beer column

here are my notes from yesterday’s beer column on cbc radio’s on the coast with stephen quinn:

The BC Beer Awards on Saturday were a huge success as usual! 

465 beers were entered by 63 breweries and judged, and 51 of those were declared winners – 3 in each of the 17 categories, plus 3 homebrews, a best in show and a challenge cask winner.

No one brewery ran away with the awards.  In fact, of the 51 awards given out, 33 different breweries were represented in the winner’s circle.  And the fact that the best in show winner was a smoked porter from a brand new brewery says wonderful things about the state of beer in British Columbia.  Breweries big and small, new and established are all making really great beer.  This brings joy to my beer-loving heart!  And shows why BC won a whole third of the medals handed out at the Canadian Brewing Awards back in June – there is incredible depth in this Province of brewers brewing beer in all styles.  And they’re brewing good beer.

Leaders of the pack at the BC Beer Awards were Moon Under Water from Victoria and Parallel 49 of Vancouver with 4 awards each.  Steamworks, Central City and Brassneck each took home 3 awards (all of which were gold for Steamworks); Phillips, Persephone, Driftwood, Four Winds, Howe Sound and Dead Frog each took 2 home.

And from Yellow Dog brewing in Port Moody – some of the newest kids on the beer block – Shake a Paw Smoked Porter won in the Porter/Brown Ale category (out of 30 entries) and was judged the Best in Show.  That’s a huge accomplishment for a brewery that opened in July.  Major kudos to them!

Repeat winners include Tree Brewing’s Captivator Doppelbock which won bronze last year and Gold this year in the Special Lager category; Persephone won the stout category last year with their Stout-off Stout and this year with their dry irish stout; Central City took gold last year in the Imperial IPA category, and silver this year; and in the Strong Beer category Townsite got bronze last year and silver this year with their Biere d’Hiver.

For the full list of winners, visit the bcbeerawards.com website.

Another award handed out on Saturday was the Dan Small Homebrew award, in honour of Dan Small who introduced many lower mainlanders to the joys of homebrewing through his shop, Dan’s Homebrew Shop.  Dan passed away in August of last year. 

This year’s first place trophy went to the Anderson Family for their “Anderson Estate IPA”.

The Anderson Estate IPA is a fresh-hopped indiapale ale made from nugget, centennial and mount hood hops grown at the home of Rod and Lynell Anderson.  Rod and Lynell harvested their hops and took them to their son Matt’s house where, with help from Lynell’s sister Janine, they all brewed the beer together. 

The Anderson family are long-time CAMRA members, Matt is an award-winning homebrewer and previous CAMRA board-member.  Matt and his sister Mel are board-members of the VanBrewers homebrew club.  They’re definitely a craft beer family!

And finally, the challenge cask award. 

Brewers were challenged by the BC Beer Awards folks to brew a cask of purl.  Purl is an old beer style that uses wormwood as its bittering agent.  Several brewers took up the challenge and brought their casks to the tasting festival.  The casks were sampled and people voted on their favourite one.  Bridge Brewing took away the honours for brewing the most drinkable purl.

Wormwood is best known for being the illicit ingredient in absinthe.  Wormwood is a very bitter plant and a little of it goes a loooong way.  Purl beers also have spices and fruits in them.  I don’t see this style catching on though, it is just too bitter for most people to enjoy.  James at Storm has been experimenting with wormwood as well in his weekly “Brainstorm” beers.  Great fun to brew I am sure, but not so marketable!  Then again, this city is always looking for new cocktails… purl cocktails could be the next big thing.  You heard it here first!
 

