The Growler B.C. • Volume 5 Issue 4 • Winter 2019

PUBLISHER

BRITISH COLUMBIA

VANCOUVER

Gail Nugent gnugent@thegrowler.ca

E DITOR

Rob Mangelsdorf editor@thegrowler.ca

778-840-5005

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Mike Ansley

Ted Child

Ben Johnson

Michael Kissinger

Kristina Mameli

Rob Mangelsdorf

Charlene Rooke

Brittany Tiplady

Joe Wiebe

PRODUCTION & DESIGN MANAGER

Tara Ra q tara@thegrowler.ca

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jennifer Gauthier

Rob Mangelsdorf

Dan Toulgoet

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.

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LOWER MAINLAND / NORTH SHORE

VANCOUVER

VICTORIA / GULF ISLANDS

THE GROWLER'S 2019 CRAFT BEER AWARDS

TRAVEL: COMOX VALLEY

MALTY, WOODY, BIG AND BOOZY

HOPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

GIFT GUIDE: THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE BEER

GREEN BEER

CRAFT BEER EVENTS CALENDAR

CRAFT BEER, PROUD PATRON OF THE ARTS

FALL DOWN THE CRAFT BEER GLASSWARE RABBIT HOLE

BEER AND SANDWICH PAIRING PRIMER

B.C. BREWERY LISTINGS

BEER TO THE GROUND

Breweries by Region

VANCOUVER

LOWER MAINLAND / NORTH SHORE

FRASER VALLEY

SEA TO SKY / SUNSHINE COAST

VICTORIA / GULF ISLANDS

VANCOUVER ISLAND

THOMPSON OKANAGAN / KELOWNA

KOOTENAYS

NORTHERN B.C.

Looking back on 2019, I’m not sure there’s been a bigger year for craft beer in B.C. In the past 12 months, we’ve seen 24 breweries open for business across the province. In this issue of e Growler, you’ll nd listings for 194 craft breweries (pg. 36), along with dozens more in the works (pg. 116).

It’s the festive season, so I’m thinking we should celebrate all this incredible craft beer being brewed—and what better way to do that than with e Growler’s 2019 B.C. Craft Beer Readers’ Choice Awards! Unlike other craft beer awards and contests, the Growlies (as we like to call them) are decided by you, the beer-drinking public. We tallied up thousands of votes and you can see the results, along with pro les of some of the winning beers (pg. 6). We also gave away some pretty incredible prizes, including a helicopter beer tour from Sky Helicopters. How’s that for a stocking stu er? But if you’re looking to keep things low-key this holiday season, Ben Johnson has tips on how to host a party at home and not waste all your primo cellared beer (pg. 20). You don’t want to commit a faux pas by pouring that Russian imperial stout into a dimpled mug, so let Ted Child educate you on what glassware options are out there (pg. 32). A beer-related gift would probably be a good idea, and Michael Kissinger has you covered like a pair of beer-print leggings (pg. 24).

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

Rob Mangelsdorf, editor

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

Brewery Details

GROWLER FILLS

BOTTLES / CANS KEGS

TASTING ROOM

ON-SITE KITCHEN OR FOOD TRUCK

TOURS

GROWLER-APPROVED BADGE 36 72 53 75 80 91 98 108 112

KID FRIENDLY

GLUTEN-FREE BOOZE OPTIONS

Suggested Glassware

STANGE

Kolsch

Marzen

Gose

PILSNER Lager

Pilsner

Witbier

NONIC PINT 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

The Growler is proud to present its 2019 Craft Beer Readers’ Choice Awards, a.k.a. e Growlies! Unlike traditional beer awards, the Growlies have been decided by YOU, the beer-drinking public.

B.C.’s 190 craft breweries produced an estimated 5,000+ di erent beers this year. So with the help of our panel of craft beer experts, we narrowed the eld to 10 nominees in each category. en the public had their say, with thousands of votes being cast online during B.C. Craft Beer Month in October.

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

Cheers, Rob Mangelsdorf, editor

TWIN CITY BREWING CO. TWIN CITY BREWING CO.

GOLD – Unsung Hero

GOLD – Best Board Game Selection

SILVER – Brewery of the Year

SILVER – Best Food Program

SILVER – Best Place to Drink in the Afternoon Without Judgement

BRONZE – Best West Coast/Specialty IPA // Run of the Mill IPA

BRONZE – Best Fruit Beer // Late Bloomer

Twin City Brewing is the quintessential example of all that is good and right about the craft beer revolution. It was founded by a young couple who grew up in Port Alberni, moved away to Nanaimo for college, and then chose to return to Port Alberni to build their brewery. ey wanted to be part of a wave of new businesses run by young entrepreneurs that are revitalizing the economy of this mid-island mill town. Using a crowd-funding project, they raised money from the local community while building brand awareness around their brewery before it even opened. Smart. Personally, I fully expect owner/brewer Aaron Colyn to be mayor of Port Alberni one day.

e other thing that makes this brewery a craft beer poster child is that Colyn and his brewers

make exceptional beer, but you have to travel there in person to taste it because they sell every drop through their tasting room and don’t have any extra capacity for packaging. And taking that one step further is the simply delectable food served in the tasting room kitchen, including fantastic pizzas cooked to order and smoked meat sandwiches from their on-site smokehouse.

Twin City picked up seven medals this year in the Growlies, including gold for Unsung Hero as the small market brewery most deserving of recognition. It looks like the secret is out.

—Joe Wiebe

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DAGERAAD BREWING DAGERAAD BREWING

BREWERY OF THE YEAR

| 1 | Field House Brewing

| 2 | Twin City Brewing

| 3 | Four Winds Brewing

BEER OF THE YEAR

| 1 | Driftwood Brewery // Fat Tug IPA

| 2 | Backcountry Brewing // Widowmaker IPA

| 3 | Parkside Brewery // Dreamboat Hazy IPA

BEST WEST COAST/SPECIALTY INDIA PALE ALE

| 1 | Driftwood Brewery // Fat Tug IPA

| 2 | Brassneck Brewery // Passive Aggressive

| 3 | Twin City Brewing // Run Of e Mill IPA

BEST EAST COAST/HAZY IPA

| 1 | Twin Sails Brewing // Juice Plus

| 2 | Category 12 Brewing // Juicy Data

GOLD – Best Belgian-Style Ale // Blonde

SILVER – Best Wheat Ale // De Witte

BRONZE – Best Collab Beer // Ten: VCBW 10th Anniversary Collab

Burnaby’s Dageraad Brewing started out more than ve years ago with a seemingly impossible task: To bring authentic Belgian-style abbey ales to the B.C. market—a place with absolutely no connection with these exotic, delicious beers.

rough stubborn determination and a commitment to creating truly uncompromising beer, Dageraad has since succeeded in doing the unthinkable, becoming not only one of the most revered breweries in the province, but the country as well. In addition to a trio of Growlie awards this year, including gold for best Belgian-Style Ale, Dageraad cleaned up at the 2019 B.C. Beer Awards and was named the 2018 Canadian Brewery of the Year.

| 3 | Parkside Brewery // Humans, an IPA for the People

BEST NORTH AMERICAN-STYLE ALE

| 1 | Twin Sails Brewing // Dat Juice

| 2 | Strange Fellows Brewing // Talisman Pale Ale

| 3 | Four Winds Brewing // Velo

BEST U.K.-STYLE ALE

| 1 | Driftwood Brewery // Naughty Hildegard ESB

| 2 | Hoyne Brewing // Appleton ESB

| 3 | Riot Brewing // Working Class Hero Dark Mild

BEST DARK ALE

| 1 | Hoyne Brewing // Dark Matter

| 2 | Field House Brewing // Salted Black Porter

| 3 | Crannóg Ales // Backhand of God

BEST LIGHT/AMBER LAGER

| 1 | Steel & Oak Brewing // Simple ings

| 2 | Four Winds Brewing // Hüftgold

| 3 | Hoyne Brewing // Helios

BEST DARK LAGER

| 1 | Field House Brewing // Toasted Coconut Black Lager

| 2 | Steel & Oak Brewing // Dark Lager

| 3 | To no Brewing // Dark Lager

—Rob Mangelsdorf

“Focusing a brewery on Belgian-style beers was never a smart business decision,” said founder Ben Coli earlier this year. “While the rest of the world was going crazy about IPAs, we were asking consumers to educate themselves on obscure styles and pay attention to nuanced, complex beer. But we pulled through. We found our beer drinkers and they found us, and today we’re doing better than ever.”

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OUR METHODOLOGY

Award winners were decided by a two-part process. First, a panel of close to 25 craft beer experts from across the province—including Cicerones, certi ed beer judges, craft beer journalists and industry insiders—weighed in on what beers they would like to see nominated, in order to narrow the eld to 10 nominees in each beer style category. Judging criteria focused on the overall impression of the beer, as opposed to adherence to a speci c style. Participating experts were allowed to nominate as many beers/breweries as they like. e nominations were then tallied, vetted for style suitability and production eligibility and then compiled into a curated nomination list for each category. Preference was given to packaged releases, as opposed to limited draft-only releases. Each category had a minimum of one nomination from Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island and

Interior B.C. Once the short list of nominations for each category was created, the public was able to vote online at eGrowler.ca for nominees or write-in a beer if they feel it should be considered. e online poll ran from Oct. 3–25, 2019. e nal votes were counted to determine a winner for each category.

—Rob Mangelsdorf, editor

WINNER

DRIFTWOOD BREWERY DRIFTWOOD BREWERY

GOLD – Beer of the Year // Fat Tug IPA

GOLD – Best West Coast/Specialty IPA // Fat Tug IPA

GOLD – Best UK-style Ale // Naughty Hildegard ESB

GOLD – Best Branding/Packaging

BRONZE – Best Imperial Ale/Lager // Singularity

Driftwood Brewery launched in 2008 with two Belgian beers as part of its opening trio: White Bark Wit and Farmhand Saison. e third was a hoppy pale ale. ere was no IPA in sight.

e rst IPA Driftwood ever brewed was Sartori Harvest IPA. It was a huge hit—as it still is each fall—and consumers clamoured for Driftwood to add a regular IPA to its lineup. Co-founder Jason Meyer’s response at the time was undeniably prophetic.

“ ere are a lot of good IPAs out there,” he told me in June, 2010. “We know that the bar has been set high, so we intend to try and set it just a little bit higher.”

When Driftwood launched Fat Tug IPA later that year it quickly became the brewery’s most popular beer. Before too long, it commandeered most of its brewing schedule.

With the current excitement around hazy IPAs, the West Coast IPA style sometimes gets pigeon-holed as out-of-date or old school, but who can deny the potent, pungent, tongue-tingling pleasure of that rst swig of a freshly poured Fat Tug? e resinous bitterness of all the succulent hops stu ed into this iconic beer is not for the faint of heart, but for all us HopHeads, there’s nothing quite like it.

Long live Fat Tug! —Joe

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Wiebe

Contributed photo

FOUR WINDS BREWING FOUR WINDS BREWING

GOLD – Best Farmhouse/Wild Brett Ale // Juxtapose

GOLD – Best Wood-Aged Beer // Norwood

GOLD – Best Sour Ale // Nectarous

SILVER – Best Light/Amber Lager // Hüftgold

SILVER – Best Belgian-Style Ale // Triplicity

BRONZE – Brewery of the Year

BRONZE – Best N. American-Style Ale // Velo

BRONZE – Best Collab Beer // Ten: VCBW

BRONZE – Best Low-Alcohol Beer // Sour Weisse

Four Winds Brewing holds a special place in my heart because it was the rst new brewery to open after the release of my book, Craft Beer Revolution: e Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries, back in 2013. And it was mere days after my book came out—as I mentioned at my Vancouver book launch when I joked that Four Winds co-founder Brent Mills had already made my book out of date. Back then, it was brewery No. 51 in the province; there are close to 190 open now by my count.

Of all the breweries that have opened here since 2013, few have been more lauded than Four Winds, which was named Canadian Brewery of the Year in 2015 and won Canadian Beer of the Year in 2016 (for Nectarous). e fact is that the beers produced by this Delta brewery are consistently excellent across the board—its core lineup is awless and the brewers have been well ahead of the curve with kettle sours, their wood-aging program, and the recent growth of interest in lagers (love that Hüftgold!).

Whenever I visit the brewery, I am always impressed by the number of people packing the tasting room—which was recently expanded. When the Mills family built the brewery in this nondescript industrial park in Delta, they did not expect to get many visitors, but this is what happens when you brew such good beer. To coin a phrase: if you brew it, they will come— again and again. —Joe

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BEST BELGIAN-STYLE ALE

| 1 | Dageraad Brewing // Blonde

| 2 | Four Winds Brewing // Triplicity

| 3 | Strange Fellows Brewing // Reynard

BEST FARMHOUSE/WILD/BRETT ALE

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing // Juxtapose

| 2 | Field House Brewing // Sauvignon Blanc Wild Farmhouse Ale

| 3 | Yellow Dog Brewing // Ferocious Wild IPA

BEST WOOD-AGED BEER

| 1 | Four Winds Brewing // Norwood

| 2 | Île Sauvage Brewing // Feu Vert

| 3 | Boombox Brewing // Rum Barrel Midnight Train

Wiebe

Contributed photo

BEST FRUIT BEER

| 1 | Field House Brewing // Dark Sour: Blackberry + Blueberry

| 2 | Île Sauvage Brewing // Raspberry Sour

| 3 | Twin City Brewing // Late Bloomer

BEST COLLAB BEER

| 1 | Yellow Dog/Super ux // Friends With Bene ts

| 2 | Yellow Dog/House of Funk // Patience is a Virtue

| 3 | Four Winds/Dageraad/Powell // Ten: VCBW 10th Anniversary Collab

BEST LOW-ALCOHOL BEER

| 1 | Field House Brewing // Sour Wheat Gose

| 2 | Parallel 49 Brewing // Tricycle Radler

| 3 | Four Winds Brewing // Sour Weisse

BEST NEW BREWERY

| 1 | House of Funk Brewing

| 2 | Île Sauvage Brewing

| 3 | Slackwater Brewing

UNSUNG HERO

| 1 | Twin City Brewing (Port Alberni)

| 2 | Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. (Kelowna)

| T-3 | LoveShack Libations (Qualicum)

| T-3 | Slackwater Brewing (Penticton)

BEST TASTING ROOM

| 1 | Field House Brewing

| 2 | e Parkside Brewery

| 3 | Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

BEST FOOD PROGRAM

| 1 | Field House Brewing

| 2 | Twin City Brewing

| 3 | Vice & Virtue Brewing Co.

BEST BRANDING/PACKAGING

| 1 | Driftwood Brewery

| 2 | Field House Brewing

| 3 | Super ux Beer Co.

BEST LOCAL HOMEBREWING STORE

| 1 | Barley’s Homebrewing

| 2 | Hamilton Hops and Grapes

| 3 | Centennial Homebrewing

BEST CRAFT BEER BAR

| 1 | e Alibi Room

| 2 | e Drake Eatery

Beer

VANCOUVER ISLAND BREWING VANCOUVER ISLAND BREWING

One of the founding breweries of the early microbrewery movement in Canada, Vancouver Island Brewing began its existence as Island Paci c Brewing in 1984. Its original location was in Saanichton north of Victoria proper, but the name was changed to VIB in 1991 and the company moved to its current location on Government Street not long after. For a long time VIB survived on the legacy of core brands like Piper’s Pale Ale and Hermann’s Dark Lager, as well as B.C.’s original holiday seasonal, the cult favourite Hermannator Eisbock. But as microbrew evolved into “craft beer” and consumer tastes became more and more re ned, VIB struggled to keep up with trends. Its core customers were aging, new customers were not coming on board, and sales were dropping. Following an ownership change in 2016, the brewery rebranded itself in a big way—say goodbye to the orcas and hello to the new VI. But the hexagonal logo and associated brands were largely met with disdain in the marketplace, and a year of poor sales, a new manager was brought in to oversee another rebranding, this time with more humility and a better connection to Island lifestyle—yes, the orcas were back!

A year and a half later, as VIB quietly marks its 35th year in business, the brewery is at the top of its game again. It has been winning awards and winning back customers. Most importantly the beer has been tasting great, which is all that matters after all.

—Joe Wiebe

GOLD – Best Imperial Ale/Lager // Hermannator

2nd annu a l * 2019

Contributed photo

BEST CRAFT BEER RETAIL STORE

| 1 | Brewery Creek

| 2 | Legacy Liquor

| 3 | Cascadia (all locations)

BEST CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL/EVENT

| 1 | Vancouver Craft Beer Week

| 2 | Great Canadian Beer Festival

| 3 | Okanagan Fest of Ale

BEST PLACE TO TAKE A TINDER DATE

| 1 | Field House Brewing

| 2 | Brassneck Brewery

| 3 | 33 Acres Brewing

BEST BOARD GAME SELECTION

| 1 | Twin City Brewing

| 2 | Tree Brewing Beer Institute

| T-3 | Moody Ales

| T-3 | Riot Brewing

HOUSE OF FUNK BREWING HOUSE OF FUNK BREWING

GOLD – Best New Brewery

SILVER

BEST PLACE TO DRINK IN THE AFTERNOON WITHOUT JUDGEMENT

| 1 | Field House Brewing

| 2 | Twin City Brewing

| 3 | Wildeye Brewing

BEST BREWERY TO BRING THE KIDS

| 1 | Field House Brewing

| 2 | e Parkside Brewery

| 3 | Yellow Dog Brewing

MOST DOG-FRIENDLY BREWERY

| 1 | e Parkside Brewery

| 2 | Yellow Dog Brewing

| 3 | Field House Brewing j

When it comes to brewing, North Vancouver’s House of Funk isn’t just limiting itself to beer. e Growlie’s 2019 New Brewery of the Year has managed to stand out in an ever-crowded market thanks to its ability to innovate with beer, as well as co ee.

House of Funk Brewing was created to challenge the status quo of beer and co ee, cultivating an environment of experimentation with a devotion to quality. Its small batch system allows the brewery to push boundaries and experiment with its brews, and serve up fresh and unique avours more frequently.

On the beer side, every single batch House of Funk brews is fermented or conditioned in wood, or subjected to an onslaught of wild yeast, souring bacteria and other funky micro-organisms.

On the co ee side, House of Funk roasts light with the freshest beans from the Southern Hemisphere, working with two di erent local and family-run companies in Vancouver who go down to origin to develop and maintain relationships with the farmers directly. Either way, the end result is unique and delicious.

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– Best Collab Beer // Patience is a Virtue

Upper Left Photography photo

WINNER

FIELD HOUSE BREWING CO. FIELD HOUSE BREWING CO.

Crack open a bottle of any of Field House’s beers and what you’re tasting is a love letter to the Fraser Valley. e Abbotsford brewery has taken the concept of terroir— avour that’s unique to where something is made—and applied it to beer unlike any other brewery in the province. Field House grows many of the ingredients that make it into its beer—including barley, wheat, oats, fruit, herbs, as well as vegetables for the brewery’s kitchen. Hops come from a partner farm just down the road.

GOLD - Brewery of the Year

GOLD - Best Dark Lager // Toasted Coconut Black Lager

GOLD - Best Fruit Beer // Dark Sour: Blackberry + Blueberry

GOLD - Best Low-Alcohol Beer // Sour Wheat Gose

GOLD - Best Tasting Room

GOLD - Best Food Program

GOLD - Best Place to Take A Tinder Date

GOLD - Best Place to Drink in the Afternoon

Without Judgement

GOLD - Best Brewery to Bring the Kids

SILVER - Best Dark Ale // Salted Black Porter

SILVER - Best Farmhouse/Wild Brett Ale // Sauvignon Blanc Wild Farmhouse Ale

SILVER - Best Branding/Packaging

BRONZE - Most Dog-Friendly Brewery

e brewery has even developed its own strain of brewing yeast, harvested and propagated from its farm.

“It tastes like the Fraser Valley,” says founder Josh Vanderheide, “and you won’t be able to nd beer that tastes like that anywhere but the Fraser Valley.”

e approach has resulted in a unique product and a passionate following, as is evidenced by this year’s Growlie results. Field House picked up 13 awards this year—the most of any brewery—including Brewery of the Year.

2020 looks to be another big year for Field House, too, with two new breweries set to open under the brand’s banner: Field House CHWK in downtown Chilliwack, and a farm-based brewery in Abbotsford that will become home to Field House’s barrel-aging program. e Fraser Valley has never been so delicious. —Rob

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Mangelsdorf

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR PRIZE WINNERS!

GRAND PRIZE

Sky Helicopters West Coast Craft Beer Flight Winner: Harry Wilke

RUNNER-UP PRIZES

23 Litre Deluxe Starter Kit from Barley’s Winner: Matthew Kremser

11.5 litre All Grain Revolution Kit from Barley’s Winner: Colin Sedgwick

Blichmann

Hellfire Burner from Barley’s Winner: Kent Bradley

ank you to our sponsors and everyone who voted in the 2019 Growlies!

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Craft Beer CraftEscapeBeer Escape Comox Valley

by Rob Mangelsdorf

British Columbia is a many splendoured place—that’s why we live here after all! We’re spoiled with snowcapped mountains, beautiful beaches, verdant forests, crystal-clear lakes and rivers, bountiful oceans, amazing food and drink, warm summers and mild winters. Yeah, it rains a bit, but that’s what the Gore-Tex is for.

In some lucky corners of the province—like the pocket of paradise that is the Comox Valley—you can even experience it all within a 30-minute drive. Kayaking, snowboarding and mountain biking, all in the same day, if you’re so inclined. But what truly sets the Comox Valley apart as a vacation destination is the wealth of quality food and drink options.

ree distinct communities make up the Comox Valley—Comox, Courtenay and Cumberland— each with their own personality and o erings. e valley’s shared agricultural history has given rise to a healthy local food culture. Eating and drinking local is a way of life here—whether its wine from local wineries like 40 Knots or Beaufort, award-winning cheeses from local dairies like Natural Pastures, fresh produce from the many roadside farm stalls like Sie ert’s Farm Market, or beer from any of the many local craft breweries.

Speaking of beer, the past year has seen three new craft breweries open in the Comox Valley, along with new craft beer-focused taprooms and restaurants, creating a craft beer mecca almost overnight. It’s just another reason to put this part of Vancouver Island on the top of your B.C. craft beer road trip list.

Cumberland

Once a threadbare mining town with more boarded up shops than open businesses along its main stretch, Cumberland has seen a remarkable resurgence in the past 30 years. Lured by cheap housing prices and a stunning location nestled next to the Comox Lake and the Beaufort Mountains, newcomers to this long neglected corner of the valley have transformed it into an oasis of awesomeness.

e brick buildings have been lovingly restored, as have many of the historic wooden Victorian homes that line the town’s quaint, quiet streets. Where there were once empty storefronts there are now taco shops, artisan ice creameries and handmade local clothing stores.

With Mount Washington Alpine Resort just 30 minutes away, and more than 80 km of single track mountain bike trails within the city limits,

Comox Valley is a four-season paradise that's recently embraced craft beer culture in a big way. iStock photo

Cumberland has become a destination in its own right—making it the perfect place to start your Comox Valley journey.

Your rst stop in Cumberland should naturally be the Cumberland Brewing Co. and its spacious heated patio. Recent renovations have added seating space both inside and out, and have allowed the brewery to add a full kitchen.

If you spent the morning shredding up Mount Washington, a pint of the avourful yet light bodied Dancing Linebacker oatmeal stout is probably just the thing you need. Likewise, if you spent the morning bombing down trails in Cumberland Forest, a glass of the Jungle Fog wheat ale, resplendent with big juicy notes of tropical fruit, is just the thing to revive you.

Physical exertion demands sustenance, so listen to your body and walk it across the street to Rider’s Pizza, a must-visit après stop for a massive, wellearned pizza. As great as the pizza is, the beer list is just as, if not more impressive, with close to 15 taps of local craft beer—including everything from CBC (same owners)—with tasting ights available, as well.

Courtenay

The Comox Valley’s heart, both geographically and demographically, Courtenay is home to close to half of the valley’s residents. Located along the Courtenay River estuary—a popular kayaking destination— the cute-as-a-button downtown area of Fifth Street has also seen signi cant rejuvenation in recent years, with an increasing number of restaurants and bars opening up. One of the catalysts has been Gladstone Brewing, just around the corner on Fourth Street. e brewery opened up in an old mechanic shop in 2015 and leaned into the vintage automotive theme, with antique oilcans, tools and hubcaps

adorning the bright and airy tasting room. When the sun’s out—regardless of the season—Gladstone’s massive covered and heated patio comes alive. Grab a pint of Gladstone’s refreshing Belgian Single and tuck into one of the delicious gourmet burgers.

A short bike ride down the waterfront Courtenay Riverway trail brings you to the Comox Valley’s newest brewery, Ace Brewing Co. is aviation-themed brewery is right next to the Courtenay Airpark and pays homage to the area’s military history with beers like Spit re Lager and Drop Tank India Blonde Ale. Brussels-born brewer Louis Hage is bringing some of his Belgian air to the beer list with beers like Fruit Bomb, a raspberry mango sour that explodes with fruit avour while nishing tart and dry.

Back on Fifth Street, there are plenty of food and drink options, including the Cornerstone Café, which features 20 taps of local craft beer, live music and even poetry slams. Just a few shops up the street, Nikkei Ramen-Ya has the best ramen on Vancouver Island, and an extensive sake list to pair it with.

For a truly unique craft beer experience, make sure to pay a visit to the White Whale on the opposite side of the Courtenay River. is faux-Tudor style pub sits right on a tidal slough with its own dock, making it an ideal spot to pull up your kayak or stand-up paddleboard and have a pint. A patio seat is a must, providing a front row seat for the action on the river, where bald eagles and chubby harbor seals sun themselves on the dock. With 16 rotating craft beer taps, there’s always something fresh being tapped.

Comox

For the longest time Comox was home to only two demographic groups: Canadian Air Force personnel from nearby CFB Comox, and octogenarian retirees. As a result, for many years downtown Comox has

Cumberland Brewing Co. has helped revitalize the once sleepy village it calls home.

Gladstone Brewing in Courtenay is an ideal place to ll your tank with delicious craft beer. Rob Mangelsdorf photos

had a well-earned reputation as being the sleepy backwater of the three valley burghs.

at, however, has recently changed: the past year has seen two new craft breweries open up, as well the craft beer focused Church Street Taphouse. And the demographics are changing.

“Comox was a sleepy town for a lot of years, but now it’s a destination,” says Church Street’s head bartender Brian Chapman. “A lot of people are moving up from Victoria and Vancouver. A lot of people who left the valley when they graduated high school are now coming back to start families. And they like craft beer.”

e tap list at Church Street features a wide array of B.C. brewers, with an emphasis on IPAs and craft lagers.

“We try and o er the broadest spectrum possible so that no matter who walks in the door, we’ll have something for them,” he says. “We still get Lucky drinkers coming in here, and we don’t want them to feel alienated. But I always make sure we have one tap that’s just for the hardcore beer geeks.”

On the day I visit, that tap is pouring Boneyard Beer’s Suge Knite imperial stout, clocking in at a smooth 14.0% ABV. is hardcore beer geek was mightily impressed.

One block east at the Comox Centre Mall, New Tradition Brewing opened earlier this summer and brewer Pat Savard has been winning over locals with his approachable, accomplished brews. e tasting room itself is bright and welcoming, with rustic handmade touches throughout the space. In fact, everything in the brewery was hand built by the couple, from the bar, to the tables, to the chairs. For lager-lovers, Cure For e Common Kölsch is Savard’s take on the traditional lagered ale of his mother’s hometown of Cologne, Germany. However, the deeper you delve into New Tradition’s beer list, the more surprises you’ll nd. Like the Juice Caboose Wild Session Ale: this fruity, funky little number utilizes multiple strains of wild yeast for plenty of avour despite the modest 3.0% ABV.

Land & Sea Brewing Co. on Guthrie Road has quickly become one of Comox’s favourite meeting places, thanks to a winning combination of great beer, great food and a great atmosphere.Brewer Tessa Gabiniewicz’s beer list emphasizes approachable, sessionable styles, perfect for hours of casual hangs in the hip tasting room. e Comexico Pale Ale is a great choice for when the brewery throws open its big bay doors and lets that Comox Valley sunshine stream in. Fruit-forward and hazy, with just enough hop bitterness to dry out the nish, it’s a West Coast twist on a classic East Coast pale ale. Grab a growler to-go for your Comox Valley adventures, whether it's snowshoeing, skiing, windsur ng or just curling up with a blanket next to a beach re at Goose Spit. j

LEFT: Ace Brewing Co. in Courtenay pays homage to the Comox Valley's aviation and military history. ABOVE: Everything at New Tradition Brewing is handmade in-house, from the beers to the chairs, to the beer paddles.

Land & Sea Brewing has quickly become Comox's favourite hang-out thanks to its chill vibe and approachable beers.

malty, woody, big & boozy

'Tis the season for big boozy beers like barleywine and imperial stout

by Joe Wiebe

There are certain beers that seem ideally suited to each season: fresh, light saisons and malty maibocks are perfect for spring; sessionable lagers, citrusy hazy ales and fruity sours can’t be beat in the hot days of summer; while autumn is all about fresh hops, pumpkin beers and Oktoberfest märzens.

And then there are the malty, woody, big and boozy beers that many breweries release in the darkest depths of winter: hefty barleywines and richly extravagant imperial stouts that turn the alcohol dial not just to 11, but often close to 12%, or even beyond.

ese small-batch behemoths demand extra care and attention from the brewers who make them—some spend time soaking up even more alcohol in bourbon barrels—and when they are nally released, beer geeks obsess over them, often buying several bottles to age in their cellars, building up verticals to compare vintages in coming years, and debating which year’s version o ers the best avour pro le.

e English barleywine tradition dates back to the 1700s when brewers intended it to replace wine at the dinner table because of con icts between England and wine-producing countries such as France and Spain. It was brewed to over 10% ABV and then laid down in wood for a year or more to mellow its character. Modern interpretations by craft brewers are often

much hoppier than the original would have been, even dry-hopped much like a contemporary IPA.

Russian imperial stouts originated in 18th century England as well, brewed as “extra stout porters” for the imperial court of Czarina Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg. ey proved to be popular both in Russia and at home in England, and continued to be brewed well into the 20th century. Contemporary craft breweries typically make them as dark, thick and rich as possible. e happy discovery that the roasty, chocolatey and co ee avours in these big stouts taste even better with a bit of whisky added to the mix has led many brewers to age them in used bourbon barrels as well.

One of the leading producers of these styles in B.C. is Victoria’s Driftwood Brewery, which has produced its Singularity Russian imperial stout and Old Cellar Dweller barleywine annually since 2011. Put simply, co-founder and so-called “Wizard of Wort” Jason Meyer says, “We like making them because we like drinking them.”

Meyer acknowledges that these big, boozy beers are challenging to brew. High-gravity fermentations put extra stress on yeast and require longer conditioning periods.

“Extraction e ciency is terrible when you’re making super high-gravity beers,” he explains. “You’re leaving a shit-ton of sugar behind in the mash tun because you’re usually sparging only minimally.”

And then there’s the arti cial limit of 12% ABV, created by federal excise duties—above that, the tax rate jumps considerably. With Old Cellar Dweller, Meyer tries to brew it as close to 11.8% as possible.

“We’ve got an alco-meter that we paid handsomely for to make sure that we are not over the duty threshold,” he says.

Singularity is even more of a wild card because it is aged in single-use bourbon barrels, which add additional alcohol along with avour characteristics. Driftwood favours Woodford Reserve Double Oaked bourbon barrels.

“ ey’ve been showing up every year nice and wet, not leaking, reeking of booze,” Meyer says. “ at’s really what we’re looking for: we want them to smell heady and boozy like they just got drained the day before.”

Singularity sits in these barrels for about six weeks, just long enough to gather as much bourbon character as possible without too much tannin.

Kent Donaldson, co-owner of Whitetooth Brewing in Golden, attended a beer festival in Sweden in 2015 where he tasted an imperial stout unlike anything he’d had before.

