This past weekend the Great Canadian Beer Festival went off with a bang. So much so that it’s taken me a few days to recover and write about it – yes, that excuse will do. Jokes aside, things could not have gone better. That morning I woke up to sunny skies and started my day by meeting Andy The Beer Man and the guys behind Beer Thirst at the ferry terminal. From there we enjoyed a cruise through some of the most beautiful parts of BC while enjoying a Lost Abby Cuvee de Tomme. Pretty good…

Instead of trying to break down everything that happened, all the people I talked too, and what beers I drank I decided to focus on highlights. With that in mind here is my Great Canadian Beer Festival 2009 top 5, or the ‘best of fest’ if you will:

1.) Dead Frog Cask Conditioned Nut Brown Ale – This is not the first time I’ve been impressed with a Daniel Knibbs creation and I doubt that’s going to change anytime soon. For this cask Daniel started with the standard Dead Frog Nut Brown Ale and then went completely bonkers adding 5 different types of hops, creating something almost indescribable. I would be doing you a disservice trying to explain this one, the only thing I can really say is that it had the color of swamp water and tasted like euphoria.

2.) Driftwood Cask Conditioned Ales – Driftwood Brewery brought two casks with them to GCBF, so instead of using up two spots on this list I opted to combine them into one spot on the rankings. The first of the two was a Blakberry Lambic made with brett. It was only a week old so it didn’t have a chance to develop the complexity I would like to see, however with time this would be an outstanding brew. The other was their White Bark with brett, also resulting in a very good effort that would only get better with age.

3.) Central City Cask Conditioned Imperial IPA – Based on the Central City Brewing Company’s award winning IPA, the Imperial IPA Cask was possibly the biggest beer at the fest. This is a hop lovers dream, and an absolute pallet crusher. Needless to say I am happy this was one of the last brews I tasted while at GCBF. That said, I expected nothing less from the mad genius that is Gary Lohin.

4.) Crannóg Back Hand of God Stout – Make your way up to the northern interior of BC and you’ll find possibly one of the best hidden gems of the Canadian craft scene. Crannóg Ales have been making award winning, organic, zero waste ales in the Irish tradition. Of these ales, the Back Hand of God Stout is easily the best of the bunch, known for its mild hops and distinct coffee – chocolate flavors. Best stout of the fest by far, in my opinion.

5.) Phillips Cask Conditioned Amnesiac IPA – The Phillips Brewing Company’s Amnesiac is a double IPA full of hops, just like us North Westerner’s love. How does one improve an already awesome beer? Simple – cask condition it. One of the infamous two token beers at the festival, it was not to be missed. If it wasn’t for the outstanding efforts from Dead Frog and Central City, it would have been the hop champion hands down.

The Great Canadian Beer Festival was an absolute blast. Although I lost my camera along the way (sorry for the lack of pictures), I managed to keep my spirits high and my skin sun-kissed. The return trip on the ferry was a great way to end the day and I have to give a big thank you to Andy The Beer Man, the guys behind Beer Thirst, and Mr. Beer School – Chester Carey for making sure I left no beer untasted and no hand unshook. There is only 362 days left till Great Canadian Beer Festival 2010, so start making plans to be there.

Categories: