Strange Fellows Brewing Celebrating ‘Up Helly Aa’ Pagan Fire Festival

The GOODS from Strange Fellows Brewing

Vancouver, BC | A pagan fire festival, Up Helly Aa is a tradition that comes to us from Scotland’s Shetland Islands. From January 21st through 27th, Strange Fellows Brewing will celebrate the Viking in all of us with glasses of Blackmail – a sessionable Northern-style Milk Stout. On the evening of January 26th from 7:30pm to 9pm, we will be joined by musical guests Beledrone – a unique mash-up of Balinese Gamelan and Scottish bagpipes. Oh, and we might burn something too! Free beer to those sporting a kilt.

Puffs of breath mist the cold air as a lone horn signals to the crowd of torch-bearing men. Old ballads & the sound of thousands of stamping feet accompany a massive Viking longship as it’s dragged through dark streets. The procession ends with the longship’s torching and is followed by uproarious celebration until the wee hours. This pagan fire festival ends Yuletide feasting and symbolizes the rebirth of the sun.

Let’s honour our inner Viking with a glass of ale and a toast to our fellows:

“Drink hail! I drink and good luck be to you!”

Strange Fellows is an East Vancouver craft brewery inspired by tradition and creativity that goes beyond the ordinary to celebrate that which is strange* and extraordinary. We invite you to celebrate with us each month as we observe a different Strange Day, inspired by obscure superstitions and folklore from around the world.

Vancouver’s Beledrone is an eclectic ensemble of Scottish highland bagpipes, Balinese processional gamelan, solo voices (Ukranian bilij holos or “pure voice”) and chorus, forged by a Western classical “new music” sensibility into a seamless blend of musical traditions.

So dust off your kilt and join us for an evening of revelry in support of a great cause – the return of the sun!

DETAILS

Gallery

The People

Strange Fellows: Aaron Jonckheere & Iain Hill
Fellow About Town/Sales: Nick Black
Fellow in the Room/Bar Manager: Kayin Fields

Strange Fellows Brewing is the creation of Iain Hill & Aaron Jonckheere, erstwhile strangers who each dreamed of starting A brewery. When a mutual friend decided they should meet, little did they know this would be the first step they would take toward realizing their common dream.

Iain is a craftsman who takes great interest in life’s details. An award-winning brewer with over 20 years experience, he is compelled to create beer that is unique & rooted in authenticity. As a pioneer of BC’s craft brewing industry, Iain has achieved many firsts , but the need to start his own BREWERY grew stronger over the years. He had always been INSPIRED to have a place where he could create the beer he dreamed of, so when BY chance he met Aaron, he was ready.

Aaron is a daydreamer & wanderer with a keen interest in the TRADITION & CREATIVITY of craft brewing. Exposure to great beer by way of his Belgian heritage, & being a third-generation home brewer himself, provided the desire THAT GOES with starting a brewery. He was just missing a brewing partner to do it with. So Aaron followed his vision to create a place that would make the beer he loved to drink. And on a cold winter day, his path led to Iain.

Iain & Aaron don’t always see eye-to-eye, but BEYOND their differences they do agree on what they want to make: Beer inspired by THE Old World, but brewed right here on the West Coast. Far from ORDINARY, these two strangers have gone from daydreaming to creating the brewery they are proud of. When you drink a glass of Strange Fellows, you are sharing in their commitment TO unique & unapologetic beer, crafted for those who aren’t afraid to stand out in the crowd & CELEBRATE THAT WHICH IS STRANGE.

ABOUT STRANGE FELLOWS

Old World Inspired – West Coast Crafted

We are an East Vancouver craft brewery inspired by tradition and creativity that goes beyond the ordinary to celebrate that which is strange* and extraordinary.

The beer we make is influenced by both old world traditions and West coast ingenuity and often inspired by seasonal ingredients. Our barrel programme promises unique aged beers and we have a bit of a thing for sour beer.

Our Tasting Room is open daily for growler fills and gathering with friends. We offer an ever-changing selection of beer as well as tasty locally sourced grub to go with.

Our beer is on tap at many fine drinking establishments and restaurants, and our packaged product in private liquor stores around town.

Tucked in alongside the Tasting Room, the Charles Clark Gallery is a venue for artists to share their vision with exhibits changing monthly.

We invite you to celebrate with us each month as we observe a different Strange Day, inspired by obscure superstitions and folklore from around the world.

* We define strange as unique, unexpected or extraordinary

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