Beer Picks:

Gold medal winning Steamworks Pilsner – available in six packs at gov’t and specialty beer stores, and on tap at the brewpub and brewery

Gold medal winning Main Street Session IPA – available in bottles and at the brewery for tasting and growler fills

Gold medal winning Driftwood Farmhouse Wit beer – available in 650 ml bombers at gov’t and specialty beer stores as well as on tap around town

link love

an extra link love this week as there’s just so much i love right now!

student of beer waxes poetic about bridge brewing

a couple of great articles in the westender about vcbw:  vcbw one, vcbw two and joe wiebe’s book launch at vcbw (by none other than vcbw organizer chris bjerrisgaard)

8 of the best looking craft beer brands, including one of my faves, 21st amendment

 

tasting notes for wine lovers when trying craft beers

 

how to fake it til you make it deciphering beer lists

good news for me, champagne boosts memory!

lastly, don’t forget, craft beer week begins tomorrow night

and there are still tix left for several events

plus the non-ticketed walk-up events

 

beernesday tasting notes

phew!  all caught up now!

november 2, 2011
big al harvest ale – 5.4% four pounds per barrel of fresh yakima sorachi ace hops offer big citrus and fresh lemon flavors and aromas which we paired with deeply refined malt flavors mark this rich and warming medium-bodied amber ale
lovely!  love the sorachi ace!  very rich and full-bodied
elysian bifrost winter ale – 7.5% taste is bold and balanced with a good amount of citrus and earthy hop bitters to offset the malt character
yes, yes, yes!
crannog insurrection ipa – 5.4% a pale amber malt body emphasizes munich and caramel malts, with enough sweetness to hold up the rather large volumes of fresh cascade and golding hops
light malt with perfect hoppiness, not my favourite ipa but such a joy to drink!
big al brougham bitter – 5.5% english-style pale and crystal malts combined with aromatic, floral english hops create a smooth, balanced medium-bodied beer
very english, but nicely hopped
big al ipa – 7.1% chinook, cascade and glacier provide bitterness, assertive citrus fuit and earthy hop flavors, and the long lip smacking finish to this delicious ipa
yes, very assertive citrus batman, almost too citrusy…

november 16, 2011
russell brewing marzen – 5.5% marzen is a copper-coloured lager with rich, toasted malt aroma balanced by the clean bitterness of german hops and distinct noble hop aroma
paired nicely with nachos, me likey!
big al harvest ale – see above
maltier than i remembered, not how i wanted to end my night
elysian men’s room red – 5.6% amber in color with a light hop aroma and toasty malt finish
too malty after my hoppy ipa choices, but i still love it!
rogue brutal bitter ipa – 5.8% an imperial bitter with exotic traditional floor malts, citrusy, hoppy flavor, stupendous hop aroma
delightful! glad to see it back!
new belgium ranger ipa – 6.5% this clear amber beauty bursts at the starting gate with an abundance of hops: cascade (citrus), chinook (floral/citrus), and simcoe (fruity) lead off the beer, with cascade added again for an intense dry hop flavor
i love this one!!!

november 30, 2011
i was not feeling my oats this week (or is that my barley?)
rogue mcrogue scotch ale – 8.2% deep copper in colour, caramel aroma, rich malty flavour with a roasted malt background
i found it quite caramely and damned fine, even if i couldn’t finish it
taylor’s crossing mad scow stout – 4.2% a dark irish ale having a rich, roasted coffee bitterness and a smooth creamy finish
i got very sweet coffee and a thinner finish… not sure what all the fuss is about on this beer
but that could have just been my general malaise speaking
deschutes jubelale – 6.7% a dark, malty celebtation ale with layered flavors and beautifully balanced hopping
again, maybe it was just my malaise, but i found this one very barleywinesque and not to my liking
north coast beer engine red – 5.5% a cask conditioned version of red seal ale.  malt and hops are beautifully married in this full-bodied, copper-red pale ale
i found it rather thin and murky, all at the same time
but all in all it was a lovely little red ale
cannery wildfire ipa – 6% this unique dark ipa is an intricate and exciting blend of hops, coupled with a rich malt foundation producing this fine ale with a complex character, dark colour and lingering hop finish
i do like this one – so dark and hoppy and satisfying
wish i’d felt better and could have had another!

