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!

BEER DINNER | If I had to choose just one meal to attend this summer, Acorn Chef Devon Latte’s long table dinner at Barnside Brewing would probably be it. It’s actually much more than just a dinner, though – it’s also a tour of Barnside and their neighbours, Cropthorne Farm, who also happen to be the exclusive supplier of the evening menu’s vegetables. All-in, tickets for the dinner and tours are $122 per person, and the $10 beer pairing is an obvious add-on…as is tacking on the $20 for roundtrip transportation (pick-up and drop-off at the Acorn, on Main Street). Seriously, what’s your excuse? Find tickets and more info here.

LAGER FEST | There’s only a couple more days remaining until Another Beer Co.’s ‘Lager Fest’ outdoors beer festival. The free all-day celebration of the lager style goes down this Saturday, July 30th, and features refreshing brews from ABC (including some new releases including a collab) and others from their friends at Four Winds, Luppolo, Slow Hand, Steel & Oak, Studio, and Red Collar. Plus: burgers, Caribbean eats and ice cream, an on-site bicycle maintenance station, vinyl records spinning and available to buy, free access to the arcade next door (with discounted games), and more. Attendance to the fest is free. Sounds like a darn good way to spend a summertime Saturday! Check out the full tap list and get more details here.

SAUSAGE PARTY | If ‘long weekend’ is synonymous with ‘BBQ’ in your head, then take note that Shaketown Brewing is hosting their second Smoker Series event this Sunday. This one is all about sausages, courtesy of Snackish, plus some veg-friendly sides and plenty of beer. Check out the menu here. Also in Shaketown news: the North Van brewery recently launched a happy hour $3 beer promo (!) available Monday to Wednesday, from open to 5pm (excluding holidays). Sounds like a pretty decent way to ease into the week!

STORMY WEEKEND | Also slated for this weekend: Storm Brewing has got not one, but two back-to-back events happening on the loading dock, Saturday and Sunday. First up is one of their infamous Loading Dock parties (July 30th from 12-8pm), featuring live DJs, a food truck and signature Storm brews and experiments. Then, on Sunday (July 31st from 12-6pm) their new RATS market continues with a new slew of local weirdos-slash-makers offering up their goods for sale. Shopping while sipping on beer? Yes please! It’s the last long weekend of the summer after all, so you might as well squeeze as much out of it as possible and hit up both events. Find out more.

BEER FLOAT | What’s summertime without a beer ice cream float? Of course, you can DIY it. OR, you can entrust one of the few local breweries offering their own special takes on the dessert and beer combination… Strathcona Beer Company has got two especially nuanced flavour combos on their menu: one featuring their own ‘Beautiful’ Pale Ale poured over a scoop of Earnest’s Spruce Bud ice cream, and a vegan version with their ‘Beach’ Mandarin Lemon Radler and Earnest’s Vegan Creamsicle ice cream. Both are served up in a pint glass and cost $14 each.

BEER SLUSH | Speaking of original, beer-related ways to cope with the summer heat: Moody Ales & Co is now serving up beer slushies, two ways. Port Moody-bound drinkers can look forward to a swirl of radler or non-alcoholic lime flavoured slush to top off their drink order. Imagine the flavour combos! Also an option: an entire glassful of undiluted slush. Alternatively, if you’re looking to cool down in North Van, House of Funk is serving up their own brand of slush, Funk Juice style. And, over in New West, Another Beer Co. has an especially intense sounding version, that begins with a fruity base, plus their ‘Beautiful Things Don’t Ask For Attention’ Sour Peach IPA, and Tequila and Peach Schnapps to top it all off.

IPA DAY | If IPAs are your thing, then you should know about Main St. Brewing’s sweet deal coming up on Thursday, August 4th (aka IPA Day – if you need an excuse to indulge on a weekday). In conjunction with the release of the second beer in their Hazy IPA series, ‘Hazy Chain’, the Mount Pleasant brewery will be offering up a special flight featuring four IPAs: the classic Naked Fox, Tunnerman’s Old Head, Hazy Chain, and a guest brew…Keep awind of MSB event developments via their Instagram feed.

CSA | Sales are now open for Container Brewing’s Late Summer Organics CSA Program. Think, a reliable influx of local produce from Hazelmere Organic Farm, Container beer and Tall Shadow sourdough bread, delivered to you or picked up from the brewery every week for six weeks (beginning on August 31st). Sounds pretty ideal, doesn’t it? Four different combinations of the three components are available to suit your household’s personal preferences and needs, and prices begin at $288. The deadline for CSA orders is August 27th. Get more details and lock in your late summer provisions here.

SUSHI | Have you heard about the latest development from the folks at Electric Bicycle Brewing? The Mount Pleasant brewery has recently expanded its colourful operation into the former radio repair shop above, with a new food venture called Sushi Radio. Open Thursday through Sunday, from 4-9pm, the upstairs sushi joint has a tight little menu featuring high-grade and wild fish prepared by chefs Masanori Katsuura and Daniel Jiang, along with other sushi staples, veg options and a few more out-of-the-box items. Check out the full menu and plot your next beer and sushi feast here.

MUSIC | ICYMI, we recently hit up Megan McDonald, mega music-lover and co-owner of Bricklayer Brewing in Chilliwack, to find out her three ‘Definitive Records’. McDonald was a natural fit for Scout’s music column (all of Bricklayer’s beers have music-inspired names). Check out her album picks – best paired with some Bricklayer brews, if possible – over here.