Great Canadian Beer Festival 2015 – Victoria BC – September 12th

Sep18 by Mike

After missing last years Great Canadian Beer Festival it looked like a good time to reacquaint myself with the largest Beer Festival on Vancouver Island (and one of the largest in BC). Like every year the festival was a two day event with a Friday that ran from 3pm-8pm and the Saturday Noon-5pm and was held at the Royal Athletic Park in Victoria. Much like last time I was not able to make it out to the Friday event and only the Saturday because of work and bad/late planning on my part. Tickets ran at $40 per day and you got a pamphlet with all of the breweries and beers available and a beer glass. Beer tokens came in at a fairly average BC price of $1.5 which got you a 4oz pour of beer.

This years festival has reverted back to Canadian only Breweries with the vast majority being from British Columbia. I personally like to bring in American breweries because its a good way to compare our brews to some of the most renowned in the world (but that’s just me). There were still a ton of breweries at the festival with a total of 62.

The breweries in attendance:

33 Acres, Bad Tattoo, Barkerville, Big Rock(AB, BC), Bomber, Brasseurs Sans Gluten, Bridge Brewing, Cannery Brewing, Canoe Brewpub, Category 12, Central City Brewers & Distillers, Coal Harbour, Cumberland, Dageraad, Dead Frog, Deep Cove, Dieu Du Ciel, Doan’s Craft Brewing Company, Driftwood, Fernie, Four Mile, Four Winds, Fuggles & Warlock, Gladstone, Granville Island, Howe Sound, Hoyne, Les Trois Mousquetaires, Le Trou De Diable, Lighthouse, Axe & Barrel, Longwood, Merridale Cider, Mill Street, Moody Ales, Muskoka, Okanagan Springs, Parallel 49, Persephone, Phillips, Postmark, Powell Street, R & B, Red Arrow, REd Truck, Russell, Salt Spring Island Ales, Sherwood Mountain, Spinnakers, Stanley Park, Steam Whistle, Steamworks, Steel & Oak, Strange Fellows, Swans Brewpub, Tofino, Townsite, Tree Brewing, Unibroue, Vancouver Island, Wheelhouse, Wolf, Yellow Dog, Yukon.

With a selection of breweries as far north of Victoria as a 2,490km drive and as far East as 4,805km away this festival did a good job of bringing Canadian breweries out to share their beer! In previous years I kept a log of the beers that I was enjoying but this year I decided against it. I did take many photos of the beer I was enjoying but not all of them as I would hold up the line while doing it.

Once again the costumes were out in full force as well as the entertainment. There were lots of familiar faces all around but there were so many people I knew were there but missed. This event is planned and executed very well and is a ton of fun but I found that there might have been to many people. Some of the breweries had lines that you would be lucky if they only took you 10-15 minutes to get a beer sample. Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks beat this with a line so long that I didn’t even say hi to the guys at the booth it stretched so long! I hear the Friday event was much less crowded but I did not get to check that night out.

Full sized photos found here

Overall I had an epic time and I look forward to what next year has to offer!

Winter Cask Festival 2014 – Central City Brewing

Jan29 by Mike

On January 25th 2014 Central City Brewing held their annual Winter Cask Festival.

The pamphlet claims 30 casks from breweries in BC and the Northwest but this for the first time I can remember was not true. This year every single cask was from BC and only BC. Like always tickets ran you $30 and included 3 samples and a branded 4oz glass. Extra samples were around a dollar a piece. For the most part all 33 casks were very big on alcohol content as is expected with a winter cask festival. It was great to be able to catch up with all of the different brewers that I have been able to get to know over the last year. I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with Sara and Chloe two amazing craft beer fans. This year I did the impossible and tried every single cask.

The Brew List

1 Central City Brewers + Distillers & Camra – Mystery Cask
2 Mission Springs – McLennan’s Scotch Ale
3 Spinnakers – Hopscotch
4 Coal Harbour – IPA
5 Dead Frog – Fearless IPA
6 Old Yale – Sergeant’s Citrus
7 Phillips – Puzzler Imperial Belgian Black IPA
8 Big Ridge – West Coast Pale Ale
9 Deep Cove – Go Fuggle Yourself
10 Red Truck – Ale Dry Hopped
11 Big River – Bourbon Oaked ESB
12 Bridge Brewing – Nettle & Honey Red Ale
13 Persephone – Dry Hopped Red Ale
14 Central City Brewers + Distillers – Chocolate & Orange Porter
15 33 Acres – Melaco
16 4 Winds – Coffee & Cream Oat Porter
17 Russell – Estate Coffee Porter
18 Whistler Brewhouse – Oaked Brown Porter
19 Central City Brewers + Distillers – Vanilla Bean & Espresso Stout
20 Brassneck – Bourbon Barrel Aged Inertia
21 Hoyne – High Voltage Espresso Stout
22 Parallel 49 – Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout
23 Steamworks – Rye Stout with Laphroaig
24 Cannery – Vanilla Nut Express
25 Driftwood – Old Cellar Dweller
26 Granville Island – Burly Goat Weizenbock
27 Green Leaf – Black & Tan Fantasy28 Howe Sound – Winter Ale
29 Lighthouse – The Bad Seed Farmhouse Quince Ale
30 Moon Under Water – Belgian Triple Wedding Ale
31 R&B – Ginger Beer
32 Storm – Orange Creamsicle
33 Yaletown – Jolly Hooligan