beernesday tasting notes

october 19, 2011
rogue chipotle ale – 5.5% roasted chipotle peppers produce an eye opening chile flavor in this deep golden ale with a malty, smoky aroma and smooth, crisp flavor
i love chipotle!  so delish!
howe sound devil’s elbow ipa – 6% an assertive ale that is heavily bittered and dry-hopped providing an intensive aroma and brewed using selected english and north american barley and hops
its a baby next to the imperial ipa, but its a lovely tasty baby!
paddock wood loki double ipa – 8.7% double ipa weighing in at 80 ibus.  brewed using cascade, amarillo, willamette and ekg hops, giving the beer a strong hop character
i dunno about this one… too boozey for me.  but everyone else likes it and isn’t finding the booze in it
rogue imperial younger’s special bitter – 7.5% it has a triad of caramel maltiness, fruitiness and hop bitterness in aroma and flavor and a dry, hoppy finish
too boozey for this little princess.  but again, everyone else loves it and can’t find the booze
maybe its me?
phillips eternal optimist ipl – 6% this ipl may be eminently smoother but, as an ipa brewed like a lager, it’s just as rare
it smells like a lager, it tastes like a lager at first
but then the hops come on through and its a little bit of alright!
central city red racer ipa – 6.5% this ale has an intense aroma and a long lingering finish.  a beer for the connoisseur, this is the brewmasters choice
as always, this is one hell of a beer!

october 26, 2011
rogue double dead guy – 9.5% buttery peanut brittle, orange blossom tea aromas follow through to a rich chewy and fruity full body with nice notes of caramel drizzled dried apricot and roasted grains and spice
fabulous as always!  double the fun!
elysian bifrost winter ale – 7.5% taste is bold and balanced with a good amount of citrus and earthy hop bitters to offset the malt character
so nice i ordered it twice!  paired well with my garlicky caesar salad
light, pale and hoppy for a winter ale – yes, yes, yes!
rogue chatoe good chit pilsner – 5% made with rogue farm barley that is floor-malted in small batches
yup, i really like this pilsner – yum!
granville island brockton oval ipa – 6% brwed in the style of a pacific northwest india pale ale, this refreshing ipa is golden coloured and well hopped
had a little trouble standing up to the other bigger boys i ordered in my sampler
green flash imperial ipa – 9.4% a super-hoppy (101 ibus), high gravity, yet highly quaffable ale, green flash imperial ipa is created in this new tradition, with intense hop flavors and aromas from a unique blend of summit and nugget hops
just lovely!  and it didn’t overwhelm the rest of the beers in my sampler
for a flavourful imperial ipa that’s darned impressive!
red truck alt – 4.7% the aromas and flavors are restrained to emphasize a firm hop character.  despite the colour, this ale is very drinkable as the overall impression of this beer is very clean
me, i don’t much care for an alt

beernesday tasting notes

i am very behind on posting reviews and tasting notes
and i have no real excuse
besides i don’t wanna spend all my time on-line
i wanna read six more books and meet the 50 book challenge
oh, and i’d rather be out drinking the beer!

october 5, 2011
rogue john john hazelnut – 5.6% ale with natural hazelnut flavor aged in hazelnut spice rum barrels
blech, rum barrels! i thought i’d had this before (last year) but i don’t remember booze in it, just nuttiness.  too boozey for me
whistler valley trail chestnut ale – 6% dark amber colour with a tan-coloured head.  notes of chestnut, caramel and vanilla
too much darned vanilla for my liking – why does everyone gotta put in vanilla?  too sweet, not nutty enough!  a vanilla hazelnut latte – not a chestnut beer dammit!
storm imperial flanders red ale – 11% this full bodied monster of a sour has been aged in an oak barrel for a year
oak, sure… but i’m getting a whole lotta vinegar.  i do love a sour and it did grow on me as i got further into it
howe sound pumpkineater ale – 8% a pumpkin ale brewed with barley, fresh roasted pumpkin, hops, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, water and yeast
for a pumpkin beer this one’s a winner in my books
lagunita’s lil’ sumpin wild – 8.8% loads of malted wheat for a curious malt foundation and a light color, but our belgian yeast leaves a huge flavor and complexishness
i don’t know what came over me, but i ordered a pint of this – i don’t really like wheat and i definitely don’t like belgian…
whoa – i like it!!  complexish for sure, malty and hoppy and juuuuuust right! sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways

october 12, 2011
(menu #200 at st. augustine’s)
phillips ginger beer – 5% some might be surprised at the instant blast of flavour and aroma from this true ginger beer, but that doesn’t take away from its sheer quaffability
i like this one, really gingery, which makes me happy!
rogue chatoe good chit pilsner – 5% made with rogue farm barley that is floor-malted in small batches
i really like this pilsner!  and its hoppy enough to stand up to my other sampler choices
greenflash hop head red ale – 6% resinous hop character and bitterness balance the rich caramel malt base
delicious!  i love me a hoppy red ale
lighthouse race rocks amber ale – 5.2% its smooth, complex character and deep chestnut colour remind of toasted biscuit flavours with subtle notes of caramel and chocolate
next to the hop monsters in my sampler the caramel notes really come out in this beer
a good solid beer
driftwood fat tug ipa – 7% a northwest style india pale ale that is characterized by an intense hop profile of grapefruit and melon and restrained malt notes
i love this beer!

tasting notes

not that i’m behind on my notes or anything…
here’s the past two week’s worth of beernesday tastings at st. augustine’s

september 21, 2011
taster #1
elysian night owl pumpkin ale – 5.9%  brewed with 7 1/2 pounds of pumpkin per barrel and spiked in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice
rogue ales chatoe good chit pilsner – 5%  made with rogue farm barley that is floor-malted in small batches
crannog bogtrotter brown ale – 4.8%  a nutty, sweet brown ale with a touch of toffee in the flavour
red truck ipa – wasn’t on the menu

i found the bogtrotter to be a “nice little brown – easy drinking”
the night owl was pumpkin pieish, not overly spiced… “pretty good, but i don’t think i’m ready for fall beers”
the pilsner was practically an ipa, so of course i loved it!
the red truck ipa was “quite nice”

taster #2
russell cranberry wheat ale – 4.7%  we take an already damn fine wheat ale and add cranberries during fermentation!
red truck pilsner – 5%  the light gold beer has a floral taste with a clean finish, a light malt sweetness and a sharp, herbal, hoppy bitterness
skookum old tom ipa – 6%  an ipa style balanced with a belgian malt.  cheers!
tree brewing hophead ipa – 5.8%  the hophead has a nice full body and mouthfeel, without the hoppiness being too overpowering.  a fine ale all around

i found the cranberry wheat to be sour as hell – practically a lambic – and that meant i loved it!
the red truck pilsner was too lagery for me – couldn’t find those hops they spoke of
i love the olde tom – its going on the current top 10 list!!
the hophead is a lovely ipa, but came in second to the olde tom, by a fair margin

september 28, 2011
central city dunkel – 5%  a traditional bavarian dark lager, malty with only a gentle hop accent for very little hop bitterness
moylans imperial hopsickle – 9.2%  enjoy the blast of fresh cascade, simcoe, columbus, ahtanum, and chinook hops as they stimulate the taste buds in a truly imperial fashion.  pucker up!
rogue mcrogue scotch ale – 8.2%  deep copper in colour, caramel aroma, rich malty flavour with a roated malt background
storm brewing black plague stout – 8%  an irish-style dry stout brewed only in small batches to ensure the freshness so paramount to such an intensely roasted beer

the black plague is definitely roasty, i recall liking this one a lot more in the past
the mcrogue has nice malts and subtle, but apparent, hops
the dunkel had enough hops to keep it from being too sweet – very drinkable
the imperial ipa is a hoppy bastard, very much on the bitter side and oh so boozey – i might just be over the imperial ipas, give me my hops, but give them to me a little less harshly please!

