Tag Archives: Andina Brewing

Monita Blonde IPA – Andina Brewing Company

by Mike

From Andina Brewing Company in Vancouver comes their “Monita Blonde IPA”.  The beer pours a golden yellow colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of floral hops, citrus and tropical fruits with a sweet finish.  The flavour is of citrus, pineapple, citrus rind and mild bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 60.  This is an enjoyable although basic IPA and well worth picking up.

Commercial Description:  Pours bright yellow with a touch of honey. Prominent aromas of citrus and tropical fruit come forward from the dry hop additions. By definition, an India Pale Ale is hoppier and higher in alcohol than its little sister, the pale ale, and has become the de facto flagship beer of modern craft brewing. Monita is relatively lighter. The taste is crisp with a solid malt body of honey and biscuit that carries the bitterness throughout but does not have an unpleasantly long aftertaste that you might expect from an American IPA.

Food pairing as per brewery:  Ceviche, Lamb Curry, Grilled Fish

Totuma Kolsch – Andina Brewing Company

by Mike

From Andina Brewing Company in Vancouver comes their “Totuma Kolsch”.  The beer pours a golden colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of grain, citrus, sweetness and floral hops.  The flavour is of gain, lemon, sweetness, grassy and low bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.5% with an IBU of 22.  While I do not usually pick up Kolsch brews this one is very well made and enjoyable.

Commercial Description:  Pours a very clear straw yellow. Aromatics of light stone fruit with a complimenting malt biscuitiness and a clean crisp taste with just a hint of noble hops. This style’s fermentation process yields a light, vinous character which is accompanied by a slightly dry, refreshing finish. Totuma is a bright, flavourful, and approachable beer.  “Totuma” (Toh-Too-Mah) is a container made from the Calabash plant. The tree, also known as gourd, was cultivated by the Andean natives to use as bowls to serve water or chicha—the corn brew of our ancestors.

Food pairing as per brewery:  Plantain Chips, Salty Food, Ceviche, Nachos

Maraca Passionfruit Black IPA – Andina Brewing Company

by Mike

Andina Brewing Company in Vancouver is now open. My favourite of their launch lineup was their “Maraca Passionfruit Black IPA”. The beer poured a deep brown with a brown head. The aroma consists of roasted malts, Passionfruit and floral hops. The flavour is of roasted malts, burnt coffee, Passionfruit, almost some tartness, earth and bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 5.2% and an IBU of 50. This is quite the mixture of flavours and well executed tasty brew.

Andina Brewing Company – Vancouver

by Mike

Andina Brewing Company has now opened in the East Vancouver neighborhood as of March 1st.  There is no way that you can miss the brewery either if you are driving down Powell Street!

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The brewery was opened by Colombian ex-pats in Nicolas and Andres Amaya and their wives.  The brewery is a blend of Canadian and Columbia aesthetics.  Like so many breweries in BC their bar and the tables at all wood topped.  The wood and the white walls has a nice contrast.  The bar wraps all the way around 3 sides on the one side of the tasting room so you can be served beer on one side and have growlers filled on the other side.  They launched with 6 tasty beer and with their South American inspired food menu that features ceviche.  I was not able to try out the food when I stopped in but it looked good.  The beer was all solid at opening but my favourite was the Maraca Passionfruit Black IPA.  From the tasting room you can see into the kitchen and into the brewery though windows.

The brewery side of the building is cavernous.  There is so much room for expansion this place is geared for success.  Andina Brewing has a 23HL system.  They currently have 4 – 60HL fermenters and also have one 46HL brite tank.  They also have a cute little test batch system so that they can experiment with new beer  recipes.  Their beer are North American style beers that infuse South American ingredients to add some flair to the beer.  Andrew Powers was hired as the Head Brewer from his previous job at Red Truck.

I recommend stopping in to the brewery right away to try some beer that is a little different than the norm and some tasty South American food.

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Andina Brewing
https://andinabrewing.ca
1507 Powell Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
@andinabrewing
Call (604) 253-2400
info@andinabrewing.ca

Andina Brewing Company (Construction Update 2) – Vancouver

by Mike

Things are coming together at Andina Brewing Company in Vancouver and I thought it was time for a second update to the construction progress.  Andina plans on opening with around 6 beers 4 being core beers and two being seasonals.  As things look so far they should be opening some time in February but you know how brewery openings go.

Things are slowly coming along in the tasting lounge.  The first photo shows the bar area with the short pony walls that will house the bar top.  Behind the bar at the purple spray foam you will find the cooler.  Photo 2 shows the inside of this cooler.  To the left of the cooler you will find the small prep kitchen that will be making the South American inspired foods.  Photo three shows the kitchen.  The kitchen will be enclosed with windows so you can see in but also keep it separate. The last photo is from the kitchen and shows that with the windows on three sides you will be able to see into the brewery through the kitchen.

The last 3 photos are of the brewery.  The brew house and tanks were in the final stages of being hooked up when I stopped in for a look on December 12th.  They have their inspection set for just before the holidays and if all goes well they might be able to start brewing beer very soon!

I am really looking forward to this brewery opening finally and I really hope they hit their February opening month.