Category: howe sound brewery

cask

i’ve had the pleasure of drinking several wonderful casks of late

notably:

howe sound devil’s elbow ipa with delta and summit hops
(at the railway club on tuesday evening)

brassneck brewing passive aggressive pale ale dry hopped with sorachi ace
(at the camra vancouver agm at the biltmore on sunday afternoon)

red truck double clutch pale ale
(at the camra vancouver agm at the biltmore on sunday afternoon)

beer gifts for the holiday season

also known as my notes from yesterday’s beer column
on cbc radio’s on the coast with stephen quinn

gifts for the beer lover:
 
The holiday season is in full swing. Are you done your shopping yet? Is there still a beer lover or two on your list? Never fear, here are some gift ideas for the beer lovers in your life.

It’s too late now to get the beer advent calendars from Craft Beer Importers, featuring 10 Canadian beers, 13 American beers and 1 Mexican beer.  That one is available in early November and usually sells out within days of its arrival in stores, even with a price tag of $130. However, new this year is Phillips’ Snowcase – featuring 24 different beers from Phillips, including regular offerings, seasonals and barrel-aged beers and a more modest price tag of $60 – and there may still be a few available around town at government liquor stores.
 
The beer advent calendar is a gift you have to plan ahead for. Luckily, there are plenty of other gifts for the beer lover that require much less advance planning!  Such as:

While I was at the Make It Fair I saw some fabulous pottery pint cups and steins made by local artist Robyn Williams of Willowcraft. You can see them on her website, willowcraft.ca. The pint cups come in various colours with a round label that says “1 pint” and sell for $25. The steins hold 24 oz and have handles on them. They come in various colours and you can choose ones bearing an ale or lager label, and they cost $35 each. Robyn tells me she has pint cups and steins in stock, so contact her to visit the studio and pick up a gift that also gives back to the community. Willowcraft donates 10% of its profits to Justpotters, a social enterprise that employs people from the margins and people with barriers like mental health and disability issues. Justpotters teaches pottery and job skills.

For the beer loving cyclist in your life, Firebox.com has a six bottle beer holder that goes over the crossbar of your bike. Firebox is located in England but can ship to Canada within 7 business days, so there’s still time to order!
For the crafty folks out there, why not hand make a beer gift? Beer cozies are easy to knit or sew for your beer loving friends. Or a growler cozy if you’re more ambitious. If you’re good with wood, how about a bottle carrier or a growler box? There are plenty of free patterns for all of the above online.
For the board game lover there’s the Brewopoly game, or Beer Nerd, the Tasting Trivia Game, both available from Amazon.ca, and just enough time to get it here before the holidays. Also available on Amazon is a poster of the periodic table of beer styles.
A subscription to Taps magazine is only $35 for a year’s worth of monthly issues. If you spring for two years you get a pricing break of $60. Tapsmagazine.com is the website.
If you’re in a time crunch, a trip to your local liquor store, government or private, makes for easy pickings. There are several great gift sets of beer and swag to choose from. New this year is Howe Sound’s “Carton of Coal” three litre pack of Pothole Filler Oatmeal Stout, Megadestroyer licorice stout and Gathering Storm Cascadian Dark ale and a toque for $20.
If you happen to know your beer lovers’ favourite brewery, you could purchase some swag from their online store. Tshirts, hats, hoodies, bottle openers, growlers and glassware are usually available and you should have just enough time if you order now to have the goods arrive in time for the holiday. If their favourite brewery is local, you could stop by and pick up the swag yourself. Tasting rooms like Parallel 49 and Brassneck have tshirts and glassware for sale, as well as growlers. A filled growler also makes a great host gift to take to a party with you. Brassneck has 3 different sizes of growlers to choose from. 33 Acres has beautiful ceramic growlers – they ain’t cheap, but they’re very attractive!  They currently have the 32oz size available.  They also have growler fill cards available for purchase.
If you are looking to buy memories rather than goods, may I suggest one of the many beer tours in town, or tickets to a beer pairing dinner at a restaurant near you.
And, lastly, a plug for my friend Joe Wiebe and his useful reference book, Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries. Joe is offering autographed copies of the book inscribed personally to your beer lover. The book’s website is: http://www.craftbeerrevolution.ca/index2.html
 
I leave you with a few other peoples’ beer lovers gift lists: 
 

beer lovers gift guide from ‘blog about beer’
about.com’s 10 beer gifts
the brew club’s list
the list from squidoo

legacy

fabulous beers now available at legacy liquor store in vancouver:

Le Trou du Diable Shawinigan Handshake – $10.05

A reflection of the sharp sense of humour held by our former premier, Jean Chrétien, and a comical event in Canadian political history, this rich, hazy gold Quebecois beer boasts aromas of orchard fruit, Belgian yeast and a sprinkling of malt. Orchard fruits pull through on the palate too in combination with grassy, citrusy hops (Chinook to be specific) with a dry spruce finish. This tasty brew is perfect for any political science geek or beer lover.