beer tasting

and the final instalment of “what i drank on my lost saturday of beer tasting”
brings us to stone brewing’s 15th anniversary escondidian imperial black ipa

and tenaya creek’s tandem double ipa

stone:
“In the 15 years since we entered the craft brewing world, change has come not in a straight line, but as an exponential curve. The craft brewing movement has long been called a “revolution.” But today the air is so thick with revolution, it’s palpable. No longer is it only an awareness among the faithful; the unconverted are beginning to feel it as well. Denial and ignorance are disappearing in favor of opened eyes, curiosity and the sense that there’s something larger out there. For far too long we have been lied to. For far too long we have been oppressed by the notion that dumbed-down-lowest-common-denominator-mediocrity was all that we could, and should, expect. You might think we’re talking only about the world of brewing, but we’re not. There is a myriad of products out there masquerading as cheeses, coffee, chocolates, breads…hell, there is stuff pretending to be ‘food’ that our great grandmothers would not recognize as such. Yet the craft brewing movement, together with the artisanal food movement, is making much progress. Where the industrial companies can’t dismiss or bury us, they are attempting to copy us with cheap facsimiles. Yes, chances are if you are holding this bottle, you understand these things to be true about the world of brewing. You also likely understand the importance of our fight at Stone against accepted ‘norms’ over the last 15 years. We believed that America was ready to embrace things made with artistry and passion. You have spoken. Your response has been clear. We are not merely consumers to be spoon-fed whatever commodities need to be unloaded for a profit. We have only just begun to move the needle of this revolution, & mediocrity still reigns. Consider that when you reject dumbed down, industrialized food and drink, you also support craft brewing. The line is nearly seamless; we are fighting the same battle. We will not win in our lifetime, as the powers are too entrenched, and the masses too fooled. And shackled. However, this is a revolution of ideas and of taste, and we will win. How do you want to be viewed by your children, and your children’s children? As a hero, or as the oppressed? (Those that don’t think they have been oppressed are already lost.) Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide. We hope you’ll stand with us. Strong and unyielding. You are needed. This bottle and its glorious contents are a celebration of you, brothers and sisters, and your importance in this fight. Cheers to all we’ve accomplished together in the past fifteen years, and cheers to the adventure ahead!”

i love a black ipa
the hops, the malts, the joy!
i really liked it
and i managed to taste it, even though it came at the end of quite a heavy-hitting beer afternoon!

tenaya:
“Tandem Double India Pale Ale (draft or bottles) limited release (9.0% alc/vol)…You are riding tandem. Now put this ale to your lips and savor the citrus and grapefruit draw that the hops give it. Then love it.”

craft beer from las vegas – i love it!
unfortunately i have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of actually drinking this beer
i’m sure i enjoyed it
but i can neither confirm nor deny how much… sadly…

beer tasting

next up on our lost saturday of beer tasting was the dead frog fusion hopped pilsner

weighing in at 5% it was by far the lowest abv we drank that whole day

“Fusion Hopped Pilsner is a fresh, zesty, immaculate German Pilsner that uses a Top Secret brewing technique to fuse European hops with premium malt to give you massive, distinct hop flavours and a smooth finish!”

i think this lovely photo of me taking a sip says exactly how i felt about this brew:

no idea how this got past a brewmaster and out to the unsuspecting public
smells like every generic pilsner on the market
but has the temerity to taste even worse

loved the citra ipa
haven’t liked a single other “brewmaster series” production
dead frog, you disappoint me
insert unhappy face emoticon here

beer tasting

because the phillips 10th anniversary imperial ipa was 3l and 10% big
we decided that we needed a group to drink it
and what better excuse to get together with a couple of buddies than watching a bc lions game on tv?

