link love

brewdog’s irreverent history of and ode to the growler

vancouver tasting lounges – one man’s odyssey of tasting: one afternoon of my life

red collar brewing open in kamloops
moody ales opens in port moody

rebrandings for fernie brewing and lighthouse brewing

five great oatmeal stouts

a whole article about “should you drink beer or wine tonight” when the obvious answer is “yes”
(for the record, i don’t agree with most of the stuff in this article, i just wanted to link to it so i could be oh so funny in how i set up the link)

the winners of the 2014 bc beer awards

legacy liquor store

new and delicious beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver:

Upright Brewing Co. Seven – $12.55
French inspired ales with a West Coast twist to give them an identity all their own. This Portland brew has a slight haze to its brassy golden colour, and once it hits the glass you immediately plunge into an intense aroma of fruit and white pepper with a touch of Belgian malt. A dry beer with pear and apricot on the palate that hides the 8% ABV perfectly, it’s a simply remarkable offering from the state of Oregon.

Evan Doan | Beer Team | Legacy Liquor Store

Fernie Brewing Co. Snowblind Belgian IPA – $6.95

The second installment of Fernie’s Bucket List Series, this Belgian IPA combines the traditional style with new hop varietals from Australian and New Zealand. Unfiltered and hazy with a 7.9% ABV and a 68 IBU kick, this little treasure from the BC interior boasts the best of a Belgian IPA and the brews currently coming out of British Columbia.

Chris Bonnallie | Beer Supervisor | Legacy Liquor Store

Micro-Brasserie Le Trou Du Diable La Buteuse – $11.35

Paying tribute to Jacques Buteux, sent down the Trou Du Diable (Devil’s Hole) in 1652, this brew is clear and gold in colour with a big, bold, Belgian malt nose, with fruit and a bit of pepper to back it up. A balanced palate of fruit, pepper and a strong Belgian malt backbone ties up beautifully with a full body. A delicious take on a Belgian Tripel.

Joel Wilson | Beer Team | Legacy Liquor Store

monday night football

the beers consumed at this week’s monday night football fest:

the rogue was from last year and was pretty sedimenty
thank goodness the bc relaunch of rogue is next week and i can get some more recent juniper pale ale
it was a hit with everyone, even with the sediment
hope they still like it when it tastes like it should!

both the lone wolf and the lucky 13 went over well
so far I haven’t taken anything to mnf that people hated
i love having non-beer-obsessed friends willing to try whatever i bring along for them!

job love

sometimes the whole working for a living thing is a-okay
and i don’t just mean on pay day!

today the office field trip was to the liquor store
i love getting to stock the office fridge with beer!

now keep in mind that i am slowly indoctrinating my work peeps
so no judging the choices – the fridge looks so much better than when i started here!

bc craft beer box

the bc craft beer boxes have arrived in liquor stores!
a mixer pack of 6 bc craft breweries
and 6 styles of beer!

cannery brewing’s naramata nut brown ale
lighthouse’s race rocks amber
russell cream ale
mt. begbie’s high country kolsch
central city’s ipa
fernie’s first trax brown ale

colorado

i think this is a great idea:  the ultimate seasonal six-pack
(you go colorado!)
and want something similar in british columbia
can you dig it phillips, howe sound, central city, driftwood, lighthouse, r&b?
how about you cannery, fernie, mt. begbie, vancouver island, whistler?

st. augustine’s

tasting notes back from my july 14th visit to st. augustine’s…
odds aren’t good that all of these will still be on the menu…

quote of the evening is that we “came for the basil, stayed for the huckleberry”

in my sampler were:
fernie brewing’s what the huck huckleberry wheat
storm brewing’s basil ipa
old yale brewing co pale ale
swans brew pub arctic ale

the huckleberry wheat was cloudy, but not overly yeasty.
there were but a touch of huckleberries blended with the wheat – smooth, creamy, crisp finish.
most delightful

the basil ipa was phenomenal
not a session beer, but omg it would pair with so many foods!
amazing basil nose, in an ipa
freaking delightful
i want this all year long
i am not happy that it is a limited edition dammit!

the old yale pale ale is very much a pale ale
would be a great session beer
crisp finish
i like it!  i can see why it got voted canada’s best pale ale.

the arctic ale is a “mild-tasting, cold, canadian-style light ale”
very drinkable
seems non-descript next to the flavoury beers i put it next to, but i think there’s substance there

amanda had a fruity sampler (natch)
she went with the huckleberry and the basil
tin whistle peaches n cream okanagan fruit ale
lost coast tangerine wheat ale

she liked the basil ipa and the huckleberry wheat
which is not surprising for the huckleberry, but she liked an ipa!! an ipa!
she found the peaches and cream had a very peach nose, only a little cloudy, a bit cidery, crisp and refreshing
(and found that going from the peaches and cream to the tangerine was like going from fruit to candy… but not in a sweet way necessarily, more like fuzzy peach gummies)
the tangerine was delightful as aways and is her current favourite

shockingly, bridget had a backhand of god
but i also convinced her to try the bear republic hop rod rye
which she enjoyed
it was really quite sedimenty (with hops not yeast), nice dark caramel head
well balanced and delicious
oh, and the label is fabulous!