The Beer Brief is a round-up of all the local beer news and events we think you should know about. Got cool things brewing? Send it to thalia [at] scoutmagazine.ca and we’ll do our best to include it!

RUN | Looking to balance out your holiday feasting and beer-drinking with some healthy activity? For motivation and moral support, consider dropping in on Steel & Oak’s new Run Club. The first meet up is happening this Wednesday evening (aka tomorrow!) – rain or shine (or snow?) – and will consist of a 5km boardwalk jog to and from the brewery. It goes without saying that a post-run pint is not obligatory, but well-earned. Find out more.

CRAWL | Not a runner? Maybe a good ol’ fashioned brewery crawl is more your speed. The Shipyards 2021 Winter Brewery Crawl is happening on December 27th, including five North Van neighbourhood breweries: Beere, Green Leaf, House of Funk, North Point, La Cerveceria Astilleros and Streetcar. Tickets are only $30 each, and include a full 16oz pint from each participating business. Sounds like quite a workout! Sign up here.

VICTORIA | Speaking of S&O: Herald Street Brew Works – the Victoria based collaboration between the New West brewery and local drinking establishment The Drake – is celebrating their first anniversary this weekend. It’s going to be a double-whammy of a party, because it’s also the launch of their new “Brave Noise” Pale Ale collaboration, brewed with Comox’s Land & Sea Brewing and local @girlnamedjake (more about “Brave Noise” to come). Find out more. We also just so happened to have recently canonized Herald Street into our ever-expanding Craft Beer Atlas, which you can check out here.

GOOD BREW | Closer to home, Settlement Brewing is also releasing their own “Brave Noise” collaboration beer, next Thursday (December 16th). So, what’s the deal with all this racket? In brief, “Brave Noise” is a global brewing project designed to increase awareness and transparency within the brewing industry, with the intention of creating a safe, fair and inclusive work environment. All of the participating breweries must disclose their Codes of Conduct in order to qualify to brew a special pale ale recipe created by advocate Brienne Allan. To honour their recipe release, Settlement Brewing is inviting the public to swing by their tasting room to sip and mingle, and all proceeds of the beer will be donated to the DTES Women’s Centre. Find out more.

POP UP | Here’s another friendly little collaboration happening imminently in East Van, to put on your radar: in celebration of the release of their new collaboration “Birria Rustica” Buckwheat Pilsner, Slowhand is going to be posting up for the weekend (this Friday through Sunday) inside of Luppolo Brewing. Sounds like a good time! Find out more.

DRINK THIS | ‘Tis the season for BIG and festive beers! Here are just a handful of indulgent brews that have got us in the holiday mood: for traditionalists, this “Figgy Pudding” Nut Brown Ale from Bomber should bring some cheer; The Parkside’s “Spectaaculous Spice Cookie” Winter Ale is appealing to our seasonal sweet tooth; as is the new Salted Caramel Stout from Andina Brewing, available on tap from the tasting room only, beginning Friday, December 10th; the first in Main Street’s heritage-inspired Garage Series is a heavy hitting (9.5% ABV) Bière de Coupage (available by the bottle exclusively from the brewery); and of course you can rely on Storm Brewing to be whipping up a rotating selection of unlikely (Eggnog Latte Stout, Strawberry Shortcake Ale) and Christmas-inspired Brainstorms, so keep tuned to their Instagram feed for what’s currently available.

GET MEATY | In the spirit of the holidays, Studio Brewing in Burnaby is holding an updated version of a good ol’ fashioned Meat Draw, on Saturday, December 18th. Here’s the day-long event, in numbers: raffle tickets are only one dollar each, there are five themed rounds total (Breakfast, BBQ, Dinner, Holiday and Vegan), and the first draw takes place at 2pm. All prizes have been supplied by local online food delivery service, Legends Haul, and all proceeds from ticket sales go towards the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver. Find out more.

LOOKY, LOOKY | Last month Twin Sails Brewing celebrated their sixth year anniversary with a bunch of new releases, including some killer collaborations with Structures Brewing (Bellingham), Slackwater (Penticton), Ile Sauvage (Victoria), and Great Notion (Portland) and we are equally impressed by their label art as what’s in them. Think impactful typography, bold graphics and bright (verging on offensively so) colours. New year, new look! Check them out – and snag a few – for yourself.

ICYMI | On the heels of the recent opening of Superflux {Cabana} in Victoria, Track & Food podcaster Jamie Mah had a friendly chat with co-owner Adam Henderson about the new restaurant concept from the brains of the Superflux crew, among other digressions…If you haven’t already tuned in to the episode, then have a listen here.