The Growler B.C. • Volume 1 Issue 3 • August-October 2015

ISLANDS

AND COAST

Copyright © The Growler Vancouver 2015.

Published by Glacier Community Media. 303 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Y 1J6. 1.778.668.3667 thegrowler.ca | @thegrowlerbc

E DITOR: Stephen Smysnuik editor@thegrowler.ca

PUBLISHER: Dee Dhaliwal

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Gail Nugent gnugent@thegrowler.ca

CONTRIBUTORS: Jesse Donaldson, Ryan Ingram, Michael Kissinger, Kelsey Klassen, Leah Poulton (Social Media), Samantha Leigh Smith (Illustration), Aimee van Drimmelen (Illustration), Joe Wiebe, Jan Zeschky

PHOTOGRAPHY: Jonny Healy

DESIGN + PRODUCTION: Lindsey Ataya, Anja Werner

COVER: Anja Werner

Brave Creative | bravecreative.ca

VICTORIA VANCOUVER

06 58 50 85 92 113 131

SEA TO SKY

LOWER MAINLAND

FRASER VALLEY

VICTORIA

ISLANDS & COAST

THOMPSON OKANAGAN

READING THE GROWler

Beer Glassware

A guide of recommended glassware that will cover most of the beers in this book. Impress friend and annoy enemies (or vice versa) with this knowledge.

STANGE

Kölsch

Märzen

Altbier

PILSNER

Lager

Pilsner

Witbier

NONIC PINT

IPA / pale ale

Stout / porter

Best Bitter / ESB

WEIZEN

Hefeweizen / wheat ale

Weizenbock

Fruit Beer / radler

TULIP

Saison

Brown / dark ale

Red ale

GOBLET

Belgian IPA

Tripel

Quad

SNIFTER

Belgian ale

Imperial anything, Sours

for newbies

Beer Colour Guide

PALE

PALE GOLD

GOLD

PALE AMBER

MEDIUM AMBER

DEEP AMBER

BROWN

RUBY BROWN

BLACK

Beer Profiles

Indication of beer colour and suggested glassware

IT’S CALLED WHAT?

Brewery Details

GROWLER FILLS

BOTTLES / CANS

KEGS

TASTING ROOM

FOOD

TOURS

DOG FRIENDLY

Growler ApproveD...

Denotes 20 new or exciting beers that we think are worth drinking post haste.

Keep track of the beers you’ve tried. Fill in all the circles and win our respect.

WHAT TYPE OF BEER IS THAT?

000.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round, seasonal or small batch?

Descriptions of the beer, including taste, colour and maybe a fun fact or two.

Editor’s Note

ABV (alcohol by volume) tells you how boozy the beer is.

IBU (International Bittering Units) tells you how bitter, or hoppy, it is.

Oh, hey. Hi. Thanks again for picking up this little book of ours. If you haven’t noticed, it’s plumped up a bit since the last time, which tends to happen when you ply anything with copious amounts of beer. And yes, our little Growler has had more beer than ever. Breweries are opening so consistently throughout the province, it takes a voracious thirst and level of obsession (or a paying gig, anyway) to keep up to speed on it all. And more are coming! We know of at least four in the Lower Mainland that aren’t included in this book. Also, we’ve added Thompson Okanagan. You’ll see. Go team.

– Stephen Smysnuik

33 ACRES BREWING CO.

15 W 8th Ave. | 33acresbrewing.com

MON-FRI: 9AM-11PM ^ SAT/SUN: 10AM-11PM @33acres

EST: 2013

With it’ minimalist decor and dependable beer selection, 33 Acres has become the go-to transition brewery for people coming in to craft beer. It’s not so much a brewery as a lifestyle brand that includes a clothing line, food and caffeine options (and beer) in-house and an ideal standard of what urban West Coast living is all about.

33 ACRES OF LIFE

404.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A sessionable, fruity brew that’s deceptively complex. Full-bodied and crisp to the last sip. Very refreshing.

33 ACRES OF

708.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A citrus-y and velvet-smooth IPA that’s boozier than you’ll realize at first, but is made very clear by the end of the glass.

33 ACRES OF EUPHORIA

9.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

30

33A goes Belgian. The lemon finish masks what’s their booziest-while-still-drinkable beer yet.

33 ACRES OF

505.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This full-flavoured brew bridges the gulf between a pale ale and an IPA, creating a unique take on the West Coast classics.

“24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?”

– Stephen Wright

OCEAN WEST COAST PALE ALE

CALIFORNIA COMMON

BELGIAN TRIPEL

NIRVANA INDIA PALE ALE

BIG ROCK URBAN

310 W 4th Ave.| bigrockurban.com

MON-FRI: 11AM-12AM ^ SAT/SUN: 10AM-12AM @brueateryyvr

EST: 2015

Alberta-based Big Rock Brewery’s inaugural dip into B.C.’s craft beer waters is a solid one, thanks in part to its line of regional beers, though the facility’s design and abundance of hard surfaces creates a deafening echo chamber if you have the misfortune of sharing the space with an enthusiastic post-win softball team.

HOLLOW TREE RED ALE

PACIFIC NORTHWEST RED ALE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

55

Unique to Vancouver, Big Rock delivers this wellbalanced brew using whole leaf cascade hops complimented by caramel and toffee flavours.

BRU MOSAIC LAGER LAGER

455.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

The best of both worlds isn’t just a Van Halen song (unfortunately) featuring Sammy Hagar, it also describes this brew’s crisp backbone of a lager with the grapefruit punch of Mosaic hops.

BRU ROGGEN ROGGENBIER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

12

This easy drinking medieval-style ale is a definite keeper with a hint of rye and ample smoothness.

CITRA IPA

NORTHWEST INDIA PALE ALE

606.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

All hail the mighty Citra hops. Triple-hopped in this case, making for a ridiculously tasty and approachable IPA.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

– Benjamin Franklin

BOMBER BREWING

1488 Adanac St. | bomberbrewing.com

MON-SUN: 12-11PM @bomberbrewing

EST: 2014

When Bomber opened on the Adanac bike route just off Clark Drive early in 2014 it was all by itself, but now it’s the hub of Vancouver’s newest brewery district. Brewer Blair Calibaba partnered with Don Farion, a certified cicerone who owns the BierCraft chain, and great beer has been the result.

CHOQLETTE PORTER

185.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Welcome the autumn with this medium-bodied porter: it’s roasty and very chocolatey thanks to three separate chocolate additions.

BOMBER ESB

EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

40

An updated version of the original British ESB style with delicious Pacific Northwest hops. Rich, malty and aromatic.

IPA

65 6.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

The hops take a back seat on this solid, dependable beer, featuring a great malt/hops balance.

BOMBER PILSNER

CZECH PILSNER

284.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Calibaba served the homebrewed version of this crisp and refreshing beer to his beer league hockey teammates. The rest is history.

“Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer.”

– Arnold Schwarzenegger

BOMBER

IGLOOS PREDATE ALASKA

BRASSNECK BREWERY

2148 Main St. | brassneck.ca

MON-FRI: 2-11PM ^ SAT/SUN: 12-11PM @brassneckbrew

EST: 2013

Brassneck is still one of the most popular breweries in Vancouver, and for good reason. Everything about it – from the art to the music to the beer – is inventive and appealing to all the senses, thanks to owners Nigel Springthorpe and Conrad Gmoser. This is the spirit of Vancouver brewing distilled to one small-sized tasting room.

CHANGELING

KETTLE-SOURED FRUIT BEER

6.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A kettle-soured fruit beer whose tartness depends on the batch. The ingredients used change with what’s in season so you’re rarely drinking the same beer twice.

COUNTER CULTURED

BRETT INDIA PALE ALE

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Brettanomyces are once again added to the mix, giving this balanced IPA a fruity personality. Not that there’s anything wrong with that...

NO BRAINER

4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

We’ll let Nigel take this one: “A satisfying beer measuring high on the Brassneck patented, Pound-O-Meter Scale. This is a difficult beer to get right, but an easy one to drink.”

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

WOOD-AGED BRETT SAISON

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Aged in an oak fermentor and fermented again with several strains of Brettanomyces, this saison is a deliciously strange brew that’s surprisingly approachable.

“You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.”

– Frank Zappa

Vancouver’s beer emporium

Long before East Van was a hotbed of craft breweries, people were hopping on bikes to shop for their coveted brews at the only spot then offering a microselection.

Brewery Creek Liquor Store arrived on Main Street ten years ago. Stowed away in an alley between 14th and 15th in a 1000 sq ft. space, formerly home to a gas station and garage, two high school friends took a leap of faith and opened up shop.

“In 2005, we brought in Brooklyn Lager and wondered ‘will this sell?’” says co-owner Fred Wilson.

Initially stocking their shelves with U.S. product, gradually they began to bring in European brews, particularly Belgian strains. Today, Brewery Creek offers beer from over 45 local breweries, the largest segment of their business, now housed in a 3000 sq ft. space.

Fellow owner Gary Reilly adds, “We’ve become a beer emporium.”

“We’ve got to hand it to our staff,” Wilson says. “They love beer

themselves, have a lot of input, and management has been instrumental in keeping them knowledgeable.”

Brewery Creek currently employs 25 people in order to keep the doors open 7 days a week from 11am to 11 pm. Wilson and Reilly are committed to being good employers, offering courses to staff to further their expertise.

Resident Cicerone and renowned home brewer, Chester Carey is bringing the Brewery Creek name to a new endeavour, pouring a Saison brewed onsite at Callister Brewing, as part of their launch with other guest brewers.

“It’s been a lot of patience, perseverance, and of course, passion,” co-owner Gary Reilly points out, “but if you believe in the concept and you have the fortitude, you’ll be successful.”

“Craft beer isn’t going to slow down, it only represents 15% of the current market,” he says, and with a chuckle adds, “there’s definitely a thirst.”

—by Kristyn Anthony

Once again, we’ve invited two brewers to sit down and discuss the craft, the industry and the beer. This time we have Iain Hill (Strange Fellows) and Conrad Gmoser (Brassneck) both of whom cut their teeth working for well-established brewpubs (Yaletown Brewpub and Steamworks Brewpub) before starting their own highly respected craft breweries. As seems to be the case with all brewers, there was nary a disagreement between these two men. Typical.

CONRAD GMOSER: Was there anything that surprised you about opening your own brewery? Something you weren’t expecting?

IAIN HILL: No man. I always knew it would be hard, and it was really, really hard – and it is really hard – and I kind of feel like I expected it.

CG: I knew it was going to be hard. I had no idea how much time you have to devote to things that have nothing to do with making the beer.

IH: Oh yeah. Administration, that’s massive.

CG: I think I had a fantasy that I would be puttering around in my brewery leisurely without having to worry too much about how busy things were.

IH: If there was anything, the administration side of it is a monster and I guess in a way, having to be involved a lot in that is, I don’t know if it’s a surprise, but it’s maybe not entirely what I had anticipated. It’s a giant piece of everything. Is there anything you see in the new part of the industry, in the growth of the industry, that you liked better in the past, or liked it earlier 10 years ago?

CG: I don’t know. One thing I did like in the past was the festivals were kind of small and had a very casual atmosphere to them, which I don’t know if I appreciated at the time. There was something –say with GCBF [Great Canadian Beer Festival], which is still a great festival – but I remember in the early days, it seemed like there were less people and the brewers spent more time together hanging out.

But I think what’s happening now is generally all for the positive. I can’t believe how many more people are drinking beer now. We sometimes jokingly talk about the beer zombies at opening.

The doors start rattling like in a movie, you know? [laughs] It’s like the whole city is full of people who really, really want beer badly. That’s great.

IH: I feel the same way. Another thing that’s happened is, because there are so many more people in the industry – brewers and people involved in breweries – it has gotten to the point where, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know half these people, whereas 10, 15 years ago, it was tight. It was really tight. We knew each other, we called each other, a lot of time we went out, we did stuff. There’s nothing you can do about that, it’s just the way it is.

GROWLER: Do you think that was necessary to cultivate what the industry has become?

IH: No, not necessarily.

CG: It was just a way smaller scene back then. I think what I like now is there’s so much creative energy in the brewing community that there’s all sorts of different inspiration happening. I think in the past there was less creative energy. Now, you end up hearing about someone doing something wacky that you never thought of. Someone else tries a riff on it. One of your brewers gives you a kick in the ass to try something you’ve never tried before.

IH: That’s almost the competitive thing about it, in a sense.

CG: I wouldn’t say that. There is some element of competitiveness, but it’s more about creativity really. You find the same thing in any creative endeavor where you get inspired by what someone else is doing. We’ve done some brews that I never, ever would have done because, you know, my brewers wanted to do something that was a bit off the wall, and we were able to give it a chance. “Alright! I’m not sure this is a good idea but let’s try it anyway.”

IH: I feel that too. Just looking around and looking at all the crazy things people are doing, it causes you to – well, you have to keep current. If you do what you’ve been doing for ages, you’re not going to keep current at all. You can’t be that way in this environment. j

There is some element of competitiveness, but it’s more about the creativity.

- Conrad Gmoser

CALLISTER BREWING CO.

1338 Franklin St. | callisterbrewing.com WED-FRI:

EST: 2015

Among the many new Vancouver breweries, Callister’s cooperative business model is unique. In addition to making its own beers, it is also a brewery incubator, providing equipment and tank space to partners who produce their own beer, all of which is sold onsite.

CALLISTER RYE PALE ALE

YOU KNOW THIS ONE

40 5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

The addition of rye provides a spicy character to complement the moderate hoppiness of this pale ale.

ALTBIER

THIS ONE TOO!

355.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

Brewed in the traditional North German style, this dark beer is malt-forward but not sweet, with a crisp finish.

COAL HARBOUR BREWING CO.

1967 Triumph St. | coalharbourbrewing.com

MON-FRI: 9AM-5PM

EST: 2010

The overlooked older brother of East Van’s craft beer scene, Coal Harbour isn’t even located near its yuppy-haven namesake, which, if you ask us, might be part of the reason for its comparatively (and unwarranted) lower beer-aficionado clout.

@coalharbrew

SMOKE & MIRRORS

195.0% ABV IBU

Availability:Year-round

The original, this German Helles lager adhering to the German Beer Purity Laws yields a refreshing palate with a clean and crisp finish.

WOODLAND WITBIER

215.25% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Spice is nice with this unique and unfiltered sessionable Belgian wheat beer that’s been kicked up a notch with Szechuan pepper, coriander and orange zest.

8.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

33

Eating fireplace embers is dangerous, so get your kicks with this smoky ale, made with German smoked and Scottish peated malts.

666.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Bold grapefruit hop bitterness and malty caramel sweetness mingle to create a unique balance in this British-style IPA.

“Bart, a woman is like beer. They look good, they smell good, and you’d step over your own mother just to get one!” – Homer Simpson

POWELL IPA

INSECURE POLTICAL ANIMAL

311 HELLES LAGER

IMPERIAL SMOKED ALE

THE MAIN EVENT THE MAIN EVENT THE MAIN EVENT

The lilt of Irish laughter is coming to Main Street this August.

Live music Outstanding beer selection Urban spin on Irish pub fare

GENUINELY IRISH, DEFINITELY LOCAL.

Main Street | dubhlinngate.com/Vancouver

DOAN CRAFT BREWING CO.

1830 Powell St. | doanscraftbrewing.com

SUN/ WED/THU: 12-9PM ^ FRI/SAT: 12-11PM @doanscbc

EST: 2015

The Doan Bros finally opened their shop and they’ve delivered on the not-insubstantial hype. The beer is barely three months old and already dependable – a promising sign. Their cozy Powell Street tasting room is adorned with quirky local artists, the staff is incredibly friendly and it’s a groovy place all around to enjoy a brew.

KÖLSCH KÖLSCH

205.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A crisp, clean and sessionable take on the traditional German ale. As light as a lager, with all the complexity you’d expect of an ale.

ALT ALTBIER

255.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A complex, malt-forward ale that features the subtle taste of German Noble hops.

6.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

75

A PNW-style IPA brewed with only German ingredients, including Hallertau Blanc, a hop with the aroma of white wine grapes.

RYE IPA

RYE-PA

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

60

A classic Northwest IPA enhanced by a mountain of rye, giving it a robust and original flavour.

“I’m an old-fashioned guy... I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake or something.” – Johnny Depp

GERMAN IPA INDESCRIBABLE PEANUT ALLERGY

by Joe Wiebe

When the contemporary craft beer revolution began back in the early 1980s, it was led by styles that hailed from the British brewing tradition: pale ales, stouts and bitters. This was no surprise given the heritage of B.C.’s craft beer pioneers, Frank Appleton and John Mitchell, both from the U.K.

When the two joined forces to build B.C.’s first microbrewery in Horseshoe Bay in 1982, the first beer they produced was a mild ale styled after Fuller’s London Pride. And when Mitchell went on to help start up Canada’s first brewpub, Spinnakers, in 1984, his stable of beers included a pale ale, ESB, dark ale and stout. No lagers or IPAs in sight.

Granville Island Brewing, which opened the same year, launched with Island Lager, a German beer that was intended to outclass the big breweries’ products at the time and was priced to compete with import beers from Europe. Island Pacific Brewing (which later changed its name to Vancouver Island Brewery) began with Piper’s Pale Ale and Islander Lager, adding Hermann’s Dark Lager (a German Dunkel) a little later.

Over at Okanagan Spring Brewery, which opened in Vernon in 1985, the German-born founders did brew a lager, but they decided a pale ale would better appeal to West Coast beer lovers more familiar with the English tradition. Okanagan Spring Pale

Ale became the most popular and widespread beer in BC by the early 1990s, thought it was technically an Altbier, a German style that uses an ale yeast. What about India pale ale, which would arguably become the flagship beer of the craft beer movement by the mid-2000s? Mike Tymchuk, co-owner and brewer at Cumberland Brewing, who was one of the early brewers at Spinnakers from 1987 to 1989, doesn’t remember making one there. “It might have been popping up towards the end. It was cold and bubbly, but it wouldn’t have been very strong.”

South of the border, the earliest example of a craft IPA was Bert Grant’s IPA produced by Yakima Brewing in 1983. But this was more in the British tradition; the first true West Coast IPAs that featured huge amount of hop varieties grown and developed on the West Coast did not appear before the early ’90s. The first BC versions showed up around the same time.

So who brewed the first West Coast IPA in B.C.? If you polled folks in the craft beer industry who can remember that far back, the results would likely be split 50-50 between Gary Lohin, currently the brewmaster at Central City Brewing, and Bill Herdman, currently brewing at Big River Brewpub in Richmond. Back then, Gary was the brewer at Sailor Hagar’s Brewpub in North Vancouver, and Bill was

brewing at Tall Ship Ales in Squamish. The two often compared notes as home brewers in the ’80s.

Herdman says he brewed a draft version of Tall Ship IPA in 1993, and a bottled version followed a year later in 1994. Lohin says he brewed his Bengal IPA, which had a tiger face on the label, at Sailor Hagar’s in 1994.

And how hoppy were they by contemporary standards?

“They were big at the time,” Lohin says, “but we didn’t have the hops we do now. We had Cascade but I didn’t use much, because I thought they were overused.” He remembers using Centennial mainly, which he doesn’t think other brewers used much at the time.

Herdman says Tall Ship’s version mainly used English hops, Kent Goldings, along with Chinook “to punch it up.” It ran to 7.5% ABV and was first released in single-sale 500ml bottles, then later in regular six-packs, but the brewery closed after a few years.

Gary Lohin kept brewing IPAs when he opened the Central City Brewpub in 2003. His Red Racer IPA, which was launched in cans in 2008, really brought the West Coast IPA into public awareness, blazing the trail for Driftwood’s Fat Tug IPA, which was first brewed in 2010 and has since become the most popular and well regarded IPA in B.C.

In 2010, Iain Hill won Best in Show at the BC Beer Awards for the Brick and Beam IPA he brewed at Yaletown Brewing. Now the brewmaster at Strange Fellows Brewing, he gives the credit to David Woodward, who was brewing at the Whistler BrewHouse at the time and is now in the process of opening the Loghouse Brewpub in Langford.

Hill says, “Dave had been paying attention to Vinnie at Russian River Brewing [in California] who was talking about this warm dry-hopping method. He tried it and then I tried it. Even Gary [Lohin] wasn’t warm dry-hopping at the time.” Hill says that method, which extracts “tons more flavour” from the hops, is standard practice in the industry now.

If you’re wondering about Storm Brewing’s James Walton who always seemed to be blazing trails with new styles, he says he considered brewing an IPA when he first opened in 1994, but thought Tall Ship was doing one well and he didn’t want to step on their toes. After Tall Ship closed, he “waited a suitable mourning period” and then introduced Hurricane IPA, which Storm still brews today. He admits the original was not very well received, partially because he dry-hopped every keg, which sometimes left chunks of hops floating in pint glasses. He laughs at the memory of Steve Forsyth, then at the Railway Club, balking at the sight, saying he couldn’t sell it. Forsyth recently opened Off the Rail Brewing in Vancouver, which lists three IPAs on its website, though none, presumably, with chunks of hops floating in them. j

The first true West Coast IPAs that featured huge amount of hop varieties grown and developed on the West Coast did not appear before the early ’90s.

DOGWOOD BREWING

8284 Sherbrooke St. | dogwoodbrew.com

WED-THU: 3-8PM ^ FRI/SAT: 11:30AM-9PM

SUN: 11:30AM-7PM

EST: 2015

South Vancouver’s only brewery focuses on making its organic beer as sustainable as possible, with 95 per cent of its ingredients sourced locally in B.C. They also have the coolest looking growlers around. They’re in a quiet industrial complex and deserve all the love you can give them. Go there.

LIGHT HYBRID ALE

154.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Light, refreshing, smooth and sweet, it’s a perfect entry level beer for those who are still reluctant to get crafty with their beer consumption.

FEST ALE

6.9% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

20

This is a big malty beer with a clean finish and well-rounded sweetness.

COCONUT PORTER

SPECIALTY PORTER

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

35

As refreshing as drinking a beer underneath a coconut tree but far less dangerous. Smooth and velvety.

SMALL-BATCH SERIES VARIES

Lots Yes! ABV IBU

Availability: Small-batch

A new beer will be available every week in the tasting room. If that’s not a reason to march on over there, one doesn’t exist.

“My goal is to hit the gym every day I’m on vacation. Usually I just end up sleeping and drinking beer.” – Gary Allan

GRANVILLE ISLAND BREWING

1441 Cartwright St. | gib.ca

SUN-THU: 11AM-9PM ^ FRI/SAT: 11AM-11PM @granvillebeer

EST: 1984

Since Molson bought GIB, debate has raged over whether it counts as craft. Consensus has leaned towards calling the limited release beers made at the brewery on the island craft, but when brewmaster Vern Lambourne left earlier this spring, things got complicated. The announcement that his replacement was Kevin Emms, formerly from Deep Cove, put the universe back in order.

THIRSTY FARMER SAISON

355.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

Zesty Galaxy hops complement the spicy fruit character generated by the Belgian yeast used in this farmhouse ale.

VAN DAME

WHITE INDIA SESSION ALE

404.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

Imagine a Belgian wit with loads of Australian Ella hops: the result is a deliciously fruity and highly sessionable beer.

TWO TIDES

4.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

35

An example of the recent trend towards loweralcohol, session IPAs, Two Tides is a tasty, laid-back hop bomb.

SWING SPAN

AMBER ALE

505.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This medium-bodied, reddish ale is heavily dosed with Mosaic and Cascade hop characteristics, giving it a tropical, citrusy character.

“I’m gaining weight the right way: I’m drinking beer.”

– Johnny Damon

It’s Good to Be Here

In 1984 Mitch Taylor and Bill Harvey gave the people of Vancouver a gift that hits the spot like nothing else: flavourful beer.

Taylor and Harvey, founders of Granville Island Brewing (GIB), opened one of Canada’s first microbreweries 31 years ago. The task wasn’t easy, says Vern Lambourne, former brewmaster for the store, “Taylor and Harvey did a lot of work a couple years before 1984 to start a change to get craft beer sold in stores.”

Their efforts to get a microbrewery licence paid off as GIB became the first beer store to be attached to a brewery. GIB later on became the first company to put craft beer into cans. When the store initially opened, the only beer they produced was a “golden” Island Lager, consisting of a “crisp hop flavour.” Lambourne says, “People were excited about it, they would come and lineup. This was something different.” Now the beer comes in many flavours, and with a side of history to boot as they are named after various hot spots in Vancouver, such as Swing Span

Over the years, not only has the variety of beer changed, but the people buying the beer as well. “We went from a demographic of middle-aged men to a broader spectrum of people,” Lambourne says. “The most exciting thing has been the growth of craft beer.”

The store, located on Granville Island, has since cemented its spot as a marvel, proving that it really is, “good to be here.”

Amber Ale, Cypress Honey Lager and False Creek Raspberry Ale.

MAIN STREET BREWING CO.

261 E 7th Ave. | mainstreetbeer.ca

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

EST: 2014

Still one of our all-time favourite places to consume alcoholic beverages in this province. Thankfully, the beer’s not slouching either. Not by a long shot. Their sours have been turning some heads, while the rest of their lineup seems informed by head brewer Jack Bensley’s restless pursuit to master every style of beer possible. And we should all be the happier for it.

MAIN STREET PILSNER

PILSNER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

22

The beer that started it all. Medium bodied, light and as easy drinking as it comes, this pilsner has a nice, crisp finish. Easy to drink, in considerable amounts, if you’re so inclined.

BELGIAN BONSAI

BELGIAN INDIA PALE ALE

706.9% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A local brew with global tastes. Brewed in a hybrid Belgian-North American style with Japanese-bred Sorachi Ace hops and Belgian Ardennes yeast.

@mainstreetbeer

SAISON NO. 7 SAISON

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

15

Light in colour, with a mild golden haze, this farmhouse ale is perfect for hot weather. Despite The Growler’s advanced sleuthing skills, the story behind the name is still a mystery.

MAIN STREET SESSION

INDIA PALE ALE

554.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This lighter-than-normal BC Beer Award winner is dry-hopped for a smooth hop bitterness, balanced with premium malts.

“Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.” – Dave Barry

OFF THE RAIL BREWING

1351 Adanac St. | offtherailbrewing.com

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

EST: 2014

Launched by the former owners of the beloved Railway Club, this is another welcome addition to Yeast Van’s seemingly unstoppable brewery scene. And the cozy upstairs tasting room and constantly rotating tap list makes it even more welcoming.

@offtherailbeer

OLDE WINSTON

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

38

Crafted in a small batch as a tribute to Off the Rail’s patient neighbour Raj, this one’s as fragrant as it is unique thanks to some subtly introduced kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass.

546.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A winter sweater in a glass – a mild smoked flavour that’s balanced with coffee and chocolate notes and finished with English Fuggles. Sometimes it just feels good to say “fuggles.”

CITRA

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

34

As advertised, there’s plenty of ginger and honey malt, which gives this beer a refreshing flavour and nose, with just the right amount of hops.

324.4% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

This is a light session beer with a crisp clean bitterness from the Magnum hop, tropical fruit aromas and flavour from the Citra hops, which dominate right until the finish.

“Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer.”

– Henry Lawson

KAMA

SUMMER ALE

RAJ MAHAL INDIA PALE ALE

SMOKED PORTER

BEEZ KNEEZ HONEY GINGER SUMMER ALE

PARALLEL 49 BREWING CO.

1950 Triumph St. | parallel49brewing.com

MON-SUN: 12-11PM

EST: 2012

Do we even need to say anything about P49? Batshit marketing schemes, beers that get weirder, wilder and somehow more refined with every season, and a presence on tap handles and sandwich boards that’s eating at the macros more than anyone else in Vancouver. If there’s proof at all that Dionysus exists, this is probably it.

JERKFACE 9000

37 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Not nearly as rude as the name suggests, this refreshing wheat ale is dry hopped with Mosaic hops, giving it a tropical hop profile that’s light and chuggable.

SCHADENFREUDE

27 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Light, refrshing, and not at all too pumpkin-y. The Munich malt grain gives this traditional lager a pie crust flavour.

@parallel49beer

TRICYCLE

3.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

11

P49’s much-loved summer sessional features a prominent grapefruit flavour with a refreshing lager base.

FILTHY DIRTY

7.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

76

The Big Dirty is loaded with a citrusy flavour profile, floral aromas and an all-around juiciness that makes for a far more drinkable brew than you’d think those IBUs would allow.

“Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and waste a lifetime!”

– Bill Owen

INDIA PALE ALE

Facial hair of choice: Neckbeard.

Has a basement full of comic books that will gain more value as they age, including a hermetically sealed first issue of Superguy that will never be read.

Has a goblet with a dragon emblazoned on the side.

Will line up for countless hours at a convention to get picture taken with The Doctor (Who?)

Will watch all 10-hours-plus of The Hobbit trilogy.

Will cosplay as their favourite superhero at a comic convention.

Will invent a new piece of technology in their garage, and get super-rich.

Fears the despotic villainy of Darth Vader.

Just unlocked a new achievement on World of Warcraft after their elf character survived an epic all-night raid.

Is letting everyone on the Internet know that the new highly rated sci-fi blockbuster is an affront to humanity.

TO HONOUR THE CRAFT BEER NERD, AND THEIR QUICK RISE UP THE RANKS OF GEEKDOM, THE GROWLER INVESTIGATES HOW THE CRAFT BEER-OBSESSED STACK UP AGAINST OLD-SCHOOL NERDS: THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS DIEHARDS, THE COMIC BOOK COLLECTORS, AND SCI-FI AFICIONADOS.

Facial hair of choice: Hipster beard, which frankly, includes any style of beard, including Neckbeard if worn ironically.

Has a cellar full of rare bottles that continue to gain more flavour as they age, including a Westvleteren XII that will never be opened.

BNerd r

Also has a goblet. Plus a snifter, a nonic pint, a weizen vase, a stange…

Will wait for countless hours – or what feels like it – to go to the bathroom at a beer festival.

Will sample all three The Hobbit-themed craft beers from Central City and still have 9.5 hours to spare.

Will wear a T-shirt from their favourite brewery at a beer festival (and pretty much everywhere else).

Will brew an experimental quad IPA in their garage, and get super-buzzed.

Fears the despotic villainy of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Just unlocked the 2500 Beers Badge on Untappd after an epic night that they don’t remember.

Is letting everyone on RateBeer’s forums know that the new beer rated at 100 is at best a 97.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANJA WERNER

POSTMARK BREWING

55 Dunlevy Ave. | postmarkbrewing.com

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

EST: 2014

Postmark has the “beer as lifestyle” vision down pat – and what a Utopia it is, according to their branding. Beautiful young people in hip urban attire, hanging back in the exquisite West Coast wilds, where the beer flows from bottles like water from a mountaintop. Sounds lovely. Also lovely? Their tasting room. Trust us and just go there already.

@postmarkbrewing

RASPBERRY LEMON ZEST HEFE HEFEWEIZEN

144.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A Bavarian-style Weiss beer, with hints of raspberry and lemon. Refreshing, with a dry finish.

WEST COAST PALE ALE

WILD GUESS...

404.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

All the classic elements of the West Coast style are here: a crisp finish, dry-hopped Centennial hops, good feelings all around.

BISA

BELGIAN ISA

4.1% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

45

This complex and flavourful ISA has a strong passionfruit aroma, a light malt backbone and hints of pine.

SESSION BLONDE BLONDE

ALE

184.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

The epitome of Postmark’s focus on sessional beers. Light, floral, highly drinkable and – mercifully – now available in a 12-pack.

ILLUSTRATION BY TIM BARNARD

POWELL STREET CRAFT BREWERY

1357 Powell St. | powellbeer.com

MON-THU: 12-9PM ^ FRI/SAT: 12-10PM ^ SUN: 12-8PM @powellbeer

EST: 2012

David Bowkett’s much-heralded nano-brewery has grown up quite a bit since launching in 2012. In 2013, the independent brewery nabbed “Beer of the Year” from the Canadian Brewing Awards for its Old Jalopy Pale Ale, and last year entered the fast-paced world of “micro brewing” by moving down the street to noticeably larger digs without, thankfully, losing any of its down-to-earth charm.

ODE TO CITRA PALE

405.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Citra hops are everywhere these days, and they are indeed the star of this beer, though credit should also go to its supporting cast of pale and dark crystal malt.

WHITE IPA

566.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Wheat and Pilsner malts combine with sweet orange peel and Citra hops for a slightly bitter yet downright refreshing summer feel any day of the year.

DIVE BOMB PORTER

PORTER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

33

Hidden behind a slight hop bitterness and deep roast character, you’ll find hints of caramel, toffee, chocolate and nuts. And you’ll be glad.

HOPDEMONIUM IPA

INDIA PALE ALE

8.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

88

Packed to the gills with hops, it’s also backed by an equally strong malt base giving this Pacific Northwest ale its inviting golden colour.

“Give me a woman who loves beer

and I will conquer the world.”

– Kaiser Wilhelm

THE FLAVOUR WHEEL

If you think you hate beer, chances you haven’t tried the right beer. Or, rather, you haven’t tried the right beer for you. Like with wine, or food, the human palate progresses through experience. With beer, people tend to follow a similar path. We examine the course here in a thoroughly unscientific pie chart, culled from anecdotal evidence we’ve gathered from B.C. beer enthusiasts.

PHASE 1: LAGERS

This is typically the entry point for beer drinkers because, until very recently, it’s been the most widely available style in Canada. We’re talking macro lagers here: Kokanee, Budweiser, Canadian, Corona etc. People are often lured in – and turned off – because of the weak flavour profile.

PHASE 2: AMBER ALES ^ RED ALES ^ STOUTS

This is the best starting point for people who get serious about beer. These are malt-forward brews, with few hops, so they’re sweet and smooth with subtle, approachable flavours (think Phillips Blue Buck). Stouts often hit this stage via the infamous chocolate stout, or by the world famous Guinness.

PHASE 3: WHEAT ALES ^ FRUIT ALES

Interchangeable with Phase 2. Wheat ales are usually light and sweet, again with low hops/ bitterness, which makes it ideal for newbies. At this point, people are adjusting to the common beer ingredients. Think Kronenburg Blanc or any radler.

PHASE 4: PALE ALES

This is where people start moving away from sweet flavours and toward higher IBUs. These beers are often still malty, but with enough bitterness to start people on the hops rabbit hole that

leads into craft beer fandom. Other hoppy ales, including red ales, cycle in here too. Think Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Parallel 49 Gypsy Tears.

PHASE 5: IPAS

Hops, baby. This is the stage where people tend to get locked in and start waving the craft beer flag. The India Pale Ale Phase is vast because the style is abundant and so versatile, which means there’s a lot to explore here. People can get hung up here for long stretches.

PHASE

6A: IMPERIAL IPAS

When chasing the hop dragon leads you to the most hops possible. You’re chasing IBUs to get your fix, but the high alcohol content of these beers leads to an affinity for Big Booze Beers in general, which leads to…

PHASE 6B: IMPERIAL ANYTHING

Big Booze-y, flavourable beers are the trend here. Drinking only these beers leads to trouble, so people tend to explore areas previously explored, or they move on rather quickly. But because this area has a variety of different styles, there’s plenty to explore. An appreciation for stouts often accompanies this phase.

PHASE 7: BELGIANS

The appreciation for high alcohol and experimental beers usually leads here, where the palate develops a taste for yeast: freaky yeasts, tame yeasts, it’s all about the yeast and bold flavours.

PHASE 8: SOURS

This is the peak of the Belgian style, with the funkiest of all yeasty beers, Lambics, leading into an exploration of North American sours. We’re in true expert phase here.

PHASE 9: LAGERS AGAIN

Here, you’ve overdosed on flavour and high ABVs, and you’re craving light, sessionable beers. Or, you’ve crossed back over via the German sours (e.g.: Berliner Weisse) and think, “Hell, maybe Germans do make good beer!” We’re talking well-made, quality lagers here: Kölschs, Pilsners, and so on. j

NOTE: Some people skip steps, or get stuck in places, or never move on, or chart the course in a haphazard way. There’s no set time for how people move through it either – it could take a decade to complete the cycle, or it could take six months.

R & B BREWING CO.

54 E 4th Ave. | r-and-b.com

THU/FRI: 4-8PM ^ SAT/SUN: 2-8PM @rbgrowlers

EST: 1997

One of Vancouver’s first craft breweries, R&B nearly got trampled and left for dead during the recent craft beer gold rush. Howe Sound Brewing has thrown them a lifeline (by purchasing them outright), so they’re back from the brink, resuming their private keg sales and, fingers crossed, opening a tasting room in the fall.

EAST SIDE BITTER

NORTH AMERICAN BITTER

355.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This West Coast version of an English classic is loaded with New Zealand and Northwest hops.

SUN GOD WHEAT ALE

KRISTAL WEIZEN

124.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Get your wheat on with R&B’s classic patio beer that keeps on shining.

RED DEVIL PALE

ALE

ENGLISH PALE ALE

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

28

In keeping with English tradition, this little devil has a hoppy floral aroma and malty sweetness, followed by a slightly dry, refreshing finish.

RAVEN CREAM

ALE DARK ALE

184.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Once a staple of East Van bars and restaurants, Raven Cream Ale is a dark, yet surprisingly light-bodied cream ale with subtle nutty flavours and hints of chocolate.

“Why is American beer served cold? So you can tell it from urine.”

– David Moulton

RED TRUCK BEER CO.

295 E 1st Ave. | redtruckbeer.com

MON-THU: 11AM-10PM ^ FRI/SAT: 10AM-11PM

SUN: 10AM-10PM

EST: 2005

Well, Red Truck’s Truck Stop Diner is finally open and, dude, it’s an experience: A greasy spoon with a twist of class that offers views of the most remarkable production facility in the city. Their core lineup of approachable and balanced brews are suitable for any occasion, and their one-off brews are getting better with every new batch.

RED TRUCK LAGER

CONTINENTAL LAGER

14 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A clean and light-bodied lager that’s fast becoming the go-to local lager of choice in pubs and restaurants around town.

RED TRUCK IPA

INVIGORATING PARTY ALE

696.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A floral and piney beer with a lingering hop bitterness. A refreshing and relatively light IPA option for anyone looking for hops without all those ABVs.

@ redtruckbeer

FIREFIGHTER FRIDAY

RED WHEAT PILSNER

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Small-batch

25

Made in collaboration with the Vancouver Firefighter Charitable Society, this limited edition hybrid beer has a red wheat and pilsner malt base, with a smooth, crisp finish.

RED TRUCK ALE

AMERICAN AMBER

5.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

28

One of our favourite options for transition beers on the West Coast. A subtle sweetness from the malt backbone, balanced with a slight hop bitterness.

“Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health.”

– Thomas Jefferson

STEEL TOAD BREWING CO.

97 E 2nd Ave | steeltoad.ca

SUN-THU: 11AM-12AM ^ FRI-SAT: 11AM-1AM

EST: 2014

Located in the heavily renovated Opsal Steel building, Steel Toad is large, tastefully stylish (which is discernably trend savvy) and equipped with big screen TVs (which are discernably bro-friendly). Like just about everything in the Olympic Village, there’s something for everyone.

WEST COAST IPA

7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

80

You want a huge hit of Simcoe and Citra hops? You got ’em, plus a big tropical nose and flavour, balanced with a clean and crisp malt profile.

SAISON

256.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This classic farmhouse saison is brewed with Nelson hops, which evoke white wine grapes. In other words, fruity and dry.

@steeltoadbeer

YORKSHIRE

BEST BITTER

BEST BITTER

4.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

You don’t have to dust off your bowler hat to enjoy this traditional English style bitter, which is fruity and hoppy with a sweet biscuit malt.

BERLINER WEISSE

SOUR MASH WHEAT BEER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

5

This sour mash wheat beer continues the winning sour beer trend, and can be enhanced with a variety of sweet flavoured syrups to cut the tartness.

“I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating, and in 14 days I lost two weeks.” – Joe E. Lewis

INTERNATONAL PRINGLE AFFAIR

SAUVIGNON FARMHOUSE SAISON

A Beer Cocktail Worth Drinking

The Beer Cocktail. For the past decade, it’s been ignored or maligned by fans of both good beer and good cocktails. With the rare exception, we’ve come to expect IPAs dumped in Caesars. Or that zero effort “boilermaker.” Or the dreaded light-lager-and-Margarita combo. We’re thinking, what’s the point of shoehorning beers in to otherwise decent drinks when you can’t even taste the beer?

Unsatisfied with the available offerings, many finer establishments have been creating beer cocktails worthy of the craft beers available to them. The beer is not being used in place of a spirit or prominent liqueur, but rather used as an acid (in place of the lemon or lime), as a bitter (in place of Angostura or other classics), as a textural component (in place of egg white, prosecco, etc.) or in some other supporting manner.

In her newly launched August 2015 cocktail menu at the Steel Toad Brewing Company, Aimée Corno has added a trio of beer cocktails. All are built from the ground up to highlight the beer while presenting a cocktail that’s worth drinking alongside all the classics.

Here is one such example:

RUBY ROSE ROYAL

+ 3oz Berliner Weisse

+ 2oz Nettle infused Bombay East Gin

+ 1oz Hibiscus and Sour Cherry Shrub

+ 1/2oz Vya Sweet Vermouth

+ 2 Drops Pastis

+ Sprinkled with Roasted Almond and Rose Gold Dust

STORM BREWING LTD.

310 Commercial Dr. | stormbrewing.org SUN/MON:

EST: 1994

Mad scientist James Walton has been brewing up, ahem, a storm for a couple decades now in his Commercial Drive Franken-lab. And thankfully he shows no sign of slowing down or mellowing out. Although word is he doesn’t actually drink anymore, which just adds to the mystique this guy’s already cultivated. Fascinating.

PRECIPITATION

30 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Light in colour and crisp and clean in body with just a pinch of North American Nugget and German Saaz hops. Tasty.

HURRICANE IPA

IGOR’S PAISLEY ARMACHAIR

50 7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Cloudy and bitter probably sums up more than a few of us, but it’s also an apt descriptor of this blustery IPA.

HIGHLAND SCOTTISH ALE

SCOTTISH ALE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

25

A creamy, nutty, malty, Loch Ness Monster of an amber ale chocked full of rich roast barley, hearty peated malt and fortifying flaked barley.

BLACK PLAGUE STOUT

IMPERIAL STOUT

258.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Black like your stepmother’s heart, this foreboding brew is made with fresh licorice root and dark cocoa for an epic imbibing experience.

“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” – Frank Sinatra

POURING FROM A FULL GROWLER

EVER WONDER HOW TO POUR A PERFECT PINT FROM A FULL AND HEAVY GROWLER? Impress your friends with this spiffy single handed pouring technique...

INSERT INDEX FINGER IN HANDLE

ROTATE BOTTLE AND REST ON BACK OF ARM

RAISE ELBOW TO TILT BOTTLE INTO POURING POSITION

POUR LIKE A PRO! DON’T SPILL

STRANGE FELLOWS BREWING

1345 Clark Dr. | strangefellowsbrewing.com

MON-SUN: 12-11PM @strange_fellows

EST: 2014

Great local breweries seem to have found the same equation: Innovative beer and an unconventional aesthetic complementary to the beer. From day one, Strange Fellows had the aesthetics dialed in. They knew what they were (and yes, they were strange). And the beer is growing more impressive with every new batch, thanks to the perfectionism of head brewer Iain Hill.

N/A VANCOUVER

124.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A wit beer with an impressive juggling act: Two different Belgian yeasts are pitted against each other in a light, refreshing and moderately spicy beer.

GUARDIAN

WHITE INDIA PALE ALE

Availability: Seasonal

Brewed like a wit, with wheat, Curacao orange and coriander, but hopped like an IPA. Quaffable, approachable and satisfying for anyone thirsty for hops.

4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

One player in a lineup of rotating sour beers, this complex table saison has a refreshing fruity character from the addition of black raspberries. Grab it while you can, when you can.

TALISMAN

PALE ALE

294.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A sessionable ale with big hop flavours and a relatively light body, it’s becoming a staple in bars and restaurants around town.

“A woman drove me to drink and I didn’t even have the decency to thank her.”

– W.C. Fields

JONGLEUR BELGIAN WIT

ROXANNE SOUR GRISETTE

The Portside Pub presents

5 BEERS FOR CRAFT

BEER NEWBIES

There’s a lot to love about craft beer, and once you’re in it, there are worlds of taste and style to explore. The craft beer market is growing very quickly, which means there are legions of people embracing it every week. The flip side is, there are countless others that are trying the wrong beer and are turned off completely. If a newbie tries a big hoppy beer, or strangely yeasty beer, or anything that’s too booze-y for the first time, there’s potential they’ll write craft beer off for good. We’ve seen it happen.

There is such thing as the right beer for people that are just starting out. Whether you’re coming in from macro lagers, wine or no alcohol at all, here are a few of the best gateway craft beers to get you on your way.

The beer that spawned thousands of craft beer fans. A malty, slightly sweet ale that sits somewhere between an amber and a pale ale. The light kick of the hops rounds it out.

BARK

Light, flavourful and extremely refreshing. Whatever connotations you might have had about beer coming in will be smashed to bits. Sunshine in a glass.

A very smooth Witbier, with hints of banana and lemon. It’s another refreshing beer that’s complex but still very approachable.

This is hardly a beer. I mean, it is a beer – and a quality one – but the light body and grapefruit flavour mean it’s as drinkable as glass of juice…with very pleasing benefits.

The Portside is a maritime-inspired pub in the heart of Gastown and it’s the friendliest bar in Vancouver. Great beer, friendly staff, comforting food, good music, and fine people. Over 24 local craft beers on tap and an East Coast-inspired menu made with only fresh ingredients bring both travelers and locals together in a fun and unpretentious environment.

The most challenging beer on this list, given that it’s bursting with floral and spicy flavour. But it’s so expertly crafted, and ultimately so delicious, it’s difficult not to warm to, particularly for wine drinkers.

PHILLIPS BREWING BLUE BUCK

33 ACRES 33 ACRES OF SUNSHINE

PARALLEL 49 TRICYCLE RADLER FOUR WINDS SAISON

DRIFTWOOD BREWING WHITE

BRIDGE BREWING CO.

1448 Charlotte Rd. | bridgebrewing.com

MON-SUN: 1-7PM

EST: 2014

Bridge moved into a new facility late last year, increasing brewing capacity and adding a tasting room. What’s that? You say there was a tasting room in the original location? No, that was a tasting closet. What they have now is a proper tasting room. The extra capacity means you can now find Bridge beer on Vancouver Island and in the Interior, too.

@bridgebrewcrew

ALL OUT STOUT

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

30

Winner of a gold medal winner at the 2015 Vancouver International Craft Beer Awards, this is a full-bodied and balanced pale ale.

AMBLESIDE AMBER ALE

AMBER ALE

5.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

23

Though not overly bitter, a combination of hops gives this beer big citrus, floral and tropical notes over a clean malt base.

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

25

This award-winning stout starts off sweet and finishes dry with notes of coffee and bittersweet chocolate along the way.

RAZZA RASPBERRY ISA

INDIA SESSION ALE

403.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

With the addition of 150 lbs. of Fraser Valley raspberries, this pours slightly pink with tart berry flavours and tropical hop aromas.

“Black Kettle asked not be featured in this issue. They still exist.”

– The Growler

DEEP COVE BREWERS AND DISTILLERS

170 - 2270 Dollarton Hwy. | deepcovecraft.com

MON/TUE: 4-8PM ^ WED-SUN: 12-8PM

EST: 2013

Deep Cove has been undergoing some changes of late, with the addition of new head brewer Brett Jamieson, who has been running the distilling side of things since the get-go. The brewery, which hopes to obtain a full lounge endorsement and add a patio soon, also has a strong connection to Whistler through the Gibbons Hospitality Group, who are part owners.

PETE’S PALE

38 5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

A New Zealand-style pale ale showcasing Rakau, Wakatu and Waimea hops as a nod to the new brewer’s Kiwi heritage.

TRAPPER JOHN

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

20

Named for a local Mt. Seymour skiing legend, this is a straightforward but delicious Munich Helles-style lager.

@deepcovecraft

SUNKISSED SAISON

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

18

Fruity, peppery and tart, this farmhouse ale is brewed with a green rooibos tea blend that includes papaya, mango and apple.

STAR STRUCK

85 7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Bold tangerine, candied apricot and tropical hop aromas lead to a lasting citrus bitterness with toasty rye undertones.

“Prohibition makes you want to cry into your beer and denies you the beer to cry into.”

– Don Marquis

INDIA PALE ALE

NEW ZEALAND PALE ALE

LAGER

GREEN LEAF BREWING CO.

123 Carrie Cates Ct. | greenleafbrew.com

SUN-THU: 11AM-9PM ^ FRI/SAT: 11AM-11PM

EST: 2013

Location, location, location. Hunkered down inside the entrance of Londsdale Quay where commuters and tourists converge does not hurt. Neither does the promise of a patio – which will have easily the best view of any brewery around – or a rotating cast of beer styles.

WISENHOWER HEFEWEIZEN

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

25

A classical Hefeweizen flavoured with a healthy amount of saffron. Light, floral, fruity and perfect for hot summer days.

PIE HOLE

PALE ALE

405.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Clean, refreshing and balanced with a big, fresh hop aroma and delicious fruity flavours.

@greenleafbrew

LLOYD’S LAGER LAGER

4.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

20

A clean, dry, light-bodied lager that uses a combination of American and Pilsner yeast, and is friendly and harmless like a good neighbour/ lager should be.

CHAIN LINK

INDIA PALE ALE

7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

80

Get hopping with this classic North American IPA brewed with English yeast.

“Apu, I need a keg and a six pack to hold me until I tap the keg.”

– Homer Simpson

HEARTHSTONE BREWERY

1015 Marine Dr. | hearthstonebrewery.ca

HOURS: N/A

EST: 2014

Easily one of B.C.’s most promising new breweries. They’ve been making beer for a few months now and, thankfully, it’s started making its way in to bars and restaurants around town. Their beer lineup is solid and we frankly can’t wait for their tasting room / pizzeria to open up. It’s coming. Be patient.

WYLD RASPBERRY BERLINER WEISSE

0 3.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

In the Year of the Sour Beer, this is a standout. A light and refreshing brew that’s pink, fruity and moderately tart. More of a gateway sour than anything.

BOHEMIAN PILSNER

CZECH-STYLE PILSNER

20 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Czech yourself. This Euro-style pilsner is clean, and crisp with Old World hops driving this balanced and complex beer.

@hearthstonebeer

AMERICAN PALE ALE

PALE ALE, YO

4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

38

Darren Hollett says: “We brewed this as the selshfish bastards we are – completely with ourselves in mind.” So we christen this balanced and very tasty brew “Selfish Bastard.”

HEARTHSTONE IPA

ILLIUM’S PARANOID AUTHOR

956.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A relatively light IPA with a powerful dose of Amarillo and El Dorado hops, with notes of stone fruit, citrus and tropical goodness.

“I’d tried to straighten him out, but there’s only so much you can do for a person who thinks Auschwitz is a brand of beer.” – David Sedaris

HOWE SOUND BREWING CO.

37801 Cleveland Ave. | howesound.com

MON-SUN: 11AM-12AM

EST: 1996

Howe Sound has literally something for everyone. Whether you’re just dabbling in craft beer, or you’re so far deep only the Biggest and Baddest will suffice (or you’re somewhere in between), the jewel of the Sea to Sky has it in waiting. If you can’t make it out to Squamish to get the whole picture, try their excellent Crosstown taproom, Devil’s Elbow.

YOU’RE MY BOY BLUE FRUIT WHEAT

144.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

An unfiltered wheat ale brewed with blueberries, white wheat and malted barley that’s lightly pink in colour.

SUPER JUPITER

454.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A light and refreshing session ale that features grapefruit notes and nice hoppy finish. Another patio pleaser.

PUMPKINEATER

19 8.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

This persistently award-winning spiced ale is essentially pumpkin pie in a bottle.

KING HEFFY IMPERIAL HEFEWEIZEN

257.7% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A double gold winner at the North American Brewers Association awards, this strong wheat ale has distinctive hints of banana and clove.

“The sacred pint alone can unbind the tongue...”

– James Joyce

WHISTLER BREWING CO.

1045 Millar Creek Rd, Whistler | whistlerbeer.com

MON-TUE: 1-8PM ^ WED: 1-10PM ^ THU: 1-8PM

FRI: 1-10PM ^ SAT/SUN: 12-8PM

EST: 1989

Sure, Whistler Brewing didn’t always make its beer in Whistler, but now it does – and has for, like, six years! – and it’s become a community hub for locals and obnoxiously fun-loving Australians alike. So chillax, dude.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

Availability: Seasonal

Like the weather pattern or semi-illegal activity it’s named after, this one is a little cloudy, wheaty, fruity and undeniably refreshing.

BIG SKY UNCOMMON LAGER LAGER

Availability: Year-round

BLACK TUSK

ALE

5.0% ABV IBU

17

Availability: Year-round

5.0% ABV IBU

18

Availability: Year-round

This sweet, easy-drinking lager shouldn’t scare anyone away thanks to a healthy dollop of organic alpine honey that Yogi and his buddy Winnie somehow didn’t get their paws on.

“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” – Ernest Hemingway

55 WHISTLER

THE ORIGIN OF THE

Presented by

‘Tis but not long ago, in a land, uh, not that far away, actually, when a group of complete strangers were struck with the very same noble idea – to create a special new potion that would bring strangers together. They would call it beer (even though that word was derived from the Old Germanic languages, but whatever).

Was it coincidence these people together? Was it fate? Was it some godly being?

WHISTLER VILLAGE BEER FEST & THE GROWLER

‘Twas not, but a triad of giant, faceless enemies by the name of Budweiser, Coors and Molson –wretched names, all three – that sealed their fate. One-by-one, these noble individuals spat out the beer fed to them at every turn by these goliath beasts. Such vile taste! Such bloated bellies! They each threw down their gauntlets (or aluminum cans) and proclaimed to the skies above that this simply would not do! They would make a new brew for a new people and change the world forever! Together these six noble humans formed the Master Crafters*. Here are their oral accounts passed down through the generations (read: submitted a few weeks ago) of how one strange encounter sealed their fate and led them down the path of, uh, righteousness. You asked, and they shall tell:

What was the first beer you ever fell in love with?

DICK CANTWELL // FORMERLY OF ELYSIAN BREWING

“The first beer I ever drank was stolen from someone’s cooler when I was a Boy Scout. I wasn’t quite sure what to think about that. But the first beer I ever fell in love with was probably Roadhouse Pilsner after a long hike when I was 16 in the Black Forest.”

BRENT MILLS // FOUR WINDS BREWING

“I don’t know if I can remember the first beer I fell in love with, but I can remember the first beer that blew my mind. It was not like an immediate find, I was around 19 or 20. It was Rodenbach Grand Cru, the first sour beer I ever tried. It used to be available at the government liquor stores for like $2.50 a bottle, and I honestly think it’s one of the best beers in the world. So when I found it – I found it in this book, and it said it was one of the best beers in the world, so I found it, bought it, had no idea what to expect. Honestly, the spectrum of flavours in that beer, I just stared at the glass like, ‘Oh my God, how is this even possible?’ That was the first time I knew that beer could be so much more than alcohol and fizziness.”

SEAN HOYNE // HOYNE BREWING

“Connors Extra Special Bitter out of Ontario. They were one of the original craft breweries in Ontario and they came on with some cool innovative beers for the time, They packaged their beer in two litre PET bottles and I just thought between them and Creemore Springs, which had came out

with a lager at the time, they were paving the road for the entire craft beer industry to get started.”

KIM JORDAN // NEW BELGIUM BREWING

“I hate to admit it but probably Watneys Red Barrel. That was a long time ago. I was I’m sure under age and I felt so sophisticated drinking this English beer, y’know, with a kind of exotic name that not everyone was brave and bold enough to order.”

JAMIE FLOYD // NINKANSI BREWING

“I’m gonna have to say it was Bass Ale. When I was in high school, I had a friend who was working in a liquor store, ironically enough while still in high school, and as a result we were able to get some different beers and I drank Bass in those times. For whatever reason, that’s what I went for.”

IAIN HILL // STRANGE FELLOWS BREWING

“Ooooh boy I like that question. It’s a good question but I have to think about it. And I guarantee it’ll seem like a bloody cliché, but it’s true. It’ll be true. First I was going to say it would be a Lambic, just a lovely, lovely Lambic, but when you say the first one, OK maybe that’s not the first one. Maybe it’s the one I fell the most in love with, when going to Belgium, having amazing Lambics. But maybe the first beer I ever… Hm. The first beer I ever – well, I guess you could say that, because I strongly fell in love. That’s like falling in love. I mean I’ve loved other great beers, but in 1995, y’know, having I suppose Lambics from Oud Beersel and Cantillon, those kinds of places, and Boon – this is not the simple answer you wanted – but those would be ones that I fell deeply in love with, I suppose, immediately. But of course, I was a brewer well before that, so there were other beers here that I would have loved. To pick one is really hard. So how’s that for an answer?” j

* The Master Crafters will converge for your educational pleasure for a special event at the Whistler Village Beer Festival on Friday, September 18, hosted by the mystical Sasquatch Joe Wiebe.

Ye olde WVBF runs Sept. 16-20, including the two-day main event, where even YOU can indulge in the intoxicating brews at the foothills of two beautiful mountains. For more information, visit wvbf.ca

DAGERAAD BREWING

114 - 3191 Thunderbird Cres. | dageraadbrewing.com

WED/THU: 4-8PM ^ FRI: 2-8PM ^ SAT: 12-8PM

^ SUN: 12-6PM

EST: 2014

In Belgium, about 160 breweries make several hundred unique beers in dozens of style categories, so“Belgian beer” as a single descriptor is a misnomer. Mainly, it’s about iconoclastic breweries making beer the way they want to. In that sense, Dageraad, which means “daybreak” in Flemish Dutch, has imported Belgian beer culture en bloc – right down to the gorgeous glassware.

WET-HOPPED BLONDE

25 7.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

Available only once a year following the hop harvest, Dageraad adds freshly picked hops to its already excellent blonde.

AMBER

306.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Crisp and fruity, this Belgian pale ale is complex but quaffable. Modelled after Brouwerij De Koninck’s well-known pale ale.

BLONDE

25 7.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Speak o’ the devil. Dageraad’s flagship beer is spicy, effervescent and refreshing. It’s also deceptively easy to throw back despite its high ABV.

204.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Available by the glass or growler fill only at the brewery’s tasting room, this tafelbier is light and flavourful.

“A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure.“ – Czech Proverb

BURNABARIAN BELGIAN-STYLE TABLE BEER

WET-HOPPED BELGIAN BLONDE ALE

BELGIAN-STYLE BLONDE ALE

BELGIAN-STYLE PALE ALE

STEAMWORKS BREWING CO.

3845 William St. | steamworks.com

MON-SUN: 12-10PM

EST: 1995

Employing a brewing system that uses the same steam that powers Gastown’s bewilderingly popular tourist attraction, the Steam Clock, is a good story. But it only gets you so much beer, which is why Steamworks is busy rolling out the sudsy product at its new Burnaby brewing locale, equipped with a large and in charge taproom.

ALE

166.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Do the mash. This malty, spiced ale is brewed with pumpkin pie spices and 100 lbs. of local pumpkin mash, making it the brewery’s most popular seasonal ale.

@steamworksbeer

KÖLSCH

4.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

22

This light and refreshing German-style lagered ale uses German malts and is dry hopped for a full, bready malt body and a floral, slightly fruity nose.

70 7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Welcome to the dark side. A massively dry hopped IPA that gives off huge floral, tropical fruit and spicy aromas that should excite even the biggest of hop heads.

455.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A robust red ale that is also smooth and velvety, with toasted malts and hints of roasted hazelnut, toffee and caramel malt flavours.

You there. Steamworks. also has a brewpub. See details page 144.

HEROICA RED ALE

PUMPKIN

PUMPKIN ALE

KÖLSCH

BLACK ANGEL BLACK INDIA PALE ALE

STEEL & OAK BREWING CO.

1319 Third Ave. | steelandoak.ca

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

EST: 2013

Take a few Millennials with an eye for urban aesthetics, a love of vinyl and a devotion to finely crafted beer, and this is what you get. What brewmaster Peter Schulz does with Reinheitsgebot, we’re certain, could teach the German old guard a thing or two. And that tasting room is everything a Bowie-lovin’ 30-something beer enthusiast could ever dream of.

SMOKED HEFEWEIZEN HEFEWEIZEN

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

15

A highly original take on the German classic, with notes of banana and clove paired with the smoked malt body.

DARK LAGER LAGER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

27

Dark as chocolate, but surprisingly light, this unfiltered dunkel has a strong malt flavour accented by almonds, toast and caramel.

@steelandoak

RED PILSNER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

A darker-than-usual lager, brewed with caramel malts. Lighter than it looks, with a robust, complex flavour profile.

SMOKED LAGER

5.4% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

25

Smokey, medium-bodied, dry-hopped, this biscuity malts are finished up note of citrus. An original take on summer beer.

“Reality is an illusion that occurs due to lack of alcohol.”

– Anonymous

ONLY HE WHO HOLDS THE LAST PINT CAN BE CROWNED...

ONLY HE WHO HOLDS THE LAST PINT CAN BE CROWNED...

ONLY HE WHO HOLDS THE LAST PINT CAN BE CROWNED...

ONLY HE WHO HOLDS THE LAST PINT CAN BE CROWNED...

TAPPING A UNIQUE CRAFT BEER EVERY WEEK, STARTING AT 5PM (max 2 people per tab)

Get all of your prior beers paid for when the cask runs out on your pour.

700 MAIN ST. (CHINATOWN) VANCOUVER 604 563 5053

JENNINGSCULTURE.COM

TAPPING A UNIQUE CRAFT BEER EVERY WEEK, STARTING AT 5PM (max 2 people per tab)

Get all of your prior beers paid for when the cask runs out on your pour.

Get all of your prior beers paid for when the cask runs out on your pour.

TAPPING A UNIQUE CRAFT BEER EVERY WEEK, STARTING AT 5PM (max 2 people per tab)

DAN’S HOMEBREWING SUPPLIES

DAN’S HOMEBREWING SUPPLIES

700 MAIN ST. (CHINATOWN) VANCOUVER 604 563 5053

700 MAIN ST. (CHINATOWN) VANCOUVER 604 563 5053

Kwantlen Polytechnic University presents BC’s first diploma in

JENNINGSCULTURE.COM

Huge selection of beer & wine-making equipment & ingredients

Huge selection of beer & wine-making equipment & ingredients

JENNINGSCULTURE.COM

835 East Hastings St. Vancouver, BC 604-251-3411 beermaking.ca

835 East Hastings St. Vancouver, BC 604-251-3411 beermaking.ca

kpu.ca/brew

FUGGLES & WARLOCK CRAFTWORKS

103-11220 Horseshoe Way | fuggleswarlock.com

HOURS: N/A

EST: 2012

This brewery has existed in name for a while, but not in a physical location, with its products made under contract by Dead Frog Brewery. When founders Dan Colyer (Fuggles) and Tony Iaci (Warlock) were ready to announce plans to open an actual brewery in Richmond later this year, they did so via a YouTube video featuring themselves in a Jedi lightsaber duel. Keeping beer weird, indeed!

DESTINY IPA

626.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

The easy going malt profile of this beer is all about launching the hop aromas of mandarin oranges and grapefruit.

PERSONAS

305.1% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This hoppy spin on the California common style has a fruity and smooth malt base and an explosion of aromatic hops.

@fuggleswarlock

SHIVA SESSION

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

64

A vibrant, citrusy wheat IPA brewed with five kinds of hops: Citra, Amarillo, Dr. Rudi, Topaz, and Ella. (Dr. Who?)

THE LAST STRAWBERRY

STRAWBERRY WITBIER

4.9% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

8

Brewed with fresh strawberries and sweetened with lactose, this Belgian wit is both tart and sweet...and yummy!

“Nothing ever tasted better than a cold beer on a beautiful afternoon with nothing to look forward to than more of the same.” – Hugh Hood

FOUR WINDS BREWING

4 - 7355 72nd St. | fourwindsbrewing.ca

SUN/MON: 12-5PM ^ TUE-SAT: 12-7PM

EST: 2013

South Delta’s hometown heroes won huge at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards in June: They’re now officially Canada’s Brewery of the Year. This is no small feat for relatively small craft brewery that’s just over two years old. But it makes sense: these are the craft beer equivalents of Pink Floyd’s best years. That is, mind-bending and sublime. But you probably already know that.

FOUR WINDS BERLINER WEISSE BERLINER

4 3.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

An Old World sour that’s light in body with notes of lemon. A refreshing sour beer.

FOUR WINDS IPA

70 7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

For us, this is a new classic. Smooth and citrusy with a big, hoppy finish that should please any fan of the West Coast IPA.

@fourwindsbrewco

LA MAISON GRISSETTE

4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

15

A Belgian table beer with a pleasant, dry finish. It’s hopped with whole leaf Cashmere and fermented with wild yeast, giving it hints of fruit and spice.

JUXTAPOSE WILD IPA

AMERICAN WILD ALE

556.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Another classic. It’s big tropical flavours are, uh, juxtaposed by the funkiness of the Brettanomyces. A delicately balanced IPA only Four Winds could pull off.

“That’s the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens you drink in an attempt to forget; if something good happens you drink in order to celebrate; and if nothing happens you drink to make something happen”. – Charles Bukowski

IMPOSSIBLY PALE AMERICAN

DAS

The uncomfortable science behind beer and bellyaches

by Michael Kissinger

Beer bloat — it’s not just a terrible name for a band, but a chronic problem among seasoned and newbie beer drinkers alike. Even the sexy ones who hang out at 33 Acres.

Tasked with the unfortunate assignment of getting to the bottom of this rarely talked about suds scourge, I decided to reach out to my alma mater, the University of British Columbia, for enlightenment. No dice.

According to UBC’s communications department, there was no one in its hallowed halls of academia willing or perhaps even qualified to talk on record about such a painful subject.

Next up was arch rival-in-learning Simon Fraser University. But after several back and forth emails between three different professors – two of which taught a course called “The Science of Brewing” no less – I was met with a stony silence usually reserved for when I sing Eddie Grant’s “Electric Avenue” at karaoke. That said, one dude kindly passed on a couple of terrifyingly named scientific studies: “Pathophysiology, Evaluation, and Treat-

ment of Bloating: Hope, Hype, or Hot Air?” and “Lowering the Risk of Rectal Cancer Among Habitual Beer Drinkers by Dietary Means.”

So I took to the Internet, emailed half a dozen dieticians and finally heard back from one brave soul. Sweet relief.

GUT INSTINCTS

“When you talk about bloat, first you have to talk about gas. That’s what creates bloat — gas in the intestinal tract.” Those soothing words come courtesy of Desiree Nielsen, a registered dietician in Vancouver and author of the book UnJunk Your Diet! and the “digestive health e-book” Banish the Bloat.

According to Nielsen, gas comes from two places: the gas we swallow (from carbonated beverages, such as beer, chewing on gum, chewing with our mouths open, talking while eating, drinking while eating) and gas that is made in our intestines.

“It depends a lot on the type of bacteria you have in your gut and the kind of food you put in your gut,” Nielsen says. “So whatever’s there for [the

bacteria] to nosh on, they’re going to make gas out of that. That’s part of metabolism.”

She adds, “Gas is normal. It’s a normal part of human physiology. Everybody toots, everybody burps. But bloating is [caused] when the gas is not moving. Gas should just clear through you.”

The most common symptoms of bloat are pain, pressure or general discomfort. And while occasional bloating is normal — often brought on by a change of diet, stress or eating too quickly — frequent bloating can sometimes be an indicator of more serious health problems.

Fibre is another factor, says Nielsen. Not having enough of it in your diet can make digestion “sluggish.”

Sadly, beer is doubly problematic. Because beer is a carbonated beverage it’s going to make you gassy, Nielsen says. And unlike probiotic yogurt or having your tummy rubbed by Grandma (don’t judge me), alcohol is an irritant to the intestinal tract. “So if someone is prone to digestive health trouble, a regular drinking habit — even if it’s

less likely to give you the bloat, logic dictates that the fizzier the beer, the more gas, the greater the chance of bloating.

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BLOAT

Apart from cutting beer out your diet and living a miserable life, there are steps the savage beer drinker can take to achieve intestinal tranquility.

Nielsen says chewing fennel seeds is an effective ayurvedic remedy common in Hindu culture.

“Often if you go for Indian food you’ll get those little candy-covered fennel seeds at the end of the meal… Fennel helps to relax the tone of the digestive tract and helps to dissipate gas.”

If scarfing down handfuls of fennel seeds doesn’t jive with your sophisticated, beer-swilling persona, there’s always preventative measures. Particularly probiotics and fermented foods, says Nielsen. Things like kombucha tea, good quality yogurt or taking a supplementary probiotic can augment and support healthy bacteria in your gut.

It also helps to avoid certain types of food altogether, and unfortunately those foods often go hand-in-greasy-hand with drinking beer. Grease, fat, deep-fried goodness, whatever you want to call it, slows down digestion, which is an open invitation to an unromantic evening with the bloat.

“Having a big fatty meal and two or three beers is going to make it likely that the digestive tract is going to slow to a halt, so all those gases you’ve introduced could lead to bloat,” says Nielsen, who also suggests eating smaller portions and getting a little salad action on your plate. “Anything that keeps things moving is going to help.”

no more than two beers a day — can exacerbate things quite a bit.”

On top of that, most beer, unless it’s gluten free, is going to be a problem for people suffering from Celiac disease or that small-but-increasinglyvocal-at-restaurants-and-house-parties portion of the population who identify as “gluten sensitive.”

“[For some people] gluten can trigger fatigue, digestive symptoms,” Nielsen says. “So for those people who’ve taken up a craft beer habit and are consuming more gluten than they might normally have been, then they might notice.”

Although Nielsen didn’t say whether an ale or a stout or a beard-infused dunkelwiezen is more or

Amen. j

Unlike probiotic yogurt or having your tummy rubbed by your grandma (don’t judge me), alcohol is an irritant to the intestinal tract.

TURNING POINT BREWERY

465 Fraser View Pl. | stanleyparkbrewing.com

HOURS: N/A @ stanleyparkbrew

EST: 2009

The times are certainly a-changing for Turning Point. The brewery – which makes Stanley Park and Hell’s Gate – will launch a new line of Turning Point beers this fall, with new labels, et al. A Stanley Park brewery and tasting room in Vancouver is also in the works, which will mean a separation of the two brands, so expect double the write-ups on these guys in future editions.

35 5.7% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A considerable step-up for Turning Point, this American-style pale ale is well-balanced topped with a big tropical flavour.

AMERICAN WHEAT ALE

16 4.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

An easy-drinking and approachable wheat that’s perfect for the neophyte, and with the citrus and peach flavours, we think this is the ideal summer wedding beer. Good job.

COMING TO WHISTLER ^ LATE SUMMER

CENTRAL CITY BREWERS +

DISTILLERS

11411 Bridgeview Dr. | centralcitybrewing.com

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

EST: 2003

Once just a little known brewpub way out near the end of the SkyTrain Line in Surrey, Central City has grown into one of Canada’s leading breweries. Brewmaster Gary Lohin has ensured that the quality of the beer has only improved since opening his giant production brewery in 2013.

RED RACER IPA IS

80 6.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

You can pretty much divide B.C.’s IPA lovers into two camps: Fat Tug and Red Racer. At The Growler we say, “Why choose?!”

RED RACER INDIA RED ALE

RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

Once this was known as Red Racer ESB. The name may have changed, but the beer is just as tasty.

@centralcitybrew

THOR’S HAMMER

BARLEY WINE

IBU SURREY

11.5% ABV

Availability: Seasonal

85

Thinking of getting into cellaring beer? Buy two Thor’s: try one now and save one for a year ... if you can.

RED RACER PALE ALE

NORTHWEST PALE ALE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

50

Overshadowed by its big brother IPA, this is definitely one of the best hoppy pale ales produced in B.C.

Central City has not one but TWO brewpubs (kinda). See page 144, if interested.

We offer some of the best selections of Craft Beer in BC including rare and very limited release beers from all over the world.

We offer very competitive prices AND a discount for CAMRA members.

KERRISDALE

5503 West Blvd (at W. 39th Ave) 604-669-1121

EAST VANCOUVER: 6295 Fraser St. (at E. 47th Ave) 604-327-1113

RICHMOND: Domestic Terminal, YVR 604-207-1127

CENTRAL BURNABY: 7651 Royal Oak Ave (at Rumble St.) 604-419-0225

RUSSELL BREWING

202 - 13018 80th Ave. | russellbeer.com

MON-FRI: 8AM-3:30PM

EST: 1995

While fad or marketing-driven beers once dominated Russell’s lineup, the beers are now pretty solid across the board, especially among the Brewmaster’s Series and seasonal releases. Although there is no tasting room at the brewery, Russell’s products are readily available on tap and in packaged form throughout the province.

PUNCH BOWL

656.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

Winner of a gold medal at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards, this IPA is bursting with juicy tropical fruit characteristics.

CZECH PILSNER

A beautiful Pilsner: golden-hued with a complex malt backbone and a spicy, floral, bitter finish from traditional Saaz hops.

@russell_beer

BLOOD ALLEY

5.5%

50

Way more hoppy than a traditional English ESB, this beer also has a great malt character. Smoooooth.

WHITE RABBIT

ABV

6.0%

Availability: Year-round

IBU

This uniquely delicious beer marries a bananaclove German yeast character with grape and stonefruit flavours from Citra hops.

“People who drink light ‘beer’ don’t like the taste of beer; they just like to pee a lot.”

– Capital Brewery, Middleton, WI

WHITE ROCK BEACH BEER CO.

15181 Russell Ave. | whiterockbeachbeer.com

FRI: 4:30-7PM ^ SAT: 11AM-4PM ^ SUN: 10AM-2PM @wrbeachbeer

EST: 2014

The fact that three teacher friends decided to open a craft brewery that can only be open on weekends because they all still have day jobs is well known at this point. But we love it. Add to that the beer –modest, simple styles designed for barbeques and hockey games that take the pretension right out of the drink. Beer is made for drinking, and they’re happily making that argument by selling out their tanks.

WEST BEACH FRUIT

AMERICAN PALE ALE

36 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Thirst-quenching and highly approachable, this citrusy pale ale will appeal to anyone looking for an easy-drinking beer for any occasion.

OXFORD HILL

104.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

The popular summer seasonal is back, as refreshing as ever, with a more refined recipe that includes hints of oranges in its flavour profile.

PIER

INDIA PALE ALE

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

80

WRBBC has finally relented and brewed an IPA. Then sold out of it almost immediately. It’ll be available off and on, so make sure to grab it when you can.

EAST BEACH NUT

AMERICAN BROWN ALE

324.9% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A classic brown ale with hints of caramel and chocolate, modestly hopped with a smooth, mild finish.

“Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs. “

– Dwight D. Eisenhower

HEFEWEIZEN

Wit’s this all a-stout?

GLOSSARY OF UNUSED BEER NAMES

Naming beers can be a daunting and frustrating creative process for any brewery, new or old. There’s a balancing act involved to ensure that the name is interesting and memorable enough to stand out among the legions of other beers fighting for attention, and yet manages to stay true to the character of that beer. Luckily for you, the Growler Brain Trust has created a glossary of unused beer names that are ready for any brewery to use, free of charge. We’ve started this potentially regular feature out with two very popular styles: the witbier and the stout. You’re welcome.

WITBIER

NOT IN TO WIT TAKE IT, OR LEAVE WIT CRACK THAT WIT HOW’S WIT GOING? WIT’S ALL GOOD TAKE A WIT IN MY MOUTH I WANNA MAKE IT WIT CHU WIT IN YOU, WIT OUT YOU WITS THE BILL SOMETIMES, I WONDER WHETHER OR NOT I REALLY WANT TO BE WIT YOU I WIT ME PANTS KEEP WIT AND HAVE FUN WIT’S COMPLICATED THAT DOESN’T WIT WITH OUR CORPORATE STRUCTURE SO WIT’S BEEN WRITTEN BIG OL’ WITTIES IT’S NOT YOU, WIT’S ME CAN I GET A WIT-NESS WIT’S NOT WIT IT SEEMS I’M WIT YOU, DUDE JUST DO WIT!!!! PIECE OF WIT WITTY TIMING I’M WIT FOR YOU

WIT-NEY HOUSTON WIT-CHES OF EAST WIT HAM SAND-WIT

STOUT

I’M GETTING’ THE HELL STOUT OF HERE! STOUT AND ABOUT FRESH STOUT OF CASH I’M TAPPED STOUT GOING ON A STOUTING A STOUT OF INSANITY I’M BITTER A-STOUT IT OUT AND A-STOUT STOUT’S HONOUR BOY STOUTS OF CANADA STOUT OF COMMISSION FAT AND STOUT STOUT OF SERVICE MRS. STOUTFIRE

BEYOND A SHADOW OF A STOUT STOUT, STOUT, LET IT ALL STOUT PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND STOUT

MOODY ALES

2601 Murray St. | moodyales.com

MON/TUE: 3-8PM ^ WED/THU 1-9PM

FRI/SAT: 12-11PM ^ SUN: 12-8PM

EST: 2014

Turn your nose up at Port Moody all you want, but things are happening there, as evidenced by its growing craft brew scene. Hip and stylish, Moody Ales also boasts a picnic area and patio out front, which Vancouver breweries aren’t allowed to have because apparently we’re babies.

THE GREAT GRATZER GRATZER

35 5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A nearly forgotten style, this Polish oak-smoked wheat beer is made with 100 per cent oak smoked wheat malts and Saaz hop for a spicy, smoky good time.

SUBLIME PINEAPPLE HEFEWEIZEN

264.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

German yeast, American hops and pineapple juice adds up to sunshine in a glass. The beer might be cloudy, but this sessionable, fruity brew is pure summertime.

@moodyales

CHIPPER BLONDE ALE

AMERICAN BLONDE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

26

Tinder profile or refreshing beer? You be the judge. Easy drinking Blonde ale with a lightly sweet malt body and crisp hop finish.

INTREPID MATCHA SAISON

SAISON

356.9% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

From Moody Ales’ guest tap program, the recipe for this Belgian saison comes from local homebrewer Steve Sheldon: crisp, refreshing, spicy, earthy and unique.

“If you guys are going to be throwing beer bottles at us, at least make sure they’re full. “

– Dave Mustaine

Vine

TWIN SAILS BREWING

2821 Murray St. | twinsailsbrewing.com

HOURS: N/A

EST: 2015

Founded by twin brothers Clay and Cody Allmin, Twin Sails hopes to be open by Labour Day. The third brewery to open on Murray Street in Port Moody since 2014, it intends to set itself apart from Yellow Dog and Moody Ales with a focus on traditional Germanstyle beers, especially lagers. The two-story tasting room offers stellar views of the inlet and the mountains beyond.

TWIN SAILS PILSNER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

40

A traditional, unfiltered German-style Helles pilsner, aged as long as it needs to be.

TWIN SAILS

4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

10

A cold-fermented, cloudy German wheat beer with a big emphasis on the fruity yeast characteristics.

@twinsailsbeer

TWIN SAILS ALT BEER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

45

A cold-fermented Dusseldorf-style altbier with some hop character, but the malt characteristics really shine through.

TWIN SAILS BEST BITTER

BEST BITTER

40 4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Too early to say for sure at press time, but this is shaping up to be an English-style bitter. If you try it first, let us know!

“What is civilization if it isn’t people talking to each other over a goddamned beer?”

– James S.A. Corey

YELLOW DOG BREWING

1- 2817 Murray St. | yellowdogbeer.com

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

EST: 2014

Need proof of Port Moody’s hop-happening brewery scene? Look no further than Yellow Dog on a Sunday afternoon. They’ve been insanely popular since opening last year, and it’s no big surprise. Like many a pooch, this canine friend is strong-willed but extremely approachable.

CHASE MY TALE

45 5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

An IPA that won’t scare too many away thanks to a delicious, dry-hopped character.

SIT AND STAY

BELGIAN INDIA SESSION ALE

333.9% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Sit down with sessionable Belgian and enjoy its spicy, fruity, easy-going nature. And then have another.

@yellowdogbeer

TAKE A WALK

20 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

The forecast is cloudy and pale yellow for this refreshing, citrusy Belgian wit.

PLAY DEAD

INDIA PALE ALE

7.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

75

This fetching, hop hound of a brew comes alive in the glass thanks to the fruity nose of Mosaic and Citra hops. Ahoooo!

“I was at a bar nursing a beer. My nipple was getting quite soggy.”

– Emo Philips

MAPLE MEADOWS BREWING CO.

22775 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | maplemeadowsbrewingco.com

TUE-THU: 2-7PM ^ FRI/SAT: 12-8PM ^ SUN: 12-6PM @maplmeadbrewco

EST: 2015

A one-man show that has brought the give of craft beer to Maple Ridge. Owner/brewer Carlo Baroccio has a name that’s very fun to say out loud, and beer that is, modest, approachable and a fine launching pad for anyone wary of craft beer’s more experimental elements. These are BBQ beers. Crowd-pleasing beers.

HOPPY MEADOWS

INDIA PALE ALE

756.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A citrusy, floral IPA with a pronounced aroma, thanks to a generous helping of American hops.

RED ALE

AMERICAN RED ALE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

26

Just what you’ll expect from a red ale –medium-bodied with a mild kick from the hops.

HEFEWEIZEN

4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

12

A traditional German wheat ale that’s light, balanced and very sessionable.

RIDGE BLONDE

BLONDE ALE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

20

A suitable gateway beer for newbies, this blonde ale is hoppy without being too bitter. Light bodied and easy drinking.

“Non-Drinker: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.”

– Ambrose Bierce

Chris Lennon, Carlos Mendes, Aneez Devji, Joe Chan

RIDGE BREWING CO.

22826 Dewdney Trunk Rd. | ridgebrewing.com

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

SUN: 11AM-6PM

EST: 2015

Well looky here, Maple Ridge, you’re getting spoiled this year. Ridge Brewing is the second brewery to open in 2015, and is located just a short walk from the first. It’s tasting room is an open concept with the tanks in plain view, and their first run of beers is very promising. Stay tuned for some racey beer names.

GREEN EYES WHITE

INDIA PALE ALE

705.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

An IPA with a strong hoppy kick and a clean, dry finish. Nicely balanced, with a fruity aroma.

PUSSY CAT BLONDE LAGER

15 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Another Ridge mainstay, this American lager is light, crisp and very sessionable.

@ridgebrewingco

GRINGA LOCA WIT WITBIER

6.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

21

A very approachable and refreshing beer, with hints of lemon and a crisp finish. A good start for anyone looking for a gateway craft beer.

CAFÉ MORENA

ENGLISH BROWN ALE

454.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A light brown ale that’s gentle on the malts, with very subtle hints of espresso and an earthy aroma.

“Beer speaks. People mumble.” – Tony Magee, Lagunitas Brewing

OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

by Jesse Donaldson

Aquestion: What do the Vogue Theatre, the Reifel Bird Sanctuary and Casa Mia mansion on Vancouver’s Marine Drive all have in common?

They were all built with funds earned through the sale of illicit liquor, during a unique period in B.C.’s history – a time when America’s misguided Prohibition experiment transformed local sailors into outlaws, brewers into kingpins and alcohol into pure gold.

British Columbia’s own attempt at Prohibition had collapsed by early 1921, only a year after the Volstead Act dried out the United States. For

the province’s alcohol industry, this meant only one thing: opportunity. For businessmen willing to bend the law, there was a fortune to be made, and virtually overnight, a roaring bootleg trade sprung up to meet the demand, spearheaded by the province’s biggest brewers and distillers.

Chief among them was Henry Reifel. Born in Speyer, Bavaria, Reifel spent his entire life in the alcohol business, reportedly starting in a German brewery at the age of 10. By the mid-1920s (after a rocky few years, which included stints in Vancouver, Nanaimo and Japan), Reifel and his two sons had become the city’s premiere suppliers of

quality beer and spirits. It wasn’t only the city they supplied – by 1926, the family owned four breweries and two distilleries, as well as several holding and export companies, and had grown to become the largest provider of illicit booze to the western United States.

Naturally, the Reifels weren’t the only ones profiting from the Volstead Act, and by the mid-1920s “rum running” was an operation as massive as it was brazen. A small army of schooners and steamships (known as “Fireboats”) waited to deliver shipments in secluded spots throughout Howe Sound and the Gulf Islands. Giant “mother ships”

– including the infamous Malahat, the West coast’s most prolific rum-running vessel – that were capable of carrying tens of thousands of cases at a time would moor themselves in international waters (12 nautical miles from the U.S. coastline, in an area colloquially known as “Rum Row”), and sell booze right from their decks. Many boats left the Port supposedly bound for far-flung locales like Tahiti, though few made it that far.

“A large quantity of the trans-shipped liquor never reaches the foreign ports to which it is consigned,” noted a 1926 RCMP memo, “but is landed in Canadian waters, and ultimately returns to Vancouver for distribution among local bootleggers [...]. Henry Reifel, R.T. Morgan, and other prominent men connected with distilleries and Breweries in B.C. are freely spoken of as being the leading men in these activities.”

Officials at all levels of government were on the take. A 1926 Royal Commission revealed that not only did Labatt’s Ltd. have a secret “snake fund” specifically for paying off customs officials, but that Henry Reifel himself had donated close to $100,000 to both the Liberal and Conservative parties – money recorded in the company’s ledgers as being for “assurance and protection.”

By the late 1920s, B.C.’s liquor barons had amassed considerable fortunes. With it, the Rei-

fels financed the construction of both the Commodore and the Vogue. They purchased an island in the Fraser River, which they later donated to the federal government as a bird sanctuary. They donated land in the West End for the development of Sunset Beach. They built Casa Mia on Marine Drive, where it’s rumoured that Henry Reifel loaded up boats from his private dock.

There’s even some evidence that the seaside community of Crescent Beach was founded during the rum running trade. During the 1920s, the Reifels owned a home/storehouse in the area, and anecdotal evidence from current and former residents indicates that many were involved in the delivery of illicit goods, both for that family, and another local bootlegger, Daniel Joseph Kennedy. By 1933, however, the party had come to an end. With the repeal of the Volstead Act, B.C.’s booze producers packed up their smuggling operations and returned to business as usual, virtually unscathed by a decade of criminal activity. The exception was Henry Reifel and his son George, who were arrested in Seattle in 1934, and forced to pay the U.S. government $700,000 in back taxes and fines.

Today, only vestiges of the once-roaring bootleg trade still survive. The Reifels’ holdings were sold to Seagram’s back in 1945. The Malahat lies in a watery grave outside of Powell River, where it foundered and sank back in 1944. Casa Mia still stands on Marine Drive, where it is regularly used as a film set (most recently seen in 50 Shades of Grey).

And of course, Sunset Beach, the Commodore and the Vogue remain local landmarks that serve as reminders of a time when, in B.C. at least, the bootlegger was king and the beer was as precious as gold. j

Image: Two portraits of Henry Reifel, 1929. Image courtesy of the Vancouver Archives

For businessmen willing to bend the law, there was a fortune to be made.

DEAD FROG BREWING

1 - 27272 Gloucester Way | deadfrog.ca

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

EST: 2005

We’re not sure what these guys have against our favourite amphibian. Maybe it’s a Langley thing. Either way, it’s reason enough steal or borrow a car and explore the Bible belt of the Lower Mainland. Blessed be the beer drinker.

@deadfrogbrewery

DEAD FROG PILSNER

21 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A crisp and refreshing light golden lager with an inviting hop aroma and dry finish thanks to traditional Bavarian style malts and hops.

BIG STUMP

SPRUCE GOLDEN ALE

266.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A uniquely West Coast golden ale brewed with fresh picked spruce tips and Simcoe hops, which provide a tropical pine aroma that would make a nice cologne but we prefer it to drink.

OBSIDIAN DAGGER

IPA NOIRE BLACK INDIA PALE ALE

50 6.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Is this a dagger which I see before me? There’s plenty of ambition that goes into this brazen brew where tropical hops meet a roasted malt base. Complex and full of flavour.

THE SEASONAL CITRUS WIT WITBIER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

8

This traditional Belgian wheat beer has summer written all over it. Crisp, clean, lightly spicy with hints of citrus.

“To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”

– Homer Simpson

OLD ABBEY ALES

1A - 30321 Fraser Hwy | oldabbeyales.com

MON-SUN: 11AM-7PM

EST: 2015

Brewer Tony Dewald earned a superstar reputation at Vancouver’s Dix Brewpub in the 2000s. Now he is back in experimental mode at Old Abbey, where he is giving Abbotsford a crash course in contemporary craft beer culture. The core lineup features bottle-conditioned Belgian styles, but Tony brews anything and everything to put on tap in the tasting room.

SPICE

7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

24

Pumpkin in a Belgian dubbel? Sure, why not. It should work well with the sweet and roasted dark malts.

7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

35

This smooth and easy-drinking ale has a light touch of sweetness. Like the stout, you need to wait until after summer for this bad boy.

@oldabbeyales

AMERICAN STOUT STOUT

6.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

60

A rich and toasty, medium-bodied stout geared for the approaching fall weather. Available in September, folks!

SAISON

356.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

The fruity and dry Saison is rounded out by funky farmyard flavours from a secondary fermentation with wild Brettanomyces yeast.

“Fear the man who drinks water and so remembers this morning what the rest of us said last night.” – Greek proverb quotes

BRETT

SAISON

BELGIAN GOLDEN ALE ALE

RAVENS BREWING CO.

2485 Townline Rd | ravensbrewing.com

MON-THU: 12PM-6PM ^ FRI/SAT: 12PM-8PM @ravensbrewing

EST: 2015

The third brewery to open in Abbotsford, Ravens is led by Nick Fengler, an ex-brewer at Dead Frog who helped set up the Brewing and Brewery Operations program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Ravens fits in nicely between the other two Abbotsford operations, Surlie, which has only brewed two beers in its first two years, and Old Abbey, which has a dozen.

WEST COAST PALE ALE

YOU KNOW.

365.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This well-balanced West Coast pale ale has a solid malt backbone and reasonably prominent hop presence.

FARMERS ALE

275.75% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A traditionally inspired farmhouse saison with a fluffy white head, spicy yeast character and dry finish.

GOLDEN ALE

GOLDEN ALE

4.75% ABV

Availability: Year-round

18

Very sessionable, ideal for the backyard or balcony, this beer is light and quaffable.

WHITE IPA INTERGALACTIC PLANETARY ANTHROPOLOGY

606.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

More a golden IPA, with a gobsmacking kiss of the hops and nice dry finish.

“Whoever serves beer or wine watered down, he himself deserves in them to drown.” – Medieval plea for pure libations

SURLIE BREWING

23-2337 Townline Rd. | surliebrewing.ca

MON-FRI: 10AM-6PM ^ SAT: 11AM-5PM

EST: 2014

Straight outta Abbotsford, Surlie is definitely off the beaten path with a modest selection and eclectic decoration. Yes, there are only two beers available at this point, which is sort of part of the charm. Why overdo it with, like, 10 beers when you can do two extremely well? Exactly.

SOLITAIRE

356.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Dark and rich with some spiciness beneath bitter chocolate, brown sugar and dark fruit aromas, Solitaire sniffs around the same neighbourhood of a Belgian dubbel.

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

32

Does the world need another no-nonsense, straight-shooting pale ale with a well-balanced malt-hop profile? Sure, why not.

MISSION SPRINGS BREWING CO.

7160

Oliver St. | missionsprings.ca

SUN-THU: 11AM - 11PM ^ FRI/SAT: 11-1AM @msbcbrewery

EST: 1996

It’s a bit of a drive out to Mission, so here’s a great idea. Ask a friend who is really into old cars and related memorabilia to drive. (S)he will be fascinated by the brewpub’s eclectic collection of antiques and collectibles (including a 1949 Chevy truck suspended from the roof), and you will be free to enjoy the beer, which is excellent across the board and occasionally brilliant.

TRAILBLAZER PILSNER

174.5% ABV IBU

Classically brewed in the finest European tradition, this beer is the perfect thirstquencher after a long, hot day on the trail.

PALE ALE

6.6% ABV IBU

70

Availability: Year-round

THE BEST BC BEER, ALL IN ONE SPOT

The BC Beer Awards and tasting event returns Oct. 24 at the Croatian Cultural Centre, hosted by the CBC’s Stephen Quinn. Come. Drink beer.

BCBEERAWARDS.COM @BCBEERAWARDS 89 MISSION

OLD YALE BREWING CO.

4 - 7965 Venture Pl, Chilliwack | oldyalebrewing.com

EST: 2000

Old Yale was founded by Larry Caza, an ex-Air Force pilot who discovered delicious beer from around the world while stationed with other international pilots in Goose Bay, Newfoundland. Since then, the place has gone through a couple of ownership changes and moved locations, but Larry is still there, and the beer has been tasting great of late.

OFF TRAIL PALE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

This refreshing and hoppy pale ale is brewed with a generous amount of whole leaf cascade hops.

MOON DANCE

AMERICAN WHEAT ALE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

10

It’s a marvelous night for ... this wheat beer made with exactly 900 fresh, ripe mangos. No, really, they count them.

KNOTTY BLONDE

15 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Another good entry-level beer option for folks still wondering what craft beer is all about.

SASQUATCH STOUT

OATMEAL STOUT

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

15

The unexpected winner of Beer of the Year at the 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards, this is a solid stout.

“A little bit of beer is divine medicine.” – Paracelsus, Greek physician

Less than 40 Seconds to Fill!

BBS Systems has been in business for over 25 years and has built its reputation using only quality equipment, and more importantly, #1 service. At BBS, we have not only installed quality draft and liquor systems but have now created and installed our custom made growler ller with a less than 40 second pour!

Our llers have:

• CO2 Purge Valve to Eliminate Oxygen in the Bottle

• Bottom Filling Tube to Keep Beer Under the Blanket of CO2

• Flow Control Faucet Regulates the Pour Speed to Minimize Foam

• Flash Chiller Further Reduces Foam on the Pour and Maintains Carbonation

• Additional Cleaning System for Sanitizing CO2 Lines to Maintain CO2 Purity

CANOE BREWPUB

450 Swift St. | canoebrewpub.com

MON-SUN: 11:30AM - LATE

EST: 2002

YOUR DESTINATION FOR FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

@ canoebrewpub

CRAFT BEERS CRAFT BEERS

Canoe’s plum real estate on Victoria’s waterfront, in a buffed-up heritage building no less, might be the star of the show, but the more-than-decent beer offerings give the salt-water-kissed views and red brick ambiance a run for its money.

LIMITED RELEASES

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

15

A Canadian slant on this English staple. U.K. malts and hops, combined with Canoe’s house ale strain, make for a deep copper-coloured, full-bodied, hopped session ale.

4.8% ABV IBU

15

HARD-TO-FIND VARIETIES

Availability: Year-round

EXPERT-RUN MASTERCLASSES AND TASTINGS

There’s good reason this clean, thirst-quenching Czech-style pilsner took home a silver medal at the 2015 Canadian Craft Brewing Awards.

FREE ICE

656.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A generous dose of aromatic hops, from mashtun to whirlpool, load this brilliant golden-hued ale with enticing hints of tropical fruit and pine. Beard friendly.

205.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Featuring delicious chocolate and coffee notes, this is definitely on the darker side of the moon but eminently drinkable with a malty character. Oh those malty characters.

“Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.”

– Seneca

CANOE ESB EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

CANOE LAGER CZECH PILSNER

CANOE IPA IMPRESSIONABLE PLATO AFICIONADO

CRAFT BEERS CRAFT BEERS

YOUR DESTINATION FOR FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

LIMITED RELEASES

HARD-TO-FIND VARIETIES

EXPERT-RUN MASTERCLASSES AND TASTINGS

FREE ICE

ShockTop

IS A GREAT THING FOR THE CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY

by Stephen Smysnuik

Call me nerdy, but I think the most fascinating aspect of the craft beer movement is how the macro breweries are going to adjust to the erosion of their market share over the next few years. At the start of 2015, BC craft beer makes up about 22 per cent of the market share, and that’s growing here and across the rest of Canada.

We’ve of course caught a few glimpses of their tactics already: Molson purchased Granville Island in 2010. In 2011, Anheuser-Busch purchased Chicago craft brewery Goose Island, and earlier this year they purchased Seattle’s Elysian. This makes sense: Own the competition. Will this continue? Few of us know, but it wouldn’t be surprising. The other tactic is for Big Guys to just make craft beer. This is where you see Shock Top, a Belgianstyle wheat ale created by Anheuser-Busch in 2006 as a direct competitor to Blue Moon, owned by MillerCoors and the first foray of a macro brewery into craft-style beers, or “craft-y” beer.

Again, this makes sense – at least on the surface. Steal the market share back with product that is basically the same as what all these craft beer nerds have fallen in love with, then market the living hell out of it. Great idea. Right?

Well…not really.

For one, Shock Top isn’t really craft beer. “Craft” is a wily term, for sure, since definitions vary from person to person (or organization to organization) and hinge on points both tangible (amount produced each year; ownership structure) and intangible (philosophy of brewers; relationship to community).

But the general consensus among craft drinkers is that, no, Shock Top is not craft beer.

This is due, mainly, because the brewery is owned by a massive conglomerate. Also, the beer’s not very good, and the marketing reeks of market research and a painfully unhip sales team that’s trying too hard. Like, what’s up with

that Mohawk? Most educated craft beer drinkers understand this.

Indeed, the marketing for Shock Top in Canada, led by Anheuser-Busch subsidiary Labatt, is aimed at beer drinkers not yet acquainted with craft beer. According to a memo leaked by Toronto-based beer writer Ben Johnson, Labatt’s marketing campaign hinges on “Consumer Insight” that reads, “I like to reward myself by trying different, flavourful beers, but I’m intimidated by most craft beers because they’re too pretentious and complicated.”

The campaign will cost Labatt $2.7 million in 2015 (a sum Johnson rightly points out is far surpasses the amount most craft breweries “will spend on marketing in a lifetime”) in an attempt to convince Canadian beer drinkers that Labatt’s Shock Top is a small, independently owned craft brewery. It says so explicitly in the memo.

What it says implicitly is that Labatt wants Shock Top to be the new drink of choice for Canadian beer drinkers. They’re betting on brand loyalty. What Labatt doesn’t seem to understand is that the rapid growth in Canadian craft beer is: A) as much about taste and intoxication as it is a rebellion against corporate influence and mass production of lousy beer. It’s a movement that very consciously supports the local and artisanal aspects, and/or the quality of the product. And, B) not at all about brand loyalty. This is important to understand.

Craft beer drinkers rely on exploration and experimentation. It’s sort of the whole point, and what’s driven the industry’s success so far. Beer brand loyalty with beer exists only to a degree, the same way it exists with wine. Serious wine drinkers don’t really have a brand they love. They’re loyal to style, if anything.

So if Labatt’s campaign is successful – and there’s no reason to think that it won’t be at least moderately successful – they’ll be educating a whole swath of beer drinkers about the value of craft beer. According to Chris Bjerrisgaard, marketing director of Vancouver Craft Beer Week and marketing manager for Parallel 49, this could be of enormous benefit to the craft beer industry.

“Your one tactic as an industry is to create a conversion engine into making more people craft beer fans? That’s the worse decision of all time,” he says. “Shock Top, believe it or not, is a good thing for the industry. It’s hard to see the forest through the trees on that one, but it’s a good thing for us because you’re creating conversion engines to get people off your piss [lager], and into the good stuff.”

His point being that the “good stuff” is just a few months or palate adjustments away from Shock Top. Today, the 78 per cent of beer-drinkers that make up Labatt’s consumer base might find craft beer intimidating. But offer them a taste of what craft beer can taste like? Why wouldn’t they make different decisions with this new education? Because, remember, this is all happening while the craft industry is getting astonishing amounts of great press – from the media, through word of mouth, through Instagram, you name it. Craft beer, at least as a concept, is ubiquitous. Once they’ve been converted, why would anyone stick around? Because of brand loyalty? For a sense of well being that Shock Top may once have provided?

We’ll see how that goes. j

Steal the market share back with product that is basically the same as what all these craft beer nerds have fallen in love with, then market the living hell out of it. Great idea. Right?

CATEGORY 12 BREWING

Unit C - 2200 Keating Cross Rd. | category12beer.com

TUE-SAT: 12-6PM

EST: 2014

Victoria’s newest brewery is run by a husband and wife duo who created an unintended mystique with their imaginative beer labels. There are worlds in those labels, man. They rank among the best in BC., too, because they illustrate what’s in the bottle –beer that’s innovative, crafted with uncanny precision and a great pleasure to look at. And consume.

SUBVERSION

8.7% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

97

A bold, citrusy brew with a solid malt body backing it up. A beer so big, it’ll flip you upside down after a few glasses. Or knock you flat.

CRITICAL POINT

495.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

An incredibly smooth take on the NW pale ale, with notes of tropical hops and a nice caramel finish.

@c12beer

UNSANCTIONED

6.9% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

27

A huge flavour from the Belgian yeast is paired with a generous serving of Northwest hops. Not your average saison.

INDUCTION

19 7.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

A medium-bodied Belgian, with hints of brown sugar and dark fruit notes.

“Fermentation and civilization are inseparable.”

– John Ciardi

BELGIAN DUBBEL

BELGIAN SAISON

DRIFTWOOD BREWERY

450 Hillside Ave. | driftwoodbeer.com

EST: 2008

Many consider Driftwood to be B.C.’s best brewery. Certainly, the beer lineup is tough to beat: from the ubiquitous Fat Tug to exceptional seasonals like Naughty Hildegard, and on to the highly regarded Bird of Prey sour beer program, every new release is exciting.

FAT TUG

7.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

90

If you haven’t yet tasted what is arguably B.C.’s flagship craft beer, go do so right now. On tap everywhere.

CROOKED COAST

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

Originally, this was called an amber ale, but it’s always been an altbier: a German-style ale with a delicate malthop balance.

FARMHAND

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

30

Brewed with some sourmash and black pepper, this spicy saison is, gasp, even better than Fat Tug. Yup.

NEW GROWTH

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

40

New Growth celebrates local brewing with this sessionable pale ale that features hops from the Sartori Hop Farm in Chilliwack.

“Never underestimate how much assistance, how much satisfaction, how much comfort, how much soul and transcendence there might be in a well-made taco and a cold bottle of beer.” – Tom Robbins

CANADIAN PALE ALE

AMERICAN INDIA PALE ALE

BELGIAN SAISON

DUSSELDORF ALT

4 MILE BREWERY

199 Island Hwy. | 4milebrewingco.com

MON-SUN: 11AM-11PM

EST: 2014

The go-to local in the quaint Victoria suburb of View Royal since 1979, the 4 Mile occupies the fourth oldest house in Greater Victoria, dating back to 1858. It has the look and feel of a British-style pub frequented by waspy retirees and thirsty sports teams who’ve been going there for years. All of which suits the lineup of predominantly British-style beers, which have been on offer since 2014, just fine.

39

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

38

An English-style pale ale that’s got enough hoppy bite to sooth a discerning West Coast craft enthusiast.

TIGHT HEAD

4.25% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

24

Naturally carbonated and unfiltered, this is an authentic low-gravity best bitter.

@4milebrewingco

KEG

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

70

Consider this one an intermediary between a British IPA and the beard-friendly West Coast version.

BROWN ALE

5.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

40

A proper British brown ale with notes of coffee and chocolate.

“It only takes one drink to get me loaded. Trouble is, I can’t remember whether it is the thirteenth or fourteenth.” – George Burns

OLD

PALE ALE

POWDER

INDIA PALE ALE

ENGLISH BROWN ALE

BEST BITTER

HOYNE BREWING CO.

101-2740 Bridge St. | hoynebrewing.ca

TUE-FRI: 1-6PM ^ SAT: 11AM-6PM

EST: 2011

Sean Hoyne has a big following in Victoria built up over more than 20 years brewing first at Swans Brewpub and then at the Canoe. Located next door to Driftwood and a block away from the Moon Under Water brewpub in the Rock Bay industrial district, Hoyne Brewing produces a strong set of core beers and an interesting mix of seasonals, with a particular emphasis on lagers.

WOLF VINE

WET HOPPED PALE ALE

Availability: Small batch

This very limited, single-batch pale ale is brewed with freshly harvested Centennial and Cascade hops. Get some before it’s gone!

Availability: Seasonal

A lusciously dark Irish stout with the added jolt of freshly pulled shots of espresso from Victoria’s Habit café.

@hoynebeer

OFF THE GRID VIENNA

Availability: Year-round

A red, Vienna-style lager with noble German Tettnang hops and a smooth, creamy maltiness.

HELIOS DORTMUNDER

DORTMUNDER LAGER

Availability: Small batch

A limited edition beer modelled after Dortmunder Export, a robust, maltforward golden lager that is moderately hopped.

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”

– Abraham Lincoln

LAGER

LIGHTHOUSE BREWING CO.

2-836 Devonshire Rd. | lighthousebrewing.com

MON-WED: 8AM-4:30PM ^ THU-FRI: 8AM-5:30PM

EST: 1998

Lighthouse remains one of B.C.’s best-kept secrets. The brewing team is always coming up with new experimental brews to appease the adventurous, while at the same time turning out a roster of consistent and approachable brews ideal for the craft beer neophyte.

SHIPWRECK

566.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A crisp and quaffable West Coast IPA uses hops from all ends of the Pacific. Finishes nice and dry.

SEAPORT

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

28

A balanced, very smooth stout brewed with vanilla beans that highlight the roasted malt’s chocolate and coffee notes.

NUMBSKULL

9.1% ABV IBU N/A

Availability: Seasonal

If the name doesn’t say it, then that ABV counter sure does. Featuring an extreme of Citra and Galaxy hops and generous portion of malts for one big ol’ beer.

264.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

An ode, in part, to head brewer Dean McLeod’s heritage from Down Under. A light-bodied pale ale brewed with Tasmanian and New Zealand hops.

“Beer’s intellectual. What a shame so many idiots drink it.”

– Ray Bradbury

MOON UNDER WATER BREWERY

350B Bay St. | moonunderwater.ca

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

EST: 2012

When you’re named after George Orwell’s imaginary “perfect pub” there’s obviously a lot of thought that’s gone into the operation. Thankfully that thoughtfulness extends to the beer program, overseen by brewer Clay Potter who is a master of German-style lagers and wheat beers, and also well acquainted with delivering great Belgian and North American style beers and barrel-aged sours.

THIS IS HEFEWEIZEN INDEED IT IS

145.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

This is the real deal, brewed with 70 per cent weizen, decoction mashed and open-fermented with hefe from Bavaria. We’d recite Bavarian Purity Law to you, if we had more space.

GOLDAMSEL SOUR

WEISSBIER

4.5% ABV IBU N/A

Availability: Seasonal

Aged in oak barrels with peach and apricot additions, this sour weissbier is tart-forward with funky stone fruit undertones.

YEAR 3

11.3% ABV

Availability: Small batch

IBU

30

Marking Potter’s third anniversary since taking over Moon, this twist on barley wine packs a punch and is brewed with heaps of wheat and triple decocted for depth and colour.

TRANQUILITY

IPA

WEST COAST INDIA PALE ALE

706.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A Canadian IPA for Canadian craft beer connoisseurs, this unfiltered, dry-hopped concoction is citrusy, resinous and piney without being arrogant or off-balanced.

“You’re not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.”

– Dean Martin

PHILLIPS BREWING CO.

2010 Government St. | phillipsbeer.com

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

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

EST: 2001

All hail the legend of Matt Phillips, who started Phillips Brewing by maxing out every credit card he could get his hands on. He lived in his brewery for the first while, doing everything himself from making the beer to selling and delivering it in an old blue truck. Phillips is now one of B.C.’s biggest and most successful craft breweries with a huge following, but it remains creative and innovative.

BLUE BUCK

Availability: Year-round

Bigger than Jesus? Well, maybe here in B.C... Blue Buck is the beer that built Phillips: a solid, unpretentious pale ale.

BOTTLE

Availability: Year-round

Part of the recent craze of India session ales, this is one of the best ones on the market.

APTERYX

Availability: Seasonal

Apteryx features Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand with tropical fruit flavours and unusual grapelike aromas.

SHORT WAVE

WEST COAST PALE ALE

Availability: Year-round

A recent addition to the Phillips lineup in tall cans, this tasty pale ale has a malty body and hoppy finish.

“I’d rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.”

– Tom Waits

SPINNAKERS GASTRO BREWPUB

308 Catherine St. | spinnakers.com

MON-SUN: 8AM-11PM

EST: 1984

You don’t know – and we mean, really know – B.C. beer culture until you’ve sipped a pint of Spinnakers ESB while sitting on their barroom patio, staring out over the Victoria’s Outer Harbour. This is where it began, folks. B.C. craft culture, and all that it encompasses – the beer, the food, the philosophy – descended from here. Do yourself the favour. Be a pilgrim.

QUEEN BEE

184.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Brewed with locally produced “honey foam,” a by-product of the honey making process. It’s a light and refreshing beer with hints of...y’know...honey.

CERVESA REPOSADA

TEQUILA BARREL AGED ALE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

20

Light-bodied ale was barrel aged in tequila barrels with sweet orange peel. A toothsome testament to the inventive whims of the Spinnakers brewing team.

@spinnakers

6.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

20

They took their Dragonfly Rye Saison and let it condition with Brettanomyces. The result? A delicate and effervescent brew with a just a hint of that ol’ Brett funk.

MITCHELL’S EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

40

Named after co-founder / Patron Saint of B.C. Beer / founder of this recipe John Mitchell, this classic English bitter is always available on cask, and is legitimately the best.

“Beer is the center of everything. Everything revolves around beer. When you drink beer, everything revolves. Therefore beer is the center of everything.”

University of Waterloo engineers

SWANS HOTEL & BREWPUB

506 Pandora Ave. | swanshotel.com

MON-WED: 11:30AM-1AM ^ THU-FRI: 11:30AM-2AM

SAT: 9AM-2AM ^ SUN: 9AM-12AM @swansvictoria

EST: 1989

Victoria pretty much has the market on “progressively pleasant” cornered, and Swans can share some of the hug-filled glory. Victoria’s second brewpub opened with a brewery designed by Frank Appleton, who helped build Canada’s first microbrewery in Horseshoe Bay in 1982, and has been keeping the ever-changing taps flowing ever since.

RILEY’S SCOTCH ALE SCOTCH ALE

8.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

30

A malty beast of a brew with a dark, caramel aroma and subtle sweet finish that begs for a date with a steak.

PUMPKIN ALE SPICED

ALE

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

15

With flavours of nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cinnamon and fresh baked pumpkin, Swans’ malty entry into the well-populated field of pumpkin ales is pie in a glass.

COCONUT PORTER FRUIT BEER

206.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Organic coconut and chocolate malt make this rich porter just right for those who are – wait for it – “coo coo” for coconut.

WHOOPER SWAN

IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE

9.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

80

Whoop it up with this Imperial IPA that’s sure to have plenty of hoppy kick.

“Beer. Now there’s a temporary solution.”

– Homer Simpson

Craft Beer Pioneers Swans

At first glance, the stunning historic building adorned with flower boxes in full bloom gives the impression you’re arriving for high tea, but Swans Brewpub, a staple of downtown Victoria for over 25 years, is serving a different kind of drink.

A pioneer of the craft beer scene, Swans Brewery opened in the spring of 1989 with a design by Frank Appleton. The tradition of grain in this building is strong, for it was originally built in 1913 as a storage facility and feed store for wheat and corn from the farms of the prairies and Vancouver Island. As the story goes, founder Michael Williams laughs when thinking back to what an “ugly duckling” the new building was, thus chuckling at the irony of naming his new venture Swans.

Under the hand of brewmaster Andrew Tessier since 2003, Swans boasts over 31 Canadian Brewing Awards for their British style ales and German and Canadian beers. Visitors and locals alike enjoy live music seven nights a week, sipping on nine signature brews, three of which are pulled through traditional English style draught engines. You won’t find any added syrups or sugars here in the 100% grain mashes. Specialty malts and their own unique strain of yeast imported

“Honest Beer Brewed Here”

from the UK, coupled with the avoidance of filtration or pasteurization makes the folks at Swans proud to say “Honest Beer Brewed Here”.

Feeling tipsy? Swans Hotel is right on site, with 30 spacious condo style suites, a 3 story rooftop penthouse and dog beds for furry guests. Throughout the brewpub and hotel, Williams’ art collection fills the walls, a legacy left as part of a bequest to the University to Victoria after his passing in 2000.

Craft beer’s the new unifying force of Cascadia culture

by Jan Zeschky

Cascadia. It’s an evocative name, conjuring images of dense evergreen forests, snowcapped peaks and water, water everywhere: from rain to mountain creeks, waterfalls, mighty rivers and the boundless Pacific.

Oh, and beer. Beer is more than 90 per cent water, after all.

With so much wet stuff on hand, it can’t be more than just coincidence that Cascadia has been the hub of beer’s global reinvention as craft beer over the past 30 years or so. But it’s more than water that has defined this border-straddling beer culture. There’s location and history to consider, too.

B.C., Washington and Oregon are almost as far removed from their federal centres of power as it’s possible to be. Life on the periphery breeds a different kind of person, first embodied by the pioneers who explored the mountainous West.

It’s not a stretch to say that something of the Wild Frontier is still alive in Cascadia’s beer culture today. The region’s brewers are exploring, pushing boundaries, using their creativity and resourceful-

ness. Their followers, the beer drinkers, are pushing them ever further into beer’s outer reaches.

“That’s why craft beer resonated here first. Experimentation [is] one of the more important features of the craft beer renaissance in this part of the world. That’s kind of a hallmark of the culture here,” says Matt Phillips, whose eponymous Victoria brewery was one of the first in B.C. to take liberties with established styles.

Phillips Brewing Company is recognized as one of the first to produce the Cascadian Dark Ale style with the release of Black Toque around 10 years ago. Its heady mix of roasted malt and piney hops caught the imagination of beer drinkers across the region and soon CDAs were everywhere.

Perhaps the most notable – for its Cascadian branding as well as its wall of flavour – was Secession, brewed by Portland’s Hopworks Urban Brewery.

“[The style has] found a home here because we’ve got the best beer drinking customers on the planet that are very accepting of experimentation. It’s important that the style caters to what the Cascadian

beer drinker wants, and they want a ton of flavour,” says Hopworks founder Christian Ettinger.

He also draws a parallel between the “inclusive nature” of beer culture and the friendliness of Cascadian residents. “I feel very much at home moving around Cascadia,” Ettinger says.

Phillips echoes this sentiment: “We always had way stronger ties north-south than east-west and a lot of that was a reflection of similarities in our industry and similarities of our interest in beer,” he says.

clouds and snowy peaks, and the blue of the sky and ocean. Across all three is emblazoned a single Douglas fir, a symbol of defiance and resilience, according to Baretich.

It’s also a neat symbol of Cascadians’ desire to protect the remarkable environment in which they live.

“We strive to be stewards of Cascadia. So there are things to be proud of in terms of our resources we use to make the beer, but also the environment that allows for those resources to be cultivated and successfully harvested. When we have a nice resource it’s up to us to protect it,” Ettinger says. Hopworks prides itself on using organic ingredients and strives to be carbon neutral. It’s not alone in its environmental goals. Phillips was recently named Green Company of the Year by Drinks Business magazine for its efforts in CO2 reclamation and waste reduction, while B.C. has its share of organic breweries, including Crannog, Nelson and the newly opened Dogwood in Vancouver.

Again, there’s a historical root to this environmentalism.

Cascadians’ thirst for intensely flavoured beer is a result of the majestic landscape we live in, Ettinger believes. “With big geographic features come big flavours, big personalities,” he says.

This leads us to the issue of Cascadia’s very definition, which goes beyond political borders – the chances of B.C., Washington and Oregon seceding to form a new republic are slim – and into the realm of bioregionalism.

Bioregionalists such as Portland-based teacher

Alexander Baretich regard Cascadia as both a geographical area – comprising Pacific-bound waterways from Alaska and Yukon to northern California – and a state of mind, a place to reintegrate with nature.

Baretich designed the Doug Flag in 1995 in a bid to create a “shift in consciousness” toward bioregional awareness. The flag has since become the de facto emblem of Cascadia: Its tricolour layout represents the green of the forest, the white of the

“A lot of [the pioneers] were escaping the cities of the east, or the cities of Europe,” Baretich says. “They were escaping these dirty places, factory towns, places of disease with moral or physical problems. But when they started coming here, over and over again you’ll read in those pioneer diaries, they’re struck by the awe of nature here, the overwhelming power of nature here.”

Cascadia. It’s a tricky concept to define. And in that sense alone, it’s a lot like craft beer.

“What’s craft beer?” Phillips asks. “Well, you know it in the gut of your stomach … It’s the same kind of truism with Cascadia.” j

Dogwood Brewery in Vancouver is one of the growing number of Organic Breweries popping up around the province.

There are things to be proud of in terms of our resources we use to make the beer, but also the environment that allows for those resources to be cultivated and successfully harvested.

- Christian Ettinger

VANCOUVER ISLAND BREWERY

2330 Government St. | vibrewery.com

MON-SAT: 10AM-6PM

EST: 1984

Victoria’s original microbrewery dating back to 1984, VIB has a strong following on Vancouver Island. It has a heritage of German brewers, so it’s no surprise that some of its best beers are German. Indeed, it won two gold medals for lagers at the Canadian Brewing Awards earlier this spring.

HERMANN’S DARK LAGER DUNKEL

30 5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Winner of many awards, including a gold medal at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards, this Dunkel is consistently VIB’s best beer.

@vanislebrewery

6 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This ISA has juicy notes of tropical fruit and melon with a crisp bitterness and clean finish.

RED ARROW BREWING CO.

5255

Chaster Rd. | redarrowbeer.ca

MON-THU/SAT/SUN: 11AM-6PM ^ FRI: 11AM-8PM @redarrowbeer

EST: 2015

Founded by Chris Gress, the brewer at the Craig Street Brewpub since it opened in 2006, Red Arrow is a production brewery with a tasting room located just off the highway. The building, which was originally a custom motorcycle shop, is picturesque with ivy-covered bricks, a totem pole (which Duncan is famous for if you didn’t know) and a gargoyle named Christopher overseeing everything.

KUSTOM KÖLSCH

255.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Very quaffable, this light yellow German-style Kölsh is crisp and refreshing with a slightly grainy aroma.

SWEET LEAF

INDIA PALE ALE

656.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This IPA has a lot going for it: pungent, tropical hop aromas and flavours, along with a sweet, caramelly maltiness.

HERITAGE RIVER

HEFEWEIZEN

4.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

25

Brewed with a traditional Bavarian yeast strain this cloudy wheat beer is full of citrus, bubblegum and clove flavours.

MIDNITE

UMBER ALE

335.1% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This beer pours ruby brown (umber?) with notes of candied apricot, toffee and brown sugar and some southern hemisphere hops.

“If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose. – Jack Handy

LONGWOOD BREWERY

101A-2046 Boxwood Rd. | longwoodbeer.com

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

EST: 2013

This Hub City brewery cracked its first keg back in 1999 and was the first in B.C. to introduce growlers to the thirsty masses. So that’s gotta count for something. They also have a keen – and some might say, obsessive – interest in keeping their ingredients as local as possible, using locally grown and malted barley in a number of their brews along with locally grown hops from Cedar Valley Hop Yards.

ALL DAY STOUT

253.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Agent Cooper would find this “damn good,” thanks to locally roasted, cold brewed coffee blended with Longwood’s already imposing Russian Imperial Stoutnik.

STEAM PUNK DUNKLEWEIZEN

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

19

An island favourite that’s dark and rich, yet surprisingly clean and refreshing. Put this one on repeat.

@longwoodbrewery

THE BIG ONE INDIA

6.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

65

This is a classic British-style IPA with a distinctive Pacific Northwest slant thanks to the intense combo of unprocessed, locally grown, hop flowers and the 100 per cent local malt body.

FREE SPIRIT FRUIT

126.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Pucker up, thanks to a 16-month spontaneous fermentation with a prickly combination of local wild yeast and bacteria, heirloom cascade berries and West Coast raspberries.

Longwood also has a brewpub. See page 144.

SOUR

PALE ALE

WOLF BREWING CO.

940 Old Victoria Rd. | wolfbrewingcompany.com

MON-THU: 11AM-6PM ^ FRI: 11AM-7PM ^ SAT: 12-5PM

EST: 2010

Things are starting to look up at Wolf. New-ish brewer Kevin Ward hails from London where he worked in Michelin-starred restaurants. As the gastropub movement happened there, he was brewing at home and then began brewing beer for his pubs, all the while training at breweries to hone his skills. Look for interesting new releases and special small batch creations in the brand-new tasting room.

GOLDEN HONEY ALE SESSION

19 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This light, refreshing session ale is brewed with locally sourced raw honey.

HARBOUR CITY

WEST COAST PALE ALE

354.7% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

A West Coast pale ale that celebrates Nanaimo’s waterfront. Well balanced between malt and hops.

WEE HEAVY SCOTCH ALE

6.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

34

CERBERUS

IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE

808.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

This triple dry-hopped (three-headed beast, get it?) brew uses locally grown and malted barley and tropical-citrusy hops.

“Beer does not make itself properly by itself. It takes an element of mystery and of things that no one can understand.” – Fritz Maytag

A traditional Scottish beer that is made with malts that are caramelized in the brew kettle.

CUMBERLAND BREWING CO.

2732 Dunsmuir Ave. | cumberlandbrewing.com

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

EST: 2014

From the second it opened, Cumberland Brewing has helped revitalize the small Comox Valley town and shaping what was once the “Luckiest Town in North America” (according to the PR machine at Lucky Lager). B.C. craft is synonymous with community, quality and eccentricity – and CB has it in spades.

JUST A LITTLE BITTER

ENGLISH BITTER

304.3% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A traditional English-style bitter brewed with traditional ingredients. Well-balanced and very smooth.

FOREST FOG

AMERICAN WHEAT

204.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A light, refreshing wheat ale, 25 cents per litre of which goes toward the effort to preserve the Cumberland Forest surrounding the Village of Cumberland.

@cumberlandbeer

TROPICAL HOP

4.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

45

As refreshing as the name suggests, it’s light, moderately hoppy and perfect for the brewery’s patio which is finally open, thank gawd.

RED TAPE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

40

Almost an IPA, but not quite. Well-hopped, with a rounded malt body, and a comforting brew ideal for gazing at wildlife surrounding the area.

“The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour”. – William James

FORBIDDEN BREWING CO.

1590 Cliffe Ave. | forbiddenbrewing.com

EST: 2015

Despite being a hotbed of local agriculture and fine cuisine, the Comox Valley was notoriously fond of lousy lager even as the craft beer revolution exploded all around it. That has finally changed thanks to the arrival of three new breweries since December. Forbidden is the smallest: a nanobrewery based in the Westerley Hotel that only sells its beer in the tasting room for now. So plan a trip. FORBIDDEN

405.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This beer wasn’t quite ready at press time, so let us know how it tastes.

FORBIDDEN IPA INCREASINGLY PARANOID ANDROID

80 6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A solid example of the IPA-style – malty, hoppy and very quaffable.

Vancouver brewers tap into German traditions

by Kelsey Klassen

When Doan’s Craft Brewing Co. secured its spot in the old Powell Street Brewing location last year, brothers Evan and Michael Doan knew that they had to do something epic to make their tasting room stand out.

So they reached out to Ola Volo, a rising local illustrator whose fairytale-like line drawings are sought after by magazines, fashion houses, and collectors.

A soft-spoken 26-year-old, Volo and her imagination knows no borders or bounds: the Emily Carr graduate, who moved to Vancouver from Kazakhstan with her family when she was 10, delicately weaves the folkloric influences of her Eastern European heritage and North American home into richly patterned, narrative designs.

When Doan’s opened its doors at 1830 Powell Street in May, the intimate 25-seat tasting room

announced itself with a 13-foot Volo mural telling quite the story: three German brothers, surrounded by alpine trees and “stein houses,” bedecked in lederhosen and raising Doan beer and ruckus to the roof, elevated the wall behind the communal harvest table. The idea is, when you walk into Doan’s, you have the wall’s implicit permission to party like two-centuries worth of Germans. And while the Doans themselves are not German, their beers certainly draw from that Old World-style, and that was the launching point for Volo’s vision for the mural and the brand.

“When I was working on this project, I was in Germany at the time, kind of coincidentally, developing all the labels and the sketches. So there was this nice inspiration coming from German folklore,” says Volo in charmingly accented English. “And then I decided to separate the brothers onto three labels.”

Doan is the passion project of only two Doan brothers, but Volo gave their third brother a place of pride on the labels and in the mural as a way to celebrate the Doans’ love of family.

“I wanted to make the story behind the labels come across as the personality of the characters,” explains Volo. “I made Mike to be sort of the workaholic – more business oriented – and Evan was more about [being] very cheery, very creative, so I made him to be the guy with the barrel!” she laughs. “And they’re very family-oriented, and very close with their mom and the rest of the family, so the last label I included [the three of] them in a house setting where they have all their potential wives and pictures of cats,” she giggles. And the story doesn’t end there: There is, in fact, already a new chapter in the works in the form of Doan’s first bottled seasonal. A new beer needs a new label, and Volo’s got some ideas for where the “brothers” are headed next.

“I think they’re going back to Germany! There’s so much traditionalism that’s involved in beer making ... gathering the hops and gathering the other small ingredients that are secret that they want to add to the batch. That’s where I want to take it – back to the nature scene, and to where the actual beer culture stems from in Germany to begin with.” j

GLADSTONE BREWING CO.

244 4th St. | gladstonebrewing.ca

MON-SUN: 10AM-12AM

EST: 2015

Located one block off Courtenay’s main drag in a building that was originally a car dealership and mechanic’s shop in the 1940s, Gladstone has a 30-seat tasting room that looks into the brewery itself, along with a patio outside that was a great addition just in time for the summer. The head brewer is John Adair, previously of Parallel 49, and he’s got this engine humming on all cylinders.

STIRLING SINGLE

BELGIAN SINGLE

30 5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

This trimmed down version of a Belgian tripel has the flavour without the booze: think four cylinders instead of eight.

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

30

A crisp and refreshing Czech-style pilsner that will ensure you keep your car parked so you can have more than one.

@gladstone_beer

GLADSTONE PORTER PORTER

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

Winner of a bronze medal at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards, which is quite impressive for a brand new brewery.

STRAIGHT 8

IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE

8.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

88

This big beauty lives up to its name: it’s turbocharged with hopspower to spare. Get your motor runnin’.

“The only words I said today are ‘beer’ and ‘thank you.’”

– Bill Callahan

TOFINO BREWING CO.

Units C & D, 681 Industrial Way | tofinobrewingco.com

MON-SUN: 11AM-10PM

EST: 2011

The road to Tuff City is long and slow in tourist season, so be prepared to sit behind sluggish RVs and buses most of the way. But once you arrive, you’ll never want to leave. That’s probably the story for most of Tofino’s residents. It certainly was for the three buddies who founded Tofino Brewing. Really, the only thing the town was missing was a brewery, and they solved that, didn’t they?

TUFF SESSION

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

This easy-drinking, copper-coloured ale balances the malts and hops perfectly.

KELP STOUT

086.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Hey, dude, let’s put some of that kelp in this beer. Seriously, it’ll taste great! And it does...

@tofinobrewco

TOFINO LAGER LOGGER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

15

This light, crisp summer beer is ideal for the boat and the beach. Crushable.

HOPPIN’ CRETIN

607.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A heavily hopped IPA with notes of citrus, pine and tropical fruits atop a light caramel malt body.

“They who drink beer will think beer.”

– Washington Irving

INDIA PALE ALE

WEST COAST PALE ALE

TOWNSITE BREWING

5824 Ash Ave. | townsitebrewing.com

MON-SUN: 11AM-7PM @townsitebrewing

EST: 2012

Powell River’s Townsite neighbourhood is a National Historic site, and while the commercial section is a tad rundown now, Townsite Brewing is a bright spot. Brewer Cédric Dauchot makes sure the beer meets his exceedingly high Belgian standards. Exciting news: he recently started establishing a sour beer program.

BLACKBERRY FESTIVALE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

18

Powell River celebrates with a Blackberry Festival every August, and Townsite does its part by brewing this delicious berry-infused wheat beer.

TIMEWARP

WET-HOPPED PALE ALE

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

60

Using locally sourced hops that are fresh from the harvest, this pale ale features big, grassy, hoppy flavours and aromas.

SHINY PENNY

8.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

80

Named for the Saskatoon brewpub Cédric and wife Chloe tried to open, this beer celebrates the fact that they came to B.C. instead.

SOUR FESTIVALE

SOUR WHEAT ALE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

18

A kettle-soured version of the Blackberry FestivAle, which is bound to be a very interesting combination.

“Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!” – Martin Luther

BELGIAN INDIA PALE ALE

GIBSONS

PERSEPHONE BREWING CO.

1053 Stewart Rd. | persephonebrewing.com

SUN-THU: 11AM-7PM ^ FRI/SAT: 11AM-9PM @persephonebeer

EST: 2013

When the zombie apocalypse finally takes place, we’re hightailing it to Persephone Brewing’s bucolic home base on the Sunshine Coast, located on a plot of land with vegetables, beehives, chickens and six acres of hop fields. Oh yeah, and they brew some dandy beers there, too.

AMERICAN PALE ALE VERMUTEN!

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

33

This sessionable beer for the hop lover is a medium-bodied, light coloured ale bursting with juicy citrus and tropical fruit aromas from our familiar friend Citra hops.

TEXAS PILSNER

PILSSSSSSNER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

25

A modern take on the classic American pilsner, brewed with pilsner malt and rice and hopped with Amarillo throughout the process. It’s light and refreshing, with some fruity oomph

GODDESS GOLDEN

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

Modelled after an English style summer bitter, this baby is crisp, dry and refreshing, with a light biscuity malt character.

OKTOBERFEST LAGER

LAGER

5.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

27

Break out the lederhosen. This amber lager boasts a light nutty aroma that gives way to a nicely rounded bready flavour and a subtle spicy hop character.

“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” – Dave Barry

Every new urban restaurant has to have a few craft beer taps to ensure relevance of any kind. And this is excellent news for the craft beer community, especially in Vancouver, where the restaurant scene is tremendously crowded already.

But which restaurants have the BEST tap lists? Where does one go if one wants not only an exceptional meal but also an exceptional beer to go with said meal? Huh?

Here, we list out the best food-focused restaurants that also happen to have an excellent beer selection. We nixed breweries and brewpubs, along with “bars” and “pubs”, even thought they might have really good food. Would you take your date to just some bar for a meal on a third date? YOU WOULD? Well, that’s on you, friend.

BESTIE | Chinatown

A cool, very small currywurst joint in the heart of Chinatown that offers a small and rotating tap list of local brews served in 8, 12 and 24 oz. glasses.

BIERCRAFT | Commercial / Cambie / UBC

The ideal spot to get acquainted with the complicated world of Belgian beers and cozy up further with some local favourites.

CHAMBAR | Crosstown

Ditto from above, with the addition of some of the greatest meals you’ll ever eat in Vancouver.

THE CURIOUS CAFE | Kelowna

The first beer-focused bar of its kind in Kelowna is similar in spirit to Vancouver’s Alibi Room, if the Alibi Room had wood fired pizza and 13 expertly curated taps from B.C. and Oregon.

DON’T ARGUE! PIZZERIA | Main Street

Yes, the wood oven, by-the-slice pizza is excellent for any occasion (family dinners, hangover breakfast, snack between meals, etc.) but the small and local taplist is, ahem, arguably even better.

HOG SHACK | Steveston

Hog Shack makes up for the dearth of barbeque joints in the Lower Mainland, first by the sheer size, scope and flavour of some of its dishes, but

also its beer selection, which includes a local rotating taplist and an international bottle selection.

MERCHANTS | Commercial Drive

A beer geek’s paradise, featuring regular beer dinners and varied selection of local craft beers for a wide range of tastes. Also? A selection of weird, wild beers from all over the world, and apparently, a beer cellar so vast it reels the mind (says the rumour mill).

POURHOUSE | Gastown

Yeah, this place is half-bar, half-restaurant, but the craft beer selection is the best in Gastown, and the food is top notch as well. It’s a dependable date-night spot.

WILDEBEEST | Gastown

Take everything we said about everything above (minus the barbeque stuff) and it’s all true for Wildebeest. Just go there, if you can get a reservation. Good beer.

OK everyone – we’ll take those free meals now. j

GULF ISLANDS BREWERY

270 Furness Rd. | saltspringislandales.com

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

EST: 1998

At this brewery, located in a converted barn at the base of Mount Bruce, longtime brewer Murray Hunter uses organic malts and fresh water from a spring on the mountainside above. The brewery grows some of its own hops on a nearby field where they host an annual hop-picking festival at harvest time late in the summer. Definitely plan a visit, but be warned: you may never return from this idyllic paradise.

@saltspringales

GOLDEN ALE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

13

This light beer is brewed with organic barley and flaked rye malts and a hint of fennel and orange peel.

DRY PORTER

A PORTER. THAT IS DRY.

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

56

A very dry and refreshing porter, this is the perfect marriage of roasted barley, chocolate malt and hops.

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

22

Salt Spring’s award-winning flagship beer has a nutty flavour, citrus notes and a beautiful golden colour.

HEATHER ALE

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH ALE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

13

Along with hop-free gruit, this is another “ancient ale” style brewed by Salt Spring-infused with local heather flowers.

“All the best pubs are built on a hill, so you can slope in and roll out.”

– Benny Bellamacina

BRILLA SUMMER ALE

GOLDEN/BLONDE ALE

THE GROWLER GUIDE TO

BELLINGHAM

Yes, Bellingham.

Chances are if you grew up in the Lower Mainland, the name “Bellingham” conjures images of lengthy border crossings, cheap gas and strip malls. And you’re not wrong!

But there’s plenty more to this small Washington city than you know. First, there are the wellpreserved historical neighbourhoods, hugging the banks of Bellingham Bay. Then there’s the abundance of hiking and biking trails, and legions of friendly granola eaters eager to share the ones they love best.

And there’s the beer. Bellingham has experienced a craft brewery growth-spurt in tandem to Vancouver’s. For years, Boundary Bay Brewing was the only thing in town, but since 2012, there’s been a lift-off. By the end of 2015, there will be eight craft breweries in Bellingham, and at least 12 by 2016. There are several more in the surrounding Whatcom and Skagit Counties.

Quantity’s fine, of course, but quality’s the key. In June, the local breweries brought in a collective 14 medals at the Washington Beer Festival, which was a point of pride for just everyone we met while down there in June.

Here’s a curated guide to the beers of Bellingham, in case you feel spending a day (and night) down south. And you should. The spots here are listed based on bicycling, but weather depending, you can take a designated driver (if you’re so blessed) or a cab. Or you can walk it, if you’re feeling ambitious.

Make sure to try these beers

NOON // CHUCKANUT BREWERY & KITCHEN

Chuckanut is a bit of a diamond in the rough. The locals have really embraced the brewery due, in part, because they specialize in European style lagers rather than big hoppy brews. Throughout the rest of the U.S. and Canada (Vancouver in particular), Chuckanut is renowned, particularly for its pilsners. In 2009, Chuckanut won Small Brewpub of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival, and in 2011 won Small Brewing Co. of the Year. We recommend that you eat here. Get your strength up. You have plenty of boozing to do…

Kölsch

1:30

PM // WANDER BREWING

Probably the coolest tasting room in Bellingham, Wander’s built in the back of a downtown heritage building. It’s also one of the newest breweries, opened by husband and wife team Chad and Colleen Kuehl. Like Chuckanut, the beers are inspired by styles not commonly explored in the Pacific Northwest.

Baltic Porter

6

3

PM // KULSHAN BREWING CO.

Named after the Native American name for Mount Baker, Kulshan’s opening coincided with the city’s newfound obsession with craft beer.

The beer is designed for drinkability and approachability – anyone should be able to enjoy it – and their lineup is remarkably consistent.

Both the James Street and the new Kentucky Street locations are worth visiting, but all beer on tap is the same.

Bastard IPA

PM // THE LOCAL PUBLIC HOUSE

You can walk over here from Aslan. This is the taphouse for the Ferndale’s Menance Brewing, but it’s a great spot to find unique, difficult-to-find small batch beers from Washington, Oregon and (occasionally)

B.C. Everything here is either local or artisanal – even the soda. They specialize in pub fare done very well – a common trend, no doubt, but one that’s executed beautifully here. Curried fish and chips, smoked gouda mac and cheese and the fried chicken sandwich are all well worth it.

4:30 PM // ASLAN BREWING CO.

No, it’s not named after the lion in Chronicles of Narnia. But it does mean “lion,” which explains their logo.

This is the biggest, hippest and most urban-feeling brewery in town, but there’s a noticeable hippy vibe here. They have at least 12 beers on at any given time, six of which are year-round. It’s approachable, drinkable and a well-rounded line-up rooted in the Pacific North West style of brewing, and all of it is 100 per cent organic. The food is all locally sourced and the burger is phenomenal.

Blue Print Session IPA

WHAT ELSE TO SEE // THE FAIRHAVEN NEIGHBOURHOOD will shatter any notions you’ll have had of big box retailers and Sonic Burger drive-throughs. The historic neighbourhood, situated on a peninsula looking out over the bay, is full of small boutiques and restaurants. It’s also the home of Stones Throw Brewing, opening later this year.

WHERE TO STAY // THE BELLWETHER HOTEL is a beautiful seaside hotel. It’s a tad on the pricey side, but, as you can probably tell by the impressive paper stock you’re holding, The Growler has a penchant for attractive things we can’t really afford. It’s also dangerously close to Chuckanut Brewery.

FIREHALL BREWING

6077 Main St. | firehallbrewery.com

MON-SAT:

EST: 2011

Fires and Okanagan summers go hand in hand. So does thirst. What better way to honour all three Oliver staples than by setting up a brewery in the town’s old firehall. Lore has it, brew chief Sid learned to brew in college dorms because he was under-age at the time, and Firehall’s family-built brewery got its brewing system from a local bootlegger. They also don’t shy away from extended fire metaphors.

BACKDRAFT BLONDE

ALE

155.1% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Firehall’s answer to pale lager, this clean, crisp party pounder offers the beer-lover much more traditional character because of the vigour of ale fermentations.

HOLY SMOKE STOUT SMOKED STOUT

254.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Fire-dried barley trips the alarm with engulfing smokiness, but roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavours are quick to respond, rushed to the scene by toasted grains.

STOKED EMBER ALE

EXTRA SPECIAL BITTER

4.8% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

35

This ESB also boasts caramelized barley that equips the beer with toffee flavours and the warm glow of burning embers.

FALSE ALARM BITTER

WEST COAST BITTER

354.7% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

Following the Bob Ross school of painting, this beer mishap turned into a happy accident after a recipe mix-up resulted in a pale ale.

“I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.”

– Homer Simpson (again)

BAD TATTOO BREWING

169 Estabrook Ave. E | badtattoobrewing.com

SUN-THU: 11AM-10PM ^ FRI/SAT: 11AM-11PM @btbrewing

EST: 2014

Penticton’s latest and greatest brewery takes the idea of a brewpub and twists it with it’s original takes on the pizza pie. Head brewer Robert Theroux takes the same approach with the beer, taking some unique turns on classic styles. Also, they have a rad patio.

LOS MUERTOS CERVEZA NEGRA

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

25

This 2015 Canadian Brewing Award winner is a malt-forward, dark-ish lager that’s clean, crisp and – wait for it – refreshing.

FULL SLEEVE STRONG STOUT STOUT

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

20

A chocolate-y brew, with hints of espresso, that’s tipped with a creamy tan head that might make that transition to fall a little more bearable.

WESTCOAST IPA

INGRID’S PRICKLY ANTEATER

6.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

65

The tropical and citrus fruits are topped off with hints of pine in this well-balanced IPA.

TRUE LOVE KÖLSCH KÖLSCH

4.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

25

Then again, this crisp, light Kölsch, with its peach-y aroma and refreshing finish, will make you wish summer was forever.

“Do not cease to drink beer, to eat, to intoxicate thyself, to make love, and celebrate the good days.” – Ancient Egyptian saying

CANNERY BREWING

198 Ellis St. | cannerybrewing.com

MON-WED: 10AM-5:30PM ^

EST: 2000

10AM-7PM

If Penticton is the heart of craft beer culture in the Okanagan –and it is – then Cannery is the soul. Founded by Ron and Patt Dyck with 23 years of experience running a restaurant in nearby Naramata, Cannery has been spreading the gospel of craft beer in wine country ever since. The brewery just moved into a new facility downtown, which is a big improvement over its original location.

SKAHA SUMMER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

20

Cannery changes up the hops in this refreshing blonde ale each summer. This year it features Azacca and El Dorado hops.

MAPLE STOUT

425.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

The maple rounds out and softens the roasty stout character of this award-winning beer.

NARAMATA

NUT BROWN ALE

BROWN ALE

5.5% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

25

Cannery first brewed this on April 1, 2001 and it has been their flagship ever since. Malty, smooth and delicious.

WILDFIRE IPA

BLACK INDIA PALE ALE

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Small batch

88

Cannery brews Black IPA as a tribute to the firefighters and emergency service workers who help fight wildfires each year.

“I drink to make other people interesting.”

– George Jean Nathan

THE TIN WHISTLE BREWING

CO.

#112-1475 Fairview Rd | tinwhistle.ca

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

EST: 1995

Specializing in ales brewed with Okanagan fruit, Tin Whistle is a small brewery, producing beer in small batches with an emphasis on flavour and quality. They’ve recently moved into their brand new facility (in the old Cannery Brewing space), which means more space to brew. Does this mean more beer? We’ll have to see.

COYOTE

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

10

Crisp and dry with a creamy mouthfeel and just a hint of fruity strawberry and banana esters from Tin Whistle’s own yeast.

KILLER BEE

156.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Dark and rich, this sweet dark ale boasts tastes of chocolate and coffee combined with the flavour and aroma of dark caramelized honey from Keremeos.

@tinwhistlebrew

BLACK WIDOW

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

10

Dark but light and easy to drink with just a hint of chocolate.

PEACH

CREAM

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

10

The aroma and taste of fresh ripe peaches. No sticky sweetness here, finishing dry and refreshing.

“He was a wise man who invented beer.” – Plato

ALE FRUIT ALE

BLONDE ALE

ENGLISH MILD ALE

DARK HONEY ALE

BNA BREWING CO.

1250 Ellis St. | bnabrewing.com

SUN-WED: 1PM-12AM ^ THU-SAT: 1PM-1AM @bnabrewing

EST: 2015

The Okanagen’s newest brewery is coming in ahead of what’s bound to be a period of craft beer craziness in Kelowna. With a sophisticated lineup of beers and a beautiful new tasting room / restaurant, BNA’s one of several local business to open lately putting a new spin on the old Bro-town stereotype the city’s long suffered with.

BLOOD SUGAR

IBU KELOWNA

506.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Infused with pureed blood oranges, this IPA offers a tart citrus kick that’s balanced with the hop bitterness and sweet fruit flavour.

RED ROTHCHILD

RYE RED ALE

Availability: Year-round

34

This ale’s low carbination and malt-forward body offers a glimpse of the the Western Europe of old.

5.75% ABV

Availability: Year-round

45

Brewed with Centennial hops and aged with an infusion of tea leaves, the pale ale offers citrus and spice notes and a distinct aroma.

SLOW NIGHT, SO LONG

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

23

Exactly what you want from a Kölsch: crisp, dry and thirst-quenching.

“Beer, it’s the best damn drink in the world.” – Jack Nicholson

HOW DO YOU LIKE

‘DEM APPLES?

The Growler Guide to Cider

For many avowed beer drinkers, hard cider has long been associated with fruit-flavoured wine coolers, bad headaches and carrying a purse to the bathroom.

But that’s changing as more craft brewers expand their alcohol arsenal with dry-hopped ciders and discerning consumers discover the fortifying powers of cider beyond getting drunk faster. For wine drinkers, cider can be a gateway into the scruffy world of craft beer, and vice versa.

Then there’s the dietary factor. For those who avoid gluten due to allergies or a blind faith in the gospel of Gwyneth Paltrow (not to mention the growing cult of Crossfit and its paleo-ish followers), cider and all of its grain-free charms is a godsend.

Even the old grey lady, the New York Times, recently took note of the “fermented-cider revival” that’s fueling “a rapid growth in producers, drinkers and… cider bars,” such as Portland’s Bushwhacker Cider and Seattle’s Capitol Cider. Not surprisingly, behemoth brewers such as Anheuser-Busch and Molson have jumped on the apple cider wagon.

Due to cider’s categorization as a “wine” by the sober minds at BC Liquor Control, you won’t be able to fill your growlers up anytime soon. But there are still plenty of worthwhile local craft ciders worth tapping into. Here are a few favourites:

33 ACRES OF CID3R 33 ACRES

Vancouver, B.C. – Refreshingly tart, this 6.9 per cent, golden-hued cider is 33 Acres’ interpretation of an Old English scrumpy. They also serve it in a fancy-ass glass that looks like a large brandy snifter so you can swirl it around and inhale its bouquet as you remark on the tart apple, lemon peel and dry, ripe apple sweetness to anyone who’ll tolerate you.

HOPPING MAD DRY HOPPED APPLE CIDER CENTRAL CITY

Surrey, B.C. – Blending Yakima Valley hops with fresh pressed apples from the Pacific Northwest, Central City’s entry into the cider market is cold fermented from scratch, and more of a dry-sweet cider. In other words, you don’t have to wear a plaid shirt to dig it and it’ll appeal to all the sad sacks who’ve been poisoning themselves with Strongbow.

MERRIDALE TRADITIONAL CIDER MERRIDALE ESTATE CIDERY

Cobble Hill, B.C. – Straight outta Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island, this traditional British-style cider is the shizzle. Amber coloured, more sweet than tart, but with some rural oomph, it also took home hardware at the Bath & West Show and the International Cider and Perry Competition at the Hereford Cider Museum. So it’s got that going for it.

BONUS! HALLELUJAH HOPRICOT REVEREND NAT’S HARD CIDER

Portland, OR – Billed as a Belgian wit-style cider steeped with coriander, bitter orange peel and paradise grains fermented with a Belgian saison ale yeast, this baby achieves a refreshing balance between sweet and tart thanks to the addition of pure apricot juice and Oregon-grown Cascade and Amarillo hops. Yee-haw. If you’re lucky, it’s sometimes on tap at the Alibi Room, or in bottles at selective grog shops.

TREE BREWING CO.

1346 Water St. | treebrewingbeerinstitute.com

SUN-WED: 11AM-9PM ^ THU-SAT: 11AM-10PM

EST: 1996

Tree Brewing introduced craft beer to Okanagan bro-town of Kelowna and has never looked back, gaining a legion of loyal fans with its dependable, straight-shooting line of barley goodness. In 2014, they opened the Tree Brewing Beer Institute in downtown Kelowna, essentially a small batch brewpub equipped with a large, sit-down tasting room, two spacious patios, a retail shop and “beer classroom.”

5.6% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

@treebrewing

GRAPEFRUIT RADLER RADLER

64

A full-bodied IPA aimed to please the most fervent hop heads, it’s also the first “serious” IPA to be crafted for wide consumption by a Canadian brewery.

DUKES CIDER CIDER

5.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

Made with 100 per cent Kelowna apples, Dukes delivers a crisp, clean, subtle apple flavour with a dry finish.

Availability: Year-round

Popular in Europe among the cycling crowd for its thirst quenching, low alcohol powers, radlers (German for cyclist) aim to refresh.

VERTICAL WINTER ALE

2.5% ABV IBU N/A N/A

5.0% ABV IBU

20

Availability: Year-round

This medium-bodied ale should warm your cockles thanks to caramel and nut flavours, combined with a smooth malt profile leading to a vanilla finish.

“I’ve never been thrown out of a pub, but I’ve fallen into quite a few.”

– Benny

Bellamacina

New Kid on the Block

Tasting room with flights, growler fills & BNA swag

Eatery features foreign & domestic cooking with a menu designed for sharing Bocce court, shuffle board & plenty of lounge space to make your own memories!

CRANN ó G ALES BREWING

706 Elson Rd. | crannogales.com

THU-SAT: 8:30AM-4:30PM n/a

EST: 2000

Owners Brian MacIsaac and Rebecca Kneen have taken all the best elements of a survivalist camp, a hippie commune and a Hobbiton farm to to cultivate the most unique and refreshing brewery experience you’ll come across in this province. Crannóg is zero waste and certified organic, which, along with their dependable brews, has earned these folks legendary status in B.C. craft.

BACKHAND OF GOD

16

Availability: Year-round

A smooth, complex stout – among the finest this province has to offer – is just like the divine whipping you across the cheek. In a good way.

INSURRECTION

INDIA PALE ALE

62

Availability: Year-round

142 SORRENTO

SOCKEYE

ALE AMERICAN

5.4% ABV IBU

Availability: Seasonal

40

GAEL’S BLOOD

5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

48

A small portion of potatoes are used in the mash for the rounded mouthfeel, which is rounded out with hoards of Holding hops and complex malt profile. Earthy and spicy.

“Here’s to long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold beer, and another one!” – Irish toast

RED COLLAR BREWING CO.

355 Lansdowne St. | redcollar.ca

TUE/WED: 4-10PM ^ THU-SAT: 3-10PM

EST: 2014

Kamloops isn’t exactly known as a beer town, which might account for the high degree of craft beer fandom present at any given time inside Red Collar’s tasting room. The locals are starved for awesome beer, so they congregate on the rare spot that can provide. And provide they do – a versatile beer lineup that includes some West Coast classics, some Euro-style niche brews and some all around deliciousness.

RCB MÄRZEN

32 5.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

An ale brewed in the traditional German style

A full bodied golden lager with generous malt tones.

@redcollarbrew

6.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

23

A strong flavoured beer, with notes of caramel, coffee and chocolate. If you like bold Belgian brews, this is for you.

78 6.2% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

A classic-style brew with a pronounced hop character, courtesy of the Australian Galaxy and Ella hops.

RCB TRIPEL

BELGIAN TRIPEL

9.0% ABV IBU

Availability: Year-round

12

Another Belgian selection,flavoured with coriander and orange peel.

“Homer no function beer well without.”

– Homer Simpsoy

LAST BUT NEVER LEAST, IT’S YOUR

As always, here’s a helpful guide to all the brew pubs that didn’t fit our (admittedly faulty) criteria for getting full-page profiles. But that doesn’t mean we love them any less! That’s happened for other reasons. Just kidding.

VANCOUVER

CENTRAL CITY RED RACER BREW PUB

871 Beatty Street

No beer is brewed on the former Dix site, but they are souring some beers here, so we figured we should include them.

centralcitybrewing.com

DOCKSIDE BREWING CO.

1253 Johnston Street

We don’t hear much from Dockside, but it has one of the best patios in Vancouver, and charming little bar in the lobby of the Granville Island Hotel.

docksidevancouver.com

YALETOWN BREWING CO.

1111 Mainland Street

One-third of the Mark James Group brewpubs, it has a stellar location and some of the best pizza you’re likely to find downtown.

mjg.ca/yaletown

STEAMWORKS BREW PUB

375 Water Street

Take everything that’s attractive about Steamworks beer, then add it to an enormous English-style pub in Gastown with stellar cheeseburgers and views.

steamworks.com

RICHMOND

BIG RIVER BREW PUB

13200 Entertainment Boulevard

The only brewery in Richmond lives in the city’s Entertainment Heartland. Drink beer, then go bowling, or go to a movie, or go ice-skating, or swimming (although we don’t recommend it…)

zbowl.com/richmond_br/brewstory

SURREY

BIG RIDGE BREWING CO.

5580 152 Street

The final Mark James Group brewpub has arguably the finest selection of homemade brews. It’s also Surrey’s original brewpub, in case that matters to you at all.

mjg.ca/bigridge

CENTRAL CITY BREW PUB

13450 102 Avenue

This is the spot that launched B.C.’s reputation as bigwigs of beer. It’s gone a recent renovation, with a stellar tap list and menu to boot.

centralcitybrewing.com

WHISTLER THE BREWHOUSE

4355 Blackcomb Way

Easily one of the best spots in Whistler, with a patio ideal for people-watching and dependable roster of homemade brews.

mjg.ca/brewhouse

HANDY, TRUSTED BREWPUBS PAGE

LANGFORD

THE LOGHOUSE PUB

2323 Millstream Road

The newest beer-making establishment is finally open, with a selection of in-house beers a killer draft list to boot.

loghousepub.ca

DUNCAN

CRAIG STREET BREW PUB

25 Craig Street

The Cowichan Valley’s only brewpub is the perfect pit stop halfway between Victoria and Nanaimo with solid beers and a great kitchen.

craigstreet.ca

NANAIMO

LONGWOOD BREW PUB

5775 Turner Road

A popular Nanaimo pub that also happens to brew excellent beer. All the Longwood staples are available here (Sputnik anyone?), as well as some in-house only brews.

longwoodbrewpub.com

SALMON ARM

BARLEY STATION BREW PUB

20 Shushwap Street North

Plan on a road trip rest stop in Salmon Arm: the Barley Station’s beer is good and the food is great.

barleystation.com

PENTICTON

BARLEY MILL PUB

2460 Skaha Lake Road

A kitschy spot that has a decent kitchen and an autographed Gordie Howe jersey upstairs. Whoop!

barleymillpub.com

KAMLOOPS

THE NOBLE PIG

650 Victoria Street

Great food and even better beer. There’s an excellent roster of brews available here, and everyone is worth a try. Easily one of the finest beer spots in the province. Go there.

noblepig.ca

VERNON

MARTEN BREWING CO.

2933 30th Avenue

Vernon’s new downtown brewpub aims to reintroduce locals to the craft beer revolution nearly 30 years after Okanagan Spring opened there.

martenbrewpub.com

KELOWNA

FREDDY’S BREW PUB

948 McCurdy Road

You can drink the beer while bowling next door. What’s cooler than that?

mccurdybowl.com

How to become a

Fat, Drunk Loser

by Stephen Smysnuik

Beer writing is hard work, friends. The beer part is good, and balancing the beer with everything else puts enormous strain what like to call the Good Times – which, of course, has a tendency to put pressure on things like employment and family. Exhausting stuff. Also exhausting: Worrying about the looks of consternation grow more permanent on my wife’s face, what with the grizzled beard and regular hangovers. Also, caring about the fridge’s ratio of fresh veggies to beer bottles skew ever greater toward the latter.

So I’m making a chance. Attempts at a healthier lifestyle have fizzled. My only option now is to embrace the life totally, to cut out the unnecessary daily stresses own my destiny completely: I’ll become a flabby, drunken slob.

And so should you. Why not? Here’s how*:

LIMIT “SELF CONTROL” TO SELF-CONTROLLING EXERCISE. Once you give up the desire to do anything active – along with the illusions that it’s somehow “vital to your health” – you’re open to a world of unassailable freedom, which is punctuated by the ability partake in absolutely nothing, in your underpants, with a can a beer resting on your swollen abdomen.

AVOID RELATIONSHIPS THAT DON’T INVOLVE ALCOHOL. This includes relationships with your spouse, especially if you have a marriage like mine, which includes emotional bonds free of a dependency on alcohol necessary to get through a simple dinner together. Such time wasted!

ENSURE ALL SOCIAL CALLS INCLUDE BEER. If this means you see the same two people every single day, one of which has been missing his left shoelace for three weeks and primarily smokes discarded cigarette butts, then so be it.

CUT OUT ANYONE THAT QUESTIONS YOUR DRINKING, OR EXPRESSES CONCERN. Be savage about it. When you really think about it, nobody needs parents. Or love.

AVOID SESSIONAL BEERS. Yes, low-alcohol, – the

so-called “sessional” beers – are trendy, but any serious beer drinker knows these are for pansies. You call that can of Bottle Rocket a real beer? Dump your head full of Thor’s Hammer, then we can talk.

EAT A&W. Because it’s the best. Also I’m paid $20 and a Teen Burger every time I mention the brand in print.

KEEP BEER IN YOUR DESK. The most effective cure for the workplace hangover is more beer. I understand that not everyone has the luxury of

receiving free beer at their office on a weekly basis, and that not everyone’s co-workers understand and accept that the half-empty 650ml bottle cradled between your thighs at 10:42am is “for research purposes.” I get it. A creative approach might be necessary. Coffee canteens and breath mints are helpful tools.

LIE TO EVERYONE, REGULARLY. It’s necessary to keep a healthy (emphasis on healthy) distance between yourself and everyone you know, at all times, in order to stave off any insights or perspectives that may derail your lengthy benders.

So lie. Lie to your mother. Lie to your dog, and your grocer, and your barista. Tell them white lies, and porous black ones.

But you must, without question, lie to yourself about everything, always, if you want to keep it up.

There we have it. Now you’re a drunk loser too. To Valhalla!

Editor’s Note: It should go without saying that, if you do the exact opposite of these instructions, you can live a rich and fulfilling life as a beer enthusiast. But it’s your call, really. j

The most effective cure for the workplace hangover is more beer.