Central City Brewers + Distillers & Camra – Mystery Cask

Cumin? Spice not a favourite

Mission Springs – McLennan’s Scotch Ale

Spinnakers – Hopscotch

Dark Amber Colour
Caramel, Scotch Ale, hops bitter, pine

Coal Harbour – IPA

Malty, citrus, sweet, bitter

Dead Frog – Fearless IPA

Amber colour, off white head
citrus, pine, malts, sweet

Old Yale – Sergeant’s Citrus

Orange colour, off white head
pine, citrus, malts, full bodied

Phillips – Puzzler Imperial Belgian Black IPA

roasty malts, bitter smoke, mild hops bitterness

Big Ridge – West Coast Pale Ale

pale malts, citrus, orange, floral hops

Deep Cove – Go Fuggle Yourself

Cloudy amber colour, white head
citrus, floral hops, malty, citrus, tea, saison,

Red Truck – Ale Dry Hopped

copper orange colour, white head
malty, hops, citrus, orange

Big River – Bourbon Oaked ESB

earthy, citrus, rind, sweet, floral hops

Bridge Brewing – Nettle & Honey Red Ale

Deep Copper
malty, honey, nettle, amazingly sessionable

Persephone – Dry Hopped Red Ale

citrus, pine, malts, caramel, sweet

Central City Brewers + Distillers – Chocolate & Orange Porter

big roast, chocolate, orange, mild coffee

33 Acres – Melaco

roasty, sweet, vanilla, molasses, smokey

4 Winds – Coffee & Cream Oat Porter

Black brown colour
coffee, roasty, creamy, oats, semi sweet

Russell – Estate Coffee Porter

huge coffee, mild roasted malts

Whistler Brewhouse – Oaked Brown Porter

big roasted malts, creamy, mild, hops, sweet

Central City Brewers + Distillers – Vanilla Bean & Espresso Stout
my last beer and I missed a photo and only took the note tasty (oops)

Brassneck – Bourbon Barrel Aged Inertia

black opaque, brown head
bourbon, vanilla, roasty, bitter, coffee, cream

Hoyne – High Voltage Espresso Stout

Black opaque colour brown head
roasted coffee, peaty, vanilla

Parallel 49 – Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout

Bourbon, vanilla, roasted malts, bitterness, boozy

Steamworks – Rye Stout with Laphroaig

smokey

Cannery – Vanilla Nut Express

nut brown, vanilla, sweet

Driftwood – Old Cellar Dweller

Think double IPA, malty, citrus, sweet, boozy

Granville Island – Burly Goat Weizenbock
sweet, brown sugar, dark fruits, malts

Green Leaf – Black & Tan Fantasy

Black, brown head
roasty malt, coffee, chi, tasty

Howe Sound – Winter Ale

sweet malts

Lighthouse – The Bad Seed Farmhouse Quince Ale

cloudy yellow, white head
yeasty, wheat, citrus, very mild funk, lemon peel, wants to be sour

Moon Under Water – Belgian Triple Wedding Ale

sweet citrus, orange, candied sugar

R&B – Ginger Beer

sweet ginger, more bite than ginger ale

Storm – Orange Creamsicle

vanilla, orange, sweetness, malts

Yaletown – Jolly Hooligan

sweet candied sugar, dark malts, rum, oak

This was another great event put on by Central City. Thanks again for holding this event again as it is one of the most celebrated event each year.

Full Sized photos can be found here

My Favourite beer of the night was a tie between two beers.

Bridge Brewing – Nettle & Honey Red Ale

and

Lighthouse – The Bad Seed Farmhouse Quince Ale

I look forward to the Summer Cask Festival! If you have never been to one of these cask festivals before you really need to check this one or one like it out! They are a ton of fun and a great way to meet like minded craft beer nuts.

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!

Beerlesque 3 – September 20th 2013

Sep24 by Mike

On Friday September 20th, 2013 the third annual Beerlesque was held. Like last year the event was held at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown an area of Downtown Vancouver. The event was put on by Vancouver Craft Beer Week and The Donnely Group. The tickets once again cost $55 but included everything but the food. One wrinkle this year was that with your ticket purchase you had to choose a time slot for the Burlesque proformance. There was a 7pm and 9pm show but the event ran from 6pm-11pm. All the action was shown on big screens in the main hall so that you could see everything going on in the theatre.

The breweries at the event included Lighthouse, Bridge Brewing, Red Truck, Russell, Driftwood, Phillips, Deep Cove, Steamworks, Vancouver Island, Storm, Hoyne, Central City, Parallel 49, Steam Whistle and New Belgium (Colorado USA). All were pouring amazing beer but my pick as best beer was Storm Brewing’s Cherry Lambic.

Partial Beer List
Driftwood Brewery – Fat Tug IPABridge Brewing Company – North Shore Pale Ale, Hopilano IPA
Storm Brewing – Cherry Lambic, Black Plague Stout w/ Whiskey, Hurricane IPA
Vancouver Island Brewing – Storm Watcher, High Tail Honey Ale, Hermans Dark Lager, Seadog Amber

Like always there were great Entertainers at this amazing event including The Danger Thrill Show with Neil E. Dee, Rebel Valentine, Lola Frost, Burgundy Brixx, callio p cock, Lydia DeCarllo, Nicky Ninedoors, and a drag show featuring local Brew Masters. The brewmaster drag show was a ton of fun and all 4 guys showed a ton of balls including James (Jamey Storm) of Storm Brewing, Adam Chatburn the President of Camra Vancouver, Scott Butchart (Tamara Tuggit) of Van Brewers and Shae DeJaray of Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers.

7:00 PM*
Danger Thrill Show
Teresa Marie (ukulele performance)
callio p cock (burlesque)
Lola Frost (burlesque)
Burgundy Brixx (burlesque)

9:00 PM*
Drag Show
Lydia DeCarllo (burlesque)
Rebel Valentine (burlesque)
Nicky NineDoors (burlesque)

Like last year this was an amazing event with lots of amazing people, breweries and performers! I look forward to next years festivities.

Full sized photos can be found here
Mikescraftbeer Flickr

Great Canadian Beer Festival 2013 – Victoria BC – September 7th

Sep13 by Mike

Well its that time of year again! The Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria has come on gone. The festival ran on Friday September 6th between 3pm – 8pm and Saturday September 7th Noon to 6pm and was held at the Royal Athletic Park. I was lucky enough to go this year but was only able to go to the Saturday event.

The breweries involved came mostly from BC but also came from all over Canada and the Western United States. The breweries that came included 33 Achres, Big Rock, Brasseurs Sans Gluten, Cannery, Canoe, Central City, Coal Harbour, Creemore Springs, Dead Frog, Deep Cove, Double Trouble, Driftwood, Elysian, Fernie, Four Winds, Gigantic, Granville Island, Green Flash, Hogsback, hopworks, Howe Sound, Hoyne, Lighthouse, Longwood, Merridale, Mill Street, Moon Under Water, Mt. Begbie, Muskoka, New Belgium, Nickel Brook, Ninkasi, Noble Pig, Okanagan Springs, Old Yale, Paddock Wood, Parallel 49, Phillips, Powell Street, Prince Albert, Prohibition, Russell, Salt Spring Island, Sound, Spinnakers, Stanley Park, Steam Whistle, Steamworks, Swans, Tin Whistle, Tofino, Townsite, Tree, Unibroue, Vancouver Island, Whistler, Wolf and Yukon.

One of the great things about this festival was that many of the booths were serving casks of their beer. It is always great to try one off beer and standard beer hopped in a different way. Due to the fact that I know way to many people now I did not get to try all that many beer. I did however try some amazing beer as well as meet all kinds of new people and visit with lots of local beer friends. My beer list was as follows:

33 Acres – 33 Acres of Sunshine
Driftwood – Old Cellar Dweller cask
– Crooked Coast altbier
Canoe – Galaxy ESB
– Summer honey wheat ale (Blackberry infused)
Granville Island – The Pumpkining cask
Howe Sound – Hopraiser IPA
– Megadestroyer Stout
Hoyne – Devils Wet Dream
Ninkasi – Maiden In the Shade Dble IPA
Old Yale Brewing – Chilliwack Blonde
Paddock Wood – Black Friars Porter
Phillips – Kaleidoscope Mosaic IPA cask
Salt Spring Island – Spring Fever Gruit Ale
Tin Whistle – Strawberry/rhubarb cask
Townsite – Westview wheat
– Blackberry FestivALE

My pick as favorite beer of the day was Driftwood Brewings Old Cellar Dweller cask although I did only have a small sampling of the beers.

This festival was just as much about the beer as it was for the people for me so here are all the photos that I took at the event!

Next year I plan on taking in both days and hopefully every brewery if not every beer. One day will be for visiting and one day for sampling seriously. The people that Put on the Great Canadian Beer Festival and volunteers did an amazing job and should be very proud. I look forward to my next festival!

Larger versions of the photos can be seen on the blogs new flickr page!

Mike's Craft Beer

We review craft beer from around the world.

Tag Archives: lighthouse

Great Canadian Beer Festival 2015 – Victoria BC – September 12th

Winter Cask Festival 2014 – Central City Brewing

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

Beerlesque 3 – September 20th 2013

Great Canadian Beer Festival 2013 – Victoria BC – September 7th

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: