A View From The Cellar: It’s the Postbag, er Mailbag, Edition
After my long series of articles about casks I have received a few messages from Cask lovers asking a few technical questions. I present them here in abridged form.
BC Hop Fest 2017: Insider Q & A
We're now a month away from the 3rd Annual BC Hop Fest, BC's only fresh Hop festival, to be held Saturday Sept 30th
Hops Canary: A BC Hop Farming Primer
Chilliwack Hop Farms. Photo credit: D. Smith Late summer is hop harvest season. This is when your favourite brewers grab as many fresh hops as they can get their lupulin-stained hands on to brew a variety of IPAs and other…
Event Spotlight: 2017 BC Beer Awards
Photo credit: Brian K. Smith New Format, New Awards! The 8th Annual BC Beer Awards and Festival is set to return to Vancouver on Saturday, October 21, 2017, from 4–10 p.m., at the Croatian Cultural Centre. The Details When: Saturday, October…
Hops Spotlight: Square One Hop Growers
Kari and Brent bought their land in November 2014. They first considered planting either grapes or apples, but felt the land was better suited to growing hops. Kari explained, “we love craft beer, and we decided to start where beer begins and plant hops.” Square One Hop Growers was born shortly thereafter.
Homebrew Happenin’s: Making Hard Cider From Juice
Last summer I noticed many new BC craft ciders appearing on the market. My wife isn't particularly fond of beer but enjoys a nice cider, so I ended up purchasing many bottles over the summer and it got me thinking about making some cider of my own. I
Cele-beer-ating Canada 150 in Shanghai
Whenever I go abroad, I like to bring beer from home to share with strangers. Beer is a social lubricant that helps break down barriers and may even open doors to unexpected experiences. At the very least, it gives foreigners an opportunity to learn about our country and culture while tasting a brew that, even today, is rarely seen outside of BC.
Brewtiful BC: Cider Saved Our Farm
Like many people of my generation, my first introduction to cider was the kind that came in two-litre bottles of syrupy, fizzy, boozy stuff. Flash forward 10 years and you’d have to be living under a rock not to have noticed the apple infiltration at craft beverage events.
CAMRA Vancouver Stages An Outdoor Drink-In
Perhaps you've heard that there was a 'Picnic Protest' at Vancouver's English Bay today, organized by CAMRA Vancouver, with the blessing of CAMRA BC (The Campaign For Real Ale Society of British Columbia), called "Beer on the Beach". In CAMRA YVR's latest…
Beers, Beaches & Breweries
CAMRA SO at Square One Hop Farms - Photo Credit: Kim Lawton Okanagan Summer Update It was an interesting summer in the Okanagan. First we had floods, then fires, then smoke. Like many locations around the province, people had to change…
Roaming the Beer Frontier in Northern BC
Last year we did a really comprehensive tour of the Okanagan and Interior that we documented in a giant 3-part series called Staycation BC. At that point, we had been to most regions of BC for beer. This time we planned to cover the final frontier: Northern BC, home to a string of pearls along Yellowhead Highway 16.
Ullage & Spillage: The Craft Beer is Out There
I am always delighted when I hear of a new craft brewery opening up in one of BC’s smaller towns, confirming another place I can go without fearing poor choice in my favourite tipple. However, I am wondering of our readers can beat my tale of possibly the remotest establishment where you can currently buy and consume craft beer in BC.
Legend Meets Legend: John Mitchell & Rick Knight
It's a summit meeting between the elder statesmen in BC craft and BC hop farming.
Books In Review: My Beer Year by Lucy Burningham
My Beer Year would be perfect reading for those thinking of taking the Cicerone or BJCP exam, or like me, have just finished. Even better, I think, would be those in the beer vortex of studying who might be able to convince themselves that this book still qualifies as studying or who just need a break from style guidelines.
Hops Spotlight: BC Hop Growers Speak Up
As part of our Harvest Issue coverage, What’s Brewing invited a handful of BC hop growers to answer questions about their operations. Amongst the respondents, we have firms ranging from boutique start-up to Canada’s largest hop business. Here’s what they had to say about their situations, as well as the realities of the BC hop industry.
Profiles: Women in Beer
Erin Dale: Barkerville Brewing Co. The Barkerville Brewing Co is one of our BC breweries steeped in history. It was originally built and opened in Barkerville in 1865 by an Italian immigrant, Nicolas Cunio. During the gold rush period, their…
Cider vs. Cider: the Tasting Panel Fall Harvest Edition
What's Brewing presents its Tasting Panel feature in each quarterly magazine. This round, we decided to take a break from beer. In honour of the fall apple harvest, we proudly present a showcase of some of BC's outstanding craft ciders.
The Hopbine: The Man Who Gave Away a Brewery!
I heard through the grapevine that Sean Hoyne had given away a brewery, so I went down to Hoyne Brewing to find out the facts.
New Faces Join the Beer Media Scene: Part Three – Tim LaHay
BC Craft Beer Superfans bring new sights and sounds to the 'independent beer journalism' landscape.
The State of BC Craft Cider: Q&A
Summerland Heritage Cider Company. Photo: Dave Smith Five of BC's orchard cideries talk about their businesses As part of this special Harvest issue, the mighty WB is happy to spotlight BC’s craft cider industry once again. But first: as we did…
Q&A: Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival features best of local food and beer with unique approach
The Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival (CCBF) sports a bit of a different model than traditional beer festivals. For more about this, I contacted Carolyn Ahrendt, Director of Events.
New Faces Join the Beer Media Scene: Part Two – Aaron Johnson
BC Craft Beer Superfans bring new sights and sounds to the 'independent beer journalism' landscape.
New Faces Join the Beer Media Scene: Part One – The Beerd Show
BC Craft Beer Superfans bring new sights and sounds to the 'independent beer journalism' landscape.