Luppolo Brewing – Vancouver

Oct31 by Mike

Luppolo Brewing is finally open and Vancouver is one brewery richer! Owned by two couples Ryan and Eleanor and Anique and Frederico they hope to bring us an Italian brewery atmosphere.

When you walk in the front doors you are met with a very warm space. The lounge has lots of wood finishing and warm lighting that will make you want to stay for a beer or two. The area behind the bar really has some personality with all of the triangle shapes making a mosaic as you get further down the wall. I did not get a photo of what the flights look like but they used the triangle templates as the boards for the flights. They launched with 7 really tasty beers including one fresh hopped option! Unfortunately I was not able to stop in during their opening hours so the space is very empty but I am sure it looked great while full.

When you head to the back of the lounge near the washrooms you will find a half wall where you can look into the brewing space. The brewery is a mish mash of brewing equipment. They have both vertical and horizontal tanks and even a few barrels in the works currently.

Between the brewing space and the lounge you will find the cooler. The cooler has serving tanks that feed right into the taps in the tasting lounge.

Once the lounge licence comes through they will have food options as can be seen from the make shift kitchen that is in the back.

I have been able to get to know both of the couples that opened this brewery and I can say beyond the beer they are great people and will kill it now that they are open. If you have not stopped in to the brewery yet then you really need stop in soon.

Luppolo Brewing
http://luppolobrewing.ca
1123 Venables Street
Vancouver, BC
info@luppolobrewing.ca
604-255-4997

BC Beer Awards 2016 / Beer Festival – October 15th 2016

Oct16 by Mike

With October brings BC Craft Beer Month and with that brings the BC Beer Awards. Once again this year the awards ceremony and beer festival were held at the Croatian Cultural Centre. This year the event was held on October 15th just a little earlier than last year.

I have been attending the BC Beer awards for many years now and it seems to be getting better and better. With the industry exploding like it is in the province this event will only get better. Much like always the event began at 4pm and ended at 9pm. The festival was once again in two room and even had some beer pouring in the front entrance area. This year there were 75 breweries pouring beer at the festival and 5 cideries.

Breweries pouring at the event: 4 Mile Brewing, Andina Brewing, Arrowhead Brewing, Barkerville Brewing, Big Ridge Brewing, Big Rock Urban Brewery, Brewhouse Whistler, Bomber Brewing, Brassneck, Bridge Brewing, Callister Brewing, Cannery Brewing, Canuck Empire, Category 12 Brewing, Central City Brewers & Distillers, Coal Harbour Brewing, Dageraad, Dead Frog Brewery, Deep Cove Brewers & Distillers, Doan’s Craft Brewing Company, Dogwood Brewing, Driftwood Brewery, Fernie Brewing, Feild House Brewing, Foamers Folly, Four Winds Brewing, Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks, Granville Island Brewing, Hearthstone Brewery, Howe Sound Brewing, Hoyne Brewing, KPU Brewering and Brewery Operations Diploma, Longwood Brewery, Luppolo Brewing, Main Street Brewing, Mission Springs Brewing, Moody ALes, Moon Under Water, Off The Rail Brewing, Old Yale Brewing, Pacific Western Brewing, Parallel 49 Brewing, Parkside Brewery, Persephone Brewing, Phillips Brewing, Postmark Brewing, Powell Street Craft Brewery, Prohibition, R&B Brewing, Real Cask, Ravens Brewing, Red Arrow Brewing, Red Truck Beer, Ridge Brewing, Rossland Beer Company, Russell Brewing, Saltspring Island Ales, Spinnakers Brewing, Stanley Park, Steamworks, Steel & Oak Brewing, Strange Fellows Brewing, Strathcona Beer Company, Swans, Tree Brewing, Tofino Brewing, Townsite Brewing, Trading Post, Twa Dogs, Twin Sails Brewing, Vancouver Island Brewery, Whistler Brewing, White Sails Brewing, Yaletown Brewing and Yellow Dog Brewing. The Cideries were Left Field Cider, BC Tree Fruits, Tod Creek Craft Cider, Sunday Cider and Dominion Cider Co.

Stephen Quinn from CBC Radio was once again the voice of the BC Beer Awards this year. This year 83 breweries entered beers into the competition and there were 750 different beers entered. Once again this was more breweries entering beer up from 70 last year. Its nice to see that once again this year more breweries have come out to try their luck. Instead of doing the awards at the end of the night this year they started it near the beginning. Lets get to the winning beers of the year!