“ e way it was described to me over there was that all the farms would grow their own malt and kiln it over an open ame, so it was invariably smoked, and then they used juniper boughs as a lter bed. e combination of the smoke and juniper berries seems to go together so well.”

When he got back he sat down with Whitetooth’s brewer, Evan Cronshaw, and described it to him, hoping he could re-create it.

“He pretty well nailed it right out of the gate,” Donaldson says. “It’s such a big beer but it’s super smooth. It’s got a subtle smoke, but then astringency from the juniper berries. So viscous you could almost stand a straw up in it.”

e result, Truth Dare Consequence Nordic Imperial Stout (10% ABV), is the current reigning champion in its category at both the B.C. Beer Awards and Canadian Brewing Awards. It’s an annual release that is very popular at the brewery.

“We limit it to one 300-mL glass because we nd it’s just over the top for some people. You have to be really careful with it. It is quite the punch in the head.” Sounds fantastic! Too bad it’s only available in Golden, but then again, maybe it’s time to plan a trip there this winter. I hear the skiing is pretty good there... j

Look for these big and boozy beers from B.C. breweries

BARLEYWINES

Woolly Bugger // Howe Sound Brewing

Old Cellar Dweller // Driftwood Brewery

Thor’s Hammer // Central City

Barleywine // Sooke Brewing Co.

Barleywine // Persephone Brewing

RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUTS

Russian Imperial Stout // Bomber Brewing

Commander // Dead Frog Brewing

Singularity // Driftwood Brewery

Russian Imperial Stout // Moody Ales

Truth Dare Consequence // Whitetooth Brewing

Driftwood Brewery's Old Cellar Dwellar is almost as strong as the government allows, at 11.4% ABV. Supplied photo

Hopsholidays for the holidays

Holiday hoarding:

How to channel your inner Scrooge this festive season

by Ben Johsnon

The older I get, the more I enjoy hosting parties as opposed to attending them.

e main reasons I prefer a shindig at my house are twofold: First, I can just wear my slippers. Perhaps it’s yet another symptom of progressing age but I’ve realized recently that the tedious task of putting on actual footwear can often feel like the worst part about being an adult human. Bending over? Tying things? No thanks. Having people to my house means I can keep my feet where they prefer to be: In deerskin, moccasin-style slip-ons.

Second, hosting the party at my house means that I am a orded access to all my preferred intoxicants and victuals. I’ll be honest, I can be a little bit snobby when it comes to the beverages I choose to consume. I’m willing to wager you are, too (you are, after all, reading a magazine about beer that you likely procured at a local brewery). And so, like me, you are almost certainly also a little concerned about the idea of an evening spent restricted to sipping whatever six-pack you happened to purchase on your way to a party or—worse—putting yourself at the mercy of your well-intentioned, Mill-Street-Organicserving friends.

Hosting the party yourself means you have handy access to your own day-to-day stock, as well as the more premium beer fridge in the basement,

the really good stu in your makeshift cellar, the liquor cabinet if the mood strikes, etc.

But, of course, therein lies the rub. Hosting at home guarantees my own access to good hooch but it also opens the door to the undesirable possibility that my guests might assume that they will be graced with the same luxury, which of course they are not. Indeed the one downside to hosting is that it means people might drink my beer. ankfully, over the years, I’ve learned ways to keep my guests from dipping into my stash and I’m here to pass that wisdom on to you.

DELAY SERVING THEM AT ALL

It’s not very scienti c but it works. e less time your friends have your beer in their hands, the less of it they will drink. So simply take a long time to crack that rst beer by nding ways to distract them and delay having to hand them that rst drink. “You have to see what we’ve done in the garden this winter,” “Our neighbours’ in atable holiday decorations can’t be missed,” etc.

is technique is especially e ective if you have a spouse as a co-conspirator so that you can rotate duties. While one of you is running out the clock

Indeed the one downside to hosting is that it means people might drink my beer.

DEALER'S CHOICE

Go in one of two directions for the beer you keep for yourself:

Four Winds Hüftgold and Steel & Oak's Dark Lager are both excellent options for downing while on a “refill run.”

Or have something big and bold poured that won’t mind coming to room temperature like Boombox's Midnight Train or Boris by Strange Fellows.

by playing tour guide, the other can feel free to nip to the kitchen for refreshment away from prying eyes.

BE STINGY WITH THE REFILLS

Once you’ve actually served your guests, it becomes more di cult to ignore when they don’t have a drink. An empty glass at a party has a way of demanding attention, but there’s no reason you can’t turn that into negative attention. So when a guest has nished a beer and is looking haplessly at you for some sign you’ll re ll it, it’s a great opportunity to make them feel shitty. Something like, “Woah Tim! Is there a hole in your glass?” or “Somebody was thirsty!” is will also signal to other guests that their normal-paced drinking won’t go unnoticed.

Once you’ve appropriately shamed someone for requesting a second beer, make sure you take your time lling the request. It helps to keep your beer some distance from the area where people will be congregating. Ignore the counter-intuitive instinct to set out a place with ice so that drinks are convenient to the party and under no circumstances should you tell people to serve themselves. at is a recipe for seriously depleted beer stocks. Instead, keep beer behind a closed-door—secluded in the kitchen is good, but somewhere like a basement or garage is ideal. is way, when you are gone, ostensibly getting re lls, you might once again happily take the time to enjoy one of your own beers at a reasonable pace. Again, the less time your guests have beer in hand, the less they will drink.

CLEAN OUT THE CELLAR

As e ective as the above methods are, if you are like me and somewhat known for enjoying well-made beer, you will almost certainly be met

at some point with a variation of, “You’re the beer guy, right?” or “Do you have any really fancy beer?”

And while being implored to crack open the good stu might induce panic in the hearts of the good beer hoarders among us, this is actually a great opportunity: Open up the cellar and foist the shelf turds on your guests.

Indeed, under the guise of a “tasting,” you might happily employ a degree of ceremony and a few small glasses and seize the chance to unload the dusty and expired chocolate stouts and cranberry saisons that you stashed away with good intentions years ago but never got around to.

Most uninitiated people will politely sip your past-its-prime beer with nary a word, but you might get someone brave enough to voice their distaste with the undesirable beer you’ve foisted on them. is too is easily handled. If someone questions the quality of the over-aged swill you’re unloading on them, say something gentle like, “Yes, it’s a bit of an acquired taste,” or “You really have to have a re ned palate to appreciate this.” If your guest persists, just woefully shake your head while you say, “You’re just not quite there yet.”

ese tips should help you host an evening without your beer reserves taking too much damage but, of course, if the idea of underserving your guests is simply too much for you to take, there is always the option of swallowing your pride.

Before the party, don dark sunglasses and a hat and duck into the government liquor store. Find the least expensive option by volume and buy a case or two. Put it out on ice before your party and play it o as something of a joke as guests arrive. Say things like, “Isn’t this beer hilarious?” as you pour your guests another round.

en just be sure to sneak o quietly when you nip down to the basement for the occasional real beer. j

GOLD BREWERY OF THE YEAR

BEST DARK LAGER - TOASTED COCONUT BLACK LAGER

BEST FRUIT BEER - DARK SOUR: BLACKBERRY & BLUEBERRY

BEST LOW ALCOHOL - SOUR WHEAT GOSE

BEST TASTING ROOM

BEST FOOD PROGRAM

BEST PLACE TO BRING A TINDER DATE

BEST PLACE TO DRINK IN THE AFTERNOON WITHOUT JUDGEMENT

BEST BREWERY TO BRING THE KIDS

SILVER

BEST DARK ALE - SALTED BLACK PORTER

BEST FARMHOUSE / WILD / BRETT ALE -

SAUVIGNON BLANC WILD FARMHOUSE ALE

BEST BRANDING/ PACKAGING

BRONZE

MOST DOG-FRIENDLY

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE IN THE BC BEER COMMUNITY!

WoNdErful WoNdErfulBEer BEer It's the most time of the

Questionable holiday gifts for the hop head in your life

by Michael Kissinger

Beer. It’s not only terri c for suppressing emotions, it can really come in handy when you have to buy a gift for that dude with the beard in your o ce’s Secret Santa exchange. And what better way to nd said beer-related gifts than the dark and lonely recesses of the Internet.

1. RECLAIMED ROPE BEER LANYARD

$15.72 at UncommonGoods.com

Reclaimed Rope Beer Lanyard is not only a great Guided

By Voices album, it combines three of life’s greatest pleasures: reclaimed rope, macramé and beer. Make that four of life’s greatest pleasures—I forgot the

word “lanyard.” It’s also made in Nicaragua, so it’s muy woke.

2. BEERVANA BREWGA LEGGINGS

$39 at SudsyStyle.com

Way cooler looking than peanut butter leggings, these apexes of fashion give your gams a jolt of sudsy re nement, while at the same time making it appear that half your body is full of delicious beer, which probably isn’t far from the truth.

3. BEER TIME FLIP FLOPS

$22.49 at CafePress.com

In another era, this could have been humankind’s re, wheel or polio vaccine. Instead, it’s just a pair of ip ops that look like beer. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

4. LA CANUCK BEER CAN CHICKEN

$49.99 at Etsy.com

ere are few sights more unsettling than beer can chicken. Seeing your dad cry and beer can chicken. ankfully, this little Etsy wonder adds some bad assery to the cooking process. at’s right, in addition to sticking an open can of beer inside a chicken’s ori ce, this handmade contraption will make it look like the chicken is riding a motorcycle. Sweet.

5. BEER CHILLING COASTERS

$39.31 at UncommonGoods.com

Bring a Stonehenge vibe to your beer-drinking experience beyond the usual druid-like scent of urine that your hair can’t seem to shake. Plus these “chillable” coasters are made from reclaimed New Hampshire granite, which will sound super impressive at a house party if you say it while twirling your moustache or stroking your Vandyke.

6. BEER ATHLETIC KNEE SOCKS

$16.98 at O eWagonShop.com

Harkening back to an era before craft beer was even a dimple in your burgeoning belly, these

knee-high athletic socks will make your doughy calves sing. So what if that song is Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

7. MEN’S LAGER BEER SOCKS-IN-A-CAN

$16.99 at YellowOctopus.com

In the past few years, amboyant or “jazzy” socks have become a source of solace for man children and urban hipsters looking to add a little are to their pasty, beard-hair covered bodies. Although these tread a little too closely to the realm of joke gift to be fashionable, they look damn refreshing, which is something that has never been said about the gnarled tree stumps you call feet.

8. GOOD NIGHT BREW

$22.15 at O eWagonShop.com

Combining a classic children’s book with alcoholism hasn’t been this charming since Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild ings Get Hammered on Lukewarm Baja Rosa. Ann E. Breiated—get it?— and Allie Ogg’s adult parody of Goodnight Moon, about tucking a brewery in for the night, really goes for it. So much so, it’s de-

scribed in the press materials as a “pitcher” book. What fun.

9. LOCALLY BREWED ONESIE

$16.31 at Etsy.com

I’m not sure if the implied message of this adorable baby item is that your child was conceived after a blurry evening in barley town or that the baby’s mother is the human equivalent of a fermentation tank. Either way, it’ll give your child the foundation he, she or they needs to become a productive member of society with a manageable number of parental issues, anxieties and resentments.

10. CHILL BABY LI'L LAGER BABY BOTTLE

$12 at O eWagonShop.com

Speaking of alcoholism and toddlers, the Chill Baby Li’l Lager Baby Bottle is pretty much like its name suggests. A baby bottle that looks like a bottle of lager. Funny, my 10-month-old nephew was more of a double dry-hopped lactose gose fan.

11. JUMBO JELLY BEER

$16.98 at O eWagonShop.com

All the taste and 10 times the calories, this giant jelly mug of diabetes is 14.1 ounces of

beer- avoured fun. And by fun, I mean celibacy. Who are you trying to kid.

12. BEER AND FOOD PAIRING GUIDE TOWEL

$18.31 at UncommonGoods.com

Everyone knows tea towels are great for cleaning up spills, tending to kitchen knife accidents and wiping the sweat from your brow when no one’s looking, but sometimes they can also be informative. Case in point: the Beer and Food Pairing Guide Towel. Printed in an array of autumnal colours, this helpful rag includes 61 food entries and 40 beer styles, for 2,440 combo possibilities that you might even consider before being seduced by that Costco-size bag of Funyuns… again.

13. CRAFT IPA BEER SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER

$26.10 at UncommonGoods.com

Your skin, breath and kissing practice pillow already smell like beer, so why not go all the way and actually wash your hair in the hoppy stu —provided you actually have hair and take showers. Why IPA shampoo and not Hefeweizen or Farmhouse Saison? It’s one of life’s great mysteries next to who let the dogs out and why hasn’t anyone opened a Rick Springeld-themed burger restaurant called Jessie’s Grill yet? j

by Charlene Rooke

This crystalline dark-amber American Pale Ale has a creamy head, scents of fresh peach and pear, a citrus-hopped nish and big, fat bubbles of delicious refreshment. You’d never guess that it came from a process you could jokingly call “toilet to tap”—part of the recent Scottsdale, Arizona, One Water Brewing showcase that was the world’s rst beer festival featuring only craft beers produced with recycled water, all from area breweries.

Americano is a crisp, bright ale that “allows the base materials to shine through,” said Jim Erickson, the owner and brewer at Walter Station Brewery. One of those materials was 1,000 gallons of ultrapure recycled water, donated by the Advanced Water Treatment (AWT) plant at the Scottsdale Water Campus to Erickson and each of the nine other brewers pouring samples for thirsty visitors at the Canal Convergence art festival. Using recycled water is just one of the innovative new methods craft breweries in B.C. and North America are experimenting with to reduce their environmental impact and produce “green” beer, sustainably.

As craft beer fans bobbed from tap to tap, chatting with appealingly nerdy earnestness to water

o cials, we sipped ve o erings (there were ve di erent ones the following night). Some were wild, using everything from hemp seeds (Northern Mountain Brewing Company’s nutty, chocolatety brown NewWater Hemp Ale), guava and strawberry (Mother Bunch Brewing’s Loved By the Sun IPA, a hazy sour) or hibiscus (Uncle Bear’s Pure Water Brut Rosé, a dry bubbly pink IPA). e ultrapure AWT water was the ultimate blank canvas, “cleaner than the [municipal] water you’d get on a daily basis,” said Erickson, whose own brewery drilled deep during construction to access the aquifer water he normally uses, with nano- ltration. AWT water is purer than bottled water, too.

“It’s a matter of helping to change public perceptions,” said Nicole Sherbert, public information o cer for Scottsadale’s Water Resources Division. She explained that just last year, state regulations changed to allow the ultrapure water to be used for human consumption, making it only the third city in the U.S. to receive that approval.

No matter how ne the quality of the AWT water is, “I’m not going to get 25,000 people out here by pouring cups of water,” she jokes. e goal of the One Water Brewing showcase is not to supply

Sustainability can be very palatable for the beer industry and for consumers who are thirsty for environmental action

breweries with water long term, but “the more we can get people to work with recycled water, the more it will be accepted,” she said.

Bread and Water

At home back in B.C., craft breweries have been using another recycled product to create “green” beer: recycled bread. ough there are global examples of so-called bread beers (it’s traditional in Finland and Russia, and the documentary Wasted told the story of recycled-bread Toast beer from the U.K.), these new projects, often in collaboration with local food organizations, are meant to draw attention to issues around food supply and waste.

is past October, Small Block Brewery in Duncan did its third collaboration beer with food-distribution hub reFresh Cowichan, with proceeds going to Cowichan Green Community’s food recovery program: this year it made a Rye Cycled IPA. Zero-waste North Vancouver Bridge Brewing, inspired by the B.C. food-rescue documentary Just Eat It, also made a Rye Cycle a couple of years ago, avoured with spicy, dark Russian and Ukrainian bread. Revelstoke’s Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. did a limited-run Our Daily Bread beer in collaboration with Food Connect, a local food-recovery group that reclaims around 25,000 pounds of unsold, past-best-before but still perfectly good bread in a year, distributing it to more than a dozen local organizations including the Revelstoke Food Bank, which received partial proceeds from the Mt. Begbie collaboration.

e consumer appetite is there: “ e avour and quality of the beer is the most important thing, but I think there’s certainly consumer interest in sustainability,” says Joe Wiebe, author of Craft Beer Revolution and a founder of the B.C. Ale Trail. After all, “the craft beer movement is largely founded on the local sustainability model,” often using grains, hops and other ingredients sourced

through ultra-local supply chains. “Beer is a water-intensive industry,” admits Wiebe, mentioning brewing, cleaning and the issue of discharging spent yeast and grains, something Metro Vancouver needed to create a new bylaw to manage three years ago, to prevent the leftovers from fermentation from literally going down the drain.

