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Canada Cup of Beer runneth over
I had a very enjoyable evening at Nando’s Canada Cup of Beer 2010 on Friday. The hot day had turned a little weird by the time I arrived at Thunderbird Stadium with fellow beer-lover Ginger Snaps,...
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Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale (Tree Brewing, 5%)
With the Okanagan becoming parched at this time of year, valley residents must count their blessings for Tree Brewing Co. The Kelowna-based brewer has been in operation since 1994 and prides itself on...
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BeerBrats: Taste-good hit of the summer
Zach Wilczewski at the BeerBrats booth If you’ve been at a one of the Lower Mainland’s many farmers markets this past summer, chances are you’ll have smelled the grill, heard the sizzle and been...
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Central City scoops brewery, beer of the year at 2010 CBAs
Central City Brewing of Surrey has has been named Brewery of the Year at the 2010 Canadian Brewing Awards. At a gala in Toronto on Friday, Central City was also awarded the Beer of the Year prize for...
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Spiced Reserve Ale (Tree Brewing Co., 7.6%)
I was lucky to get hold of a bottle of this limited release from Kelowna-based Tree as it’s getting tricky to find. It’s easy to see why. This clouded, dark amber ale would be a very good remedy for...
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Best in Brewed 2010
I thought it would be a useful exercise to join in the frenzy of lists and year-end reviews that happens at this time of year, and gain some perspective on my first six months of reviewing B.C. craft...
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Vertical Winter Ale (Tree Brewing Company, 5%)
The current cold snap has reminded us all that it is still winter out there – and that there are still a few winter ales to get through before the bulbs and buds start sprouting in earnest. Of course,...
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Captivator Doppelbock (Tree Brewing Co., 8%)
If you can get past the creepy-looking monks on the label, brandishing sheaths of barley and sporting a curiously masonic Tree logo, you’ll find this 2010 CBA gold-medallist well worth a tipple. Tree...
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Victoria’s Driftwood Brewery wins beer of the year at 2011 Canadian Brewing...
Canada has a new beer champion and, once again, it’s from B.C. Fat Tug IPA by Victoria’s Driftwood Brewery was named beer of the year at the weekend’s 2011 Canadian Brewing Awards in Toronto, capping...
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Cutthroat Pale Ale (Tree Brewing Company, 5%)
This for me is one of the most underrated beers in B.C. Glowing clear amber, Cutthroat has a rich white, long-lasting head that laces beautifully and pours so thick you could almost stand up a spoon in...
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Central City Brewing winter cask festival
We hadn’t even got out of January and we’d already had one of the biggest events in B.C.’s craft beer calendar. Following on from its huge success with a cask festival in the summer, Surrey’s Central...
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Musing on this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards
I don’t usually indulge in aimless musing on this blog, but Saturday’s Canadian Brewing Awards set off some thoughts that I thought were worth sharing. Not least, the fickleness of judging any...
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B.C. Beer Awards: Steamworks Pilsner named best in show
Steamworks Pilsner was named the best beer in B.C. at the third annual B.C. Beer Awards on Saturday. Outgoing Steamworks brewmaster Conrad Gmoser was at the ceremony at Chapel Arts in the Downtown...
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Jumpin Jack Pumpkin Ale (Tree Brewing Co., 7%)
Harvest season really sees the beer scene kick back into gear after those long lazy days of summer, particularly in terms of limited releases: including, but not limited to, fresh-hop beer, Oktoberfest...
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Redwood Wine Barrel Aged Ale (Tree Brewing Co., 5%)
Yes, yes, I’m still on the harvest beer. And it’s unlikely you’ll find any of this stuff unless you live in Kelowna, work at Tree Brewing, and forgot you stashed away a bottle until now. But this is a...
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Serendipity No. 6 (Tree Brewing Company, 6.3%)
Tree’s Serendipity beers, a series of blended, barrel-aged brews first begun in 2010, have seen a bit of mystique grow around them. Generally that happens when something is released on an extremely...
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Wild Ruby Raspberry Infused Ale (Tree Brewing Co., 5%)
To say a raspberry ale arrives on the market to some stiff competition is really to reveal how far the beer scene has come in B.C. Granville Island, Phillips and especially Central City all have lovely...
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Rickshaw Raspberry IPA (Tree Brewing, 5.6%)
There’s been some interesting releases from Tree Brewing recently, including an unfiltered IPA, a sturdy stout and the Red Wood wine barrel-aged series of beers, but this one, surprisingly, trumps the...
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