Evan Doan | Beer Team | Legacy Liquor Store

Hacker-Pschorr Münchner Kellerbier – $3.70

A classic German style beer from the heart of Germany, Munich, this naturtrüb (naturally cloudy) beer has all sorts of sweet grains and earthy hops on the nose, aromas that follow through on the palate with grains and earthy hops playing primary roles together with an almost bread-like characteristic. This classic German Kellerbier hits the nail on the head.

Chris Bonnallie | Beer Supervisor | Legacy Liquor Store

Howe Sound Woolly Bugger – $8.75

Established in 1996, Howe Sound has been turning out award-winning beers for years, and their Woolly Bugger is no different. A beautiful shade of brown highlighted with orange and ruby in the glass, it has all sorts of caramel, toffee and dark fruit jumping out of it. More caramel, toffee and dark fruit find themselves on the palate, joined with notes of almond, roasted marshmallow and bitter chocolate. In combination with a full, rich and robust body, this little beer makes a big entry in the realm of Barley Wines.

Joel Wilson | Beer Team | Legacy Liquor Store

press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CRAFT BEER TAKES ON CHILLIWACK
CHILLIWACK, BC— The arts and crafts programs at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre are about to get a big boost. A much needed fundraiser has been launched by the Chilliwack Arts & Cultural Centre Society Board of Directors, entitled the Fraser Valley CULTURE & CRAFT BEER Festival, debuting Saturday, November 30, 2013. A unique focus on craft beer will highlight the event, alongside local cuisine and Chilliwack rockers, The Lounge Hounds, sure to create a ridiculously good time.
For the past 50 years, beers in the hands of the average Canadian have been put there by mega corporations with the wrong focus. Concentrating on how much they’re selling instead of what they are selling. Over the last several years, craft brewing has become the fastest growing beer segment in Canada. Craft brewing is innovative, full of curiousity, collaboration, and tradition. Craft brewers make their community a better place. For the first time, craft brewers will come together in Chilliwack and showcase beers that don’t follow trends, but rather create them.
Featuring the finest microbreweries in BC, the event line-up includes Coal Harbour Brewing, Cannery Brewing, Howe Sound Brewing Company, Pacific Western Brewing Company, Parallel 49 Brewing Company, Steamworks Brewery, Driftwood Brewery, Dead Frog Brewery, Vancouver Island Brewery, Beverage Concepts, and Chilliwack’s own, Old Yale Brewery.
Foodies will find pure pleasure with our complimentary appetizers to go alongside the beer. The freshest and highest quality samplings will be offered by local gems including Verard Farms, Hofstede’s Country Barn, Frankie’s Italian Kitchen, Birdie’s Bakery, Smits & Co Cheeses, Vallee Sausage, Bill’s Beef Jerky, Decades Coffee Club, Fraser Valley Meats, Happy Days Dairy, Holland Shopping Centre, Original Joe’s, and True North Kettle Corn. Who can resist deep fried bitterballen and croquettes by Holland Shopping Centre, or Fraser Valley Meat’s sizzling skewers hot off the grill?
The Society has been thrilled by the community’s support thus far, with sponsors coming on board and auction items donated. Gold sponsor, Brad Stuart of the District Public House is proud to throw his support behind the festival, “Our vision for the festival is to show everyone in Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley the incredible variety and quality of craft beer here in BC. We will also be able to showcase the new Cultural Centre and the Downtown Core to visitors outside of Chilliwack. We imagine it will be a sold out event.”
Tickets are limited to 400 and sure to go fast. Call the Centre Box Office today to secure your $35 entry to Chilliwack’s monumental craft beer event. Contact the Centre Box Office at 604.391.SHOW (7469), visit www.chilliwackculturalcentre.ca, or in person at 9201 Corbould Street.
Fraser Valley CULTURE & CRAFT BEER Festival is generously sponsored by the District Public House, Murray Honda, The Chilliwack Progress, Chilliwack Rotary, Tourism Chilliwack and 89.5 The Drive.

