Tag Archives: spinnakers gastro brewpub

Brewers Reserve Series – Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

by Mike

On January 20th I headed to Victoria with my wife for the Brewers Reserve Series launch event at Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub.  Spinnakers Brewpub is the original brewpub in Canada after prohibition and opened in 1984.  There is no doubt that Spinnakers has some major history and they are looking to create even more history with their new barrel program.

Get to know the brewery better by checking out the podcast we did on Pacific Beer Chat.  We sat down with  Paul Hadfield the founder and Matt West-Patrick one of the brewers.  You can also find this episode on your favorite Podcast app at Pacific Beer Chat.

 

Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub is located on the waterfront just outside of Downtown Victoria and might win for best brewpub location ever.  This place has an English Pub vibe through and through.  The lower level is more of a restaurant with the top floor being more of a bar.

To top off the Brewpub they also have a lodging in their guesthouse.  We stayed at the guesthouse while there and really enjoyed out stay.  Staying with Spinnakers means you get a hot breakfast and Chocolate and beer tasting included with out stay.

Now lets get to the real reason we headed to Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in the first place.  The latest beers to be released in the Brewers Reserve Series are Rubus a Blackberry Sour (Number 9) and Prunus Plum Sour (Number 10).  If you can find bottles of these beers make sure to pick them up as they are very limited.

Rubus Blackberry Sour

The beer pours a deep red colour with a very low carbonation and very little head.  The aroma consists of blackberries, mild cherry, semi sweet notes and tartness.  The flavour is of blackberries, cherries, tartness, wheat, oak with an almost wine like finish.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.1%.  This is quite the tasty Blackberry sour and I would highly recommend picking up a bottle of this.

Prunus Plum Sour

The beer pours a deep orange brown colour with almost no head and little carbonation.  The aroma consists of plum, sweetness and tartness.  The flavour is of plum, wheat, mild oak, wine, semi sweet with some good tartness.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.8%.  Like the Rubus this beer is exceptionally tasty.  I would recommend picking up at least one of these bottles if you can find it.

This new series of beer are really tasty and I can not wait to see what they have coming in the future.

Holliewood Oyster Stout – Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

by Mike

From Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria BC comes the “Holliewood Oyster Stout”.  If you have a shellfish allergy you will want to skip this beer as it used Ocean Wise Oysters in the brewing process.  The beer pours a deep black colour with a brown head.  The aroma consists of roasted malts, chocolate, salty and some sweetness.  The flavour is of roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, earth, mild bitter, ash and some salt.  The alcohol content comes in at 7.6% with and IBU of 20.  I don’t know if this would pair well with Oysters as I do not like them but I sure as hell liked this brew.

Commercial Description:  Oysters and stout have a rich history as food for the masses.  With a creamy rich texture and briny finish from the oysters and a roast bitterness from the malt, this heavyweight stout was brewed with three additions of prime fresh oysters from our friends at Hollie Wood Oysters in Fanny Bay BC.  The world is yours.  And yes, there really are oysters in this beer!

Ortega Blonde 2017 – Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

by Mike

From Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria BC comes the “Ortega Blonde” 2017 edition.  The beer is a blend of  wine and Ortega Blonde Ale.  The wine is of the final vintages of the Muse Winery that was the oldest winery on Vancouver Island.  The wine was a Bacchus wine.  The beer poured a golden colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of white wine, citrus and some grassy hops.  The flavour is of white wine, citrus, grain, bread, mild bitterness and a mild spicy hops.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.2% with an IBU of 24.  People that know me know that I do not like wine but this beer is well made and well blended and really refreshing.

Commercial Description:  Building on our 2014 Ortega Blonde, and taking the final vintages from Muse Winery, home of the oldest wines on Vancouver Island, this Ortega/Bacchus blend was introduced to a light bodied Canadian Pilsen based ale resulting in a delicate, complex, effervescent ale, a beer spritzer with citrus notes, and a dry white wine finish. As the saying goes “It takes lots of beer to make a good wine.” We believe in having them both and drinking them both too. Cheers!

Juice Monkey Tropical IPA – Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

by Mike

From Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria BC comes the “Juice Monkey Tropical IPA”.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with an off white head.  The aroma consists of tons of tropical fruits including pineapple, sweetness and floral hops.  The flavour is of tropical fruit, pineapple, caramel, sweetness, earth and mild bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6% with an IBU of 45.  This is a pretty good representation of a juice bomb and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Commercial Description:  This juicy, double dry-hopped IPA has a restrained bitterness and a big citrus aroma.  Please juice responsibly.  This beer is brewed in small batches and is best consumed very young due to the volatility of the hop aromas.  Savor not cellar.


Cabernet Barrel Aged IPA – Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

by Mike

From Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria BC comes the “Cabernet Barrel Aged IPA” part of their Brewers Reserve series.  The beer pours a cloudy orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of cabernet, oak, mild tartness and funk with a floral finish.  The flavour is of cabernet, oak, brett funk, some mild tartness, tannin and a lower bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 7.1% with an IBU of 30.  This was a really interesting take on an IPA adding wine, wild yeast and a barrel.  Keep up the good work Spinnakers!

Commercial Description:   Cabernet Barrel-Aged IPA is the eight release in the Spinnakers “Brewers Reserve” series. This unique brew was aged in Cabernet barrels from the Napa valley and is said to be full-bodied with a touch of tartness and Brett funk.

This single batch beer is limited to only 90 cases.