Wiebe cites initiatives like the national Kegshare (which limits unnecessary transportation of empty kegs) and recycling programs (for cans, bottles, packaging as well as at beer-related events) other industry e orts. He name-checks sustainable stars like organic Nelson Brewing and Dogwood Brewing in Vancouver, farm breweries Pemberton Valley Beer Works and Sorrento, B.C.’s Crannog Ales (Canada’s rst certi ed organic farm-based brewery) as “the poster children for sustainability” that inspire the industry.

In relatively isolated, environmentally sensitive areas like the Sunshine Coast, reducing water is a particular focus. At Persephone Brewing Company in Gibsons, “Our waste water gets treated, and then goes back to ground to recharge the aquifer,” says tasting room manager Roo Miller. Because the brewery is on a working farm, “everything solid from the brewing process goes into our compost, and then eventually out into the market garden to grow food crops,” Miller says proudly.

“In a lot of ways, B.C. has led the brewing movement across the country from the get-go, and in the same way that British Columbians are now embrace sustainability,” Wiebe says. j

e avour and quality of the beer is the most important thing, but I think there’s certainly consumer interest in sustainability.

—Joe Wiebe

Fate Brewery's Pueblo Vienna Lager was the fan favourite at the One Water Brewing showcase in Scottsdale, Arizona, which highlighted beers brewed with recycled water. Scottsdale Arts photo

DEC. 5-7

Krampusnacht (Vancouver)

Strange Fellows Brewing is teaming up with OH Studio to present its second annual Krampusnacht, an “oddly exquisite Kristmas market.” Expect the unexpected and the extraordinary with local artisans showcasing their ceramics, jewelery, linens, baked goods, leather accessories, chocolate, orals, stationary, wall art, metalwork, honey, co ee, clothing and skincare. e opening reception on Dec. 5 (6-10 p.m.) is $15 and includes a complimentary beer, canapés, live music and a special Kristmas gift. e market itself is also open Dec. 6 (12-8 p.m.) and Dec. 7 (12-4p.m.), $3 admission at the door. For tickets, visit ObjectHandmadeStudio.com.

DEC. 5

Artisan Market Gallery Night @ Ravens Brewing (Abbotsford)

Swing by Ravens Brewing in Abbotsford for an evening of craft beer, art, live music and Christmas shopping. e brewery will have a pop-up art gallery set up, as well as local artisans o ering home décor, cards, plant terrariums, co ee, ornaments and more. And, of course, there will be delicious craft beer! e event takes place from 5-9 p.m. with free admission. Visit Ravens.beer for more info.

DEC. 12

Holiday Beers @ Vessel Liquor (Victoria)

Explore the world of holiday beers with the “ irsty Writer,” Joe Wiebe, as he leads a guided tasting of eight beers that would make perfect presents for the beer lovers on your list, as well as selections to bring to parties or even to serve at your holiday dinner. 6:30 p.m. at Vessel Liquor, tickets are $20 at VesselLiquor.com/workshops

JAN. 24-25

Kiwanis AleFest 2020 (Prince George)

Northern B.C.’s premier craft beer festival returns for its fth year to brighten up the dark winter nights. Dozens of breweries from all over the province will be on hand at the Two Rivers Gallery for three tasting sessions on Jan. 24 and 25, along with live music, art and tasty tapas from local restaurants. Tickets are $65 and include six drink tickets and a souvenir glass. For tickets, visit KiwanisAleFest.ca

JAN. 25-26

Weathered Beer Celebration (Vancouver)

Boasting arguably the best beer lineup of any event in B.C., Weathered is bringing some of the most hard-to- nd extreme beers from all over the world to Heritage Hall, including imperial stouts, barleywine, barrel-aged strong ales, the hoppy and hazy, sours and lambics. e $100 ticket includes all your drinks for the night, so no need to buy tokens. Tickets and beer list info at WeatheredBeer.com

FEB. 8

A Night at the Museum (Richmond)

e Richmond Olympic Oval and Volleyball

Canada are teaming up with six of B.C.'s top craft breweries for an evening full of live music and fun, and the opportunity to explore Canada's rst Olympic Museum. Proceeds support the Women's National Volleyball team and their quest for gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tickets are $49 and available at bit.ly/craft-rox.

FEB. 29

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

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

by Kristina Mameli

Imagine, if you will, a world with no music, no galleries, no appreciation for beauty—and no words to describe the crushing disappointment of such a mundane existence. Shudder. at, friend, is what a world without the arts looks like. Visual, performing, literary or culinary, the arts play a vital role in making our everyday lives a little more interesting.

It’s no surprise, then, that craft beer and the arts are natural bedfellows with breweries increasingly becoming havens for the arts community, showcasing emerging artists and lending support to initiatives that help the arts thrive. And, let’s be honest, nding innovative and creative ways to marry water, barley, hops and yeast is nothing short of poetry, right?!

From live music and comedy shows, to rotating galleries and even knitting circles, craft breweries have

become vital to the arts. is symbiotic relationship begs the question: what is craft beer’s overall impact on the arts world?

“It seems that there is a new craft brewery every 15 seconds and you need something to di erentiate yourself from the next guy,”

legendary radio broadcaster and musicologist Alan Cross. “One of the ways you can do that is by adopting a position within the arts world.”

He cites, in dulcet tones, Steam Whistle as having led the sponsorship charge by allying the brand

explains

Move over wine and cheese— nothing pairs better with arts and crafts than, well, craft.

Strange Fellows Brewing's Strange Art Sessions seeks to "make art accessible in unexpected places," and is one of many examples of how craft breweries are embracing the creative arts. Olga Zwart photos

with Toronto’s music scene. “You’re seeing a lot of craft breweries copy that model because there is something about craft brewing and independent music that screams authenticity and realness and non-corporate.”

Here in B.C., Gibson’s Persephone Brewing is a prime example. It joined forces with the Vancouver Folk Music Festival this past year as its o cial beer partner, a relationship that Persephone CEO Jenn Vervier says was unprecedented and came about organically.

“We haven’t done an event of this calibre before and it was a great opportunity to connect with our consumers and to show o Persephone in front of a wide audience,” she says. “I think that craft brewing and arts have a lot in common in supporting the non-economic aspect of our lives. What do we want to do when we’re not working? Be with our friends, drink craft beer and create culture.”

Vancouver Craft Beer Week recognizes the importance of the two working in tandem as well, with its presence at the Vancouver Mural Festival and the Punk In Drublic craft beer music festival. VCBW has integrated more art into its own programming and even changed its tag line to Music, Food, Beer and Art.

“I think that people who are in the arts world are realizing that craft beer is an art in itself, so it pairs really well with a local art theme,” says festival director Leah Heneghan. “It’s a brilliant partnership, really; quite a natural one.”

Main Street Brewing has also worked with the Vancouver Mural Festival to showcase new works by creating a canned VMF series. Owner Nigel Pike says that the festival has been of huge bene t to Mount Pleasant and inspired local businesses to ll their spaces with art. “ e mural fest itself has brought a di erent focus to the arts, especially within the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. It’s made the streets a lot more walkable and brought people to areas that they wouldn’t necessarily go before.”

He adds that craft beer’s support has opened up accessibility to the arts in the community and given artists a host of new venues in which to display their work.

“I think more ability to showcase people’s work in environments where people can have a beer is a good thing,” Pike says.

With a built-in gallery, the impact of Strange Fellows Brewing has been invaluable. Corey Robinson is the

curator of the Charles Clark Gallery and is tasked with connecting and showcasing local emerging artists.

“It’s hugely important for the arts community to have some kind of alternative spaces to exhibit in,” he says. “ ere are some really fantastic galleries in the city, but not everyone feels comfortable to just go into a ne arts gallery; to have a middle ground for anyone to come in is really massive, in my opinion.”

Strange Fellows hosts a diverse range of programming, including the interactive Strange Arts Sessions, at which Robinson, an artist in his own right, invites the community to actively participate over a beer.

“It’s been an opportunity for me to kind of express that and share that with others,” he says. “Just being able to invite people to come down and get involved and also check out that gallery has been really great and I’m excited to see where we can take that.”

Heather Prost, the programmer of Steel & Oak’s community gallery takes echoes Robinson’s sentiments about the importance of giving space to up and coming artists in how she curates her exhibitions.

“I really wanted to showcase emerging artists and artists that may have marginalized identities; so artists that identify in the LGBTQ2S+ spectrum, artists that are disabled, artists of colour—I really wanted to give platform for that,” she says. “I want the community gallery to feel really exible; I want it to be really diverse because that’s what the community is.”

e overwhelming consensus is that craft beer, like the arts, is responsible for bringing people together. Great conversations inspired over pints and ights can lead to really impactful initiatives that make our communities better places to live. And that is worth raising a glass to. j

Fall down the CRAFT BEER GLASSWARE

GLASSWA rabbit hole

by Ted Child

So you have tracked down that hard-to- nd beer that everyone is talking about. Or maybe you have a friend who has decided to share some of their cellar full of world class aged beer. Are you planning to drink that special beer right out of the bottle or can? Or maybe use your trusty Mason jar? Of course not. One of the great joys of exploring beer is the joy of exploring beer glassware. Maybe you received a beer glassware gift pack for the holidays and are now ready to dive even deeper into the strange, exotic and sometimes downright weird world of beer glassware.

With the drinking population’s thirst for novelty in beer, it can sometimes be easy to forget that beer has been a part of human culture since before recorded history. is long history of imbibing also has a deep pool of historical drinking vessels to go with it. It seems that as soon as humans started to ferment alcohol they also started exploring

fun and diverse ways to drink it. Exploring the world of historical beer glassware can be exciting, enlightening, addicting and, of course, sometimes expensive.

Like the relationship between German hefeweizen and the perfect glass to drink it, the weissbier vase, many beer glasses have developed with a de nite beer culture, style or even individual beer in mind. Take, for instance, the Scottish thistle glass. It is a common mistake to believe, not unreasonably, that this glass is meant for scotch whisky—but there is plenty of evidence that it can be used for Scottish style beer. All glassware should, in theory, accentuate one, if not two aspects of the beer in it, mainly appearance and/

e weissbier vase (left) is designed to perfectly capture the pillowy head of a German hefeweizen. e Scottish thistle glass (right) is just as adept at showcasing whisky as it is a wee heavy. Supplied photos

or aroma. e thistle glass, designed to look like the Scottish national ower, has a bulbous base that, like a tulip glass, will capture and condense aromatics. e radical changes in the diameter of the glass will also show o the reddish hue of Scottish beer better than most, while the outward are of the glass lip helps to deliver the beer better.

Another strange glass that has a de nite association with not just a single beer style but with a single beer is the unique stirrup cup associated with Pauwel Kwak beer brewed by the Belgian brewery Bosteels. A stirrup cup is a drinking vessel that is used by someone on horseback. Pauwel Kwak beer is named after an inn owner and brewer who supposedly invented the distinct glass, its most prominent feature being the rounded bottom, which makes it impossible to put down unless using the wooden frame that comes with it. e glass resembles a smaller yard glass, if you can remember that glass shape from your freshman days. e glass, thankfully, works quite well with other amber Belgian style ales if you’re willing to try.

While beer glassware has a deep history it is also true that there have been some exciting new developments in recent years. Like beer itself, there has never been a more exciting time in beer glassware. One could argue that it was one of the craft beer pioneers that rst started the new glassware explosion. Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch developed a new glass a few years ago, the Perfect Pint, supposedly based around a bunch of science and then heavily promoted it. is seems to have started a mini arms race as craft brewers teamed up with prestigious glassware manufacturers to develop stylish new glasses.

Two such styles that have noticeably taken o are the IPA glass and the TeKu. e IPA glass was designed by glassmaker Spielgelau, Sam Calagione of Dog sh Head and Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada speci cally to capture the aromatic qualities of IPAs. It’s become widely embraced by craft beer fans with almost every craft brewery selling something of a similar shape.

e TeKu glass was developed by Italian brewer Teo Mussa and beer expert Lorenzo “Kuaska” Dabove in collaboration with Italian glassmaker Rastal. It is designed to be the “world’s best beer glass” but it is being most quickly adopted as a great glass to use for sours, speci cally crafty, new world sours. It must be said that any glass with a stem, whether it’s a TeKu or a tulip, immediately seems to elevate most beers, even if just by putting the drinker in a di erent state of mind. Stemmed glassware seems to notify the drinker that this is something more serious and sophisticated, not just pouring cheap lager down your throat. e TeKu wonderfully exploits this reaction.

is, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg of extreme glassware, both modern and historical. If just shopping for strange glassware isn’t extreme enough for you then de nitely check out Terminal City Glass Co-op in Vancouver and their event Cold Beer, Warm Glass. Part of your admission to this carnivalesque event which includes live glass blowing and aerial silk performances, is a hand blown taster glass designed by one of the co-op’s beer nerds. If that still isn’t enough for your glassware x, you should sign up for Terminal City’s starter class and be on your way to learning how to make your own beer glasses. Because what’s cooler than drinking out of a beer glass you made yourself? j

e Perfect Pint glass (left) was designed by Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch speci cally for the brand's Boston Lager. e IPA glass (middle) captures hop aromatics while minimizing warming. e TeKu glass (right) is a beer snob must-have, and ideal for that barrel-aged sour you've been saving. Supplied photos

The Growler's ultimate Beer & sandwich Beer & sandwich pairing primer pairing primer

by Kevin Wood

Some of you reading this may already know me, but in all likelihood you probably don’t. Well, my name is Kevin and I have a bit of a thing for sandwiches and great beer, as documented on Instagram at @thissandwichthatbeer. The sandwich is the perfect food to pair with beer and vice versa. A sandwich is only as good as the bread it’s made with, and that bread is made from some of the same ingredients as beer itself: grain, water and yeast. As a result, beer naturally complements any sandwich. Here are a few of my favourite beer and sandwich pairings. Hope you enjoy!

Cubano & Pilsner

An authentic Cubano comes with Cuban (or mojo) seasoned pork shoulder, ham, pickles, swiss cheese and mustard on Cuban style bread. The bread is the real secret to this sandwich as it's traditionally made with lard which adds a richness to the sandwich. The two main meat elements are accented nicely by the brininess of the pickles and a healthy amount of the sharp yellow mustard. The sandwich is then pressed to melt the Swiss cheese and for a nice crunchy texture on the bread. This sandwich makes me real happy. My beer choice with a Cubano is a nice crisp pilsner, as this

style is refreshing and palate cleansing and won’t compete too much with the sandwich.

Beer Pick: Steel & Oak, Simple ings

Banh Mi & Saison

e banh mi sandwich or Vietnamese sub can come with a variety of di erent main ingredients but always has fresh jalapeno, pickled vegetables and cilantro on a French baguette. I usually go with what’s often called the “special combo,” which comes with Vietnamese cold cuts, such as sliced pork or pork belly, cha lua (pork sausage) and head cheese, along with the liver pâté. Good heat comes from the fresh jalapeno, and the pickled vegetables bring great acidity and a touch of sweetness, which is rounded out perfectly by the cilantro.

I really like the delicate drinkability of a nice saison with a banh mi. Saisons can vary a bit but most often pour a mildly cloudy golden yellow and have a crisp dry mouth feel, light citrus and peppery notes, a subtle tartness and just a little bit of funk.

