Winter is often regarded as the time for strong, warming beer but there are other, equally delicious alternatives that will still keep the chills at bay. With the weather turning colder and the holiday season fast approaching, many of us are eagerly anticipating beers that are custom made to stave off the winter chill. Traditionally, … Continued
In this second feature in the Hops Among Friends series, we talk to a leader and early builder of BC’s dynamic craft beer industry. Paul Hadfield is the owner/publican of Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub & Guesthouses in Victoria, Canada’s oldest existing microbrewery and brewpub, which opened in 1984. Spinnakers now also has an artisan vinegar brewery, … Continued
From advent calendar-style beer boxes to special seasonal creations, BC’s craft breweries celebrate winter with a variety of interesting seasonal mixed packs. Advent calendars are a popular and fun holiday gift that many of us enjoyed as children. Do you remember the excitement of opening the little paper windows each day in December leading up … Continued
Vancouver, the newest member of the BC Ale Trail, is about to host the 21st annual Eastside Culture Crawl. This four-day visual-arts festival, running Nov. 16-19 and featuring more than 500 artists across 80 buildings in Vancouver’s Eastside, is not to be missed if you’re in town and a fan of both the arts and craft … Continued
This summer, The 101 Brewhouse and Distillery, opened in Gibsons — the third brewery to do so. That means that the Sunshine Coast town, population 4,605, almost certainly has the most breweries per capita in B.C. And although three breweries seems like a lot for such a small town, each operation — The 101, Persephone Brewing Company and Gibsons … Continued
The newly expanded BC Beer Awards and Festival took place in Vancouver on Saturday, with six-month-old Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company of Parksville taking the inaugural Brewery of the Year prize. The other big winner in the eighth annual BC Beer Awards ceremony — a highlight of the province’s annual beer calendar and the showpiece event of BC Craft … Continued
Today’s craft beer culture is all about tasting a variety of beers, not just drinking lots of the same one over and over again. The best way to do this is a sample flight of several small glasses, which most breweries in BC offer in their tasting rooms. Four or five samplers usually work out … Continued
We love trying beers when we travel, but we also like to balance it out with being active outdoors. We put on some serious pounds when we were trying new beers a few times a week and had a more sedentary life in Atlanta. A couple weeks ago, BC Ale Trail and Sunshine Coast invited us … Continued
The BC Ale Trail is a great place to sample some delicious ales and lagers, yes, but since you’re also surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery Canada has to offer, odds are you’re going to want to leave those tasting rooms and bar benches once in awhile to soak in all that natural scenery, too. Well, lucky for … Continued
Back in 2011, October was officially proclaimed BC Craft Beer Month… and there was much rejoicing! That’s mostly because, ever since, the 10th month of the year has become stuffed with premium beer events across the province. These can range from kitschy Oktoberfest-style celebrations to full-blown beer events. BC Beer Awards The big kahuna is … Continued
