Vol. 30 No. 3 Fall 2020 is our Coping With COVID issue, and it's all about pulling people together in a time of distancing. We assemble a virtual group chat featuring industry insiders, and another with craft beer superfans. We learn to drink smart in isolation by cutting back on booze, not beer. And we explore the BC Interior to make sure it's safe for your beer staycation.
A few months back, What’s Brewing reported that Kelowna’s Boundary Brewing had closed. It was a sad day, but a second act was about to begin, as Welton Brewery poured their first newly-brewed beers in their tasting room last month. Let's have a word with the proprietor, Simon Welton.
It has been quite the unusual year in Northern BC. Normally there would be craft beer festivals taking place. To counteract the COVID-19 blues, people are finding new ways to engage in the spirit of community, collaboration and craft.
From the first time I read about Susi Foerg back in 2017, I was I intrigued! The owner and operator of the now one-year old Rustic Reel Brewing Co. seemed different, as did her approach to opening a brewery. It was a woman’s approach.
It’s amazing to think through the last six months – yes, March was six months ago. The 24-hour news cycle changed as lockdown after lockdown was announced, then it was hourly, and scary.
Our two-part Fall 2020 cover story, featuring Just Here For The Beer Radio, is a tale of bold adventure. But it’s not just about a business. It’s about pursuing a dream, even in the face of tragic loss.
Here's how Rick Mohabir met Colin Jack, and how the duo joined forces with veteran broadcaster Joe Leary to create Canada’s original and longest-running all-beer talk show.
With five breweries within essentially a one-block radius, Kelowna’s North End is the new BC brewery cluster to rival Port Moody Brewer’s Row. Then, with 15 breweries and counting in city limits, Kelowna has as many breweries as Yeast Van. If you’re on the fence about a BC beer staycation in the Okanagan, start packing.
I had always believed that BC would one day be the beer mecca of North America. We seemed so close, then COVID-19 struck.
So I ventured out to talk to brewers, managers, and owners about their experience during this pandemic. Would it destroy us or make us stronger? My quest was to find out and, of course, drink some fresh craft beer along the way!
For me in 2020, staying home and stewing has meant staying home and brewing. I brew classic British styles because the mild, bitter, and old ales I crave are rarely produced by BC brewers.
It turns out that during my early days of homebrewing in the UK, my two favourite hops had Canadian origins.
In Part I of this beer travel guide, we completed our walking tour of inner Kelowna. In Part II of this story, we take you on a Northeast Kelowna road trip, learn about the Lakeshore beer tour, and find beer and cider on both the West and 'Yeast' banks of Okanagan Lake.
In our Fall magazine, Whats Brewing reaches out to BC breweries for an insider view of their 2020 survival experiences. Today, we feature the brightest brewery on the block: Yeast Van’s Andina Brewing and founder Andrés Amaya.
In the Fall issue of What's Brewing magazine, we told you that Freddy’s Brewpub of Kelowna had closed for remodelling during 2020. It turned out to be a good use of time during the onset of the pandemic, and now Freddy's is back and ready to roll. Check out the impressive list of changes made to Kelowna's original brewpub.
COVID-19 has affected all of us in some way or another. If you have found yourself with time on your hands, have been thinking about ways to be as self-sufficient as possible, or need a distraction from all of the craziness in the world right now, I strongly suggest trying homebrewing. It is fun, educational, and rewarding.
As soon as Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the restart of travel, my husband and I started planning an adventure in BC’s beautiful backyard, the East Kootenays.
On this trip, we had the opportunity to visit three local breweries: Rumpus Beer Company and Mt. Begbie Brewing Co., Brewing in Revelstoke, and recent #CBAC2020 triple gold medal winner Whitetooth Brewing Company in Golden.
Low- and no-alcohol drinks may have found their ideal moment in 2020 with the advent of isolation and its related tendency to overconsume at home. In that spirit, our Tasting Panel is set to assuage the guilt of pandemic drinking with these five “sessionable” moderate ABV beers, perfect for self-imposed cocooning.