On Fermentation
Review of: True Brews by Emma Christensen There is a time in every homebrewer’s life when their very perception of the world changes. You begin to look at everything slightly different, from what's for dinner to what's in the fridge…
The Coming BC Craft Beer Correction
With the number of craft breweries in BC expected to reach at least 130 by the end of 2016, competition is growing to the point where I expect we’ll see an increasing number of business failures. That’s not because there’s…
A View From The Cellar: Casks 101 Series
Part I: A Crash Course in Cellarmanship In what I plan to be an ongoing series I hope to further broader knowledge about real ale (cask-conditioned beer), its history, practice and relevance. This first part is about the casks used to…
Out and About: Fall 2015 BC Beer Beat
The craft movement is so large there are continually events everywhere, so we try and catch what we can. Here are our most recent adventures in the Fall of 2015. Great Canadian Beer Festival, Victoria Sept 11-12 I can never…
Victoria Beer Week: Year Three
It's Back! March 4-12, 2016 Victoria Beer Week launched in 2014 with 2,500 people attending 14 events in various venues throughout Greater Victoria. Last year, the audience for the festival jumped to more than 3,000 people and VBW2016 expects to…
Getting Beer Home Safely
...travel tips from Hops Canary My husband and I plan our vacations to beer-friendly cities to visit breweries and scout out the good beer bars in that area. Maybe one day my work colleagues won’t ask me why I’m visiting…
The Hopbine: GCBF Research Dept. Road Trip
One of the most interesting tasks that I am involved in for the Great Canadian Beer Festival is selecting the beers. Gerry Hieter, the GCBF chair, and I sit down a month or so before the festival and pick what…
Bill Herdman: A Brewer’s Tale
I’d like to think that as you read these pages, you’re cozying up to a nice BC craft beer. Maybe you have something a bit hoppy, even dry-hopped. Possibly it’s something a bit experimental, showing off the brewer’s interest in their art. If you’re really in the mood you might be drinking something fairly strong like a Russian Imperial Stout or a Barley Wine. If it’s a bottled product, there may be some yeast still alive, giving it a deliberate second life after it hits the shelves at your favourite retailer.
Coastal Currents: Sunshine Coast Update
Craft beer is alive and well on the Sunshine Coast. With the emergence of both Townsite (Powell River) and Persephone (Gibsons) as two of the most well respected breweries in BC, combined with the founding of CAMRA BC’s Powell River…
Ten Beers to Warm you this Winter
BeerMeBC's annual list of top Winter Warmer ales Whether you are celebrating Christmas with a blanket of snow on your front steps, or listening to the steady fall of the Coast’s more liquid version of snow, the warming flavours of…
Restroom Report Card
If you're going to be drinking beer, sooner or later you're going to have to venture into the bathroom. Bathrooms range vastly across the spectrum from good to awful. Here then, is this beer drinker's perspective on what makes a…
Beers, Beaches & Breweries: Okanagan Craft Calendar
When thinking about the Okanagan, for many people, wine might be the first thing that comes to mind. However, for those of us who love the craft beer scene, the Okanagan is a growing and exciting beer region. We’ve got…
Homebrew Happenin’s: Birth of a Homebrewer
In 1998 I purchased a condo unit. I had my first mortgage and was struggling to make the regular payments. I was living on a very small budget which meant dropping meat out of my diet for a while and…
The End of the Craft Beer Revolution
Business of Beer Series, Part III Welcome to 2016. Allow me to begin with two pieces of late 2015 beer news, coming from seemingly opposite directions: The Empire Strikes Back to Back: In October, AB InBev, an alphabet soup conglomeration…
Ullage and Spillage: The First Thirst is the Worst
Call me a grumpy old man [You are a grumpy old man. - Ed.], but I had a head start. I was a grumpy young man, as photos of me sitting bolt upright in my pram will attest. Now, my…