Tag Archives: brewery creek

Steel Toad Brewpub (updated 2017) – Vancouver

by Mike

Steel Toad Brewpub & Dining Hall has been brewing up a storm since late 2015 but with some changes they invited me out to try some of their brew beer and share the fact they have finally begun filling growlers!  Located in Vancouver’s Brewery Creek district and on the edge of the Olympic Village you do not have to venture far to check out this brewpub.

I still find it amazing that this building was saved after it lost its historical status back in 1997.  Nothing usually sticks around when it is left to fall apart like this building was.   Luckily the developer saw the value of the history and saved this building.

Photo from Vancouver Real Estate Direct.

I have enjoyed myself every time I have stopped in to Steel Toad Brewing.  The bar area is located in the middle and is a wrap around style.  On all sides you will find seating also.  There are now two different patios with one located out front and one in the back.  To the far left and up the stairs you will find a nice mezzanine seating area that can be used for private events.  On the right side you get to see the brew house behind a glass wall.  The beer here is very fresh as they pour directly off of serving tanks for their own brews.  But if you are looking for something else they also have guest taps and other bar drinks.

Behind the glass wall you find the brewery.  As far as I can tell they still use a mobile grain mill that they wheel outside to do all their milling.  The brewery uses a 10 barrel brew house that consists of a two part vessel that is comprised of a mash tun and hot liquor tank.  The other part of the two vessel brew house is their kettle.  Once they have finished making the wort it is moved over to the fermenters on the far side.  Once the beer is finished it is moved into one of 10 serving tanks.  The brewery has a capacity of 1000 barrels a year.  The photos below are a mix of old and new photos.

If you have never been here you are doing a disservice to yourself.  If you have been its time to go back for a nice meal and to take home a growler of your favourite beer.  The brewery does not purge their growlers with CO2 at this point so they recommend you drink it as soon as possible.  This is a nice first step and hopefully in the future they can start purging the growlers with CO2 so that the beer will last longer.

Here is my original post about the brewery.

Steel Toad Brewpub
http://steeltoad.ca/
97 2nd Ave East
Vancouver, BC
(@ Quebec St.)
604 709 8623
info@steeltoad.ca

Red Truck Beer launches craft beer floats and new menu items at The Truck Stop Diner

by Mike

I was recently invited out to Red Truck Beer in Vancouver with some other media members to check out some of their new menu Items.

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I have a bad habit of always being early to events and this was no different so I sampled their new Dry Nibbed Stout.  While I didn’t take any notes on this beer I did quite enjoy it and it was probably my favourite of the ones I sampled.

Once the small group was rounded up we were taken on a short tour of the brewery.  I was less interested in the technical side of the brewery as I have both done the tour and also know more about the brewing process than the rest of the group.  I took the chance to take more photos.

Once the tour was done we headed up to a private room that can be rented for events to taste some of their beer and their new food.

They started the tasting off with their 3 core beer and one winter seasonal.  The beers were 1st the Lager, 3rd the Ale and 4th the IPA that rounded out their core lineup and 2nd their Pilsner their winter seasonal.  Their mandate is to make flavourful but accessible beers.  While I am not a big drinker of Lagers and Pilsners personally there is not doubt that they are making their mandate with well crafted easy drinking beers.

The new food includes their new Fish Sandwich that is battered and has fried tortilla’s making it almost a fish and chips sandwich.  The next sample was a pulled pork sandwich that had nice ranch slaw on it.  Next up was the pulled pork tacos a great tasting treat.  The last thing we were able to sample was the bone out dry ribs.  They were great with the spicy sauce they were served with.  Even though I expected to like one of the pork dishes the best for me it was the Fish Sandwich that really hit the spot.  It had everything you would want in a sandwich and more.  Not to say anything bad about the other options as there were all really tasty and I would love to eat more of all of them.

Now they were not done with the great samples.  The next thing they brought us was a sample of their brand new beer floats.  This one used their Blackberry Bourbon Ale and some really tasty ice cream.  They also gave us a sample of the Blackberry Bourbon Ale without ice cream to compare.  Personally I cant wait to get back and try a full sized beer float!  This little sample was to die for. 

