Midnight Black IPA – Stanley Park Brewing


From Stanley Park Brewing (Turning Point Brewing) in Delta comes their “Midnight Black IPA” a part of their new Sampling Series in Bombers.  The beer poured a very deep black with a brown head.  The aroma consists of roasted malts, pine, earth, mild fruit notes and floral hops.  The flavour is of roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, earth, pine,  mild fruits and bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 7% with an IBU of 65.  This is a nice mix of flavours for a black IPA and I am happy to see Stanley Park Brewing tackle this style.  Stanley Park Brewing is now owned by Labbat.

Commercial Description:  Embrace the darker days as the seasons change with our exceptionally smooth and hoppy Midnight Black IPA. Bursting with aromas of freshly fallen pine needles and ripe berries from Simcoe hops, it’s like we took the forest of Stanley Park and bottled it…

FRESH HOP RED IPA – Stanley Park Brewing


From Stanley Park Brewing (Turning Point Brewing) in Delta comes their “FRESH HOP RED IPA” a part of their new Sampling Series in Bombers.  The beer pours a deep reddish colour with a tan head.  The aroma consists of roasted malts, rye, caramel, grapefruit and floral hops.  The flavour is of roasted malts, rye, caramel, toffee, chocolate, earth, grapefruit, grapefruit rind, pine, pepper, herbal and bitterness.  The alcohol content  comes in at 6.4% with an IBU of 70.   This Red IPA has a similar roast malt characteristic of some Cascadian Dark Ale’s.  I quite enjoyed this one although it is definitely more roasty than most.  Stanley Park Brewing is now owned by Labbat.

Commercial Description:  A robust Fresh Hop Red IPA with Crystal Rye malts and heaps of fresh, locally-grown Cascade and Chinook hop cones direct from bines at B.C. Hop Co.’s picturesque hop fields in the heart of the Fraser Valley.

Blackberry Jam (Lactose IPA) – Four Winds Brewing


From Four Winds Brewing in Delta comes their “Blackberry Jam” an IPA with wild Blackberries, Mosaic Lupulin powder and lactose.  The beer pours a reddish orange colour with a light reddish head. The aroma consists of blackberries, lactose sweetness and some herbal notes. The flavour is of blackberries, strawberries, lactose with a low bitterness to finish it all off. The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 45. This stuff is really good and I hope that Four Winds Brewing makes more of this stuff.

Commercial Description:  Blackberry Jam is an IPA brewed with handpicked wild blackberries from B.C., Mosaic lupulin powder, lactose sugar, Saccharomyces Trois yeast and a touch of vanilla.

The Fraser – Steel & Oak Brewing (Four Winds Brewing)


From Steel & Oak Brewing in New Westminster in collaboration with Delta’s Four Winds Brewing across the river comes “The Fraser” a pale ale fermented with Saccharomyces Trois.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of light tropical fruit, yeasty, mild funk and some floral hops.  The flavour is of mango, stone fruit, tropical fruit, citrus rind, yeast, mild funk with a dry not sweet finish.  There is very little bitterness in this brew.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.2% with an IBU of 24.  This beer is not going to punch you in the face with flavour but it is an excellently executed collaboration brew from two great breweries.

Commercial Description:  Fermented with Saccharomyces Trois yeast this Pale Ale was brewed with Amchoor (Green Mango spice) and hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Azacca, as well as some fresh Cashmere for good measure. The Fraser is fruity, tropical, and funk. Not as funky as the people who brewed it but still pretty funky.

Fortunello Farmhouse Ale – Four Winds Brewing


From Four Winds Brewing in Delta comes their “Fortunello Farmhouse Ale” a beer aged in a Foeder for 6 months.  The beer pours a orange brown colour with a beige head.  The aroma consists of orange peel, anise, herbal, sweetness wood and a floral finish.  the flavour is of orange peel, kumquats, herbal, anise, candi sugar, generic fruit, wood, spices, mild bitterness, mild brett and some malts.  The alcohol content comes in at 8.3% with an IBU of 15.  This beer is one of the more unusual releases from Four Winds Brewing and may be challenging to some but is quite enjoyable.

Commercial Description:  This herbaceous farmhouse ale was brewed with dark Belgian candi sugar and bay laurel, then aged over kumquats and bitter orange peel in an oak foeder for six months. Delicate aromas of citrus and annise precede notes of dark pit fruit, settling into a mild Brett funk.