stacey, bridget, ryan and i spent saturday afternoon polishing off the 10th anniversary beer
and several other potent brews
is that what they mean by a lost afternoon???

look how proud we are of our magnum of beer!

we had some trouble getting the darned cork out
but once we macguyver’d through that little issue, we motored right on through that beer
first sip made me feel warm inside – thank you 10% abv!
i don’t understand why the reviews are so mixed – i found nothing there to hate on
it’s not in my top ten ipas of all time, but i very much enjoyed it
nice hop to malt ratio, while the alcohol warmed me inside (and got me giggly), it was not overwhelming, a perfectly delightful imperial ipa
and the time-line on the bottle of phillips brewing over the past 10 years was pretty darned funny!

all in all, it went down awfully easily!

phillips and rogue

the lovely beer pairing dinner of last week:


here we all are with our pre-dinner pints

the ginger beer arrived first at 7:15
i had already had several pints by this point
not so much that i couldn’t appreciate the lovely ginger beer
but enough so that food with my beer would have been welcome
(note to self:  stop drinking before dinner!)

course one – meat option – cured pork belly soup

course one – pescetarian option – ahi tuna soup

unfortunately my first bowl of soup was mushroomed
fortunately my server loves me and got me a new one

everyone raved about the amazing pairing of ginger beer with the pork belly soup
but there was a request for more kimchi in the soup to improve the pairing
me, i just love ginger beer and think it goes with most things!

“what is the creature on top?” asked theresa
“pork fat” replied tasha
happy eye rolls and licking of chops ensued
“porktastic” exclaimed alison

originally the ginger beer was just a limited run by phillips
but people in victoria extolled its virtues enough that they brought it back
keep extolling the virtues people, my world needs more ginger beer!


course two – meat option – polderside chicken roulade





course two – pescetarian option – mahi mahi

slipstream cream ale

the cream ale works well with the chicken
but was a bit too malty for the mahi mahi
apparently there’s a sweetness about the chicken
and the beer was used in the jus so it all goes very well together
i found the nuttiness in the beer came out when i munched on the hazelnuts

course three – hot & sour sablefish

hoperation belgian triple ipa

the hoperation triplecross may be a belgian
but its intensely hopped so its alright by me!
still don’t want a whole pint of it though, this taster is just the right size
everyone else very much enjoyed it

the sablefish was done to perfection
so buttery, tender, rich
totally the best part of the food portion of the evening

“if yer gonna go up against this [beer] you gotta throw some chilis in there” says tasha
and i would have to agree
with a beer that hoppy, the hot part of the hot and sour could have been hotter
the hops nicely cut the richness of the sablefish though
and the cabbage wrapped potato ragout and edible flowers rocked my world

longboat chocolate porter

course four – coffee & doughnuts

“ooooh, that’s nice” said theresa as she dove into the chocolate (even though she gave it up for lent)
“one should avoid being rude.  someone made it for me and it was a gift” she used as her excuse
i held fast to the no chocolate for lent
but i did drink the chocolate porter

everyone simply loved this dessert
i enjoyed my beignets immensely – and the icing sugar made me want to dance
fights broke out around the table over who would get to have my mocha “coffee”
but all’s well that ends well, and this dessert went over very, very well

“i had my finger in too many pots… no just the right amount of pots.  one more and i would have been over the limit” said alison

jonny, curtis and simon of phillips pose with chef cory chapman

the lads of phillips were very friendly

and quite delighful to talk to during and after the meal

as was chef cory as always

it was another great meal

and delightful meet the makers of your favourite beers

at $35 i’m not sure why these nights don’t sell out in record time

i think its the best beer pairing deal in the city

and their willingness to accomodate all food allergies and preferences makes me a very happy picky pescetarian!