International Lager

1: 33 Acres of Darkness (33 Acres Brewing Company)
2: Vienna Lager (Moody Ales)
3: Red Racer Pils (Central City Brewers + Distillers)

German Pale Lager

1: Red Racer Old School Lager (Central City Brewers + Distillers)
2: Keller Pilsner (Persephone Brewing Company)
3: Steamworks Pilsner (Steamworks Brewing Company)

Kölsch

1: Steamworks Kölsch (Steamworks Brewing Company)
2: High Country Kölsch (Mt. Begbie Brewing Co.)
3: Arctic Kölsch (Swans Brewery)

German Amber Beer

1: Gladstone Altbier (Gladstone Brewing Co.)
2: Vienna Lager (R&B Brewing Co.)

3: Potts Pils (Moon Under Water Brewery & Pub)

European Dark Beer

1: Dark Lager (Steel & Oak Brewing Co.)

2: Baltic Porter (Cannery Brewing Company)

3: Red Racer Dopplebock (Central City Brewers + Distillers)
Honorable Mention: Brewmaster’s Black Lager (Okanagan Spring Brewery)

German Wheat Beer

1: Demimondaine Dunkelweizen (Barkerville Brewing Co.)
2: This is Hefeweizen (Moon Under Water Brewery & Pub)

3: Weizenbock (Steel & Oak Brewing Co.)

British Bitter

1: English Bitter (Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co.)
2: Red Devil Ale (R&B Brewing Co.)

3: Beacon ESB (Lighthouse Brewing Company)

British Pale Ale

1: Clover IPA (Big Ridge Brewing Co.)

2: Paddywhack Organic IPA (Nelson Brewing Company)

3: English IPA (Strathcona Beer Company)

British Brown Ale

1: After Dark Ale (Nelson Brewing Company)
2: Tall Timber Ale (Mt. Begbie Brewing Co.)
3: Aethelred the Mild (Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co.)

Scottish and Irish Ales

1: Classic Scotch (Steamworks Brewpub)
2: Irish Stout (Ravens Brewing Company)
3: 1880 Export Stout (Moody Ales)

British Stout

1: 52 Foot Stout (Barkerville Brewing Co.)

2: Perfect Storm (Townsite Brewing Inc.)
3: 710 Oaked Stout (Faculty Brewing Co.)

Strong Ale

1: Thor’s Hammer (Central City Brewers + Distillers)

2: Wee Heavy (Persephone Brewing Company)
3: Wobbly Bob (Red Collar Brewing Company)

Fruit Beer

1: Pinot Noir Raspberry Blonde (Tin Whistle Brewing Company)
2: Red Truck Raspberry Ale (Red Truck Beer Company)
3: Tropic Vice (Dead Frog Brewery)

Spiced Beer

1: Jackline Rhubarb Grissette (Lighthouse Brewing Company)
2: Spruce Tree Ale (Tofino Brewing Company)

3: Hibiscus Wit (Brassneck Brewery)

Smoke and Wood Aged Beer

1: Entropy Series No. 1 (Dageraad Brewing)
2: Inertia II (Brassneck Brewery)
3: Thor’s Hammer Bourbon Barrel Aged (Central City Brewers + Distillers)

Specialty Beer

1: Roggen Weizen (Steel & Oak Brewing Co.)
2: Londen (Dageraad Brewing)
3: Sour Wheat Gose (Field House Brewing Co.)

North American Light Beer

1: Hooligan Organic Pilsner (Nelson Brewing Company)
2: Jerkface 9000 (Parallel 49 Brewing Co.)
3: Cypress Honey Lager (Granville Island Brewing)

North American Blonde Ale

1: Organic Wild Honey Ale (Nelson Brewing Company)
2: Postmark Blonde (Postmark Brewing)
3: Dutch Pale Ale (Field House Brewing Co.)

North American Pale Ale

1: Chase My Tail Pale Ale (Yellow Dog Brewing Co.)
2: One Hop Mind (Callister Brewing Company)
3: East Side Bitter (R&B Brewing Co.)

North American Amber Ale

1: 33 Acres of Life (33 Acres Brewing Company)
2: Troller Bay Ale (Howe Sound Brewing)

3: Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale (Tree Brewing Co.)

North American Brown Ale

1: Bandit Brown (Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co.)

2: Slipstream (Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.)

3: Kim-Ach-Touch Ale (Tree Brewing Co.)

North American Porter and Stout

1: Commander Imperial Stout (Dead Frog Brewery)

2: Stag and Pheasant Imperial Stout (Main Street Brewing Company)

3: Russian Imperial Stout (Moody Ales)

North American IPA

1: Flagship IPA (Steamworks Brewing Company)

2: Play Dead IPA (Yellow Dog Brewing Co.)

3: The Ultra Deluxe (Boombox Brewing)

Specialty IPA

1: Blonde IPA (Dageraad Brewing)
2: White ISA (Red Truck Beer Company)
3: YVR ISA (Steamworks Brewing Company)

Imperial IPA

1: 187 On An Undercover Hop (Parallel 49 Brewing Co.)

2: Cosmic Wave Double IPA (Tofino Brewing Company)
3: Second Anniversary Double IPA (Main Street Brewing Company)

Belgian Ale

1: Jongleur Wit (Strange Fellows Brewing Company)
2: Bier de Garde (Old Abbey Ales)
3: White Gold Witbier (Barkerville Brewing Co.)

Belgian Strong Ale

1: Dageraad Blonde (Dageraad Brewing)

2: Saison #7 (Main Street Brewing Company)
3: Old Barn Saison (Fernie Brewing Company)

Trappist Ale

1: 33 Acres of Euphoria (33 Acres Brewing Company)
2: Central City Belgian Strong (Central City Brewers + Distillers)
3: 10 Degrees (Dageraad Brewing)
Honorable Mention: 8 Degrees (Dageraad Brewing)

European Sour Ale

1: Raynard (Strange Fellows Brewing Company)

2: Cantus Fermus (Main Street Brewing Company)

3: Bizarro (Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.)

North American Wild Ale

1: Bodhisattva (Parallel 49 Brewing Co.)
2: Sour Raspberry (Old Abbey Ales)
3: Little Red One (Strange Fellows Brewing Company)

Best in Show

Flagship IPA (Steamworks Brewing Company)

Richards Buell Sutton LLP Rookie of the Year Award

Field House Brewing Co.

Dan Small Homebrew Award

Sho Ogawa and Novia Chen

CBC People’s Choice Award

Pablo Esco Gnar IPA, Boombox Brewing Company

Timber Brewers Challenge

Old Money Mild, Brassneck Brewery

This year’s Best of Show Flagship IPA is even more exciting as Julia Hanlon of Steamworks becomes the first female Head Brewer in BC to win this award! A huge congratulations is in order for this!

Once the awards finished everyone went back to enjoying the beer that was on hand. This was once again an amazing event with amazing beer being poured as well as great people be it craft beer fans or brewery staff. Every year this event gets bigger and better! Here is to another year of sticking it to the flavourless garbage that macro breweries make.

Once again like last year I helped set the festival up between 10:30am and 3pm. It makes the festival even more fun when you are able to get involved in any part of the event.

BC Beer Awards 2014 / Beer Festival – October 25th 2014

Oct27 by Mike

It’s that time of year again! It is time to celebrate the best of the best breweries and beer in British Columbia. On October 25th, 2014 the BC Beer Awards were held at the Croatian Cultural Centre.

Like every year the beer awards are held with a caskbeer festival that runs at the same time. The event started at 4pm and went until 9pm. The beer festival starts right when the doors open and features some amazing beers from both the local Metro Vancouver and Victoria breweries as well as many breweries from around the Province. The breweries that poured beer at the event are as follows: Bomber Brewing, Bowen Island Brewing, Bridge Brewing Co, Cannery Brewing Company, Central City Brewers & Distillers, Coal Harbour Brewing Company, Dead Frog Brewery, Driftwood Brewery, Vancouver Island Brewing, Four Winds Brewing, Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks, Granville Island Brewing, Howe Sound Brewing Co., Hoyne Brewing Co., Lighthouse Brewing Co, Longwood Brewing, Main Street Brewing Company, Mission Springs Brewing Company, Moody Ales, Moon Under Water, Parallel 49 Brewing, Persephone Brewing Company, Phillips Brewing Company, Powell street craft brewery, Prohibition Brewing Company, R&B Brewing, Red Truck Beer Co, Russell Brewing, Scandal Brewing, Shaftbury Brewing Co., Steamworks Brewing Co., Steel & Oak Brewing Co., Three Ranges Brewing Company, Tofino Brewing, Townsite Brewing, Tree Brewing Company, Turning Point Brewery, Whistler Brewing Company, Yaletown Brewing co, Yellow Dog Brewing, Fernie Brewing, Brewhouse Whistler, Big Ridge, Vancouver Island Brewing.

