1897 Amber Ale – Stanley Park Brewing

May25 by Mike

From Stanley Park Brewing (Turning Point Brewing) in Delta comes their “1897 Amber Ale”. The beer pours an amber colour with a tan head. The aroma consists of caramel, some honey and some fruit notes. The flavour is of caramel, honey, fruity notes and very mild bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 5.1% with an IBU of 20. If your looking for a good Amber Ale at a good price then take a look for this one as it wont break the bank.

Stanley Park Brewing is now owned by Labbat.

Commercial Description: Rumour has it that the crisp, comforting taste of our 1897 Amber ale will stir up secrets in the pub that spread like whispers through tall trees. But you didn’t hear it from us.

Break The Ice Party 2015 – Stanley Park Brewery

Nov11 by Mike

On November 5th, 2015 Stanley Park Brewery held a launch party for their Ice Breaker Winter Ale at Robson Square in Downtown Vancouver.

Stanley Park Brewery really knows how to throw a party and this was no different. With an ice rink usually found under street level at Robson Square it only made sense to hold a winter beer launch party here. For the lucky people that either won their way into this party or were invited everyone had fun. There was lots of the Ice Breaker on tap or in bottle and lots of food to pair it with.

Full sized photos.

If you have never tried this winter ale then you should really check it out as it is not a Vanilla bomb but almost like a Black Forest Cake. It is one of my favourite of the style!

SunSetter Summer Ale – Stanley Park Brewery

Jun30 by Mike

From Stanley Park Brewery (Turning Point Brewery) in Delta BC comes their “SunSetter Summer Ale” an unfiltered Peach Wheat Ale. I have had this beer both from a glass and from the bottle and I think I am about to break my own rules. The beer pours a golden colour with a white head. The aroma consists of peach wheat and yeast. Where things get a little funky is the flavour for me (in an interesting way). When you drink the beer from a glass you get wheat, yeast, grain and some very mild peach. Now in comparison when you drink it out of the bottle the peach flavour hits you up right up front with notes of wheat yeast and grain coming in at the end. I am a huge advocate for drinking from a glass but this beer seems to have more peach in the flavour when consumed from the bottle. Also drink it fairly cold (but not ice cold) as it seems to shine through better. The alcohol content comes in at 4.8% with an IBU of 16. This is a tasty beer to be drinking on the patio in the summer!

Commercial Description: Make a ‘magic hour’ moment with our new Summer Ale. Ripe peach flavour and bold Citra hops come together for a refreshing & sessionable wheat ale that’s as much a treat for the senses as a sunset walk on Second Beach. Enjoy the moment!

Food Pairing as per brewery: Peach Caprese salad, SunSetter steamed clams, grilled peach & pork tenderloin
Food Pairing as per me: Fuzzy Peaches candies!

On June 25th, 2015 Stanley Park Brewing held a launch party in English Bay on the Rooftop Lookout beside the Cactus Club. The party was a closed event for media, bloggers and restaurant staff to learn about the beer. The event had some great food to sample while drinking the Sunsetter Summer Ale. They also had a bunch of their other beer for sample on tap as well as some beer cocktails to try out.

Full sized photos found here.

Ice Breaker Winter Ale – Stanley Park Brewery

Dec15 by Mike

From Stanley Park Brewery (Turning Point Brewery) in Delta BC comes their “Ice Breaker Winter Ale”. I was a little trepidatious about trying this beer as I find many winter ales vanilla and spice bombs. The beer pours a deep ruby brown colour with a light brown head. The aroma consists of caramel malts, molasses, chocolate and cherry. The flavour is of big dark chocolate, molasses, caramel malts, cherry and some dark fruits. The alcohol content comes in at 5.5% with an IBU of 20. I was happy to find this was not a typical winter ale and reminded me of a black forest cake. If you are into winter beer but want something different pick up a bottle or two.

Commercial Description: The label reads Stanley Park, but tasteful notes of cherry and dark chocolate will put you in a Black Forest state of mind! Specialty German malts provide the backbone and rich colour, while low carbonation and IBU allow the unique flavours of this porter style ale to break through. Cheers!

Food pairing as per brewery: Aged Gouda, Mascarpone, or Gruyère cheeses, Roasted Pork Tenderloin with fresh cherry and tomato chutney, or with dessert like Dark Cocao Chocolate, or New York Cheesecake

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.