo.com

is family-owned nano in downtown Maple Ridge celebrates its second birthday on Sept. 21. Why not come by for a proper pint of its English-style ales?

THE PLEASURE AND GREED BARLEYWINE

New Westminsterites welcomed their second brewery earlier this summer. Located in the Sapperton area, rich with a long brewing history, this isn’t just another brewery.

YOUNG, WILD & HAZY

MAPLE RIDGE MAPLE RIDGE

STEEL & OAK BREWING CO.

1319 3rd Ave. | SteelAndOak.ca

FOAMERS’ FOLLY BREWING CO.

19221 122A Ave. | FoamersFolly.ca

Now in its fth year, an overwhelming sense of community, passion and award-winning German-inspired beer is at the heart of what makes S&O an integral part of the fabric of New West.

ere are always plenty of great options to try in the tasting room here. Foamers’ fans should check out the brewery’s new online merchandise store.

YADA YADA IPA

October

NORTHPAW

BREW CO.

2150-570 Sherling Pl. | NorthpawBrewCo.com

TAYLIGHT BREWING

402-1485 Coast Meridian Rd. | TaylightBrewing.com

Northpaw celebrated its rst anniversary by doubling its capacity in the tasting room, so now there’s even more room to sample Dennis Smit’s tasty brews.

Serving the Tri-Cities and beyond, Taylight releases a fresh batch and cask every Friday, and o ers brewery tours on Saturdays.

SLACK

TINHOUSE BREWING CO.

550 Sherling Pl. | TinhouseBrewing.ca

FRASER MILLS FERMENTATION CO.

3044 Saint Johns St. | FraserMillsFermentation.com

Watch for this PoCo brewery’s grand opening sometime in September but also check them out at various beer-friendly events around town this fall.

OXFORD

Fraser Mills is scheduled to open in September, and in addition to beer they’ll also be making their own cider, wine and mead, all of which will be on draft in their tasting room.

MOODY ALES

2601 Murray St. | MoodyAles.com

THE PARKSIDE BREWERY

2731 Murray St. | eParksideBrewery.com

Moody will celebrate its fth anniversary on Oct. 12 with some special, unique beers, live music, and good times all round.

HARDY BROWN

SOCIABLE PALE

Distinguishable by the astroturf that adorns its patio, this Brewer’s Row favourite won Best Beer Flight Design at the 2018 B.C. Beer Awards for their Park Bench Paddle.

THE BAKERY BREWING

2617 Murray St. | eBakeryBrewing.com

TWIN SAILS BREWING

2821 Murray St. | TwinSailsBrewing.com

Port Moody’s newest brewery (for now) is all about experimentation, with an ever-changing list of small batch beers that you may never see again.

PINK SALTED

PINK GUAVA SOUR

SOUR FRUIT ALE

BRETT PALE ALE

AMERICAN PALE ALE

Twin Sails’ barrel-aging program has hit a new high gear. Check out its online store—a B.C. rst—for core brands, limited and experimental releases.

DAT

CITRA PALE ALE

YELLOW DOG BREWING CO.

1 - 2817 Murray St. | YellowDogBrew.com

BRITANNIA BREWING CO.

110-12500 Horseshoe Way | BBCO.ca

e original Port Moody craft brewery recently celebrated its fth anniversary with a big summer party. Meanwhile, its owners are busy opening Neighbourhood Brewing in Penticton.

Steeped in the nautical history of Steveston, Kyle, Trystam and Lloyd are bringing their beer brewing dreams to the South Richmond area and beyond.

FUGGLES & WARLOCK CRAFTWORKS

103-11220 Horseshoe Way | FugglesWarlock.com

MONKEY 9 BREWING

14200 Entertainment Blvd. | Monkey9.ca

SURREY

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

Canned beer is coming soon so you won’t have to go all the way to Richmond to try Monkey 9’s brews—but given it has a full kitchen and a bowling alley, you de nitely should.

Craft beer culture and nerd culture have many similarities and a nities and seem to be a match made in heaven at this Richmond brewery. PENALTY

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal DON’T WANNA HEAR IT B LA C K PIL S NER

IBU A BV 7 6.0%

Big Ridge celebrates 20 years of craft beer this year with a strong commitment to fostering the “neighbourhood pub” service and atmosphere.

Availability: Year-round MOUNTAIN VIEW BLA C K CURRANT SOUR IBU A BV 15 4.8%

IBU A BV 66 6.9% IBU A BV 22 3.7%

STRAWBERRBREE SOUR K ETTLE S OUR ALE Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal POMEGRENADE POMEGRANATE PALE ALE IBU A BV 10 5.0% IBU A BV 30 4.8%

67

CENTRAL CITY BREWERS + DISTILLERS

11411 Bridgeview Dr. | CentralCityBrewing.com

RUSSELL BREWING CO.

202 - 13018 80th Ave. | RussellBeer.com

Central City’s cathedral-like brewery in North Surrey recently got a new addition: the Red Racer Roadside Diner—a permanent food truck on-site at the brewery.

RED RACER RED IPA INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

RED RACER AFTER HOURS PALE ALE

FLAVOURED ALE

Availability: Seasonal

Russell Brewing recently collaborated with Mind the Bar Canada to create a low-alcohol Belgian table beer, with proceeds supporting hospitality workers su ering from mental illness.

TIGERTAIL STOUT STOUT

Availability: One-o

#BASIC PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE BLONDE ALE

Availability: One-o

3 DOGS BREWING

1515 Johnston Rd. | 3DogsBrewing.com

WHITE ROCK BEACH BEER CO.

15181 Russell Ave. | WhiteRockBeachBeer.com

If you love your bulldogs on the beach in Mexico, check out 3 Dogs’ Chihuahua-Rita beer/margarita cocktail. Perfect for on the patio!

BAYSIDE BLONDE ALE BLONDE

WRBBC and 3 Dogs recently collaborated on a cream ale called the Pier-fect Summer, with all proceeds going towards the restoration of the iconic White Rock Pier.

PIER INDIA PALE ALE

BORDER BALTIC PORTER

Availability: Year-round Availability: Year-round

FIELD HOUSE BREWING CO.

2281 West Railway St. | FieldHouseBrewing.com

LOUDMOUTH BREWING

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

e brewery’s ongoing Farmland beer series celebrates the Fraser Valley’s agricultural heritage by using all local ingredients, including from the brewery’s own farm.

RASPBERRY & RED CURRANT WHITE OAK SOUR W

Abbotsford’s Loudmouth is a lovingly run mom-and-pop microbrewery located in close proximity to YXX. A cosy spot with great beer, great people and incredible pizza.

OLD ABBEY ALES

30321 Fraser Hwy. | OldAbbeyAles.com

RAVENS BREWING CO.

2485 Townline Rd. | Ravens.beer

Old Abbey Ales is committed to brewing beer with local ingredients, including Fraser Valley water and hops, B.C. malt, and when the recipe calls for it, berries from local farms.

Ravens brews a wide range of beers inspired by the agricultural traditions in the Abbotsford area. e brewery is also working on adding a kitchen.

FLASHBACK BREWING CO.

1 - 9360 Mill St. | ChaosAndSolace.com

OLD YALE BREWING CO.

404 - 44550 South Sumas Rd. | OldYaleBrewing.com

Tucked away in historic downtown Chilliwack, Flashback Brewing serves craft beer that is lovingly made from ingredients sourced around the Fraser Valley.

Old Yale’s new Camp re Kitchen food truck is parked in the brewery’s parking lot year round serving tasty camp re-style cooking: smokies, s’mores, beans and more.

MISSION SPRINGS BREWING COMPANY

7160 Oliver St. | MissionSprings.ca

Antiques, collectables, memorabilia and frosty ales and lagers are just some of what you’ll nd at Mission Springs. Large portions and great service abound at Mission’s favourite gathering spot.

GIBSONS GIBSONS

PERSEPHONE BREWING CO.

1053 Stewart Rd. | PersephoneBrewing.com

TAPWORKS BREWING CO.

537 Cruice Lane | GibsonsTapworks.com

e “Beer Farm” is committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities and regenerative agricultural practices that build community and healthy food systems, plus delicious beer!

COAST LIFE LAGER HELLES LAGER

B.C.’s only craft brewery with a rooftop patio is celebrating Car Free Day on Sept. 7 with an outdoor beer garden, food trucks, vendors and live music all day.

FEEL ALIVE

PEMBERTON BREWING CO.

1936 Stonecutter Pl. | PembertonBrewing.ca

1009 Gibsons Way | e101.ca

e 101 doesn’t just make delicious beer—you can also enjoy its outstanding gin and vodka produced on its German-made still.

BOB’S

Fun fact: co-founders Je and Geo said they would never combine fruit and beer. ankfully they came to their senses and Pemberton now has three fantastic fruit beers ready for sipping!

CREAM PUFF

HAZY

THE 101 BREWHOUSE + DISTILLERY

THE BEER FARMERS

8324 Pemberton Meadows Rd. | eBeerFarmers.com

TOWNSITE BREWING

5824 Ash Ave. | TownsiteBrewing.com

From grain to glass, this family-run farm brewery o ers a series of 100 per cent locallygrown beers, with barley and hops all grown on site.

e good people of Powell River can ride their bikes to Townsite Brewing for Cédric Dauchot’s Belgian-style ales with a little more ease, thanks to its new bike parking kiosk.

A-FRAME BREWING CO.

38927 Queens Way | AFrameBrewing.com

BACKCOUNTRY BREWING

#405-1201 Commercial Way | BackcountryBrewing.com

All of A-Frame’s beers are named for B.C. lakes—ideally enjoy them in the cabin-like tasting room or on the patio at the brewery.

With creative small releases, killer food and enviable social media, Backcountry is a muststop along the Sea-to-Sky. You could share your artisanal pizza, but you won’t.

HOWE SOUND BREWING CO.

37801 Cleveland Ave. | HoweSound.com

BREWHOUSE HIGH MOUNTAIN BREWING

4355 Blackcomb Way | MJG.ca/BrewHouse

With its own restaurant, brewpub and hotel, Squamish’s oldest operating brewery is an ideal destination for an overnight getaway from the Lower Mainland.

Right next to the Olympic Plaza, this classic family-friendly brewpub is a must-visit before, during and after experiencing all that Whistler has to o er.

COAST MOUNTAIN BREWING CO.

2 - 1212 Alpha Lake Rd. | CoastMountainBeer.ca

WHISTLER BREWING CO.

1045 Millar Creek Rd. | WhistlerBeer.com

Coast Mountain focuses on complex, avourful and sessionable beers, making it the perfect stop for all of your après needs.

Celebrating 30 years of craft beer this year, Whistler Brewing is still 100 per cent B.C. owned and brewed.

