British Columbia Beer Tasting: Drinking & Musing

My British Columbia-loving friend, Regan, made another trip recently and lucky for us, hauled back six bombers to share. It was a short trip but he managed to collect three IPAs, two double IPAs and an oatmeal stout.

The tasting's line up went as follows:
Moon Under Water  - Tranquility IPA
Tofino Brewing - Hoppin' Cretin IPA
Parallel 49 - Lord of the Hops IPA
Townsite Brewing - Perfect Storm Oatmeal Stout
Tin Whistle - Scorpion Double IPA
Tree Brewing - Hop Head Double IPA

The beers ranged from 5.5% ABV (the stout) to 8.5%, with the two double IPAs falling on the lighter end of the ABV spectrum for DIPAs - not surprising for Canadian beers. There wasn't a stinker in the bunch and the IPAs and DIPAs were all distinctly different. Beyond discussing our personal favorites, there was also a side discussion about branding, focusing on two of the six beers in particular.

Before we get to the musings part I know there might be a few of you who are looking for a short read and are more interested in the beers themselves. My favorite, for both the grapefruit flavor displayed in the obviously unfiltered beer and a great label, was Parallel 49 Lord of the Hops. Tree Brewing Hop Head DIPA was a close second, one I found very drinkable even while the group consensus seemed to be that it was "too" malty. Now, if you'd like to read on, the musings part.

The first beer, Tranquility IPA, was a solid IPA with a moderate 70 IBUs and 6.5% ABV. What struck me though was the label. Something about the colors (especially the use of silver metallic), font and overall layout of the label said "sake" or "wine" to me more than it said "beer." There's nothing wrong with that and there is most certainly something to be said for brewery/label recognition. When consumers are facing a cooler full of options I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that there should be consistency among a brewery's labels although it may sacrifice some creativity. Taking a look at their website there unfortunately weren't pictures of the full labels, just enlarged portions of them, but they did maintain consistency with similar sketch-type images and the likely sticking to a two color label.

The other beer that sparked conversation was Tin Whistle Scorpion Double IPA. Here it wasn't the visual of the label but the seeming disconnect between the brewery name Tin Whistle, accompanied by an image of a train in the logo, and the beer name Scorpion. Again, not having familiarity with the brewery I consulted the internet in hopes of determining if there was a naming pattern, finding their Facebook page. Scrolling through some of their pictures it appears that they have used labels which used the Tin Whistle train logo featured prominently however Scorpion Double IPA and Rattlesnake ESB appear to be new releases. Maybe they're taking their artwork in a different direction or perhaps these are part of a new series of beers. Either way, they don't seem to have a naming theme that ties to anything train related.

As with many musings I'm not offering up any answers. I would however be interested to hear your thoughts on either brewery and their choice of artwork and naming themes, or lack there of.

Oh, Canada! Round Two

Last December a buddy invited us over for a tasting of beers he had brought back from Canada. It's a favorite destination of his so on another trip this spring he was kind enough to again return with bottles to share. It was a nine-bottle, IPA heavy lineup with the deviators being an ESB from Driftwood Brewing and a porter from Phillips Brewing, both from Victoria.

Of the IPAs Total Eclipse of the Hop from Howe Sound Brewing in Squamish tickled my fancy the most. Beyond that it was the deviators which ended up being two of the evening's best beers. Interestingly both came from breweries which had garnered my praise from the last tasting. The Hildegard ESB was much hoppier than most ESBs and if I had to give it a more appropriate name I think I'd call it an Imperial ESB, in part as well because of the 6.5% ABV.

At the beginning of the evening there had been a discussion as to whether to start off the evening with Longboat Chocolate Porter, as to have it before potentially destroying our palates with hops, or to wait until the end and have it as "dessert." We ended up holding off to have last and dessert it was! The aroma was strongly roasty but the flavor was that of dark chocolate minus any trace of sweetness.

Thanks once again to my kind friend for sharing his haul. I hope you're lucky enough to have at least one friend like that.

Oh, Canada!

Canada makes some good beer, but unless Labatt’s is your idea of “good” beer, you’ll find it tough, if not impossible to get much of it in the U.S. In 2003 we spent part of our honeymoon in Victoria, B.C. and found some great brews. Then a few years ago we vacationed in Toronto and I found a new appreciation for lagers. Since then the extent of my Canadian beer drinking has been the occasional Unibroue, which while good, are hardly representative of Canadian beers in general.

Last night we were invited to a friend’s house, a friend who very generously brought back a variety of bottles from his last visit to Vancouver, B.C. The majority were IPAs, which excited me. The majority were also marked, “strong,” which amused me. It appears that by Canadian standards a beer is “strong” when it’s over about 5.5 or 6% ABV.

Of the nine beers we sampled I would be hard pressed to pick my favorite out of these four.

Amnesiac from Phillips Brewing, an 8.5% double IPA

Cannery Brewing IPA, a boozy smelling 6% with a great, lingering aftertaste

Uncharted Belgian IPA from Lighthouse Brewing, this beer uses both Belgian and West Coast IPA yeast strains and was hands down the coolest artwork of the night.

Fat Tug, Canada's Beer of the Year, from Driftwood Brewing is deserving of the title.

As with that involves sharing beer with friends, it was a good one. And it reminded me that it might be about time to plan another trip.