In one of the most embarrassing craft beer related lawsuits since the Vermonster debacle, our friends down at Bear Republic Brewery have filed a trademark infringement order against Central City Brewing, who are located here in British Columbia. Before getting into my dissection of this lawsuit I do wish to fully disclose that I know the people behind Central City Brewing, and am a fan of their beers. For a detailed breakdown of the lawsuit you can download the filed document here.

Above is a picture of both trademarkst. It’s true that arguments about both fonts and naming can be made. However, when using standard fonts found on almost any computer you can easily make the counter argument of coincidence. As for the names, it’s a stretch to assume Red Racer and Racer 5 have any significant relationship when compared to most craft beers. The sheer number of breweries using colors as denominators for their products is daunting, and the term Racer is vague; so much so one could argue AlesSmith’s Speedway Stout could also fall into this lawsuit if that were the case. Aside from this there is the blatant copyright infringement Bear Republic has done on their own part, creating a brand based off of the Speed Racer cartoon and its ever so famous car the Mach 5.

In the end, no matter how you feel about the lawsuit, I think we can all agree no good is going to come out of this. Until now, the craft beer community has been known to work together for the greater good. Companies like Avery Brewing and Russian River have figured out collaboration not litigation is the answer to a situation like this. I too believe the best thing these two breweries can do is work together to develop a collaboration ale. Ideally this would be released by both breweries, one in cans and the other in bottles. If you agree with me, please, email both companies and suggest this solution. We can not become a craft community divided if we are to survive.

CAMRA President Rick Green (left) & Dockside Brewing Brewmaster Daniel Knibbs (right)

On January 17th, the CAMRA Vancouver Annual General Meeting took place at the Alibi Room. If you have ever been to an annual general meeting for any sort of organization, then you know that it’s not always the most exciting thing in the world. In order to get the conversation flowing, R&B Brewing graciously donated a keg of their award winning Auld Nick winter warmer. Along with the free beer also came free food from our good hosts at the Alibi Room, making everyone feel appreciated as an organization and ready to dive into the business at hand.

Certified Cicerone Chester Carey (left) & CAMRA Vice President Lundy Dale (right)

The first order of business was to review the mission statement of the organization and what we as a group have accomplished in the last 365 days. Without drowning you in details, the year was a great success in many ways. Membership numbers grew, corporate sponsorships grew, and taking into account refundable deposits the financial surplus grew. With that the focus of the AGM shifted, moving towards the 2010 executive positions. At this point a mild bit of drama occurred when Canada’s first certified Cicerone, Chester Carey, was nominated to take over the Vice President role from incumbent Lundy Dale. After all ballots were cast and votes tallied, Lundy won the challenge to her executive position by the slightest of margins. The rest of the positions were either retained by incumbents or filled by unchallenged nominees.  The election positions are as follows:

Returning Incumbent Executives Monica Frost (left) & Rodney Gitzel (right)

CAMRA 2010 Executives

President: Rick Green

Vice-President: Lundy Dale

Corporate Liaison: Monica Frost

Treasurer: Jack Pajak

Secretary: Amanda Barry

Membership Secretary: Rodney Gitzel

CAMRA Executive Newcomers Amanda Barry (left) & Jack Pajak (right)

Post executive elections, focus turned to the coming year. After a quick reminder that the first major event of 2010 will be a screening of the documentary Beer Wars on January 31st, the floor was left open for event suggestions. Many event ideas were proposed, including a Haiti Relief Fundraiser, bus trips to out of town events, and a CAMRA summit with our brethren from Vancouver Island, CAMRA Victoria. All ideas were noted and will be reviewed for inclusion in the 2010 event calendar. With proposals out of the way, a big buzz was generated by the official announcement of Vancouver Craft Beer Week. Although rumors circulated of the possibility a VCBF, the official announcement came as a surprise to many who were excited to find out a small group of organizers have formed and have been working on plans for well over a month. Needless to say the CAMRA AGM was a fruitful event and gave the Vancouver craft beer faithful many things to look forward too.