Beer Pick: Dageraad, Randonneur Saison

Clubhouse & West Coast Pale Ale

A clubhouse sandwich is one of my all time favourites and may well be the sole reason I am now a somewhat sandwich-obsessed person. Now, as a club sandwich purist, my ideal sandwich must be as follows: sliced chicken breast, bacon, tomato, iceberg lettuce and mayonnaise on three slices of bread cut into four with frilly toothpicks. Not sure there’s much else to say about this one really. We all know it, and I can't even nd the words to describe its avour other than to say it’s out of this world. A big West Coast-style pale ale is what I’m having with my clubhouse sandwich. It’s crisp and refreshing, o ers up a nice maltiness with piney, citrus notes and a hop forward nish.

Beer Pick: Brassneck, Passive Aggressive

Reuben & Stout (or Porter)

e reuben sandwich is a classic and traditionally comes with corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on rye bread. is sandwich is at its best when the corned beef is sliced nice and thick and the avour is deep. e sauerkraut’s acidity o sets the saltiness of the corned beef and the Russian dressing adds a nice zesty avour. e gruyere is subtle and brings nice salt content to the sandwich. All this sits between two thick, soft and moist slices of rye bread, which is just spectacular. I nd that a nice dry stout marries wonderfully with the salty corned beef and sauerkraut, while it’s crisp and refreshing mouth feel balances some of the fattiness from the meat.

Beer Pick: Strange Fellows, Blackmail

Croque Madame & India Pale Ale

A croque madame comes on thick sliced brioche bread, lled with ham and topped with melted cheese, often béchamel sauce and a soft fried egg. e ham should have a good amount of fat keeping it moist, be aky and fall-apart tender with a avour that is salty and slightly sweet. Often done with gruyere, emmental or Swiss cheese and béchamel sauce that is lightly browned, it is delightfully creamy and decadently rich. en sitting atop this already magni cent sandwich is the softly fried egg. I recommend slicing the yolk open and letting it run its own course all over the sandwich. e beer style that’s just right for me here is an assertively hopped West Coast or hazy IPA that can be a super palate cleanser in between bites of this rich style of sandwich.

Beer Pick: Super ux, Colour & Shape j

VANCOUVER

STANLEY PARK BREWING RESTAURANT & BREWPUB

8901 Stanley Park Dr. | StanleyParkBrewing.com

DAILY 11AM-11PM

EST. 2009

You can now enjoy your next Stanley Park brew at its brand new brick and mortar location! Nestled in Vancouver’s West End, just at the tip of its namesake, the Stanley Park Restaurant and Brewpub is serving up casual West Coast fare and the same great beer, now brewed onsite.

MOUSTACHE MILLER

MÄRZEN

LAYER UP

WINTER WHEAT ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 5.4%20 ABV IBU 5.2%18

is malt-forward amber ale is brewed in the traditional German style.

Lush layers of g, raspberry, orange and ginger avours in an auburn coloured wheat ale.

HOLLOW TREE

Availability: Year-round

German pilsner malt and a classic German lager yeast provide a solid foundation for South African aroma hops in this helles-style lager.

PARK HOUSE BLONDE ALE

Availability: Year-round

MORNING

Availability: Small batch

A clean black lager base allows the addition of Timbertrain Co ee Roaster’s cold brewed co ee to shine through.

EVERGREEN

HAZY PALE ALE

IBU

is blonde beauty is clean and crisp, with notes of cracker and a light, dry nish.

38 Sponsored content

IBU

5.0%35 5.2%30

MEET THE BREWMASTER THOM RILEY

What’s your background?

When you are not brewing, we can find you... Trying other people’s beers! There are so many great new beers being released all the time. It’s hard to keep up!

I’ve been brewing for about 10 years. I got started, like a lot of people, as a homebrewer whilst I was at university in Scotland. When I moved to Canada about 7 years ago I decided to try to turn my passion into a career. I arrived just in time to catch the craft beer scene really blowing up in Vancouver. I got my first job on the production line at P49 and just worked my way up from there. I was one of the first hires at Bomber Brewing and learnt everything from brewing to packaging. From there I went on to the Steamworks production facility in Burnaby, which was a huge step up in scale, equipment and production schedule, and taught me a lot. Also, along the way, I went back to school in my spare time and got my diploma in brewing through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in the UK. All of this has led me here, to Stanley Park Brewing!

I got my first job on the production line at P49 and first hires at Bomber Brewing and learnt everything

What’s a fun fact about you most people don’t know? I studied Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh.

How would you describe your brewing style?

What is your goal with every brew?

Ultimately, my goal has always been to make a wide range of beers so that everyone can find something that they love. I want everyone to feel like Stanley Park Brewing has something that they will enjoy (even people who don’t normally gravitate towards beer). Every beer style has its own set of unique challenges from a brewing perspective, so as a brewer I find enjoyment in making everything from a light lager to a barrel aged imperial stout.

brewer I find enjoyment in making everything from

Stanley Park Brewing recently opened the Brewpub; what is your favourite thing about the new space? Having the ability to talk to consumers face to face about the new beers we are developing is pretty awesome. It’s cool because we get a real mix of people - some who are already familiar with our beer and some who are just discovering them for the first time. This really helps us to be able to dial in our plans for future releases.

V

STRANGE FELLOWS BREWING

1345 Clark Dr. | StrangeFellowsBrewing.com

DAILY 12-11PM

EST. 2014

is Clark Drive brewery celebrates all things strange and extraordinary. e beer lineup, which is in uenced by old world traditions and contemporary craft creativity, showcases beautifully made standard styles, spectacular sours and richly expressive foederand barrel-aged beers.

BELDAME

GERMAN

Availability: Seasonal

Bright, clean and fresh with the unmistakable herbal, earthy character of the noble Saaz hop.

Availability: Year-round

Dry hopped with Citra, this hazy IPA has a pithy bitterness and round stone fruit character.

40 Sponsored content V ANCOU

A BV IBU 5.0%30 A BV IBU 6.5%60 A BV IBU 5.0%30 A BV IBU 5.5%25

A dark IPA aged in French oak with Brettanomyces and dry hopped with Galaxy hops.

A Beer Pioneer

GALACTICA BARREL-A G ED D ARK I NDIA P ALE ALE BAYARD FARMHOUSE S AISON

Availability: Seasonal

RED TRUCK BEER CO.

295 E. 1st Ave. | RedTruckBeer.com

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

EST. 2015

Along with its annual concert series, which features great international and local talent, Red Truck also has live music every Friday and Saturday in its Truck Stop Diner.

MIDNIGHT RUN DARK

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

A BV IBU 4.9%23 A BV IBU 6.5%45

A clean, crisp lager with a bittersweet, roasted malt avour. Don’t fear the dark.

is medium-bodied hazy is packed with intense tropical fruit aroma including pineapple, papaya, and passion fruit.

STRATHCONA BEER CO.

895 E. Hastings St. | StrathconaBeer.com

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

EST. 2016

e team at Strathcona combines their love for their community, art, music, skateboarding and design (and beer) to push the boundaries of craft beer.

HEAD BANGER

TRIPLE IPA TRIPLE INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 10.0%45

is one is cranked up to 11, with massive tropical hop avours and way too much smoothness for a beer this strong.

CRISPY

WINTER RADLER

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 4.0%15

Fresh cranberry and mandarin orange juice give this refreshing radler a holiday feel and a tart, dry nish.

33 ACRES BREWING CO.

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

33 ACRES EXPERIMENT

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

e older sibling of 33 Acres Experiment is still making the quality beers that rst made you fall in love with them. Plus, a killer brunch.

33 ACRES OF

ANDINA BREWING CO.

1507 Powell St. | AndinaBrewing.ca

Tired of the same old beer list at your local pub or tap room? en check out 33 Acres Experiment, where there is always new, small batch beers on tap.

BIG ROCK BREWERY VANCOUVER

310 W. 4th Ave. | BigRockBeer.com

Stop in at Andina during your East Vancouver brewery crawl for unique beers, ceviche and trivia, happening every Sunday evening.

Did you know that Big Rock Brewery o ers exclusive small batch beers on tap? And you can only get them at Big Rock’s Vancouver location.

BOMBER BREWING CO.

1488 Adanac St. | BomberBrewing.com

2148 Main St. | Brassneck.ca

Bomber might have changed ownership this year, but with four medals at the B.C. Beer Awards, clearly the beer is as good as ever!

e owners of Brassneck recently opened e Magnet, a new sister restaurant in partnership with Alibi Room—check it out for delicious eats, cocktails, natural wines and all the beer.

BREWHALL BEER CO.

97 E. 2nd Ave. | Brewhall.com

CALLISTER BREWING CO.

1338 Franklin St. | CallisterBrewing.com

Laurels on laurels! Brewhall took home four awards at the 2019 B.C. Beer Awards including a People’s Choice Award for its Azedo Tropical Sour.

NEON LIGHTS PALE ALE

HALL PASS IPA INDIA PALE ALE

Vancouver’s smallest brewery is providing fresh ales and lagers while also acting as an incubator for up and coming brewers. Currently home to Altitude Brewing.

POPTOP GRAPEFRUIT

IPA (CALLISTER)

INDIA PALE ALE

VISTULA (ALTITUDE)

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Small batch Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

VANCOUVER VANCOUVER

COAL HARBOUR BREWING CO.

1967 Triumph St. | CoalHarbourBrewing.com

CONTAINER BREWING

1216 Franklin St. | CBrew.ca

Don’t get it twisted, Coal Harbour Brewing’s production house is actually based in East Vancouver.

311 HELLES LAGER

MUNICH STYLE HELLES LAGER

Availability: Year-round

MARKET SATURATION

HAZY EAST COAST

INDIA PALE ALE

While eagerly awaiting the opening of its East-Vancouver tasting room, Container is distributing its brews to select stores around the Lower Mainland.

FORTY FOOTER

INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

ALL SEASON NITRO DRY STOUT STOUT

Availability: Seasonal

CRAFT COLLECTIVE BEERWORKS

1575 Vernon Dr. | CraftCollective.beer

DOCKSIDE BREWING CO.

Providing custom contract brewing services, Craft Collective brews and packages for over 50 brands across all types of beverages, including their own in-house brands.

Dockside’s new dessert series brews pair superbly with the new fall/winter kitchen menu; introducing some interesting treats to keep you warm and cosy this season.

both

DOGWOOD BREWING

8284 Sherbrooke St. | DogwoodBrew.com

EAST VAN BREWING CO.

1675 Venables St. | EastVanBrewing.com

Dogwood Brewing remains the rst and only organic brewery in Vancouver, o ering six core beers, alongside seasonal and specialty brews available in cans and on tap.

is brewery, which is inspired by its community, has live DJs on Tuesdays, Vinyl night on Wednesdays and live, local music on ursdays.

ELECTRIC BICYCLE

BREWING CO.

20 E. 4th Ave. | ElectricBicycleBrewing.com

FACULTY BREWING CO.

1830 Ontario St. | FacultyBrewing.com

Brewer Drew Sinden left Victoria’s Lighthouse Brewing to start up Town Square Brewing in Alberta in 2017. Now he’s back in B.C. brewing the beer here.

HALLO SPACEBOY TART PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

Let brewer Jacquie Loehndorf school you with deliciousness at this brewery dedicated to expanding your knowledge of craft beer. New experimental beers released every ursday.

196 RED LAGER AMBER LAGER

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

729 BRUT IPA BRUT INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

LUPPOLO BREWING CO.

1123 Venables St. | LuppoloBrewing.ca

MAIN STREET BREWING CO.

261 E. 7th Ave. | MainStreetBeer.ca

Can you believe that it has been three years already? Check Luppolo out in the heart of “Yeast Vancouver” for an old favourite or the newest creation.

Award-winning beer, great food (the organic chicken wings are a must-order), and a large, inviting tasting room, makes Main Street Brewing a Mount Pleasant favourite.

OFF THE RAIL BREWING

1351 Adanac St. | O eRailBrewing.com

PARALLEL 49 BREWING CO.

1950 Triumph St. | Parallel49Brewing.com

Yeast Van’s O the Rail Brewing turns ve in February. Stay tuned for details on the big anniversary bash.

Founded in 2012, Parallel 49 creates clever and innovative beers that are highly drinkable and will inspire the beer enthusiast in everyone.

POSTMARK BREWING

55 Dunlevy Ave. | PostmarkBrewing.com

A truly Vancouver brewery, Postmark strives to create beer that not only caters to your thirsty palate but also to the active lifestyles you enjoy.

POWELL BREWERY

1357 Powell St. | PowellBeer.com

R & B BREWING CO.

54 E. 4th Ave. | RAndBBrewing.com

Calling all vegans! Powell Brewery is now pouring lactose-free sours. Head into their cosy and intimate East Van tasting room to try.

e East Vancouver original, this brewery has seen the bottom of a lot of pints and is happy to play the old dog to East Van’s young pups.

SLOW HAND BEER COMPANY

1830 Powell St. | SlowHandBeer.com

STEAMWORKS BREW PUB

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

While they don’t just make lagers anymore, Slow Hand does focus on making distinctive, balanced beers that you can—and actually might want to—drink a lot of.

HÜLL

STORM BREWING

310 Commercial Dr. | StormBrewing.com

From its historic Gastown location, Steamworks has been pumping out a long list of unconventional brews on its steam-powered brewhouse for more than 20 years.

YALETOWN BREWING CO.

1111 Mainland St. | MJG.ca/Yaletown

To celebrate its 25th anniversary Storm has released a bottle conditioned blackberry lambic, called King Rattus. Enjoy it now or cellar it for later.

Yaletown’s talented brewers keep a number of rotating taps that o er up the freshest beer of the season in small and unique brews.

BEERE BREWING COMPANY

312 E. Esplanade | BeereBrewing.com

BLACK KETTLE BREWING

106 -720 Copping St. | BlackKettleBrewing.com

Beere recently rejoiced at nally getting its full lounge approval, which means you can actually drink a pint of beer there now. Cheers to that!

OVER THEM

Black Kettle began as a homebrewing hobby between friends and has since grown into a fulledged North Vancouver brewery, all starting with their signature pale ale.

CHOP WOOD, CARRY LAGER

BRIDGE BREWING CO.

1448 Charlotte Rd. | BridgeBrewing.com

DEEP COVE BREWERS AND DISTILLERS

170 - 2270 Dollarton Hwy. | DeepCoveCraft.com

One of Vancouver’s rst nanobreweries is leading the way to a greener future. In its commitment to quality, Bridge is now 99 per cent waste free.

Deep Cove both brews and distills and its next batch of whisky will be released in the coming year. Have a tasty beer while you wait.

HEARTHSTONE BREWERY

1015 Marine Dr. | HearthstoneBrewery.ca

HOUSE OF FUNK BREWING CO.

350 E. Esplanade | HouseOfFunkBrewing.com

Bringing people together is at the heart of Hearthstone’s business, whether it’s with a forno oven-baked pizza or house crafted brews.

TRAIL MIX ALE ENGLISH MILD

STREETCAR BREWING

123A East 1st St. | StreetcarBrewing.ca

Challenging the status quo and cultivating an environment of experimentation. House of Funk’s small batch system pushes boundaries to serve up fresh and unique avours.

FLORA SOURWEISSE

Availability: Year-round

DEBAUCHERY IMPERIAL STOUT

Availability: Small batch

WILDEYE BREWING

1385 Main St. | WildeyeBrewing.ca

Vancouver’s North Shore continues to surprise and delight with its growing craft beer community. Streetcar Brewing is a must when doing a North Van brewery crawl; now o ering growler lls!

SHIPYARDS STOUT STOUT

Congratulations to Wildeye Brewing which was recently named named winner of the People’s Choice Award at the 2019 Whistler Village Beer Festival.

OATMEAL

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

DAGERAAD BREWING

114 - 3191 underbird Cres. | DageraadBrewing.com

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

EST. 2014

If you were to ask the humble people at Dageraad what was new they might mention getting a panini press. You should then ask if it’s plated in gold after they won so much of it at this year’s B.C. Beer Awards— nine medals in total, the most of any B.C. brewery.

BURNABARIAN BELGIAN-STYLE TAB LE BEER

Availability: Year-round

A lightly spiced session ale with coriander. Brewed with oats for a silky mouthfeel.

Availability: Seasonal

Rich malt and stone fruit avours with a surprisingly crisp, lightly tart nish. Lacto fermented.

Availability: One-o

A collaboration with 2 Crows, this fruity, lightweight and crushable ale is dry-hopped with Citra and Motueka.

Availability: Seasonal

Magni cently complex fruit and spice notes to complement the malt profundity. Bottle-conditioned for added character.

Brewing and Writing Gold

When Ben Coli isn’t brewing dialed-in brews, he has recently been moonlighting writing spot-on articles for e Growler. Recently, he wrote a must-read article called, “Beer Awards Are Bullshit. Sort of.” Good thing beer awards still love Dageraad’s beer, as can be seen by this year’s B.C. Beer Awards and Growlie awards!

FOUR WINDS BREWING C O.

4 - 7355 72nd St. | FourWindsBrewing.ca

DAILY 11AM-9PM

EST. 2013

Anyone who has visited this brewery in Delta has likely seen how busy it can get. Good news! Four Winds has recently expanded its tasting room, nearly doubling its capacity. e new room will be open daily from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. for all your craft beer and taco needs.

Availability: Seasonal

Oats make this smooth and creamy while chocolate malts and roasted barley evoke cocoa and co ee.

Availability: Year-round

is session IPA is light-bodied with bold tropical hops and a crisp, clean nish.

Availability: Year-round

Sip this beautiful lager and you’ll nd yourself instantly transported to Germany. Prost!

Availability: Year-round

e use of Cascade hops adds a West Coast nish to this quintessential Belgian-style ale.

Happy Accident

A few years back, one of several foeders bought by the brewery was slightly damaged upon delivery. e others were all lled with sour beers. By the time the damage was repaired the brewers were happy one had been kept clean so that they could use it to condition lagers in the traditional German/Czech manner.

STEAMWORKS BREWING CO.

3845 William St. | Steamworks.com

MARINER BREWING

1100 Lansdowne Dr. | MarinerBrewing.ca

A staple in the B.C. craft beer industry, Steamworks shows no sign of slowing down, picking up a handful of awards at the recent B.C. Beer Awards.

Mariner Brewing has recently expanded its food menu to include a variety of winter favourites such as a three-cheese grilled cheese paired with house made tomato soup.

Availability: Year-round

BARNSIDE BREWING CO.

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

CAMP BEER CO.

19664 64 Ave., Langley | CampBeer.ca

6655 60 Ave., Delta | BarnsideBrewing.ca

ere’s about to be a new kid in town. is farm-based brewery and tasting room will be opening in Delta very soon—follow their social media for updates!

CRESCENT

You’re going to want to camp out at this brand new brewery, which features multiple re pits and a massive 2,000-sq.-ft. outdoor beer garden.

CAMP

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Seasonal

DEAD FROG BREWERY

105 - 8860 201st St. | DeadFrog.ca

FARM COUNTRY BREWING

#5-20555 56 Ave., Langley | FarmCountryBrewing.com

Dead Frog Brewing is a Langley staple with more than 25 craft beers on tap in its spacious tasting room.

BLACK FROST

DRY- H OPPE D P ORTER

Availability: Seasonal

FROSTBITE WINTER IPA

W INTER INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

After all manner of setbacks—from red tape to burglars—the beer is nally being brewed at Farm Country, and by the time you read this, they’ll probably be serving it, too.

FARM COUNTRY PILSNER

G ERMAN P ILSNER

Availability: Year-round

EVERYDAY ALE

Availability: Year-round

LANGLEY LANGLEY

FIVE ROADS BREWING

6263 202nd St. | FiveRoadsBrewing.com

KPU BREWING LAB

20901 Langley Bypass | KPU.ca/Brew

is new addition to the burgeoning Langley beer scene o ers an ever-changing array of fresh options on tap along with pizzas, paninis, pretzels and other snacks.

PERMANENT RESIDENT

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s brewing lab shocked the province by being named Brewery of the Year at the 2019 B.C. Beer Awards—which bodes well for the future of craft brewing in B.C.

INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Small batch

Availability: Small batch

LANGLEY

TRADING POST BREWING

107 - 20120 64th Ave. | TradingPostBrewing.com

MAPLE MEADOWS BREWING CO.

22775 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | MapleMeadowsBrewing.com

e tasting room at this Langley brewery just got even better with the addition of a new kitchen serving gourmet sausages, snacks and share plates.

Operating out of a 1,200-sq.-ft. space, Maple Meadows’ tiny footprint doesn’t stop it from brewing 10 quality brews at a time and crafting unique limited releases.

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Seasonal

MAPLE RIDGE

RIDGE BREWING CO.

22826 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | RidgeBrewing.com

SILVER VALLEY BREWING CO.

#101 - 11952 224 St. | SilverValleyBrewing.com

A part of the newly formed Maple Ridge Ale Trail, Ridge now has a coveted lounge license and can serve pints of their smooth and tasty beers.

CHAOS IS A

Silver Valley Brewing Co can now be found on the B.C. Ale Trail! Pop in to check out its new and improved food menu, o ering mini-pizzas, baked brie and nachos.

ANOTHER BEER CO.

#11 - 30 Capilano Way | AnotherBeerCo.com

STEEL & OAK BREWING CO.

1319 3rd Ave. | SteelAndOak.ca

is once German-focused New West brewery has been all about the IPAs lately. Make sure to check out co-owner Jorden Foss’s craft beer industry podcast, Beer Life.

WILD

&

19221 122A Ave. | FoamersFolly.ca

is Pitt Meadows brewery earned some serious hardware at the 2019 B.C. Beer Awards. Nods include third place in the Wild Ale category for its Pinkies Out Tropical Sour Ale.

CHANGED IND IA PALE ALE TIGER OF THE EYE FRUITE D BERLINERS TYLE S OUR A LE

N

OR

2150-570 Sherling Pl. | NorthpawBrewCo.com

BALTIC P ORTER SHINY THINGS IPA IN D IA PALE ALE Availability: Small batch Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round Availability: Year-round Availability: Small batch Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

TAYLIGHT BREWING

402-1485 Coast Meridian Rd. |

TINHOUSE BREWING CO.

550 Sherling Pl. | TinhouseBrewing.ca

Taylight has partnered with the PoCo Minor Hockey Association—$1 from every glass and growler ll of the Pirates Treasure golden ale goes to help subsidise the program.

After a successful opening, Tinhouse’s founders’ club, the “Shed Society,” is looking for new members. Watch for exclusive hoodies and stainless growler o ers.

FRASER MILLS FERMENTATION CO.

3044 Saint Johns St. | FraserMillsFermentation.com

MOODY ALES

2601 Murray St. | MoodyAles.com

Brewmaster Kristy Tattrie can’t wait for you to try her beers! Hopefully by the time you read this, Fraser Mills will be open for business.

STURGEON SPIT INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

LOG DRIVER’S WALTZ AMERICAN PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

THE PARKSIDE BREWERY

2731 Murray St. | eParksideBrewery.com

Head down to Port Moody to try the Great Gratzer, which won gold at this year’s B.C. Beer Awards in the Smoke & Wood-aged Beer category.

THE GREAT GRATZER GRATZER

HARDY BROWN ALE BROWN ALE

Nestled right in the middle of Port Moody’s Brewers Row, Parkside Brewery is the best spot for beers and a game of shu eboard. Bonus: dogs are allowed on the patio all year long.

Availability: Year-round

THE BAKERY BREWING CO.

2617 Murray St. | eBakeryBrewing.com

Brand new and already raking in the hardware. e Bakery took home a bronze medal for its Cold Steeped Dry Irish Stout at the 2019 B.C. Beer Awards.

PINK SALTED PINK GUAVA FRUIT

Availability: Small batch Availability:

Availability: One-o Availability: Small batch

TWIN SAILS BREWING

2821 Murray St. | TwinSailsBrewing.com

YELLOW DOG BREWING CO.

1 - 2817 Murray St. | YellowDogBrew.com

Keeping innovation at the forefront of its business, Twin Sails is the rst brewery in B.C. to open an online store that sells both beer and merchandise.

ree more B.C. Beer Awards show that Yellow Dog continues to be an industry leader, and Brewers Row continues to be a top beer destination.

BRITANNIA BREWING CO.

110-12500 Horseshoe Way | BBCO.ca

FUGGLES & WARLOCK CRAFTWORKS

103-11220 Horseshoe Way | FugglesWarlock.com

Britannia Brewing in Richmond is dedicated to Steveston’s rich nautical history. Look out for the next Brewmaster’s Dinner happening midDecember at its sister taproom on Second Ave.

Congrats to the Fuggles & Warlock team for the Best In Show Award at the 2019 B.C. Beer Awards for Pixel Pilsner! Stop into their tasting room for cheap growler lls on Mondays and Tuesdays.

MONKEY 9 BREWING

14200 Entertainment Blvd. | Monkey9.ca

BIG RIDGE BREWING CO.

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

Why the number nine? According to the folks at Monkey 9 Brewing, nine represents positivity, grati cation, togetherness, magic and wisdom.

Surrey’s original brewpub, Jason and the brew team take pride in creating beer avoured beer that complements their ne selection of food.

CENTRAL CITY BREWERS + DISTILLERS

11411 Bridgeview Dr. | CentralCityBrewing.com

RUSSELL BREWING CO.

202 - 13018 80th Ave. | RussellBeer.com

Have you tasted the After Hours Old Fashioned cocktail-style pale ale that won Beer of the Year at the 2019 Canadian Brewing Awards? Because you de nitely should.

Keeping true to its pioneering spirit, Russell is looking forward to sharing its award-winning and innovative releases in its soon-to-be-open tasting room.

3 DOGS BREWING

1515 Johnston Rd. | 3DogsBrewing.com

WHITE ROCK BEACH BEER CO.

15181 Russell Ave. | WhiteRockBeachBeer.com

Great craft beer, yummy food, live music and trivia all add up to this White Rock hot spot being packed out most nights. ankfully, you can always grab a growler to-go if there’s no room inside.

Owners Bill and Peter’s commitment to the community won the brewery the South Surrey/ White Rock Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year award this year.

BLACKIE THE BROWN DOG

ROCK

FIELD HOUSE BREWING CO.

2281 West Railway St. | FieldHouseBrewing.com

LOUDMOUTH BREWING

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

Field House Brewing, the gem of east Abbotsford, recently acquired a greenhouse! at means fresh veggies for hungry beerdrinkers all year long.

DRY-HOPPED PINEAPPLE SOUR

DRY-HOPPED SOUR

Availability: Small batch

WHISKEY SOUR ALE SOUR

Availability: Small batch

OLD ABBEY ALES

30321 Fraser Hwy. | OldAbbeyAles.com

Just a stone’s throw from the Abbotsford Airport, Loudmouth is dedicated to quality over quantity in an e ort to change the conversation surrounding beer.

RASPBERRY KITTYZ SOUR ALE

Availability: Seasonal

NO FAIL

Availability: Seasonal

With a minimum of 15 beers on tap at all times there is always something delicious and di erent to try at this Abbotsford brewery.

SCOTTISH MONK SCOTTISH ALE

Availability: Year-round

SOUR RASPBERRY

Availability: Year-round

EXPERIENCE OUR RUSTIC

O ering the biggest tap list in Abbotsford, including 15+ Beers, 6+ Sodas and Nitro Co ee, all made from local ingredients in-house, there’s no better time to stop in for a glass or sample ight! Take home your favorites in our newly redesigned cans, or a re llable growler.

1A-30321 Fraser Hwy., Abbotsford

Just o Mt. Lehman OldAbbeyAles.com

Open 7 days a week from 11am

CHILLIWACK

RAVENS BREWING CO.

2485 Townline Rd. | Ravens.beer

FLASHBACK BREWING CO.

1 - 9360 Mill St. | ChaosAndSolace.com

Inspired by the agricultural roots of the Abbotsford area, Ravens brews European and West Coast-inspired beers while respecting traditional ingredients.

HOT

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

Flashback is bringing community back to the neighbourhood, starting with its brewhouse which was built in B.C., but originally came from a brewery in Hawaii.

BACK IN THE

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Small batch

CHILLIWACK

OLD YALE BREWING CO.

404 - 44550 South Sumas Rd. | OldYaleBrewing.com

MISSION SPRINGS BREWING COMPANY

7160 Oliver St. | MissionSprings.ca

Serving camp re-inspired food that pairs perfectly with its beer, Old Yale’s food truck, called the Camp re Kitchen, is now open. ink camp re smokies and s’mores.

As Mission’s only brewery, Mission Springs keeps craft alive and well in its hometown, o ering a wide range of fresh, locally brewed beer.

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

GIBSONS GIBSONS

PERSEPHONE BREWING CO.

1053 Stewart Rd. | PersephoneBrewing.com

TAPWORKS BREWING CO.

537 Cruice Lane | GibsonsTapworks.com

is farm-based brewery is a certi ed B Corporation and has both social and environmental sustainability as core values. Also, tasty, feel-good beer.

e Sunshine Coast loves Tapworks and Tapworks loves the Sunshine Coast—donating $1 from every pint towards a local project as part of its Community Batch program.

BRUT INDIA PALE ALE OUT

BRUT IPA

Availability:

Availability:

Availability:

GOGGLE

GIBSONS

THE 101 BREWHOUSE + DISTILLERY

1009 Gibsons Way | e101.ca

PEMBERTON

PEMBERTON BREWING CO.

e 101 brings the party to the neighbourhood from raucous karaoke bashes to Bob Rossinspired painting nights.

Picturesque Pemberton is a little slice of paradise—and it wouldn’t be much of a paradise without good craft beer!

Availability: One-o Availability:

1936 Stonecutter Pl. | PembertonBrewing.ca

A-FRAME BREWING CO.

38927 Queens Way | AFrameBrewing.com

BACKCOUNTRY BREWING

#405-1201 Commercial Way | BackcountryBrewing.com

A throwback to cabin holidays spent with your chill cranked to 11, A-Frame’s lakeside-meetscabin tasting room has been pumping out good vibes and brews since 2016.

SKULL

With an online store coming at any time, now you will be able to order your delicious Backcountry beer like it’s a pizza. Isn’t the Internet grand?

WIDOWMAKER

I

HOWE SOUND BREWING CO.

37801 Cleveland Ave. | HoweSound.com

B

REWHOUSE HIGH

MOUNTAIN BREWING

4355 Blackcomb Way | MJG.ca/BrewHouse

It’s really an ideal situation: head into Howe Sound brewing for delicious grub and awardwinning beer, then stay the night at the cosy inn onsite.

Be sure to stop by this excellent brewpub on your next ski trip to Whistler. e food is great and the beer is world class.

2015 BARLEYWINE A

SQUAMISH

SQUAMISH SQUAMISH

COAST MOUNTAIN BREWING CO.

2 - 1212 Alpha Lake Rd. | CoastMountainBeer.ca

1045

Nestled in Whistler’s funky Function Junction, this boutique brewery and tasting room focuses hyper local and has quickly become a pillar of the community.

VA NCOUVER ISLA ND

BREWING

2330 Government St. | VIBrewing.com

MON-THU 12-6PM ^ FRI-SAT 12-8PM ^ SUN 12-5PM

EST. 1984

After much change over the past two years, it’s safe to say Vancouver Island Brewing is at the top of its game these days, thanks to its sexy new branding and revamped lineup of beers. ere are big changes still to come for 2020, with an expansion of its tasting room, and a small batch system for more one-o and experimental beers.

Availability: Year-round

Medium bready malt with a touch of chocolate and roast and a subtle herbal hop note.

Availability: Small batch

e beer your mom warned you about! Deep malt body balanced by a mild bitterness, hints of plum spice with a Brandy-like nish. Dangerously smooth.

Availability: Seasonal

Heady chocolate aroma with notes of coconut, vanilla and roasted malt to back it up.

Availability: One-o

An ode to the beautiful Chardonnay grape, this sour ale is light in body with a dry, crisp nish and avours of pineapple, tart apples and pear.

Availability: Seasonal

Named for the Misthorn Glacier in Strathcona Provincial Park, this hop-forward winter IPA features notes of sweet orange peel, star anise and cinnamon.