VICTORIA

VANCOUVER ISLAND BREWING

2330 Government St. | VIBrewing.com

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

EST. 1984

A mere 35 years in, Vancouver Island Brewing (one of B.C.’s original microbreweries), has stood the test of time, continuing to innovate, rack up awards, and never compromise on passion and quality. Now o ering fully vegan-friendly, certi ed kosher beer through its Gruber growler ller named Hans!

FALLER NORTHWEST PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.4%35 ABV IBU 6.9%70 ABV IBU 6.2%22 ABV IBU 7.9%35

Inspired by the layers of a classic Canadian treat, the decadent brew is dessert in a can.

MISTHORN AURORA INDIA PALE ALE NANAIMO BAR PORTER TIDAL SERIES: CASSIS & ELDERFLOWER BELGIAN

A winter IPA with an orange and pine focused hop blend, rye malt, star anise and cinnamon.

VIb Lifers

78 Sponsored content

TWA DOGS BREWERY AT VICTORIA CALEDONIAN

761 Enterprise Cres. | VCaledonian.com

SUN-THU 12:30-6:30PM ^ FRI 11AM-10PM ^ SAT 11AM-9PM

EST. 2016

is Scottish-themed brewery makes whisky alongside craft beer. Stop by the welcoming tasting room just o the highway north of downtown Victoria for a taste and a tour of the facility.

MELODIE

RASPBERRY KOLSCH

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.0%18

Bright, bold B.C. raspberries enhance the light body of this easy-drinking summertime beer.

SINK OR SWIM

BELGIAN WITBIER

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.0%12

Unmalted wheat, apricots and orange/lemon peel give this a light body and citrusy nish.

GUIDED TOURS | TASTING | TAPROOM

ÎLE SAUVAGE BREWING CO.

2960 Bridge St. | IleSauvage.com

MOON UNDER WATER BREWERY

350B Bay St. | MoonUnderWater.ca

Île Sauvage, French for “Wild Island,” makes delicious and visually stunning Belgian-style wild ales and sour beers. Follow along on Instagram if beer porn is your thing.

PAPILLON SAISON SAISON

Availability: Year-round Availability: Year-round

PHILLIPS BREWING & MALTING CO.

2010 Government St. | PhillipsBeer.com

Moon has had a barrel-aging program since 2012 which won it a gold last year at the Canadian Brewing Awards for best barrelaged sour. Never pass one up.

YEAR 7

BARREL-AGED WHEAT WINE

Availability: Small batch

SPINNAKERS

If the crowd in the tasting room and the everchanging lineup of beers is any indication, this highly-regarded brewery shows you can teach an old dog new tricks, and those tricks are delicious.

FIRST

BJORN

NORWEGIAN TABLE BEER Availability:

BREWPUB

308 Catharine St. | Spinnakers.com

CHAI NUT BROWN SPICED ALE

Availability: Seasonal

OLD MAN CAYOTE 2019 BARREL-AGED SOUR ALE MITCHELL’S ESB

Availability: One-o

Spinnakers has it all: a brewpub, restaurant, accommodations on-site, baked goods, chocolate, malt vinegar—and now it’s even distilling its own spirits!

Availability: Year-round

VICTORIA VICTORIA

SWANS BREWPUB

506

WHISTLE BUOY BREWING CO.

560

Swans celebrates 30 years of pouring great beer in Victoria’s historic Chinatown across from the harbour with a party and heritage beer releases starting in September!

Victoria’s newest brewery is now freshly open in historic Market Square. e patio will be just as inviting this fall as it was in the summer.

CATEGORY 12 BREWING

C - 2200 Keating Cross Rd. | Category12Beer.com

LIGHTHOUSE BREWING CO.

2 - 836 Devonshire Rd. | LighthouseBrewing.com

With the kitchen complete and the chef busy at work, Category 12 is bringing the same delicious care to food and food pairings as it does to its beer.

SKEWED

AXE & BARREL BREWING

CO.

2323 Millstream Ave. | AxeAndBarrel.com

When the weather’s nice, Lighthouse’s picnic area right next to the E&N Rail Trail is the place to be. Check it out anytime, but remember, every Wednesday features new beer releases.

MAYNE ISLAND BREWING CO.

490 Fernhill Rd. | MayneIslandBrewingCo.com

Stop in at this Langford craft brewery for some of brewer Andrew Tessier’s award-winning beers and spent grain dog treats for your fourlegged friends.

KOLSCH

Availability: Year-round

is tiny yet hard-working brewery can barely keep up with demand. Help them celebrate their 300th batch with a pint—the perfect excuse for a weekend Gulf Island road trip.

HOWL BREWING

1780 Mills Rd.

SALT SPRING ISLAND ALES

270

Rd. | SaltSpringIslandAles.com

Cousins Dan and Ben Van Netten are doing some of the deepest historical beer style recreations anywhere. Plus, the beer drinking public needs more mushroom beers.

is idyllic brewery is based in a converted barn, using spring water tapped on the mountainside above, along with locally-grown hops and organic barley.

BAD DOG BREWING COMPANY

7861 Tugwell Rd. | BadDogBrewing.ca

SOOKE BREWING CO.

2057 Otter Point Rd. | SookeBrewing.com

ere’s something special about sampling beers in the picnic area at this small brewery up in the hills above Sooke. Expanded tasting room coming soon!

Winner of Best Tasting Room at the 2018 B.C. Beer Awards, Sooke Brewing is getting a new permanent food truck any day now.

SOOKE OCEANSIDE BREWERY

1-5529 Sooke Rd. | SookeOceansideBrewing.com

4 MILE BREWING CO. 199 Island Hwy. | 4MileBrewingCo.com

SOB is celebrating its third anniversary with a brand new full-scale 20 hL brewhouse and production facility. at means more beer for the thirsty people of Sooke and beyond!

