Cask Away

Our latest article for the Monday Magazine is in print. We talked about the local cask ale culture, which is vibrant. The article was written before the Great Canadian Beer Festival, otherwise we would have been able to wax lyrical about some of the other great casks on offer.

Spinnakers responded to the article to point out that they have been offering cask events for years. This is true, and Spinnakers efforts should not be ignored. We chose to focus on Vancouver Island Brewery (VIB) because, well, I think that their regular lineup is a little bit tame. Good quality — but conservative. I was hoping that getting some discussion going about the totally non-tame casks VIB are producing might help put pressure on the powers-that-be at VIB to let their creative talents spread to the bottle fridge.

Speaking of casks, there will be a unique casking event this Friday at the Beagle Pub in Cook St. Village. For non-Victorians or those who don't know, Driftwood's Sartori Harvest IPA was a sensational release last year. So much so that they are brewing twice as much this year.

Sartori will still only be available in limited quantities, so get down the Beagle if you have the chance,  or camp outside a decent liquor store as bottling is underway and it will hit the stores soon. Because it is a fresh hop IPA it is probably best drunk as soon as possible before the volatile and short-lived flavours imparted by the fresh hops fade away.

Fresh hopping (shown left, courtesy of the Double Mountain Brewery) is a seasonal practice. Hop harvests come in at this time of the year and are usually pressed into pellets or processed in other ways to maintain their shelf-life or enhance their usability for brewers. Hop pellets maintain the flavour of the hop very well, but some brewers swear that only fresh hopped beers are capable of imparting the full range of sensations that these little herbs have to offer.

At the Great Canadian Beer Festival I found parts of a hop in  my Central City imperial IPA. I'd been warned against chowing down on one of these for fear of ruining my palate for the night. But, let's be honest, after several hours at a beer fest your palate is pretty much beat in any case.

Chomped down I did. Not great. Definitely better in the beer itself. Head to the Beagle tomorrow night to find out what I mean.

Great Canadian Beer Festival Roundup

The Great Canadian Beer Festival came and went. I won't argue with any of the four words in its title. My biggest disappointment was enjoying it so immensely that I almost completely neglected to take notes and pictures. Que sera. Above is a shot I did manage to get of one of the festival beer tokens that you handed over in exchange for a 4oz taster (unless you wanted to drink Merridale's cider, in which case the cheeky swines demanded two tokens per scrumpy!)

The bits I do remember will be written up in the next few blog posts. Today I wanted to talk about the beer. I find that tasting notes are useless unless you can actually summon the memory of the drinking itself. These are memories that go stale fairly quickly. Best to write 'em while you got 'em.

My list of beers I was looking forward to didn't all turn out to be the ones I loved the most. Let's tackle them first:

1. Vancouver Island - Chipotle Rauchbier
Now this had potential and was appropriate for a beer fest but I wouldn't drink it again unless the recipe was altered a little. Brutally spicy, droolingly citric, and not too strong on the smoke front. It was a real eye-waterer. I spoke with the brewer Chris Graham and I was impressed. I also got the idea that he knew this one was a bit OTT. His upcoming casks will no doubt be great and I can't wait to get hold of some.

2. Driftwood - Old Cellar Dweller
Wonderful. I knew I'd love this. I already had the 2009 in a bottle, but this cask-aged version was sumptuous. Thickly bitter with rich sherry-flavour. The hops really shine in this old beer. Tastes like a good tonic for a winter morning.

3. Central City - Red Racer Imperial IPA
Probably the best imperial IPA I had at the festival, although I prefer their regular IPA. This is one of those really chewy impIPAs with a bit of sweetness and some spice too. The aftertaste went mildy sour for me, but the front end was just great.

4. Howe Sound - Total Eclipse of the Hop
I didn't drink this one. I can't remember if it was only offered on Saturday or if it was one of the breweries whose line-ups were so long I kept thinking I'd get to it later. I was scarcely conscious of the passing time once I'd been there six hours, so a few beers sadly passed me by.

5. Swan's - Brewcifer IPA with Jalapeno, Pepper and Lime
Just bad. Didn't taste much like an IPA to me. Similar to the VIB effort, the spice was well overdone. This might be a subjective thing, but remember I love curries and enthusiastically munch on habaneros, so I'm inclined to think I wasn't alone in being put off by the power of this one. Not much room left for the beer.

6. Moon Under Water - Pale Ale
I really liked it, as I suspected I would. Richer than the low ABV would suggest, and like their bitter it was not scared of the hops. A real quencher with a lingering hazelnuttiness, and not quite as dry as the bitter.

7. Three Skulls - Blood Orange Wit
There was one beer that tasted and smelled like hydrogen peroxide (as our friend Adam astutely pointed out). I am fairly sure it was this one. Just dreadful. You can't think about the flavour with a face full of hair-dye.

Next blog post, I'll deal with the other beers that left an impression on me. I'll leave you with this picture taken while Dave, Adam and I took an early break to sip the Driftwood barley wine. It is my last truly cogent memory of the day, but what a great beer to say goodbye to reality with. Cheers.

Great Canadian Beer Festival - Brewery Map

The 17th Great Canadian Beer Festival hits Victoria this Friday and Saturday. To celebrate, I geeked out and made a googlemap of every brewery that will be attending. I also ignored my family for an additional hour in order to add info on EVERY DAMN BEER they will be bringing too (ctrl-c; ctrl-v courtesy of gcbf.com). If this doesn't up my readership I'm just going to snap.

Here's a bunch of list nonsense to keep you distracted while you wait for the weekend.

Top 5 distances traveled by breweries to get to GCBF"
1. Brooklyn Brewery (NY, USA) - 4802km
2. Unibroue (QB, CA) - 4571km
3. Les Trois Mosquetaires (QB, CA) - 4558km
4. Beau's Brewery (QB, CA) - 4551
5. Mill St. Brewery (ON, CA) - 4191km

Top 5 beer styles (by no. of examples) at this year's GCBF
1. Bitter (40)
2. IPA (31)
3. Fruit beer (20)
4. Lager (19)
5. Pale ale (13)

Top 7 beers I am personally looking forward to
1. Vancouver Island - Black Rock Chipotle Rauchbier with lapsang souchong tea (wtf)
2. Driftwood - Old Cellar Dweller 2009 Barley Wine (cask)
3. Central City - Red Racer Imperial IPA (cask)
4. Howe Sound - Total Eclipse of the Hop (cask)
5. Swans - Brewcifer IPA with Jalapeno, pepper and lime (cask)
6. Moon Under Water - Pale Ale (I already had a sneak preview of their "Blue Moon Bitter", which was just beautiful)
7. Three Skulls - Blood Orange Wit

Top 3 random beer stats
1. 57 breweries will attend
2. 184 different beers will be swigged from 4oz tasting cups
3. 20,000 litres of beer will need drinking/spilling



View GCBF Breweries in a larger map

Victoria: the craft beer zone

If you follow the blog, you'll know that Victoria is eagerly expecting its fourth brewpub — a traditional English-style pub called The Moon Under Water — once its rezoning hearing goes through. Well, I was one of a hundred or so people who turned up at Victoria City Hall for the hearing last week. The first bit of good news is that council voted unanimously to let the pub open. The even better news is that this city fricking loves craft beer.

As I wandered in with other-beer-blogger Eskimo Dave, I wasn't sure what to expect. The rezoning hearing was to decide whether it was OK for a brewpub to open in an area marked for "industrial production." As one astute councillor pointed out, craft brewing is a light industry. But the fact that the business planned to operate under a "liquor primary licence" (meaning its main purpose was to sell alcohol on premises) meant that the Moon Under Water's owners had to sweat it out for several months with a half-built pub, not knowing if they'd ever be able to open.

I expected a fairly quick "yay" or "nay" from a city official, but it turns out that rezoning hearings are conducted as part of council business — meaning the mayor and council are all present and the public are given forum to express their views. Bonnie Bradley (one of the owners) was called to put forward the case for the pub. Apparently Victoria has an abnormally high number of liquor primaries, meaning you really have to justify a new pub. Bonnie did a fine job convincing everyone that the Moon' is going to be a respectable watering hole.

Next, the public were invited to speech. I was impressed as CAMRA representatives, local industry-types, and several other members of the public put some well-prepared arguments in support of the pub. The highlight (I'm sure everyone who was there will agree) was the speech by Jason Meyer from Driftwood Brewery. Here's someone for whom the Moon' is technically a competitor — yet he put forward about the most  eloquent case for the social and artisanal benefits of a pub that you'll ever hear. I only wish I'd recorded it.

I was so giddy from all the craft beer love, that I even went up and spoke in front of council myself. I hadn't  expected to speak at all, so I just blathered on about how proud the city should be of its beer industry. I needn't have bothered. I was preaching to the converted. Several councilors — including one who admitted to opposing pretty much every new licence application going — gave warm approval to the plan. Councillor Phillipe Lucas — Green Party member, medicinal cannabis advocate, buddy of mine, and all-round class-act — closed things up by welcoming the Moon' to the city, and everyone left happy that craft beer has a deep support throughout pretty much the entire community.

Proud to be a Victorian. Cheers.

Fruit? Nuts.

Assuming it's been missed, I apologize for the lack of posts in the last three weeks. I have been writing a major paper and I can't burn the typing candle at both ends, so sadly the beer blog's flame has dwindled, temporarily. 

Of course I've still been drinking like a fish. And I'm posting today because I can't not let this out:

Fruit beers: what's the point??

OK that's a bit harsh, but I seriously believe that 95% of fruit beers are a waste of time and that the beer would have been far better without them. It's not that they are inherently bad, but they tell the same lie told by fruit tea: The packaging looks delicious (hmmm, blueberries, yum), the aroma is room-fillingly fantastic, but when you raise the glass to your lips…..nothing.

I don't know why — as I rarely touch them usually — but I have had five fruit beers this month and only two of them have been any good. One of those you already  know about: I find Driftwood's Belle Royale to be delightful. But it is both powerful and local (my weaknesses), so am just kidding myself? No.

Exhibit A: Phillips Twenty-four Mile Blueberry Pail Ale

This is a local beer by one of my favourite breweries brewed using ingredients sourced from within twenty-four miles. A wannabe-lefty-beardstroker like me should be gushing over this, but I found it very bland. It poured utterly headless: like Tizer. It smelled like fizzy blueberry tea, and I know this sounds harsh, but it tasted a little bit like pickled beet juice. I have to stress that this is an exception from the usually-reliable Phillips stable. But I did not like it.

Exhibit B: Dogfish Head Black and Blue

A massively 10% "Golden ale fermented with blackberries and blueberries". I might be uncultured, but this tasted like very boozy diet fruit soda to me. It has a thin tannin mouthfeel. I get some odd spices and yeast that makes it worthwhile, but I wouldn't track it down again. I don't even want to think about what I paid for it.

The one thing they have going in their favour is they make pretty pictures. And they do say pictures paint a thousand words…

…which is a lie. My prof won't accept doodles. I gotta get these papers written. Speak soon. SB

Guests pretending to like the
weird beer I served them.

It's not even blue…

Not bad, this one. But I'd not buy  it again. 

Review: Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbits

The gypsy brewery Pretty Things continues to put out lovely beers with lovelier labels. Gypsies like to wander which might explain why PT beers are in such rich supply out here on Vancouver Island. If they all made beer like this I'd make my backyard available as a caravan site.

"Fluffy White Rabbits" is a hoppy tripel. Taking established styles and giving them the North American hop treatment is big at the moment. I scowl at trends but I'm yet to drink an unusually-hoppy beer that hasn't been good.

FWR pours a typical golden-orange colour. The head's not too fluffy. It quickly shears down to a thin but resilient crewcut.

The smell is a bit reserved, with only a mild yeasty aroma and little hop pungency.  I get mown grass, pear, and pencil shavings. The first hit of flavour is very satisfying, with loads of peppery yeast, floral hops, and crackling spice. It's a drier tripel, which I guess is to embrace the hop bitterness rather than counteract with a richer body. I really appreciate the play of the floral hops with the chili profile in the yeast.

The aftertaste doesn't sit entirely well with me. Whether it's hops in the boil or some other source of bitterness, I get a minerally jasmine-like flavour that lingers unflatteringly. At 8.5% it should be a slow drinker, but my lust for the glass-to-lips zing — definitely the strongest aspect of this beer — means I've practically chugged it.

With hoppier tripels in short supply, you should probably get one of these if you can. It's a good indicator of the impact this style has to offer and a good beer in its own right, but it doesn't quite scale the peaks some of the other PT beers have.

Moon Under Water: Victoria's latest brewpub

Victoria will have its 4th brewpub soon, with a bit of luck. How do I know? Because I interviewed the good people who are preparing to open The Moon Under Water and wrote it up for local free paper Monday Magazine.

Here's a link to the article. They used my photo, but I took a few others. I see no reason to repeat the article here, so I'll just post the images. Enjoy.