I am not sure what time the awards began but at a point they announced that everyone should approach the stage. Like last year Stephen Quinn of CBC Radio was the presenter for the awards. Last year around 300 beer were entered into 18 categories. This year there was around 500 entries in the same 18 categories which really shows the growth of craft beer in BC. This year there was a lot more diversity to the winning breweries at the awards. Here are the winning beers in the categories as presented.
Light Lager – 22 Beers entered

1    Turning Point Brewing Company – Stanley Park Noble Pilsner
2    OK Springs – Okanagan Spring 1516
3    Hoyne Brewing Company – Helios-Dortmunder Golden Lager

Pilsner – 22 Beers

1    Steamworks Pilsner – Steamworks Brewing Company
2    Barley Station Brew Pub – Canoe Creek Pilsner
3    Russell Brewing Company – Lager

Special Lager – 17 Beers

1    Tree Brewing Company – Captivator Doppelbock
2    Pacific Western Brewing – Pacific Schwarzbock
3    Persephone Brewing Company – Black Lager

Hybrids – 37 Beers

1    Steamworks Brewing Company – Steamworks Brewpub Kolsch
2    Phillips Brewing Company – Slipstream Ale
3    R&B Brewing Company – Sun God Wheat Ale

German Wheat/Rye – 10 Beers

1    Moon Under Water Brewery – This Is Hefeweizen
2    Moon Under Water Brewery – Moon Berliner Style – Weisse
3    Big Ridge Brewing Company – Big Ridge Dunkleweizen

UK Ales – 40 Beers

1    Tin Whistle Brewing Company – Stag Apple Scotch Ale
2    Bowen Island Brewing – Snug Cove ESB
3    Moon Under Water Brewery – Wee Woody

North American Ales – 48 Beers

1    Main Sreet Brewing Company – Main Street Sessional IPA
2    Phillips Brewing Company – Coulrophobia IRA
3    Rossland Beer Company – Paydirt Pale Ale

Porter/Brown – 30 Beers

1    Yellow Dog Brewing Company – Shake A Paw Smoked Brown Porter
2    Powell Street Brewing Company – Dive Bomb Porter
3    Lighthouse Brewing Company – Road Trip Fresh Hopped Dark Ale

Belgian/French – 45 Beers

1    Driftwood Brewing Company – White Bark Witbier
2    Dageraad Brewing – De Witte
3    Four Winds Brewing Company – Juxtapose Brett IPA

Vegetable/Spice Beer – 27 Beers

1    Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Lost Souls
2    Howe Sound Brewing – Pumpkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale
3    Fuggles & Warlock Craftwerks – Bean Me Up Espresso Milk Stout

Stout – 24 Beers

1    Persephone Brewing Company – Dry Irish Stout
2    Dead Frog Brewing Company – Commander Imperial Stout (2013)
3    Dead Frog Brewing Company – Commander Imperial Stout (2014)

North American IPA – 44 Beers

1    High Mountian Brewing Company – 5 Rings IPA
2    Four Winds Brewing Company – Four Winds IPA
3    Central City Brewers and Distillers – Red Racer IPA

Imperial IPA – 14 Beers

1    Brassneck Brewery – One Trick Pony
2    Central City Brewers and Distillers – Red Racer Imperial IPA
3    Bomber Brewing Company – SuperPest

Fruit/Sour – 24 Beers

1    Driftwood Brewing Company – Bird Of Prey- Flanders Red
2    Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Schwarzwald
3    Brassneck Brewery – Peach Changeling

Strong – 16 Beers

1    Steamworks Brewery – Steamworks Blitzen
2    Townsite Brewing Company – Biere D’Hiver
3    Howe Sound Brewing – Wooly Bugger Barley Wine

Specialty – 29 Beers

1    Granville Island Brewing – Lost In The Barrels
2    Moon Under Water Brewery – Year 2
3    Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Salty Scot

Smoke/Wood – 16 Beers

1    Central City Brewers and Distillers – Thor’s Hammer Barrel Aged
2    Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Braggot
3    Brassneck Brewery – Inerita II