Thanks to Mike Victory for the use of his photos

Share/Save]]> http://truecask.com/2010/01/camra-vancouver-agm/feed/ 1 http://truecask.com/2010/01/pretty-things-arrives-in-bc/ http://truecask.com/2010/01/pretty-things-arrives-in-bc/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:13:40 +0000 cbjerrisgaard http://truecask.com/?p=1266
Many people outside of the eastern United States have yet to hear about the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. If it were not for RainCity Brands, British Columbia’s newest craft beer distributor, I too would have no idea Pretty Things existed. Luckily for me, on a trip to the Alibi Room for a pre-holiday pint, [...]]]>

Many people outside of the eastern United States have yet to hear about the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. If it were not for RainCity Brands, British Columbia’s newest craft beer distributor, I too would have no idea Pretty Things existed. Luckily for me, on a trip to the Alibi Room for a pre-holiday pint, I ran into the man behind RainCity Brands. It was there I was treated to a sample of Babayaga, a Pretty Things’ winter seasonal, and the story behind the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project.

Babayaga, a name that triggered a memory of an obscure Sam Rockwell movie called Lawn Dogs, is what can best be described as an American stout. If you are looking for a style guide definition beer, I highly suggest you look elsewhere as you’ll find none of that here. What you will find is a mix of chocolate, coffee, and tobacco flavors spread across a base flavor of campfire. The mouth feel is a little lighter than most stouts and has a bit of an oily character to it. That said, it is an absolutely outstanding beer and I look forward to enjoying many more over the cold winter months.

One thing is for certain, Pretty Things is far from your average beer brand. They don’t own a brewery, nor do they contract brew their beers. Instead of the two standard situations they opt to rent a brewery and have the staff of that brewery ‘babysit’ the beer while they are not there. The result is a business model that is as creative as the brews they are selling. Thanks to RainCity Brands, Pretty Things will be appearing in select stores across the lower mainland this week, and I have no doubt will continue to expand thanks to the passion and hard work driving the project.

Throughout December I posted The Beer Drinker’s Holiday Gift Guide Parts 1 & 2, focusing on books, novelty items, and big ticket presents. With Christmas mere days away Part 3 is going to focus on those last minute gifts that you grab on the way to a Christmas Party, your family’s house, or as you step out to ‘run an errand’ Christmas Eve. So ladies and gents, when you’re pressed for time and all out of ideas the best present for a beer drinker what do you buy? Beer of course! But, the question remains, what beer?

When I think of the holiday season three main beer styles come to mind. Any one of these styles are welcome during fireside gatherings, and better yet some can be cellared as a keepsake if the gift receiver so desires. With this in mind, the truecask.com three best beers to give as gifts during the holidays:

1.) Winter Warmer – Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of winter warmers. All to often they miss the mark and end up tasting like a cup of christmas spices. That said, when the are on, they are fantastic. As this is the lightest beer in this category some versions may or may not be worthy of cellaring. A good rule of thumb is anything over 8% ABV is good for cellaring, anything under not so much. Click the title link for Beer Advocate’s list of the best winter warmers.

2.) Imperial Stout – Of the three styles listed here, this one has to be my favorite. Russian Imperial Stouts are dry, with big burnt malt and chocolate flavors. Some compare the experience of drinking an imperial stout to that of drinking a fine whiskey. As the Russian Imperial Stout goes from 8% ABV to upwards of 20%+ in extreme cases they are perfect for cellaring. Click the title link for Beer Advocate’s list of the best imperial stouts.

3.) Barleywine – Except for the most extreme imperial stouts, Barleywines are the grandaddy of high-alcohol beers. Although they have no relation to wine itself, the strength and complexity of barleywines helped spawn their name. If any beer was designed to be cellared like wine, this is it. Click the title link for Beer Advocate’s list of the best barleywines.

That’s it for the truecask.com holiday gift guide. I look forward to picking up 2010 where 2009 left off. Have yourself a fantastic holiday season, I wish you and yours all the best!

A couple of weeks ago I posted The Beer Drinker’s Holiday Gift Guide Part 1, breaking down the best books to buy the hop-head in your life. With Christmas fast approaching, I figured it best to post part two in order to avoid this becoming a Valentines Day gift guide.  In this part, I break down a couple of big ticket items as well as a couple of cheaper, yet still well thought-out gifts.

Organization Membership: Often beer lovers wish to explore their passion, yet they lack a group of like minded-people to share experiences with. With that in mind, I feel one of the best gifts you can give to a beer lover is a membership to a local beer club, group, or organization. Locally, we have CAMRA Vancouver; abroad there are many other organizations such as the Craft Brewers Association, and CAMRA UK.

Beer Education: One of the greatest assets I’ve had in my exploration of beer was my Beer School education. It can not be understated how important knowing what you’re talking about is when in the company of beer geeks. Not only that, but it should help you find out what exactly you do and don’t like when it comes to beer. The ability to sample all kinds of beer is the true selling point of this education; otherwise, who is to say you aren’t a lager lover and have to immediately take a trip to Germany for Oktoberfest? Speaking of Oktoberfest, that would make a great gift, but probably out of most people’s price range.

Glassware: I’ve covered glassware before. That said, variety is the spice of life and there is no such thing as having too many beer glasses. If the person you’re buying for already has beer glasses, then I suggest finding out if their favorite brewer has a line of glasses and buying them some of those. Most brewers tend to have a line of beer glasses that suit their beer, so you’re more than likely going to come across them easily. If they lack beer glasses, then I suggest you refer to my A Note On Glassware post and see what I think is the best all around beer glass on the market.

Bottle Opener: Most people will scoff at this idea, as it is a little cliché. However, I have found a bottle-opener that is far from cliché; in fact, it is possibly one of the best bottle-openers I have ever seen. The Ring Thing is a stainless steel ring with a bottle opener on the bottom. Although rather simple, I know many people who wish they had a bottle opener on them at all times and now they have no excuse not to. Additionally, it is actually quite low-key and no one will know you’re packing a beer accessory at all times. Add in the party trick factor of being able to open a bottle with your hand and no visible tool and you’ve got a winner.

Next week I’ll get into those last minute gifts we all know you’ll need suggestions on!

This past Saturday at 11:30am people began lining up to sample the best the BC craft beer scene has to offer. With breweries from all across the province descending onto DIX BBQ & Brewery, the air was full of anticipation as we hardcore craft heads mingled and tried to stay warm on the crisp, sunny December morning. After a short wait, we were called into the brewery in order to start the festivities by CAMRA president Rick Green.

Upon entering the venue, many of us quickly surveyed the landscape, identifying what casks to hit first and what ones we would need to build up to. Trust me when I say that if you were one of the few who approached Gary Lohin’s Double Roach Imperial IPA first, you were not enjoying the flavors of the other beers for the next couple of hours as it was a pure pallet wrecker.

After deciding on what to try first, I handed over my first ticket and took a long hard sniff of the Storm Brewing Mole Pale Ale. Smelling like deep chocolate, and looking like orange swamp water, I knew that if nothing else the beer would be an experience. What I got was an unsweetened chocolate flavor upfront and a spicy finish. Although by no means the best beer at Caskival, I would say it was one of the most experimental and needed to be mentioned. From there I enjoyed a variety of beers, all of which were rather big, resulting in my memory fading as the afternoon went on. To give you an idea of the potency, the average beer came in at around 8% ABV, with the weakest brew clocking in at around 5.4% ABV.

