You can hear the tumble weeds rolling through the BC craft scene today. All over the province tap-houses are empty, barstools unoccupied, and pints left unfilled. Although this sounds devastating, rest assured its one of the best things to happen to our scene all year. Why is that? Well you see, today marks the start of the Great Canadian Beer Festival. Hop-heads from all over the pacific north west, Canada, and the world have made their way to Victoria BC in order to participate in the best beer fest Canada has to offer. I am a day away from my trip to the GCBF so in order to keep myself from fidgeting to death, I bring you this week’s Beer News!
Hoppin’ Frog Brewing Company just won Best Double I.P.A. In America with Mean Manalishi, at the 2009 U.S. Beer Tasting Championships! Best Double I.P.A. In America is an award that Hoppin’ Frog is thrilled to receive, because this category is so respected by the lovers of really flavorful craft beer, and is usually dominated by west coast breweries with their close proximity to the hop growers. (via The Full Pint)
How much do we beer / tech nerds love twitter? Enough that we find out about major moves in our local scene via tweets. What the hell am I talking about? Well, Rick Green, president of CAMRA Vancouver, head of the BC Craft Brewers Association, blogger, and I think part time ninja recently tweeted that Tin Whistle Brewery is for sale! Obviously that means many of us BC beers nuts are running to our bank accounts to see the balance in hopes we can be the ones to purchase Tin Whistle, no doubt letting out a large sigh, having to settle for a bomber of the chocolate cherry porterinstead.
This past labor day weekend I made my way east for about eight hours in a car with two other people and one rambunctious dog. We were heading to Rossland BC to attend the wedding of a close friend and take in some of the gorgeous scenery. Now, I am no stranger to the Kootenay-Columbia region of BC as I grew up there, so I knew craft beer is not exactly abundant. That said, the few local brewers have been expanding their reach and I was hopeful I would be able to get my hands on some of their offerings. Although few in numbers, the local breweries did not disappoint, proving even the rural areas of BC are brewing up some epic beers. Of these one beer stood out the most…
This coming weekend marks something Canadian beer drinkers look forward to all year. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the Great Canadian Beer Festival. For those south of the border who are unaware of this event let me tell you, it’s nothing to be scoffed at. Great American Beer Fest it’s not, but with the rate of growth and ever quicker sellouts year to year, it might not be long till the GCBF is being talked about with the same regard. Instead of rambling on about it myself I’ll quote the GCBF site:
On the road, at a wedding, and still bringing you the best shows the beer world has to offer! Last week we added Beer Buzz to our already impressive line-up of Two Guys On Beer, Two Beer Queers, and Hop Cast. This week we’re super hyped to bring you Taste BudsbyBeer Tap TV, expanding the ever growing line-up of beer shows on our weekly Cask Cast!
Quite the week has passed in the world of beer. As you read this, I am on the road traveling into the Canadian wilderness. I am on a trip to attend a wedding full of small town people who appreciate hard work and the simple things in life. Sort of ironic when you think the odds of macro beer being served at the wedding are high, all while macro-breweries are off suing as many blue collar micro-breweries as they can. Goes to show even the simple folk aren’t immune to big budget marketing…
There is only one more day to sign up for Vancouver’s first ever beer tasting course. The course, offered by the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, is an excellent step in the process of becoming a Cicerone. What is a Cicerone? Have a look at this description from their website:
Previously, I posted about pint sizes in British Columbia. Although this is a major issue for beer drinkers here, we’re not the only people who are getting ripped off when it comes to the size of our pints. Many people have been trying to solve this problem. Of the solutions I have seen so far, some are successful, others… not so much.
This past weekend I attended the Gastown Cask Carouse, a showcase of the ever growing craft scene down in Vancouver’s historic Gastown. For a very small fee my fellow Cask Carousers and I enjoyed a four part meal, each part with a complementing pint, and each part served at four different locations throughout Gastown. Thanks to solid planning by CAMRA we were not just left to fend for ourselves, but guided through this journey by some of the most knowledgeable local hop heads. The following is a progressively blurry account of the afternoon.
Last week I introduced Cask Cast, truecask.com’s weekly round-up of the best beer shows the internet has to offer. This week things get even better with Beer Buzz from Beer Tap TV joining the ranks of Cask Cast. With Beer Buzz, Two Guys On Beer, Two Beer Queers, and Hop Cast speaking the gospel, you can be sure you’ll know what to drink this weekend!
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