Now while we where up in a private room for this tasting the Truck Stop Diner got really busy and shows just how popular a spot this is to hang out.  They also have a growler bar and off sales location at the front door.  If you have not made it out to Red Truck Beer yet what are you waiting for?

Faculty Brewing – Vancouver

by Mike

I have been following the construction of Faculty Brewing since January as can be seen in my previous posts (First) (Second) (Third).  On August 2nd, 2016 they finally opened to the public after their passed Lounge inspection.

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Faculty Brewing is the latest brewery to open up in the Brewery Creek neighborhood in Vancouver.  Mauricio Lozano the owner and head brewer is an post secondary instructor by trade as well as a brewer.  With the teaching in mind the brewery has borrowed bits from the post secondary school style of class naming.  Easy drinking beers will be in the 100 series while the most challenging beers at this point will land in the 700 series.  You will find all other beers in between those numbers.

The brewery is small with a capacity of 30 people but it is well worth making a point of stopping in for a tasting flight or a few glasses of beer.  The brewery has launched with a very strong 4 beers and will only have more great beers over time.

Faculty Brewing is not a big brewery.  The photos above can give you an idea of this.  The first photo is of the brew house that is located at the very back of the building.  When you walk into the brewery you will see the fermenters and bright tanks to the right.  The second and third photo are taken from the back looking forward in the brewery.  Beer is being served off of the bright tanks and as such there is only a very small cooler big enough for a few kegs.  The last photo is of the grain mill although it is covered up with a blanket or something.

I can not stress enough that you should check out this brewery soon!

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Faculty Brewing Co
http://www.facultybrewing.com/
1830 Ontario
Vancouver, BC
778 819 6794
hola@facultybrewing.com

Faculty Brewing Co (Construction Update 3) – Vancouver

by Mike

Faculty Brewing in Vancouver is getting much closer to opening now.  When I stopped in early March framing was in the early stages and there was no equipment in the space yet.  Now in late May things are really looking good.

FacultyConstUp3-001

The bar is basically finished now with the exception that it is not yet hooked into the serving tanks.  There will be 6 Faculty Brewing beers on tap and in Growler fills with one two extra taps for guest beers and the likes.  The taps are really interesting as they have the ability to chance out the numbers that represent the beers numerical names.  Each beer will have a number similar to a college or university class number.  The third photo below shows the tasting room seating area.  The big black package is the bar seating.  The package behind it is of the growlers.

The brewery itself is not hooked up yet and that includes the glycol but all of the equipment is now in place.  The grain room is located in the far back corner of the building.  beside it you will find the brew house.  The grain will be augured from the grain room to the last vessel on the left of the first photo.   The next two photos show the tank farm.  Due to the cost of the transformer in the last photo there are a mix of stainless steel and plastic fermentors.

I am really excited for the opening date of Faculty Brewing.  The test batches and collaborations that I have tried have been great.  Keep your eyes peeled for an opening date!

Faculty Brewing Co
http://www.facultybrewing.com/
1830 Ontario
Vancouver, BC

full sized photos

Faculty Brewing Co (Construction Update 2) – Vancouver

by Mike

Faculty Brewing is finally ramping up construction of the brewery.  When i was there in Early January the slab had been cut up and they were working on installing the trade waste interceptor.  Now things are finally coming together.

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The following photos depict the work that has been done.

Photo one and two are of where the tasting bar will be located.  To the left of the photos will be where the growler station will be located while the right side will house the bar for ordering drinks.  The third photo is where the tank farm will be located in the foreground with the far background where the brew house will be located.  Photo four shows where the brew house will be located.  The fifth photo shows where the grain milling room will be located although there will be a door to the room once the framing is finished.  Photo six was taken from where the bar is going to be located towards the tasting lounge.  Number 7 shows the tank farm again in the background.  There will be a half height pony wall separating the tasting room from the tank farm.  The last photo is the tinny cold room that will house some kegs.

Its great to see some honest to goodness progress going on at Faculty Brewing.  Keep up the great work!

Full sized photos

Faculty Brewing Co
http://www.facultybrewing.com/
1830 Ontario
Vancouver, BC