Availability: Year-round

Grapefruit and pine take centre stage in this classic take on a Paci c Northwest pale ale.

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

Drop by the taproom any day of the week to try a ight of whisky or a pint of beer all while sitting between hand-hammered copper pot stills and towering stainless steel fermenters.

PARTING KISS BOURBON BARREL-AGED ALE

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 7.0%N/A

Subtle caramel, toasted oak, whisky, malt and vanilla with a touch of Goldings hops in perfect union.

CHILI CHOCOLATE MILK STOUT

Availability: Seasonal

ABV IBU 6.5%N/A

Dark and smooth with a velvety nish. e chili heat builds to compliment the Ecuadorian chocolate.

Canoe has a new brewmaster with Kyle York now at the helm, revamping Canoe’s mainstays and seasonal o erings—the perfect excuse for another visit!

Driftwood is now selling select limited release beers on their web store for delivery anywhere in B.C. Cause every one should be able to get some Driftwood.

VICTORIA VICTORIA

HOYNE BREWING CO.

101-2740 Bridge St. | HoyneBrewing.ca

ÎLE SAUVAGE BREWING CO.

2960 Bridge St. | IleSauvage.com

All money raised from ights in the growler bar are matched and donated to a local charity of the month. Put your beer money to good work!

GRATITUDE

MOON UNDER WATER BREWERY

350B Bay St. | MoonUnderWater.ca

One year after opening in Rock Bay, this brewery was named Rookie of the Year at the 2019 B.C. Beer Awards. Well deserved, we say!

is year Moon Under Water will be celebrating the seventh year of their Crow’s Nest barrel-aged beer series. Time for a vertical tasting?

THE SHAFT! IMPERIAL ESPRESSO STOUT

Availability: Small batch

RASPBERRY GOLDEN SOUR FRUITED SOUR ALE

Availability: Year-round

FC+ STOUT STOUT

Availability: Year-round

WARMER Availability: Small batch Availability: Seasonal FINNEGANS IRISH STOUT IBU ABV 18 9.0% IBU ABV 21 5.1% 86 VICTORIA VICTORIA

Availability: One-o

SANG DU MERLE 2019 IBU ABV N/A 5.5% IBU ABV 25 5.0% IBU ABV 35 10.5%

PHILLIPS BREWING & MALTING CO.

2010 Government St. | PhillipsBeer.com

Well known for producing a huge variety of beer styles, Phillips’ tasting room is where they test out new ideas on very willing guinea pigs.

GLITTER BOMB HAZY PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

IBU ABV N/A 7.0% IBU ABV 5 4.5% IBU ABV 0 7.0%

Availability: Seasonal

WHISTLE BUOY BREWING CO.

560 Johnson St. | WhistleBuoyBrewing.com

CATEGORY 12 BREWING

C - 2200 Keating Cross Rd. |

Category12Beer.com

Victoria’s newest brewery is located in the bottom of historic Market Square where it proudly displays its rst place award from the B.C. Beer Awards.

While some growler ll stations tend towards the safe and blasé, locals know that the lab at C12 is pouring some unbelievable beers all the time.

LIGHTHOUSE BREWING CO.

2 - 836 Devonshire Rd. | LighthouseBrewing.com

AXE & BARREL BREWING CO.

Ave. |

Lots happening at this brewery that’s been around since 1998, so keep a close eye. Also, the one-o brews every Wednesday are a real treat.

MAYNE ISLAND BREWING CO.

490 Fernhill Rd. | MayneIslandBrewingCo.com

HOWL BREWING

1780 Mills Rd.

With a green light to expand the tasting room, Mayne Island will be able to o er up to 12 ounces per person. Boat over to check it out.

PUNCH’S FARMHOUSE ALE FARMHOUSE ALE

SALT SPRING ISLAND ALES

270 Furness Rd. | SaltSpringIslandAles.com

One of B.C.’s smallest breweries, Howl is also one of the most creative, with its commitment to resurrecting obscure and extinct historical beer styles.

Just when you think you’ve gone too far down the dirt road, you nd Salt Spring Island Ales. Great beer in a unique and cosy location.

FIRESIDE WINTER ALE WINTER WARMER

SALT SPRING ISL.

BAD DOG BREWING COMPANY

7861 Tugwell Rd. | BadDogBrewing.ca

SOOKE BREWING CO.

2057 Otter Point Rd. | SookeBrewing.com

is funky little brewery in the middle of nowhere is celebrating its second birthday this December by unveiling its new tasting room.

SWEATER

A permanent food truck is on the way, which means you can stop by Sooke Brewing Company for lunch and dinner seven days a week.

SOOKE OCEANSIDE BREWERY

1-5529 Sooke Rd. | SookeOceansideBrewing.com

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

With a new production brewery up the road in Otter Point ready to come online any day now, you can expect to see a lot more of SOB’s award-winning beers on liquor store shelves.

Greater Victoria residents held their collective breath when a re broke out at the 4 Mile, but word is that the damage will be repaired before long.

T WIN C IT Y B REWING

4503 Margaret St. | TwinCityBrewing.ca

SUN, TUE-WED 11:30AM-9PM ^ THU 11:30AM-10PM ^ FRI-SAT 11:30AM-11PM

EST. 2017

Twin City’s beer lineup itself is worth the drive to Port Alberni, let alone the menu of delicious pizzas and smoked meat sandwiches (meats smoked in-house, of course).

PORTER ALBERNI

Availability: Year-round

A dry English-inspired porter that goes down easy with a clean nish.

Availability: Seasonal

8.5%70

An intense, tropical double India pale ale made with Canadian pilsner malt and Azacca hops.

WINNER

Thanks for voting us one of your favourite breweries in the province!

Haven’t been yet? Stop by! We make great beer and food that can only be enjoyed in person right here in our little PA-radise!

BEACH FIRE BREWING

594-11th Ave. | BeachFireBrewing.ca

RIOT BREWING CO.

101A - 3055 Oak St. | RiotBrewing.com

e beers are dialed in and the food menu changes daily at this much-beloved Campbell River craft brewery, where you can get a yoga class with your pint on Saturday mornings.

HIGH TIDE PALE

ALE WEST COAST PALE

LAND & SEA BREWING CO.

2040 Guthrie Rd. | LandAndSeaBrewing.ca

e rumours of Riot’s demise weren’t entirely accurate. Yes, things were quiet for a while, but thanks to a new investor Riot is back open for business!

VORTEX

NEW TRADITION BREWING

215 Port Augusta St. | NewTraditionBrewing.com

Fantastic beers, delicious food and a tasting room that’s as cool as it is welcoming—what’s not to love at Land & Sea?

ACE BREWING CO.

150 Mans eld Dr. | Facebook.com/AceBrewingCompany

GLADSTONE BREWING CO.

244 4th St. | GladstoneBrewing.ca

Located just a stone’s throw away from the Courtenay Airpark, Ace’s tasting room is aviation-themed, showcasing Canadian Air Force history.

MCLEOD 9

ROBUST PORTER

HOP TANK

DOUBLE DRY HOPPED

INDIA PALE ALE

Having recently purchased its building, Gladstone has some fantastic updates to its taproom planned. A big ve-year anniversary party is in the works, too!

CZECH DARK LAGER

PORTER PORTER

Availability:

Availability:

CUMBERLAND BREWING CO.

2732 Dunsmuir Ave. | CumberlandBrewing.com

CRAIG STREET BREW PUB

25 Craig St. | CraigStreet.ca

Amazing to think Cumberland Brewing will celebrate its 5th anniversary on December 23. Time sure ies when you’re having fun—and brewing delicious beer!

BARLEY WINE CELLARED BARLEYWINE

Craig Street Brewpub in Duncan is rich with history. Head into its 1940s building to admire their 100-year-old antique bar and take advantage of a locally sourced menu and daily specials.

ARBUTUS PALE ALE ENGLISH PALE ALE

CUMBERLAND DUNCAN

RED ARROW BREWING CO.

5255 Chaster Rd. | RedArrowBeer.ca

SMALL BLOCK BREWING CO.

203-5301 Chaster Rd. | SmallBlockBrewery.com

Red Arrow Brewing was once a custom motorcycle shop called Arrow Custom Cycles— this is re ected in its branding and beer names, like Kustom Kolsch.

MIDNITE UMBER ALE

NORTH AMERICAN RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

CLIFFSIDE BREWING CO.

IDLE HANDS OAKED ORANGE ALE BROWN ALE

Availability: Seasonal

Co-owner Aaron is a helicopter mechanic with a fascination for old hot rods, which you’ll see re ected in the beer names and tasting room décor.

RYECYCLED

FRESH-HOPPED RYE

INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

GREEN GOBLIN

IRISH RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

LONGWOOD BREWERY

11 Cli St. | Cli sideBrewCo.ca

101A-2046 Boxwood Rd. | LongwoodBeer.com

Nanaimo’s newest brewery is familyowned and right in the heart of the historic downtown, just steps from the ocean and seawall.

A recent renovation means that Longwood has two new taps devoted to brewery-only releases. In other words, even more reason to go there in person.

PLAID JACKET RED ALE STOUTNIK

SUPERNOVA HAZY INDIA PALE ALE

RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT

WINTER’S OWN WEIZENBOCK

LONGWOOD BREWPUB

5775 Turner Rd. | LongwoodBrewpub.com

WHITE SAILS BREWING

125 Comox Rd. | WhiteSailsBrewing.com

Did you know that Longwood Brewpub was where B.C.’s growler movement started? It was the brewery that rst suggested the concept to the liquor board.

Join White Sails in downtown Nanaimo every Friday night when they tap a new cask bursting with unique and creative avour combinations.

WOLF BREWING CO.

940 Old Victoria Rd. | WolfBrewingCompany.com

MOUNT ARROWSMITH BREWING CO.

109-425 East Stanford Ave. | ArrowsmithBrewing.com

Brewmaster Kev Ward keeps Wolf’s beers dialed in. Stop by the tasting room to try what’s on tap or pick up a bottle at your local store.

ey may come from a small town, but their brews are anything but! Both the locals and thirsty travellers ock to the snazzy tasting room in search of award-winning beer.

QUALICUM TOFINO

LOVESHACK LIBATIONS

1 - 4134 Island Hwy. West | LoveShackLibations.com

TOFINO BREWING CO.

691 Industrial Way | To noBrewingCo.com

Dave Paul’s nanobrewery is small in size but big in fun and avour. e tasting room is only open two days a week, and its always packed with locals who can’t get enough of his bottle-conditioned beers.

MIDAS

TOUCHÉ

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GOLDEN ALE

Availability: Small batch

UCLULET

ODIN’S EYE NORSE GROG

To no Brewing is a natural rst stop of any vacation to the West Coast. Enjoy beers on tap, or grab some o sales to go—To no’s brews are best enjoyed with a side of nature.

UCLUELET BREWING COMPANY

1601 Peninsula Rd. | UclueletBrewing.ca

DARK LAGER SCHWARZBIER

Availability: Small batch

Built in a former church, this new craft brewery on Vancouver Island’s wet and wild West Coast is the perfect place to escape the driving wind and rain.

RESURRECTION RED IRISH RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

DAWN PATROL COFFEE IBU ABV N/A 4.5% IBU ABV 12 7.4% IBU ABV 15 5.0%

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

IBU ABV N/A 6.5% 97

BIG WHITE

ELEVATION 57 BREWING COMPANY

20 Kettleview Rd. | SessionsTapHouseAndGrill.com

ALCHEMY BREWING CO.

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

Operating out of Big White Ski Resort, Canada’s highest brewery—at 5,757 feet above sea level—is an ideal aprés ski option for any craft beer-loving powder hounds.

VIENNA LAGER

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

BRIGHT EYE BREWING

292 Tranquille Rd. | BrightEyeBrewing.com

In addition to its massive selection of craft beer, Alchemy also boasts its own barbecue smoker and wood- red pizza oven. Yum!

SINISTER

Availability: Small batch

Availability: Small batch

IRON ROAD BREWING

980 Camosun Crs. | IronRoadBrewing.ca

Kamloops’ newest brewery—and the only one on the North Shore—features an ever-rotating lineup of experimental and small batch beers in its bright, modern tasting room. JUICE

Beer, nachos, what’s not to like? Iron Road’s top notch food menu is second only to its inventive list of beer.

RED COLLAR BREWING CO.

355 Lansdowne St. | RedCollar.ca

THE NOBLE PIG BREWHOUSE

650 Victoria St. | eNoblePig.ca

Happy fth birthday, Red Collar Brewing! is Kamloops gem brews 25 di erent beers a year, all pouring in their 80-seat tasting room.

Starting in 2010 as Kamloops’ rst brewhouse with great eats and award-winning beer, this is a popular place to be any night of the week.

PAPA G’S ESB EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER A DOG AQUATIC

BARN OWL BREWING

BLACK DOG BELGIAN QUADRUPEL

Availability:

BETTER THAN HOMEWORK INDIA PALE ALE

CO.

4629 Lakeshore Rd. | BarnOwlBrewing.ca

BNA BREWING CO.

1250 Ellis St. | BNABrewing.com

Situated in a lovingly renovated century-old barn just steps from Okanagan Lake, Barn Owl is worth a detour just for its spectacular setting.

WISE OWL NITRO STOUT ENGLISH-STYLE

It’s an exciting time over at BNA with a tasting room expansion that will see seating for about 12 go to more than 100. Time to stop in.

BOUNDARY BREWING CO.

2-455 Neave Crt. | BoundaryBrewing.beer

COPPER BREWING CO.

#102-1851 Kirschner Rd. | CopperBrewingCo.com

Specializing in balanced, German-style beers, Boundary brews small batches in its coppered oak kettle system—the only one in Canada!

HOWL-O-WEEN ALTBIER ALTBIER

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

Kelowna’s newest craft brewery (unless another one has opened this week) features approachable styles and a dog-friendly patio.

COPPER LAGER

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Fully Wrapped Print -Vine Arts Growler

FREDDY’S BREWPUB

124 McCurdy Rd. | McCurdyBowl.com

JACKKNIFE BREWING

727 Baillie Ave. | Facebook.com/JackknifeBrewing

is long-serving North Kelowna craft brewery is attached to a bowling alley, and we think the Dude, himself, would approve.

HARKRIDER RED ALE

WONKY

Promising weird beers and classic pizza, the focus at Jackknife will be process-heavy obscure beer styles and methods. And heavy metal. Of course.

LEVIATHAN IMPERIAL STOUT

KELOWNA BREWING CO.

975 Academy Way | KelownaBrewingCompany.com

KETTLE RIVER BREWING CO.

731 Baillie Ave. | KettleRiverBrewing.ca

Check out this Kelowna brewpub that has something happening every night, including trivia, karaoke, DJs and will be brewing beer any day now. We hope.

VANISHED IPA NEW ENGLAND INDIA PALE ALE

is North End brewery has upped its game with the addition of its Provisions Kitchen, serving a wide range of tasty dishes alongside the excellent beer.

THE PEOPLE'S ELBOW

IMPERIAL RED INDIA PALE ALE

RED BIRD BREWING

1086 Richter St. | RedBirdBrewing.com

RUSTIC REEL BREWING CO.

760 Vaughan Ave. | RusticReel.com

After two successful years of business, Red Bird is excited to expand its operations into a new 5,000-sq.-ft. space nearby. Stay tuned for updates.

TOMB STOUT

PARAMOUNT PORTER

Availability: Year-round

TREE BREWING BEER INSTITUTE

1346 Water St. | TreeBrewingBeerInstitute.com

Availability: Year-round

is expansive Kelowna brewery features daily fresh-baked spent grain breads and pastries available at its Tackle Box Marketplace.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE ALE BROWN ALE

Availability: Seasonal

VICE & VIRTUE BREWING CO.

BLACK IPA BLACK INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

e year-round classics and seasonal o erings at the Institute are complemented by a tank-totap lineup: experimental, rotating beer, served completely un ltered.

LINCOLN'S LAGER LAGER

Availability: Small batch

LABRADOODLE BELGIAN ALE

Availability: Small batch

1033 Richter St. | ViceAndVirtueBrewing.ca

Beer makers are increasingly looking to wine for fresh ideas and avours. Vice and Virtue are well ahead of the curve by blending both since 2018.