BONFIRE

ere’s at least one or two new beers released every week at this popular brewpub that’s housed in a historic manor that was—amongst other things—once a brothel.

LEVEL GROUND COFFEE LAGER

BEACH FIRE BREWING

594-11th Ave. | BeachFireBrewing.ca

RIOT BREWING CO.

101A - 3055 Oak St. | RiotBrewing.com

Vancouver Island’s northernmost brewery is lling Campbell River’s need for craft beer. Expect cans to be available for o -sales in the lounge by fall.

EMBER RED ALE

SCOTTISH ALE

Availability: Year-round

WHEELBENDER STOUT DRY IRISH STOUT

Availability: Year-round

LAND & SEA BREWING CO.

2040 Guthrie Rd. | LandAndSeaBrewing.ca

Plan for a riot at this laid back brewery in scenic Chemainus, which has a full lounge license and an outdoor patio.

BLACK CURRANT BLONDE ALE

BLONDE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

JUNK PUNK IPA INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

NEW TRADITION BREWING

215 Port Augusta St. | NewTraditionBrewing.com

De nitely plan a Comox Valley getaway to check out this brewery. Brewer Tessa Gabiniewicz has the beers dialled in, and the tasting room is comfortable and welcoming.

GLACIER CREAM ALE AMERICAN CREAM

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Comox’s newest brewery opened its doors in August. e unique and comfortable tasting room was constructed with recycled materials and ecologically-friendly techniques.

CURE FOR THE COMMON KÖLSCH

Availability: Year-round

JUICE CABOOSE FRUITED KETTLE SOUR ALE

Availability: Seasonal

COMOX COMOX

CAMPBELL RIVER CHEMAINUS

ACE BREWING CO.

150 Mans eld Dr. | Facebook.com/AceBrewingCompany

FORBIDDEN BREWING CO.

1590 Cli e Ave. | ForbiddenBrewing.com

Set to open in Courtenay by the time you’re reading this, expect delicious beers with lots of Canadian Air Force history on display in Ace’s unique octagonal brewery and tasting room.

SPITFIRE

If it wasn’t clear that B.C. drinkers love their hops, this Mid Island brewery is currently producing four di erent types of IPA to meet the demand.

GLADSTONE BREWING CO.

244 4th St. | GladstoneBrewing.ca

CUMBERLAND BREWING CO.

2732 Dunsmuir Ave. | CumberlandBrewing.com

e historic building that houses Gladstone was once a garage, inspiring the decor and vibe that includes ights made from vintage license plates. Vintage cars and craft beer? Yes, please!

Visit Cumberland’s iconic brewery for tasty beers and food on the back patio. Don’t forget to gorge on delicious pizza at Rider’s across the

CRAIG STREET BREW PUB

25 Craig St. | CraigStreet.ca

RED ARROW BREWING CO.

5255 Chaster Rd. | RedArrowBeer.ca

Located in the heart of historic downtown Duncan in a 1940s brick building with a century-old bar, Craig Street is a great place to cosy up with a pint— especially if you can get a seat next to the replace.

COWICHAN BAY LAGER LAGER

Availability: Year-round

SHAWNIGAN IRISH ALE IRISH RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

With partnerships with multiple sports teams, this converted motorcycle shop recently built an outdoor sports court on premise to host events.

INVASION OF THE BLACKBERRY

Availability: Small batch

SMALL BLOCK BREWING CO.

203-5301 Chaster Rd. | SmallBlockBrewery.com

MIDNIGHT UMBER AMBER ALE

Availability: Year-round

LONGWOOD BREWERY

101A-2046 Boxwood Rd. | LongwoodBeer.com

A hot rod-themed brewery with lots of automobile paraphernalia decorating its tasting room, Small Block often has music jam nights and food trucks parked outside.

Longwood is throwing its fth annual Longwoodstock beer and music festival, Sept. 20 and 21, in the brewery’s backyard with a new “Brew & Chew” event on the Friday night.

SUPER

Availability:

LONGWOOD BREWPUB

5775 Turner Rd. | LongwoodBrewpub.com

WHITE SAILS BREWING

Longwood’s much beloved brewpub has a stunning view of Vancouver Island, making it one of Nanaimo’s most sought after craft beer destinations.

WOLF BREWING CO.

940 Old Victoria Rd. | WolfBrewingCompany.com

Committed to supporting local farms, many of the ingredients sourced by brewmaster Kevin Ward are locally sourced.

Locally sourced grub, award-winning beers, a taproom steps from the waterfront and cask nights every Friday—what more could you want in a local craft brewery? CIRCLE

MOUNT ARROWSMITH BREWING CO.

109-425 East Stanford Ave. | ArrowsmithBrewing.com

is popular Parksville brewery was named the best in B.C. at the 2017 B.C. Beer Awards. Stop in for a beer and stay for some delicious food from the kitchen’s newly updated menu.

125 Comox Rd. | WhiteSailsBrewing.com HARVEST

PORT ALBERNI QUALICUM

4503 Margaret St. | TwinCityBrewing.ca

LOVESHACK LIBATIONS

1 - 4134 Island Hwy. West | LoveShackLibations.com

Launched with support from the local community through a crowd-funding campaign, Twin City has repaid that investment by brewing consistently delicious and creative craft beer.

SPARKCHASER

is tiny brewery should be at the top of your must-visit bucket list, but it’s only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so plan ahead!

TOFINO BREWING CO.

691 Industrial Way | To noBrewingCo.com

MARVELOUS MARZEN

MARZEN LAGER

Availability: Small batch

ODIN’S

Availability: Small batch

UCLUELET BREWING COMPANY

1601 Peninsula Rd. | UclueletBrewing.ca

To no Brewing is passionate about giving back to its community, working with groups like Surf Rider, Clayquot Cleanup and the Central West Coast Forest Society on environmental initiatives.

COSMIC WAVE DOUBLE IPA

DOUBLE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal DISSIMULATOR GERMAN DOPPELBOCK IBU ABV 20 6.3% IBU ABV 24 8.1% 92

Located in a renovated former church in the middle of town, Ukee’s rst craft brewery promises to be divine.

RESURRECTION RED

IRISH RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

TRAGICALLY WIT WITBIER

Availability: Year-round

ELEVATION 57 BREWING COMPANY

20 Kettleview Rd. | SessionsTapHouseAndGrill.com

ALCHEMY BREWING CO.

650 Victoria St. | Facebook.com/AlchemyBrewingCompany.ca

Proudly calling itself “Canada’s highest brewery,” Elevation 57 is located at 5,757 feet above sea level at the Sessions Tap House and Grill at Big White Ski Resort.

VIENNA LAGER

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

Whether you fancy pizza, ribs, burgers or wings, this lively Kamloops brewpub has plenty of beers to pair with its extensive food menu.

FORGOTTEN 55 AMERICAN PALE ALE Availability: Small batch Availability: Small batch

KAMLOOPS KAMLOOPS

IRON ROAD BREWING

980 Camosun Crs. | IronRoadBrewing.ca

RED COLLAR BREWING CO.

355 Lansdowne St. | RedCollar.ca

Iron Road Brewing is one heck of a spot, just a few blocks from ompson Rivers University. Stop by for frequent live jazz and vinyl nights!

BLUEBERRY JUICE TRAIN SOUR

Red Collar has an 80-seat tasting room in downtown Kamloops and expects to brew 25 di erent beers this year. But why the red collar? It all started with a black lab named Goosey.

LOCOMOTIVE LAGER

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

MILD

ENGLISH MILD

BLACK HEFE BLACK HEFEWEIZEN

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

THE NOBLE PIG BREWHOUSE

650 Victoria

Open since 2010, Kelowna’s rst craft brewery is focused on making unique beer and inspired food. Keep an eye out for release parties and beer dinners.

BNA BREWING CO.

1250 Ellis St. | BNABrewing.com

BOUNDARY BREWING CO.

2-455 Neave Crt. | BoundaryBrewing.beer

BNA might be the most fun brewery in B.C. with its bowling alley, retro arcade, indoor bocce court and nightclub. Look for a newly renovated tasting room in September with room for even more fun! THRILLER

Despite being one of the smaller breweries in Kelowna, Boundary has among the most taps in the city. Now canning beers in limited runs!

FREDDY’S BREWPUB

124 McCurdy Rd. | McCurdyBowl.com

KELOWNA BREWING CO.

975 Academy Way | KelownaBrewingCompany.com

Bowling is a blast, especially when tasty craft beer is made on site. Also look for packaged product in private liquor stores in Kelowna soon.

CHANNEL CAT INDIA PALE ALE

Year-round

Open since June, Kelowna Brewing Co. is also known as the KBC Brewhouse. Check out Wing Wednesday which also happens to be karaoke night. NEIPA

One-o

KETTLE RIVER BREWING CO.

731 Baillie Ave. | KettleRiverBrewing.ca

RED BIRD BREWING

1086 Richter St. | RedBirdBrewing.com

Big changes are in store for Kettle River, including a new kitchen inside the tasting room and increased seating inside and on the patio.

Red Bird just turned two and is celebrating by breaking ground this winter on a new, larger brewery and tasting room nearby in Kelowna’s North End.

TREE BREWING BEER INSTITUTE

1346 Water St. | TreeBrewingBeerInstitute.com

Beer doesn’t get much fresher than at Tree, where everything is poured directly from the tank to the tap. Even the food is made with beer!

KELOWNA

VICE & VIRTUE BREWING CO.

1033 Richter St. | ViceAndVirtueBrewing.ca

WILD AMBITION BREWING

1 - 3314 Appaloosa Rd. | WildAmbition.beer

Chef Nelson Daniels serves up casual yet delicious food at this popular North End haunt, pairing it expertly with James Windsor's beers.

True to its name, Wild Ambition is working on expanding its barrel collection and plans to install a coolship. Where will its ambition take it next?

MERRITT OLIVER

EMPTY KEG BREW HOUSE

2190 Voght St. | EmptyKegBrewHouse.ca

FIREHALL

6077 Main St. |

e Merritt locals have been doing their best to empty the kegs at their new local craft brewery. Don’t you think you should do your part?

FOG

e 2019 Back Alley Concert series, which included punk pioneers D.O.A., was a huge success. Watch for more live shows at this brewery that loves to rock.

A Night o Celebrating Local Breweries, Distilleries a Cideries

Saturday, October 5th 6-10pm

A relaxed, fun, adult-only evening event featuring the music of Knacker’s Yard & food trucks

Advance tickets $20 until Oct. 3rd Tickets at the gate $25

COMBO Festival of the Grape and Cask & Keg tickets $40

Community Park | 6359 Park Drive | Oliver

Presented by the Oliver Tourism Association

Saturday, October 5th 12-5pm

Wine tastings from over 50 BC wineries

Grape Stomp | Food Trucks

Kids’ Zone | Merchant Market

Fall Art Show & Sale

Live Music By Jack &

Jill

Presented by

Advance tickets $25 until Oct. 3rd Tickets at the gate $30

COMBO Festival of the Grape and Cask & Keg tickets $40

VIP tickets for Festival of the Grape $65

Oliver Community Park

6359 Park Drive | Oliver

BAD TATTOO BREWING CO.

169 Estabrook Ave. | BadTattooBrewing.com

BARLEY MILL BREW PUB

2460 Skaha Lake Rd. | BarleyMillPub.com

is brewery has crocodile pizza on the menu, which pairs well with the Tramp Stamp Pale Ale. Check out their other weird pizzas and nd your own crazy pairings.

TRAMP STAMP

PALE ALE

AMERICAN PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

JUICE BOMB NEIPA

NORTHEASTERN INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

If you like craft beer, delicious pub grub (with health-conscious options) and karaoke, then Penticton’s original brewpub is where you need to be! But please, no “Free Bird.”

NITE MARE BROWN ALE

ENGLISH BROWN ALE

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

CANNERY BREWING

198 Ellis St. | CanneryBrewing.com

HIGHWAY 97 BREWERY

954 Eckhardt Ave. | Hwy97Brewery.com

Keep an eye out for some fresh new branding for Cannery's core beers, including Naramata Nut Brown Ale and ornless Blackberry Porter.

NARAMATA

NUT BROWN ALE

BROWN ALE

THORNLESS BLACKBERRY PORTER

Availability: Year-round

Rumour has it that an expansion is in the works for Penticton’s Highway 97. And with two brand new fermenters on the way, that means more beer to enjoy!

ISLAY PEATED SCOTCH ALE SCOTCH ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

DIRT ROAD

DOUBLE IPA

DOUBLE INDIA

Availability: Year-round

SLACKWATER BREWING

218 Martin St. | SlackwaterBrewing.com

THE TIN WHISTLE BREWING CO.

112-1475 Fairview Rd. | eTinWhistleBrewery.rocks

Slackwater brewing has been making waves since its recent opening, winning People’s Choice Best Beer at Fest of Ale and People’s Choice Best Brewery at the Great Okanagan Beer Festival.

WHAT THE

Named after a locomotive that operated on the Kettle Valley Railway, this brewery also celebrates Okanagan agriculture by brewing several di erent local fruit-infused beers.

BARLEY STATION BREW PUB

20 Shuswap St. N. | BarleyStation.com

CRANNÓG ALES

706 Elson Rd. | CrannogAles.com

Barley Station's beers are brewed in-house with a limited impact on the environment, so feel good about doing your part to save the world one beer at a time.

Sustainable, un ltered and uncompromising, Crannóg is Canada’s rst certi ed organic and zero-waste microbrewery. Don’t forget your growler—its ales are only available on draft!

BACK HAND OF

BREAKAWAY BREWING CO.

13224 Victoria Road N. | Instagram.com/BreakawayBrewingCo

DETONATE BREWING

#104-9503 Cedar Ave. | DetonateBrewing.com

Summerland’s newest brewery is now open and serving beer. Owen and Jake are former hockey players and the brewery name references this shared past. DRY

Availability:

MARTEN BREWING CO.

2933A 30th Ave. | MartenBrewpub.com

Detonate's tasting room may be small, but brewer Nathan Rosin still manages to produce an everrotating lineup of diverse beers on his brewhouse— which he converted from retired dairy equipment.

KIND BREWING

2405 Main St. | Facebook.com/KindBrewer

is brewpub, which is de nitely one of the best tasting rooms in B.C., was painstakingly renovated by owners Pearl and Stefan Marten all by themselves.

Right o the highway, West Kelowna’s only craft brewery is now open seven days a week with daily happy hour specials, a full kitchen, and live music.

TAILOUT BREWING

1800 8th Ave. | TailoutBrewing.com

FISHER PEAK BREWING CO.

821 Baker St. | eHeidOut.ca

Castlegar's only craft brewery plans to be all about the love of the great outdoors, and is a massive upgrade on Banjo's Pub, which it is replacing.

SINGLE

Located at the Heid Out Restaurant, Cranbrook’s only craft brewery is a local favourite—and you’ll likely have to travel there to try it.

FERNIE BREWING CO.

26 Manitou Rd. | FernieBrewing.com

WHITETOOTH BREWING

623 8th Ave. N. | WhitetoothBrewing.com

Keep an eye out for Fernie Brewing’s new Winter Tackle Box eight-pack, including its new Nomad Wild IPA, and the return of the popular Java the Hut Co ee Milk Stout.

With a popular patio and a tasting room that is busy year round, Whitetooth is a great success story in Golden. Look for new can releases.

FERNIE GOLDEN

ARROWHEAD BREWING CO.

481 Arrow Rd. | ArrowheadBrewingCompany.ca

ANGRY HEN BREWING

343 Front St. | AngryHenBrewing.com

e permit for the patio has gone through at Arrowhead, so check out its great outdoor space, perfect for tilting back a pint or sampling a ight.

LOUD MOUTH

OVER TIME BEER WORKS

136A Wallinger Ave. | OverTimeBeer.ca

Angry Hen is reducing its environmental footprint with the help of some neighbourhood chickens and cows. Pop by the 8 hL brewhouse for core and seasonal beers.

BACKROADS BREWING CO.

460 Baker St. | BackroadsBrewing.com

is nanobrewery in B.C.’s highest city brews on a small pilot system, which means every pint is fresh. Judging by Over Time's busy tasting room, plenty of locals are "working late."

PRESENT

INDIA PALE ALE

Hit up Backroads' Baker Street taproom for award-winning lagers and ales and a cosy cabin vibe equipped for 100 thirsty patrons.

NEBENSTRASSE MARZEN Availability:

NELSON BREWING CO.

512 Latimer St. | NelsonBrewing.com

Check out Nelson Brewing's 100 per cent certi ed organic beers at its cosy tasting room, tucked into the side of a mountain in a building that's more than 125 years old.

VIRTUE EARL GREY EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

MT. BEGBIE BREWING CO

2155 Oak Dr. | Mt-Begbie.com

2017’s Canadian Brewery of the Year, this Revelstoke staple is steeped in as much history as the small mountain town in which it resides.

DARKSIDE OF THE STOKE STOUT

TORCHLIGHT BREWING CO.

125 Hall St. | TorchlightBrewing.com

Having just celebrated its fth anniversary, Torchlight is committed to making craft beer and sodas using environmentally friendly practices.

PUMPKIN SPICED LATTE AMBER ALE

RUMPUS BEER COMPANY 208 1st Street E. | RumpusBeerCo.com

PMA HAZY INDIA PALE ALE NELSON NELSON REVELSTOKE REVELSTOKE

Revelstoke’s newest craft brewery, Rumpus specializes in crushable mid-strength beers that are perfect for extended aprés sessions in its bright and colourful tasting room.

CHROMOLY ENGLISH-STYLE BITTER

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

ROSSLAND BEER CO.

1990 Columbia Ave. | RosslandBeer.com

TRAIL BEER REFINERY

1299 Bay Ave. | TrailBeerRe nery.ca

Historic Rossland is located more than a kilometre above sea level on an (hopefully) extinct volcano—proof that craft beer reaches all corners of this province.

Trail Beer Re nery is the best place in Trail to go for great times, food and beer. Speaking of great food, check out the weekly burger specials.

The North

JACKSON’S SOCIAL CLUB & BREWHOUSE

175 Hwy. 97 | JacksonsSocialClub.com

BEARD’S BREWING CO.

10408 Alaska Rd. N. | BeardsBrewing.ca

Any trip up north should involve a stop at this locally focused brewery—after all, it’s the only place you can taste their beer.

ONE ANOTHER HIBISCUS ALE

Availability: One-o

Availability: One-o

B.C.’s rst brewery east of the Rockies is a popular refueling stop on the Alaska Highway for locals and travellers alike.

BLACK BEARD MILK CHOCOLATE STOUT

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

FORT ST JOHN

MIGHTY PEACE BREWING

CO.

10128 95th Ave. | MightyPeaceBrewing.ca

B.C.’s northernmost craft brewery keeps the focus on approachable session-strength beers. e tasting room is bumping with events like Black Metal Night and the Hip Hop Brunch.

PATIO PILSNER

Availability: Seasonal

PEACE

Availability: Year-round

PILSNER

GOLD GOLDEN ALE

CROSSROADS BREWING

508 George St. | CrossroadsCraft.com

TRENCH BREWING & DISTILLING

399 2nd Ave. | TrenchBrew.ca

CrossRoads keeps busy between its live music nights, brewery tours and, of course, its annual outdoor street festival series.

IRON BRIDGE

Availability:

Trench celebrates its second anniversary of brewing beers inspired by the great outdoors and the Rocky Mountain Trench this fall. Fourpacks now available all over Prince George!

CLEAR CUT LAGER LAGER

Availability:

WHEELHOUSE BREWING CO.

217 1st Ave. E. | WheelhouseBrewing.com

BARKERVILLE BREWING CO.

Availability: Year-round

185 Davie St. | BarkervilleBeer.com

Winner of two Chamber of Commerce awards, including Business of the Year, Wheelhouse clearly has a strong connection with its local community. e beer’s great, too!

Quesnel might be out of the way, but Barkerville's beer makes the trip worthwhile. e Gold Rush-themed brewery is celebrating its fth birthday and has a new patio to show for it.

52 FOOT STOUT

PRINCE RUPERT QUESNEL

PRINCE GEORGE PRINCE GEORGE

SMITHERS SMITHERS

BULKLEY VALLEY BREWERY

3860 1st Ave. | BulkleyValleyBrewery.ca

SMITHERS BREWING CO.

3832 3rd Ave. | SmithersBrewing.com

BVB is launching a collab series with the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition made with foraged ingredients to help raise awareness about the ecosystem and fund sustainability programs.

Partial proceeds of the Skeena Seasonal Series collaboration with First Nations artist Roy Henry Vickers will be donated to wild re relief. What will Smithers Brewing be up to next?

SHERWOOD MOUNTAIN BREWHOUSE

101 - 4816 Hwy. 16 West | SherwoodMountain.beer

THREE RANGES BREWING CO.

1160 5th Ave. | reeRanges.com

What better reason to head north this fall than to get your hands on some of Sherwood Mountain's German-inspired beers?

ree Ranges is the oldest operating craft brewery in Northern B.C., where brewer/owner Michael Lewis keeps the sledheads and mountain bikers coming back with award-winning beer.

the

BEER GROUND To

All over this ne province of ours there are craft breweries popping up left, right and centre. Here’s a little preview of what’s coming down the pike.

BAR N SIDE BREWI NG

Delta (spring 2020) Barnside plans to take the farm-based brewery model to the next level by growing its own malting barley and hops on its massive Ladner farm. BarnsideBrewing.ca

BRICKLAYER B REWI NG

Chilliwack (spring 2020) is hip new brewery is coming to the heart of downtown Chilliwack, and will be featuring a sour ale program with kettle sours and barrel-aging, in addition to craft staples. BricklayerBrewing.com

BRIG H T EYE B REWI NG

Kamloops (fall 2019) Kamloops’ soon-to-be newest brewery hopes to open by late September/early October. Expect a constantly rotating tap list with a focus on hop-forward beers and classic Belgian farmhouse ales. Facebook.com/BrightEyeBrewing

C

AMP BEER C O.

Langley (fall 2019) is 3,500-sq.-ft. brewery features a 20 hL brewhouse, seating for 55, a replace, roll-up doors and a massive patio with an outdoor re pit, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and a grassed area to spread out a blanket. CampBeer.ca

C LIFF SIDE BREWI NG

Nanaimo (fall 2019) Located just a short block from White Sails Brewing in downtown Nanaimo, Cli side su ered a setback a few months ago when thieves broke in and made o with some of the equipment, including the pilot brewhouse. ankfully, things are back on track and the beer should be owing any week now. Cli sideBrewCo.ca

C OPPER BREWI NG

Kelowna (fall 2019) A 110-seat lounge in a

modern industrial space on Kirschner Road is planned for this craft brewery, which will be focusing on approachable beer options. Facebook.com/CopperBrewing

DEV IL'S B AT H BREWI NG

Port McNeill (2020) Craft beer is coming to the North Island as three local homebrewing brothers plan to convert a former gas station into the region's rst brewery.

D OG M OU N TAI N BREWI NG

Port Alberni (winter 2019) is bright blue brewery in downtown Port Alberni is coming together nicely. e rooftop patio o ers panoramic views of the Alberni Inlet, the perfect place to sample Dog Mountain’s wild and mixed-fermentation beers. DogMountainBrew.com

FARM C OU N TRY BREWI NG

Langley (fall 2019) Also plagued by recent break-ins, Farm Country has bounced back and is putting the nishing touches on its space. e brewhouse is now in place, so it won’t be long before the beer is ready, too. FarmCountryBrewing.com

FIELD HOUSE CH WK

Chilliwack (spring 2020) Field House is expanding its empire of terroir driven beers into downtown Chilliwack with a second location that features a 125-seat tasting room, outdoor patio, full kitchen and its own dedicated brewhouse. FieldHouseBrewing.com

HERALD S TREET BREW W ORKS

Victoria (spring 2020) A collaboration between the owners of e Drake Eatery and Steel & Oak Brewing, Herald Street might be the most anticipated new brewery on the Island. HeraldStreet.com

HORNBY I SLA N D BREWI N G C OMPA NY

Hornby Island (2020) is nanobrewery is planned for “Little Hawaii” and is currently contract brewing its beer at Small Block in Duncan. HornbyIslandBrewing.ca

HUDSO N TAP H OUSE A N D BREWPU B

Victoria (spring 2020) e owners of the Yates Taphouse are behind this 300-seat neighbourhood brewpub in the new Hudson District development.

JACKK NIF E BREWI NG

Kelowna (winter 2020) Kettle River Brewing’s former brewer Brad Tomlinson is opening his own heavy metal-themed brewery right next door and it’s gonna friggin’ rip.

M ERRIDALE BREWERY A N D D ISTILLERY

Victoria (2020) is massive 12,000-sq.-ft. facility planned for Vic West’s Dockside Green development will include a brewery, distillery, pizzeria, rooftop bistro and even an art gallery. e plan was for a spring opening, but ground has yet to be broken due to a delayed building permit. Merridale.ca

M OU N TAI NV IEW BREWI NG

Hope (winter 2020) e thirsty denizens of Hope are no doubt anxiously awaiting the arrival of the town’s rst craft brewery, which will give travellers another reason to visit—other than lling up their gas tank. MountainviewBrewing.ca

NEIGHBOUR H OOD BREWI NG

Penticton (2020) e lot is still vacant but test batches are being brewed nearby at Bad Tattoo Brewing. Hopefully it won’t be long before this purpose-built brewery and tasting room becomes reality. NeighbourhoodBrewing.com

NORT H P OI N T BREWI N G C O.

North Vancouver (fall 2019) e North Shore’s soon-to-be 10th craft brewery is set to open on First Street East in Lower Lonsdale any month now, but you can try a preview of their beers at

the North Shore Craft Beer Week launch party on Oct. 4. Facebook.com/NorthPointBrewing

PATI

N A BREWI NG

Port Coquitlam (fall 2019) Former PoCo mayor Greg Moore is partnering with the owners of Orrange Kitchen + Bar to bring this brewery and barbecue joint to downtown Port Coquitlam. PatinaBrewing.ca

R ED BIRD BREWI NG

Kelowna (2020) A new, bigger brewery and tasting room with a 10 hL brewhouse is in the works for Red Bird, which doesn’t plan to y far from its current location in the North End. RedBirdBrewing.com

R

USTIC REEL BREWI NG

Kelowna (fall 2020) e tanks are in and the building is coming together nicely, so it shouldn’t be long before this huge craft brewery on Vaughn Avenue in the North End opens its massive garage doors to the public. RusticReel.com

SHORELI

N E BREWI NG

Kelowna (2020) Located across from Gyro Beach, Shoreline Brewing will be on the ground oor of a massive new development dubbed e Shore, with seating for close to 100 people in its tasting room, with another 100 on its expansive patio. j

• Got a hot brewery tip? Let us know at editor@thegrowler.ca

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