Dan Small Homebrew Award

1    Matt Anderson – Anderson Estate IPA – Fresh Hopped
2    Grayson Barke – Harvest Rye IPA
3    Brad Johnson – Squashmonster

Best of Show

Yellow Dog Brewing Company – Shake A Paw Smoked Brown Porter

Once all of the awards were announced the cask festival ramped back up. It was now time to see if you could sample some of the winning beers. Once again it was a very successful event with amazing people and amazing beer! I look forward to what might come next year as even more breweries are opening up and the industry is only getting better at making beer! I would like to congratulate all the winners this year! Every single one of you deserved the award for making a great tasty and enjoyable product! Here is to another year of sticking it to the flavourless garbage that macro breweries make.

This year I helped with the setup of the beer awards between 11-4pm. It was great to be able to help in a small way to make this event go off so well. I thought I would share some of the photos from the setup.

Full sized photos can be found here

BC Beer Awards 2013 / Cask Festival – October 19th 2013

Oct22 by Mike

On October 19th, 2013 the BC Beer Awards 2013 / Cask Festival was held at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver BC. The event was a partnership of BC Craft Beer Month, BC Beer Awards and Camra BC. Like every year this event was hosted to celebrate all the amazing Craft Beer being produced in British Columbia. This was the fourth annual event and was a big step up on last years event (very polished). The Awards ran from 1 to 6 PM.

I would like to thank the following people and groups.

First
Lundy of BC Craft Beer Month for letting me Volunteer at her booth
Secondly Sponsors
Camra BC, Beir Craft Bistro, BC Craft Beer Month, Hops Connect, Chrislan, Vancouver Brewery Tour
Media Partner
CBC
Charitable Beneficiaries
Greater Vancouver Food Bank, BCHF BC Hospitality Foundation, Get Home Safe BC Liquor Stores

I was not going to be able to go to the event this year but Lundy made it happen! It was really fun to stand of the other side of the booth this year and see what it is like to be a volunteer. Being on the other side of the booth I was able to connect with so many people and find out what they loved about the beer at the event. I was also able to get recommendations on what beer to try when I was able to check out some samples. At the Booth we sold Beautiful Brewers of BC Calendars as well as BC Craft Beer Month Shirts. We also Poured the BC Craft Beer Month Collaboration Beer the “Spruce Tip Stout” a Brewery Creek District collaboration brewed by Main Street, 33 Acres, R&B, Red Truck and Brassneck Brewing.

I was able to get a break from the booth before the awards to sample some beer and visit with all my great beer friends. I tried samples from a few breweries including Central City, Bridge, Driftwood, Granville Island, Howe Sound, Persephone, Parallel 49, Tree Brewing, Yaletown. I don’t think I could pick a favorite beer at the event but I can say I was super excited to sample Persephone Brewing Companies beer and was even more excited about it after tasting it!

The full list of breweries pouring at the event from what I understand are as follows: 33 Acres Brewing Company, Big Ridge, Big River, Big Surf, Bridge, Coal Harbour, Central City (Red Racer), Coal Harbour, Dead Frog, Deep Cove, Driftwood, Fernie, Four Winds, Granville Island Brewhouse Whistler, Howe Sound, Hoyne, Lighthouse, Longwood, Moon Under Water, Nelson Brewing Co, Old Yale,Persephone, Parallel 49, Powell Street, R&B, Red Truck, Steam Works, Tinwhistle, Townsite, Tree Brewing, Vancouver Island, Whistler and Yaletown Brewing.

Around 3pm the awards started at the main stage. The presenter was Stephen Quinn of CBC radio. He was a great host and added so great bits of info on beer styles for the less knowledgeable and made a few good jokes. Well lets waste no more time and let you know who won all the awards this year!

Session Lager – 13 entries
1st Place – Big Surf – Big Surf Lager – Wolfgang Hoess
2nd Place – High Mountian Brewing Company – Lifty Lager – Derrick Franche
3rd Place – Coal Harbour Brewing Co – 311 Helles Lager- Ethan Allured

Pilsner – 13 entries
1st Place – Central City Brewers and Distillers – Red Racer Pilsner – The Central City Brew Crew
2nd Place – Tree Brewing Co. – Kelowna Pilsner – Dave Gokiert
3rd Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Crane Kick – Graham With
Special Mention – 4 Winds Brewing Company – Pilsner – Brent Mills

Special Lager – 8 entries
1st Place – Vancouver Island Brewery – Hermannator Ice Bock – Ralf Pittroff
2nd Place – Dead Frog Brewery – The Session Vienna Lager – Tony Dewald
3rd Place – Tree Brewing Co. – Captivator Doppelbock – Dave Gokiert

Session Ale – 26 entries
1st Place – The Nelson Brewing Co – Wild Honey Organic Ale – Mike Kelly
2nd Place – Phillips Brewing Co – Slipstream Ale
3rd Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Red Eye – Graham With

English Ale – 14 entries
1st Place – The Nelson Brewing Co- Hop Good Organic Session IPA – Mike Kelly
2nd Place – Central City Brewers and Distillers – Red Racer ESB – The Central City Brew Crew
3rd Place – Powell Street Craft Brewery – Old Jalopy Pale Ale – David Bowkett
Special Mention – Okanagan Spring – Pale Ale

American Ale – 28 entries
1st Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Gypsy Tears – Graham With
2nd Place – Old Yale Brewing Co. – Old Yale Pale Ale – Larry Caza
3rd Place – Central City Brewers and Distillers – Red Racer Pale Ale – The Central City Brew Crew

Wheat Beer – 18 entries
1st Place – Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers – Quick Wit Wheat Ale – Kevin Emms
2nd Place – Moon Under Water Brewery – The Victorious Weizenbock – Clay Potter
3rd Place – Howe Sound Brewing – King Heffy Imperial Heffeweizen – Paul Wilson & Franco Corno

Fruit Beer – 18 entries
1st Place – Central City Brewers and Distillers – Red Racer Raspberry Wheat Ale – The Central City Brew Crew
2nd Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Seed Spitter – Graham With
3rd Place – Fernie Brewing Company – Fernie What the Huck – Gord Demaniuk/Paul Graham

Vegetable / Spice Beer – 20 entries
1st Place – Central City Brewers and Distillers – Red Racer Pumkin Ale – The Central City Brew Crew
2nd Place – Steamworks Brewing Company – Steamworks Espresso Stout – Caolan Vaughn & Takeshi Guenette
3rd Place – R&B Brewing Company – Birra Fresca Cucumber Mint I.P.A. – Todd Graham

Special Beer – 25 entries
1st Place – Howe Sound Brewing – Wee Beastie Oak Aged Scotch Ale – Paul Wilson & Franco Corno
2nd Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – From East Van With Love – Graham With
3rd Place – Coal Harbour Brewing Co – Smoke & Mirrors Smoked Imperial Ale – Ethan Allured

Scottish / Irish – 7 entries
1st Place – Lighthouse Brewing Company – Race Rocks Amber – Dean Mcleod
2nd Place – Tree Brewing Co. – Groove Session Ale – Dave Gokiert
3rd Place – Fernie Brewing Company – Fernie Big Caboose Red Ale – Gord Demaniuk/Paul Graham

Brown / Porter – 23 entries
1st Place – Phillips Brewing Co – Chocolate Porter
2nd Place – Townsite Brewing – PowTown Porter- Cedric Dauchot
3rd Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Old Boy – Graham With
Special Mention – Hoyne Brewing Company – Dark Matter – Sean Hoyne (no trophy)

Stout – 14 entries
1st Place – Persephone Brewing Company – Stout-Off Stout – Anders McKinnon
2nd Place – Longwood Brewing – Stoutnik Russian Imperial Stout – Harley Smith
3rd Place – Old Yale Brewing Co. – Sasquatch Stout – Larry Caza

Belgian / Sour Beer – 15 entries
1st Place – Yaletown Brewing Company – Yaletown Oud Bruin – Yaletown Brewers
2nd Place – Granville Island Brewing – Thirsty Farmer Saison – Vern Lambourne
3rd Place – Four Winds Brewing Company – Wild Flower Saison – Brent Mills

IPA – India Pale Ale – 34 entries
1st Place – Driftwood Brewing Company – Fat Tug IPA – Jason Meyer & Kevin Hearsum
2nd Place – Driftwood Brewing Company – Sartori Harvest IPA – Jason Meyer & Kevin Hearsum
3rd Place – Moon Under Water Brewery – Tranquility IPA – Clay Potter
Special Mention – Hoyne Brewing Company – Devils Dream IPA – Sean Hoyne (no trophy)

Imperial IPA – 11 entries
1st Place – Central City Brewers and Distillers – Central City Imperial IPA – The Central City Brew Crew
2nd Place – Phillips Brewing Co – Amnesiac Double IPA
3rd Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – The Hopnitist – Graham With

Strong – 8 entries
1st Place – Central City Brewers and Distillers – Thor’s Hammer – The Central City Brew Crew
2nd Place – Parallel 49 Brewing Company – Vow of Silence – Graham With
3rd Place – Townsite Brewing – Biere d’Hiver – Cedric Dauchot

Best In Show
Vancouver Island Brewery – Hermannator Ice Bock – Ralf Pittroff

CBC People’s Choice Award
Powell Street Brewery – Whisky Porter

VanBrewers Dan Small Home Brew Award
1st Place – John Follinsbee
2nd Place – Tak Guenette
3rd Place – Adam Crandall

Because I took a ton of time taking photos during the awards I headed back to the the BC Craft Beer month booth and relieved the other crew for the rest of the show. There were lots of people to serve and chat with and we ended up selling a bunch of Beautiful Brewers Of BC Calendars as well as a bunch of BC Craft Beer Month Shirts. I could tell from everyone at the event that they had a ton of fun and enjoyed all the beer being served. I look forward to next years event and look forward to which new breweries win next year! I can’t wait until the next time I can Volunteer at a beer event in the future! Hint Hint!

Full Sized Photos can be viewed here!

BC Beer Awards 2012 / CAMRA’s Harvest Cask Festival – October 13th 2012

Oct16 by Mike

On October 13th, 2012 the Third Annual British Columbia Beer Awards & CAMRA Harvest Cask Festival was held at Chapel Arts in Vancouver BC. This event was put on by a partnership of British Columbia Beer Awards, British Columbia Craft Beer Month and CAMRA British Columbia. This is an amazing event put on to celebrate all the amazing beer being produced across this vast Province!

First off I would also like to thank the following people!

“Brewery Creek Liquor Store (for their support)

CAMRA BC / CAMRA Vancouver (for their hard work)

BC Craft Beer Month (for their partnership)

Chrislan Ceramics (for the amazing handles)

Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (for providing space for judging)

Chapel Arts (for being an amazing venue)

Jonathan Lloyd Walker (for being an engaging host)”

Both Steve and I attended this event for the first time and did not know what to expect. The doors to the event opened at 1pm on the first real torrential downpour of the year (what a good day to stay in and drink!). The day started off with the Cask Festival which included beer from the following breweries: Big Ridge, Coal Harbour, Driftwood, Granville Island, Howe Sound, Hoyne, Lighthouse, Old Yale, Parallel 49, Phillips, R&B, Red Racer (Central City), Red Truck, Spinnakers, Steamworks, Storm, Townsite, Tree, Vancouver Island and Yaletown. At events like this you will never find a more friendly and interesting crowd that loves to mingle and chat about craft beer. Be it Brewmasters, CAMRA Directors or just good old beer enthusiasts, there was always great conversation to go along with the amazing beer. Every beer was available for tasting excluding the one cask of Driftwood’s “Sartori Harvest IPA” seemingly the current holy grail of BC beer. This beer was only available to CAMRA BC members. I joined CAMRA just for the taste (Glad I did too!) as well as all the other benefits. Breakdowns of all the beer tasted at this event will trickle onto the blog as it is written. Thank you to everyone that took the time to stop and chat, you all made for a great time! It was especially great to meet and talk with both Sean Hoyne and Gary Lohin for the first time, two amazing brewmasters and all around great people.

The award ceremony started at 3:45pm in the main hall area of Chapel Arts. The award presenter was Jonathan Lloyd Walker a BC/LA based actor, screen writer and creative producer. During the proceedings Jonathan Walker had some great jokes and made the proceedings go very smoothly but it was a good thing the event was 19+. This year hosted a record number of entrants from Breweries to Brew Pubs. The Judging was done on September 29th 2012 at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. 12 beer categories were judged by certified Beer Judges, Cicerones, Sommeliers and noted beer and food lovers according to the program.

Without further ado here are this years winners of the BC Beer Awards:Best of Show – Steamworks Pilsner -Conrad Gmoser of Steamworks Brewing Company

Lager/Pilsner – 22 Beers

1.) Steamworks Pilsner – Conrad Gmoser of Steamworks Brewing Company

2.) Beach Blonde Lager – Stefan Buhl of Tree Brewing Company

3.) Kelowna Pilsner – Stefan Buhl of Tree Brewing Company

Special Lager – 8 Beers

1.) Brewmaster’s Black – Stefan Tobler of Okanagan Spring Brewery

2.) Hermann’s Dark Lager – Ralf Pittroff of Vancouver Island Brewery

3.) Iron Plow Harvest Marzen – Ralf Pittroff of Vancouver Island Brewery

Session – 17 Beers

1.) High Country Kolsch -Bart Larson of Mt. Begbie Brewing Company

2.) Seadog Amber Ale – Ralf Pittroff of Vancouver Island Brewery

3.) Begbie Cream Ale -Bart Larson of Mt. Begbie Brewing Company

Wheat/Rye – 22 Beers

1.) Belgian White – Dean Mcleod of Lighthouse Brewing Company

2.) King Heffy Imperial Hefeweizen – Paul Wilson and Franco Corno of Howe Sound Brewing Company

3.) White Bark Ale – Jason Meyer and Kevin Hearsum of Driftwood Brewing Company

Pale – 41 Beers

1.) Red Racer Classic Pale Ale – Gary Lohin of Central City Brewing Company

2.) Salt Spring ESB – Murray Hunter of Gulf Island Brewing

3.) River Rock Bitter – Daniel Murphy of Canoe Brewpub

Cascadian Dark Ale – 4 Beers

1.) Skookum Cascadian Brown Ale – Matt Phillips of Phillips Brewing Company

2.) Gathering Storm Cascadian Dark Ale – Paul Wilson and Franco Corno of Howe Sound Brewing Company

3.) Cascadia Dark Ale – Tommie Grant of Spinnakers Brewpub and GuestHouses

Porter/Brown – 24 Beers

1.) Pow Town – Cedric Dauchot of Townsite Brewing Inc

2.) Dark Chocolate Porter – Dean Mcleod of Lighthouse Brewing Company

3.) Longboat Chocolate Porter – Matt Phillips of Phillips Brewing Company

Scottish/Irish – 3 Beers

1.) Big Caboose Red Ale – Gord Demaniuk of Fernie Brewing Company

Fruit – 15 Beers

1.) Blackberry Festivale – Cedric Dauchot of Townsite Brewing Inc

2.) 4 Way Fruit Ale – Paul Wilson and Franco Corno of Howe Sound Brewing Company

3.) Seedspitter Watermelon Wit – Graham With of Parallel 49 Brewing Company

Stout – 14 Beers

1.) Keepers Stout – Dean Mcleod of Lighthouse Brewing Company

2.) Pothole Filler Imperial Stout – Paul Wilson and Franco Corno of Howe Sound Brewing Company

3.) Singularity – Jason Meyer and Kevin Hearsum of Driftwood Brewing Company

IPA – 36 Beers

1.) 5 Rings IPA – Derrick Franche of High Mountian Brewing Company

2.) Central City Imperial IPA – Gary Lohin of Central City Brewing Company

3.) Red Racer IPA – Gary Lohin of Central City Brewing Company

Sour/Brett – 4 Beers

1.) Oud Bruin – Iain Hill of Yaletown Brewing Company

2.) Bird Of Prey Flanders Red – Jason Meyer and Kevin Hearsum of Driftwood Brewing Company

3.) Imperial Flanders – James Walton of Storm Brewing Ltd

Specialty – 20 Beers

1.) Smoke & Mirrors Imperial Smoked Ale – Kevin Emms of Coal Harbour Brewing

2.) Serendipity #5 – Stefan Buhl of Tree Brewing Company

3.) Schadenfreude Pumpkin Oktoberfest – Graham With of Parallel 49 Brewing Company

Strong – 7 Beers

1.) Hermannator Ice Bock – Ralf Pittroff of Vancouver Island Brewery

2.) Old Cellar Dweller 2012 – Jason Meyer and Kevin Hearsum of Driftwood Brewing Company

3.) Bourbon Barrel Aged Thor’s Hammer – Gary Lohin of Central City Brewing Company

And the People’s Choice Award went to

Belgian Quince IPA Cask – Lighthouse Brewing

After the awards were all handed out the cask festival went right back into full swing and ran until 7pm. This left lots of time to congratulate all the deserving winners on their awards. I would also like to congratulate both Parallel 49 Brewing and Townsite Brewing on both winning awards in their first year of operation. Keep up the amazing work!