FOOL'S PARADISE

DRY-HOPPED SOUR ALE

LOVE POTION RASPBERRY BERLINER VICE BERLINER

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round

KELOWNA MERRITT

WILD AMBITION BREWING

1 - 3314 Appaloosa Rd. | WildAmbition.beer

EMPTY KEG BREW HOUSE

2190 Voght St. | EmptyKegBrewHouse.ca

e gang at Wild Ambition is excited to celebrate a whole year of brewing wild and inventive barrel-aged beers in Kelowna this December.

Empty Keg Brewhouse is the only brewery in Merritt; some might call it a gateway to the interior craft breweries in the Cariboo and Okanagan.

ULPIA SEVERINA BARREL-AGED SOUR WITH EMPRESS PLUMS

Availability:

KAP'T KRUNCH KOLSCH KOLSCH

MAMETTE LAKE MARZEN

OKTOBERFEST LAGER

Availability: Year-round

OLIVER PENTICTON

FIREHALL BREWERY

6077 Main St. | FirehallBrewery.com

Oliver may be wine country, but Sid Ruhland’s craft brewery might be the town’s favourite watering hole, thanks to great brews, live music, comedy and trivia nights.

CADAVER SYNOD BARREL-AGED OUD BRUIN PEANUT

HOLY SMOKE STOUT STOUT

STOKED EMBER

ALE EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

Availability: Seasonal

BAD TATTOO BREWING CO.

169 Estabrook Ave. | BadTattooBrewing.com

In addition to killer craft beer, Bad Tattoo might have the best pizza in Penticton. Each month a new pizza and beer combination is featured.

JUICE BOMB

NEW

Availability: One o Availability:

BARLEY MILL BREW PUB

2460 Skaha Lake Rd. | BarleyMillPub.com

CANNERY BREWING

198 Ellis St. | CanneryBrewing.com

What are you doing with your life? Because Barley Mill has ping pong, foosball, darts, billiards, UFC and karaoke. And don't forget to satisfy all your craft beer needs.

Check out Cannery’s beautiful new packaging showcasing iconic Okanagan scenes, and stop by the brewery for Tuesday Vinyl Nights and live music every Sunday.

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

HIGHWAY 97 BREWERY

954 Eckhardt Ave. | Hwy97Brewery.com

SLACKWATER BREWING

218 Martin St. | SlackwaterBrewing.com

Need a reason to visit? How about three new beer releases before Christmas: BumbleBerry Pie Saison, Fill 'er Up IPA, and Fresh Tracks Winter Cream Ale.

FRESH TRACKS

is Penticton craft brewery is quickly becoming the coolest place in town, thanks to great beers, delicious food, live music and a welcoming, friendly atmosphere.

TIGHT

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

THE TIN WHISTLE BREWING CO.

112-1475 Fairview Rd. | eTinWhistleBrewery.rocks

BARLEY STATION BREW PUB

20 Shuswap St. N. | BarleyStation.com

Based in the Cannery Trade Centre, Penticton’s oldest brewery features local fruit in many of its beers and takes its name from a historic Okanagan train.

Stop by this popular brewpub located right on the Trans-Canada Highway any day of the week, but especially on Fridays for small batch releases.

CRANNÓG ALES

706 Elson Rd. | CrannogAles.com

BREAKAWAY BREWING CO.

13224 Victoria Road N. | Instagram.com/BreakawayBrewingCo

Certi ed organic and environmentally conscious, this farm-based brewery has been producing award-winning ales its own way since 2000.

Breakaway has only been open for less than a year, but work is already underway to double its brewhouse and triple its seating capacity.

DETONATE BREWING

#104-9503 Cedar Ave. | DetonateBrewing.com

MARTEN

Detonate Brewing is ready to blow your mind and wants to make sure you’re having a blast. A veritable avour explosion of barley, hops and yeast awaits.

DRIVES ME HAZY IPA

NEW ENGLAND INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

2933A 30th Ave. | MartenBrewpub.com Located

KIND BREWING

2405 Main St. | Facebook.com/KindBrewer

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

West Kelowna’s only craft brewery has a new Southern barbecue inspired menu, just in case you needed another reason to swing by the tasting room.

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

TAILOUT BREWING

1800 8th Ave. | TailoutBrewing.com

If you’re passing through the Kootenays, make sure to stop in at the newly-opened Tailout Brewing, Castlegar’s rst and only craft brewery.

FISHER PEAK BREWING CO.

821 Baker St. | eHeidOut.ca

e on-site brewery of e Heid Out restaurant. If you ever need to go on the lam or otherwise hide out, you could do a lot worse than this place.

Availability: Year-round

FERNIE BREWING CO.

26 Manitou Rd. | FernieBrewing.com

Fernie welcomes you to another winter of dark beer and light Kootenay pow. e tasting room is open seven days a week for all your après needs.

Availability: Seasonal

HELL ROARING SAP SUCKER MAPLE PORTER

SINGLE SPEY IPA INDIA PALE ALE

SCOTTISH ALE

WHITETOOTH BREWING

623 8th Ave. N. | WhitetoothBrewing.com

Availability: Year-round

Whitetooth is getting attention for its High Gravity series of strong beers, including the B.C. and Canadian award winner, Truth Dare Consequence Nordic Imperial Stout.

WILD HORSE WITBIER ROGGEN SCHLAGER ROGGENBIER HIT THE DECK HAZY INDIA PALE ALE

Availability:

Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

IBU ABV 42 5.0% IBU ABV 30 6.8% IBU ABV 21 7.7% IBU ABV 35 5.5% IBU ABV 95 6.0% IBU ABV 11 5.0% IBU ABV 16 5.0% IBU ABV 40 6.4% 109 CASTLEGAR CRANBROOK

ARROWHEAD BREWING CO.

481 Arrow Rd. | ArrowheadBrewingCompany.ca

ANGRY HEN BREWING

343 Front St. | AngryHenBrewing.com

is locally-focused craft brewery in the shadow of the Rockies is proudly “from the valley, and for the valley.”

BLACK JACK DRY IRISH STOUT

Availability: Year-round

REDRUM RHUBARB RYE PALE ALE

Availability: Small batch

What could be better than a warm bowl of stout mac and cheese along with a glass of craft beer to ll your belly on a cold winter day?

SVART-HONA DRY STOUT

FOXED HEN FARMHOUSE SAISON

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Seasonal

OVER TIME BEER WORKS

136A Wallinger Ave. | OverTimeBeer.ca

BACKROADS BREWING CO.

460 Baker St. | BackroadsBrewing.com

On the rst Saturday of every month, Over Time taps a new beer as voted on by its customers. at’s called a Beerocracry, folks!

#DadJoke

HOLD UP SCOTCH ALE

Availability: Seasonal

Backroads has collaborated with their ski-bum friends, Whitetooth Brewing in Golden, to put out a ski-themed beer called “Friends on Pow Days” this winter.

FRIENDS ON POW DAYS

CABIN FEVER WINTER ALE

Availability: Small batch Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Small batch

NELSON BREWING CO.

512 Latimer St. | NelsonBrewing.com

TORCHLIGHT BREWING CO.

125 Hall St. | TorchlightBrewing.com

Nelson Brewing is a certi ed organic craft brewery situated in a 125-year-old building located in the heart of the West Kootenay region.

HARVEST

HOOLIGAN

Focusing on environmentally conscious practices, Torchlight’s innovative natural brews are now available at ski hills all over the Kootenays this winter.

MOUNTAIN

MT. BEGBIE BREWING CO

2155 Oak Dr. | Mt-Begbie.com

RUMPUS

BEER COMPANY

208 1st Street E. | RumpusBeerCo.com

Mt. Begbie Brewing in beautiful Revelstoke recently took home six medals at the World Beer Awards in 2019—the most of any Canadian brewery!

is tiny Revelstoke brewery hasn’t even been open for a year and it’s already planning a (much-needed) expansion for spring. Expect more beers and more space!

ROSSLAND BEER CO.

1990 Columbia Ave. | RosslandBeer.com

TRAIL BEER REFINERY

1299 Bay Ave. | TrailBeerRe nery.ca

ese guys can’t wait to brag to you about the awesome team of athletes in their tasting room, which has become the local hub for adventurers.

A beacon for craft beer, Trail Beer Re nery was recently awarded the Trail & District Chamber of Commerce Tourism Award.

CROSSROADS BREWING

508 George St. | CrossroadsCraft.com

TRENCH BREWING & DISTILLING

399 2nd Ave. | TrenchBrew.ca

From live music, brewery tours, holidays, games and events, like its massive street festivals, there is always something happening at Crossroads.

CINDERS RED

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

Single-handedly turning around Prince George’s East End, Trench now has a full menu, including tacos, soups, salads, atbreads and sandwiches.

Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

PRINCE RUPERT QUESNEL

WHEELHOUSE BREWING CO.

217 1st Ave. E. | WheelhouseBrewing.com

BARKERVILLE BREWING CO.

185 Davie St. | BarkervilleBeer.com

While Rogers Hometown Hockey is in town on Dec. 7, Wheelhouse is holding a contest with Prince Rupert's best restaurants competing with their best chili recipe.

Celebrating six years of award-winning beers, this Quesnel brewery is committed to the environment, as well as good beer, even using compostable four-pack rings.

COLD

Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal

Availability: Year-round

Availability: Year-round

PRINCE GEORGE PRINCE GEORGE

SMITHERS SMITHERS

BULKLEY VALLEY BREWERY

3860 1st Ave. | BulkleyValleyBrewery.ca

SMITHERS BREWING CO.

3832 3rd Ave. | SmithersBrewing.com

What started as a ski shop now has tasty beers, open mic nights every ursday, games nights on Tuesdays and live music on the weekends.

ULLRS OATMEAL STOUT

is band of experimental brewers has recently taken the plunge into wild/Brett fermentation. Stay tuned as they bring the funk to Northern B.C.!

PANORAMA

GOSE-BUSTERS

EAST COAST HAZY INDIA PALE ALE

AMERICAN PORTER

TERRACE VALEMOUNT

SHERWOOD MOUNTAIN BREWHOUSE

101 - 4816 Hwy. 16 West | SherwoodMountain.beer

Favourite local haunt and leader of the craft beer revolution in Terrace, Sherwood Mountain is celebrating its ve-year anniversary this December.

CREEK PILSNER PILSNER FRIAR HOUSE LAGER LAGER Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal Availability: Seasonal Availability: Year-round Availability: Year-round

THREE RANGES BREWING CO.

Availability:

STOUT

1160 5th Ave. | reeRanges.com

GOSE WITH LOCAL HASKAP BERRIES MUDBOGGER DARK LAGER DARK LAGER IBU ABV 25 6.0% IBU ABV N/A 6.6% IBU ABV 25 4.7% IBU ABV 20 4.7%

Even though ree Ranges is back to its winter hours, you still have plenty of time to stop in for a delicious pint.

the

BEER GROUND To

BRI C KLAYER B REWING

Chilliwack (spring 2020) Agassiz couple Megan McDonald and Kris Schmidt are bringing their take on modern craft styles with a heavy focus on sours to the newly redeveloped Five Corners neighbourhood of downtown Chilliwack. BricklayerBrewing.com

DEV IL' S B AT H BREWING

Port McNeill (2020) Craft beer is coming to the North Island as three local homebrewing brothers plan to convert the former Shell gas station into the region's rst brewery using the brewhouse from the now defunct Forbidden Brewing in Courtenay.

D OG MOUNTAIN B REWING

Port Alberni (winter 2019/2020) 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

E RIE CREEK BREWING CO .

Salmo (early 2020) is 126-seat craft brewery is being built in a former bank/church, with seating right in the former vault. Live music, full kitchen and six taps of traditional craft and Belgian-style abbey ales are in the works.

FIELD HOU S E CH WK

Chilliwack (early 2020) Downtown Chilliwack is suddenly the place to be for awesome craft beer, with Field House’s second location set to join Flashback and Bricklayer. Housed in a historic brick building, it will feature a 125-seat tasting room, an outdoor patio, a full kitchen and its own dedicated brewhouse. FieldHouseBrewing.com

G RAND FORK S BEER CO.

Grand Forks (summer 2020) You know the craft beer revolution has been fought and won when even Grand Forks is getting into the act. is new craft brewery and tasting room is set to open downtown on Market Avenue any month now. GrandForksBeerCo.com

HERALD STREET BREW W ORK S

Victoria (spring 2020) Work is progressing at Victoria’s most hotly anticipated craft brewery, a collaboration between the people behind Steel & Oak and e Drake Eatery. Word is there will be a roof-top patio in time for summer. HeraldStreet.com

HORN B Y IS LAND BREWING COMPANY

Hornby Island (2020) is aspiring nanobrewery is already contract brewing out of Small Block Brewing in Duncan and hopes to open a modest brick-and-mortar on its namesake island in 2020. HornbyIslandBrewing.ca

HUD S ON TAP H OU S E AND BREWPU B

Victoria (early 2020) e owners of the Yates Taphouse are behind this 300-seat neighbourhood brewpub in the new Hudson District development that’s currently being held up by permitting delays.

LAKE S IDER BREWING C O.

West Kelowna (early 2020) Test batches are already being brewed at this new West Kelowna brewery that plans to highlight the bounty of Okanagan fruit in its beers. LakesiderBrewing.com

LOC ALITY BREWING

Langley (spring 2020) is farm-to-glass brewery is growing all their own ingredients on-site, and will even be malting its own barley. Facebook.com/localitybrewing

ere’s no shortage of new breweries in the works all over the province. Here’s a look at some of the ones we’re keeping an eye on.

MERRIDALE BREWERY AND DISTILLERY

Victoria (2020/2021) Yet another victim of the City of Victoria’s red tape nightmare. 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. It’ll be amazing, if the city ever gets around to approving it. Merridale.ca

MOUNTAINVIEW BREWING

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

NEIGHBOURHOOD BREWING

Penticton (summer 2020) Construction has begun at Penticton’s soon-to-be newest brewery, brought to you by the good folks behind Yellow Dog Brewing. Neighbourhood will be one of the few purpose-built breweries and tasting rooms in the province. Beers are already being contracted brewed around the corner at Bad Tattoo Brewing. NeighbourhoodBrewing.com

NORTH POINT BREWING CO.

North Vancouver (winter 2019) e North Shore’s soon-to-be 10th craft brewery is set to open on First Street East in Lower Lonsdale any day now. NorthPointBrewing.com

PATINA BREWING

Port Coquitlam (early 2020) e former mayor of Port Coquitlam is partnering with the owners of Orrange Kitchen + Bar to bring a brewery and barbecue joint to downtown PoCo. PatinaBrewing.ca

RUSTED RAKE BREWING

Nanoose (spring 2020) is farmbased brewery and restaurant has

been navigating all manner of bureaucratic red tape hell for the past year, but it looks like its brewery application has been approved, so expect a new lease on life for this beloved local. RustedRakeFarm.com

SHAKETOWN BREWING

North Vancouver (2020) Named after Lynn Valley’s original moniker, Shaketown is coming to Lower Lonsdale and features the great David Varga (formerly of 33 Acres Brewing) at the helm. More great news for the North Shore.

SHORELINE BREWING

Kelowna (summer 2020) Unfortunately construction delays have pushed back the opening of Shoreline, located across from Gyro Beach on the ground oor of the massive new Shore development. Expect seating for close to 100 people in its tasting room, with another 100 on its expansive patio.

SUNDOWN BREWING

North Vancouver (2020) e award-winning contract brand got its start at Callister and is currently based out of Container Brewing. Word on the street is that a brick-and-mortar brewery is on the way, with North Vancouver as the likely destination.

URSA MINOR BREWING

Burns Lake (spring 2020) Not to be confused with Minnesota’s Ursa Minor Brewing, this tiny farmhouse brewery is located 60 km south of Burns Lake on Ootsa Lake, roughly in the middle of nowhere, and will be growing many of the ingredients it uses in its beers. Instagram. com/ursaminorbrewing j

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

BOLD COLOR

FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH