freshly stocked at legacy liquor store in vancouver:
Named after the Dageraadplaats, a neighbourhood square in Antwerp, Belgium, Dageraad Brewing is brewer Ben Coli’s effort to transport a small piece of the beer culture he found there home to British Columbia. Spending his youth traveling the world, Ben met three Belgians in Laos and quickly became fast friends, subsequently visiting them in Antwerp several times. Inevitably, at least once each visit, they would find themselves in the Dageraadplaats drinking the legendary beers of Belgium. It was these first encounters with Belgian beers that led Ben to try brewing them himself at home, and it was with his first Belgian-style homebrew that he fell in love. It was incredible—fruity, spicy, complex, but light and drinkable. Interest eventually grew into obsession, and a period of intensive study soon followed including brewing school and beer sabbaticals in Belgium, crisscrossing the country to visit breweries in tiny Flemish villages and Ardennes abbeys, picking the brains of Belgian brewers to discover what made their beer so amazing, and of course returning to the Dageraadplaats again and again. This knowledge, experience and travel eventually culminated in Dageraad Brewing, a modest collection of stainless steel tanks warehoused in Burnaby, but there’s something Ben learned during his visits to Belgium: it doesn’t take grandeur in a brewery to make magic in a bottle.
Dageraad Brewing Amber – $7.95
The Belgian pale ale style marries the complexity of Belgium’s beers to the drinkability of Britain’s pale ales. This particular Amber’s light malty sweetness and rich bouquet of malt and stone fruit are balanced by a hoppy aroma and a crisp finish. Inspired by the experience of enjoying a fresh bolleke—Antwerp locals’ affectionate nickname for a glass of De Koninck—in the Dageraadplatz, just a stone’s throw away from the De Koninck Brewery, this delicious brew is not to be missed.
Chris Bonnallie | Beer Supervisor | Legacy Liquor Store
Dageraad Brewing Blonde – $8.85
Crowned with a fluffy, white head and graced with a fruity, spicy, citrusy aroma, Dageraad Blonde is the pride of Dageraad Brewing. Upon closer inspection, notes of nutty pilsner malt, whiffs of noble hops, faint hints of caramelized sugar and—when the beer warms—a sweet, floral breath of alcohol all appear before you even bring the glass to your lips. Inspired by Belgium’s incredible variety of strong, blonde ales—ranging from semi-sweet to bone-dry—that offer a huge range of fruit, hop and spice flavours, Dageraad Blonde gets its depth and complexity of flavour from European hops, spices and their house yeast.
Joel Wilson | Beer Team | Legacy Liquor Store
Beck's Beer Blog - test 