In the end, Taylors Crossing walked away with the brewers award for it’s Christmas Cake beer, an amber ale flavoured with molasses, spices, and brandied fruit. R&B Brewing took home the people’s choice award for its Auld Nick Winter Ale; fairly fitting considering it’s one of BC’s best winter warmers and this was after all a winter themed cask event. I personally thought the Double Roach from Central City Brewing was the best of the bunch, but then again I am one who loves imperial IPA’s above all. One final thing to note was the event sold out within an hour of the doors opening and that this could very well be the last time it is held at DIX BBQ & Brewery. Although sad in some respects, it’s always nice to see the scene grow and require more space to breathe. I hope you all manage to head out to the next one, but if you can’t make sure to check out one of the local cask nights to tide you over.

Thanks to Mike Victory for the use of his photos

Earlier this week I posted information about two events, the first of which is the Alibi Room’s 100th tap rotation happening tonight at 5:00pm. If you are on the fence about this event, just take a look at the beer list that was leaked by an unnamed CAMRA member:

• Driftwoord Brewery – Sartori Harvest Fresh Hop IPA (Cask!)
• Steamworks Brewing Co – Blitzen
• Yaletown Brewing Co – Le Nez Rouge
• Dix BBQ & Brewery – Imperial Stout
• Barley Station Brew Pub Restaurant – Mild & Smoked Porter
• Longwood Brew Pub & Restaurant – Doppelbock
• Swans Buckerfields Brewery – Scotch Ale & 2008 Legacy Ale
• Central City Brewing Co – Imperial IPA & Winter Ale
• Crannóg Ales – Old Puddin’ Head
• Granville Island Brewing – Jolly Abbott
• R&B Brewing Co – Auld Nick
• Storm Brewing - Lambic

In addition, Nigel will be releasing all of his cellared beers for sale. Between the rarities and cellared selections this is shaping up to be one hell of a night for the hardcore craft fans here in Vancouver. I consider this to be the ultimate primer for Saturday’s Winter Xtreme Caskival at DIX BBQ & Brewery and an event that can’t be missed!

Every year people around the world struggle to find gifts for friends and family come the holiday season. In the past, my trick was to figure out their hobby and then research useful items that pertain to that passion. However, this is a dangerous way to go as you could end up buying them something completely useless despite its relation to their hobby. I know I have my share of gifts I grinned and thanked someone for, then thought to myself ‘what the heck am I going to do with this?’  With that in mind, I have set out to provide the loved ones of us craft beer fans a holiday gift guide. Each item was researched with care, taking the input of many craft beer fans to help make this as universal as possible. Without any further delay, the beer drinker’s holiday gift guide 2009 part 1:

Books:

It’s simple to suggest books and leave it at that. It’s more difficult to suggest a short list of books with the sheer mountain of literature written on the topic of beer. Because of this, I have chosen to divide the books into four topics and pick my favorite in each:

Tasting & Styles: Tasting Beer – If you were to buy one book on beer, this would be it. No book out there covers every aspect of beer in such detail. Including history, brewing process, instructional details on how to taste, and breaking down every major common style, this book has it all. Clearly there is a reason it’s the Beer School text book.

Pairing: The Brewmasters Table – Now that you’ve filled your brain with beer knowledge, it’s time to expand your understanding of pairing beer with food. The ultimate guide for this is Garrett Oliver’s The Brewmasters Table.  At 400 pages it’s anything but vague, yet offers only enough detail to get you started pairing and doesn’t hold the reader into thinking only certain foods pair with certain beers.

Brewing: Radical Brewing – Admittedly, the art of brewing is something I am just starting to get into, thus I could not offer personal experiences with this book. That said, Radical Brewing came highly recommended among my peer group. The general consensus is that it is the most readable and expansive, containing the most interesting aspects of brewing. Although not a beginner’s book, it’s probably the most used in a home brewer’s arsenal. Once you’ve learned to taste and pair beer, this is the logical next step.

Business: Brewing Up a Business – Every home brewer has thought about turning their hobby into a business at some point. This inevitable step is best accompanied by literature that describes the process of starting one’s own brewery from start to finish. Of all the books out there on the subject, and there are a lot, I found Sam Calagione’s Brewing Up a Business to be the best introduction to the subject. Though many will argue that The Brewers Association’s Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery is a more comprehensive tomb, I feel that  the story of Dogfish Head’s founder is a much more interesting read, thus it is my number one pick for beer business books.

Based on the titling of this post, you’ve probably assumed this will be a multi-part series leading up to the holidays. Initially I wanted to get this covered in one shot on December 1st but the amount of detail I wanted to include explaining each choice would have made the post a daunting read. With that in mind, I have chosen to break it down in order to give you the best experience possible. Check back regularly for updates in the coming weeks as I hope to have this gift guide wrapped up before the 15th, giving everyone enough time to purchase their favorite recommendations for the hop head in their life.

This week is the start of the holiday season for British Columbia craft beer fans. Unlike most craft fans south of the border, there is no late November Thanksgiving up here to set the festive atmosphere. No, we rely on something much different. This coming week marks two of the best beer events of 2009 with the 100th tap rotation at the Alibi Room and DIX BBQ & Brewery Winter Xtreme Caskival!

First up on Thursday we have Alibi’s 100th tap rotation celebration. I’ve mentioned the Alibi in the past, but for those who didn’t read that post the Alibi Room is Vancouver’s, if not Canada’s, best tap house. They rotate their taps on a regular basis, and when you consider they have a staggering 25 craft beer taps and 3 cask engines you start to get an idea of why they would celebrate the 100th tap turnover. In honor of this occasion, it’s rumored that the tap list will be full of brews commercially available in Canada for the first time ever. Not only that, but they will have the best beer from the truecask.com brewery of the year, Driftwood Brewing, on cask. Needless to say if you miss out on this night you’ll be regretting it.

After Thursday’s warmup we have the main event. Saturday at noon the doors of DIX BBQ & Brewery will open up to craft fans who are ready to sample some of the wildest creations BC brewers have to offer. If you recall the post on Summer Caskival, you’ll know that everyone shows up big. Buzz is on about what defending champs James Walton of Storm Brewing and Daniel Knibbs of Deadfrog are going to bring to the table, or who if anyone will step up and steal the spotlight this time around. Even though it’s a little cliche to say, the true winners will be those in attendance; at $20 for entry, $10 for CAMRA members, there’s no way you can lose.

Many people are unaware of BC when it comes to being a beer region. Despite this fact, its staggering just how much good product is coming out of BC breweries. That is why when I sat down to pick the best brewery in BC for 2009 it was no small task. I will state that this opinion comes from a number of factors, and the conclusion was not came to lightly. Considerations include not only quality of beers, but how the participate in the local craft industry, their accessibility, presentation, and marketing. With this in mind I present truecask.com’s best BC brewery of 2009:

Driftwood Brewery is not exactly a long standing BC establishment. In fact, it has only been around since the spring of 2008. Founded by two of BC’s most passionate and experienced brewers, Jason Meyer and Kevin Hearsum; Driftwood Brewery set out to create brews in the tradition of classic world styles, using only the finest local ingredients. A perfect example of this being their recently sold out Sartori Harvest IPA, a fresh hop ale using wet hops from one of BC’s few remaining growers. Add to this their raved about belgian style brews & ever improving cask conditioned efforts, and their claim to the title of BC’s best brewery is all but cemented. Not only that, but it could be argued this puts them on the right track to compete with some of the US’s best hop houses brew for brew.

I will state that this is just the tip of the iceberg for British Columbia’s ever growing craft beer scene. When you consider the insane value of Central City’s efforts, the unrestrained creativity of Storm Brewing, and Phillips Brewing’s perfectly executed marketing, what you have is a scene on the verge of taking that next step. I suggest you get onboard now before the bandwagon is full.