The Beer Brief is a new round-up of all the local beer-related news and events we think you should know about. Got news brewing? Send it to thalia [at] scoutmagazine.ca and we’ll do our best to include it!
COLLAB DINNER | Chinatown’s Juniper restaurant is hosting a special three course Brewmaster’s Dinner with Faculty Brewing on September 30th. Included in the beer pairings is the Faculty and Juniper collaboration “Botanical Ale”, which they first produced back in July. The collab brew will be served with the first course of “Cardamom Roasted Beet Salad, Goat Cheese Foam, Crispy Spent Grain, Basil” — yum! Clearly, this relationship is more than just a summer fling. Check out the complete menu with pairings and instructions on how to get your tickets here.
A STORMY TAKEOVER | As mentioned in Beer Brief Vol. 7, Storm Brewing threw themselves a 24 year anniversary loading dock party this past Sunday (September 23). However, in proper birthday decorum, the brewery is taking liberties by stretching out their festivities until this Friday (September 28th). This time around they’ll be honouring another annual tradition by taking over at least nine taps at 12 Kings Pub. Find out more.
HOP FEST | Spending a day drinking the freshest, most delicious and flavourful hoppy beers while partying on a hop farm sounds pretty dreamy, doesn’t it? Well, on September 29th the fantasy becomes reality in Abbotsford at the 4th annual BC Hop Fest. Kick off BC Craft Beer Month right by getting in touch with an integral ingredient and industry while exercising your hop palate via a plethora of fresh-hopped beers. Here’s just a handful of the 40 breweries participating in this year’s event: Monkey Nine Brewing and Category 12, from Victoria, Trading Post from Langley, and Coquitlam’s Mariner Brewing. More than just a day of outdoor beer drinking, the event includes farm tours, live music, food trucks and more. Get your tickets.
BEER HOP | There’s a fun sounding beer and trivia event going down in Strathcona on October 2nd with the help of Strange Fellows. Assemble your team of hip hop heads and beer nerds and head down to The Union for a night of “Hip Hop & Hops Trivia”. Give your brain a fun workout, bust a move and/or get your body temp up with some healthy competition while enjoying snacks and SF brews among a bunch of beer- and music-loving peeps. Find out more.
GET GUT READY | With Thanksgiving only a couple of weeks away, we can’t think of a better way to prepare than to stretch out our stomachs at the Big Day BBQ Vol. 4. The final BBQ of the season is a massive, Southern-style meat and beer feast showcasing some of the best breweries from across BC (Brassneck, Dageraad, Four Winds, Steel & Oak, Superflux, Twin Sails) in addition to those from hosts Powell Street Brewery. Self-styled barbecue pop-up “Guerrilla” chefs Colin Staus and Rhys Amber will be grilling up the goods, with dessert supplied by the French sisters of The Pie Shoppe. This is sure to be a gut-busting celebration to rival any holiday! Find out more.
MMM…CHOQLETTE | This time of year one of my favourite guilty-ish beer pleasures has got to be Bomber Brewing’s Choqlette Porter. Why? Because it tastes like chocolate! That’s owing to the addition of not one but THREE kinds of chocolate in the beer recipe. Lucky for me (and you), the brewery just released this porter in a newly designed tall can format with a playful new label. I forecast many nights of “beer for dessert” in the near future…
MORE OKTOBERFEST | Four Winds’ Okterberfest Kick Off celebration went down on Friday with a one-day-only special German menu and beer releases. But, if you hurry out to the Delta brewery ASAP, you may still be able to get your hands on their limited edition festive Hüftgold Lager (brewed using German ingredients, available on tap and in cans) and a snazzy new stein to enjoy it from properly, both of which are exclusive to the brewery. Meanwhile, in the Fraserhood, things are absolutely Wunderbar at Bells & Whistles. Their “Oktobeerfest” pop-up also launched on Friday, and will be continuing until October 7th. That gives you plenty of time still to try out everything on their special German-inspired menu plus a board of local and imported German-style beers. Find out more.
YELLOW DOG | Yellow Dog Brewing can definitely tackle new tricks: their recently released Blended Reality Barrel-Aged Sour White Ale with Peaches is the brewery’s first ever blended barrel-aged beer and it sounds like a winner. Sniff out this beer – available in big bottles from their PoMo tasting room or at local specialty liquor stores soon – to taste the fruits of their years-long labour (hint: it tastes pretty peachy).
OLD MEETS NEW | Powell Brewery’s Faux Bruin is another newly dropped barrel-aged beer blend that we’re excited to try. This one is a combination of old and new sours: 15% sour brown ale that was aged for three years and 85% new world kettle sour brown ale, which were then harmoniously conditioned on oak chips. Sounds intriguing! Bonus: We’re really digging the beautiful can artwork coming out of Powell Brewery lately, and this one is no exception.
HIGH POINT | If you live in East Van, or find yourself near the PNE with some time to spare, consider paying a visit to neighbourhood liquor store, High Point, and get acquainted with their amazing selection of beer as well as their super knowledgeable and passionate staff. Plan on heading down on Friday, October 2nd to stock up on weekend brews and take advantage of their Steel & Oak tasting event. Because what better way to warm up to some new, likeminded peeps than over some good brews? Check out High Point’s full calendar of events and beer list here.
GET PUMPKIN’ | Speaking of Thanksgiving related things: ’tis the season for pumpkin beers! Liquor store shelves are starting to get gourd-y with the usual, tried-and-true brews from Russell, Parallel 49, Steamworks, Phillips and Howe Sound, to name a few…Plus, a few newbs and/or slightly off-the-radar additions such as Yukon Brewing’s Pumpkin Spice Ale. Pumpkin beers in general can be quite a divisive topic among beer drinkers, and those who love them tend to have very strong opinions about which is the best. What’s your opinion? Which pumpkin beer should we know about?