link love

beer tasting workout – train to be a better beer taster
(do they mean train to find better beer to taste, or train to be more adept at distinguishing beer flavours?)

is the craft beer boom going to go bust?
the national post seems to think so
although they do get a few beer facts wrong
like the bitterest brews in vancouver being from 35 to 70 ibus…
and “craft beer’s bold flavours appeal to the pallets of the few” is both simplistic and mis-spelled
p’shaw!  but i love that vancouver’s craft beer gets exposure in the national post

jan zeschky on howe sound brewing’s continued success
and awards at the north american brewing awards

vancouver craft beer week was good for the economy
not surprising, but nice to see some stats released in advance of the public getting a say in tasting room rules

why intelligent people drink more alcohol

east side beer festival

i attended the inaugural east side beer festival at the wise hall last night
hosted by liberty wine merchants it featured many local beers
and an opportunity to donate in several ways to the vancouver food bank
best of all – it was really fun times!!

camra was in da house
driftwood was in da house
all of east van was in da house!

i managed to sample my way through the following:

brooklyn ipa
lagunitas sumpin’ sumpin’
deschutes inversion ipa
green flash double stout
8wired hopwired ipa
8wired superconductor double ipa
8wired tall poppy red ale
epic brewing mash up
renaissance brewing ipa
brew dog punk ipa
betty stog’s bitter
ninkasi spring reign
central city red racer pilsner
driftwood fat tug ipa
howe sound super jupiter grapefruit ipa
howe sound 4way fruit ale
mort subite kriek
phillips bottle rocket india session ale
r&b brewing east side bitter

uprising bread
santa barbara cheese plate

legacy liquor store

new and exciting beers at legacy liquor store in vancouver
(and yes, they have been sold out of sartori for like a hundred years now!)

Mendocino Brewing Company White Hawk IPA – $6.35

A traditional India Pale Ale. We’ve blended American West Coast Cascade Hops with a very generous dose of English Fuggle Hops. This combination makes for a very aromatic character, as well as a truly authentic English flavor which you must taste to believe. “Hopheads” will love this brew!
 
Tuatara APA Aotearoa Pale Ale – $9.05
Tuatara APA was developed after Head Brewer Carl Vasta returned from attending the World Beer Cup in Chicago this year. A blend of three American grown hop varieties, Cascade, Amarillo and Simcoe were used over a solid English malt backbone of Marris Otter Pale and low colour Crystal malts. Pouring a rich shade of light amber, APA throws up aromas of grapefruit, tropical fruit, pine resin and biscuity malt, in the mouth the beer has a complex range of zesty, fruity hop flavours, and a solid lightly caramel flavoured malt backbone.
Commons Brewery Urban Farmhouse Ale – $12.55
This Harvest Marzen is made to celebrate the end of the summer harvest, and a change into the fall season. A creamy, smooth and malty beer representing the bounty of a season’s hard work, from plow to pint.
 
Howe Sound Pumpkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale
A high gravity pumpkin ale brewed with barley, pumpkin, hops, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, water and yeast. Produced in limited quantities.
 
Phillips Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale
This spiced ale will pair well with any harvest celebration, and give inspiration for that insane Halloween costume. Water, Malted Barley, Pumpkin, Hops, Spices and Yeast.
 
Vancouver Island Brewery Iron Plow Harvest Marzen
This Harvest Marzen is made to celebrate the end of the summer harvest, and a change into the fall season. A creamy, smooth and malty beer representing the bounty of a season’s hard work, from plow to pint.

legacy

new brews at legacy liquor store in vancouver:

Howe Sound La Brew Ha! Ha! A strong, Blegian-style Ale, with fruity and spicy flavours supported by a soft malt character. Brewed with a unique Belian-stytle Ale yeast in celebration of the annual ‘Fete de la St.-Jean-Baptiste in Squamish’.
8 Wired Brewing Hopwired IPA 1 of 3 new beers from 8 Wired. This IPA is made using unique New Zealand hops giving off aromas like a ‘Tropical Punchbowl’.
8 Wired Tall Poppy India Red Ale A second beer from this group, it has an intense, sharp and fruity hoppiness that is backed by its complex caramel-like malty structure.