Tag Archives: bc

Lions Winter Ale — Granville Island Brewing

By chris | Published: November 7, 2012

Bloody hell it’s cold out there. I know we’re still north of 0*C in Toronto, so it’s only going to get colder, but the morning walk with the Beagle down to the beach was a frosty one. And while I’m the first person to defend drinking any style of beer, any time of the year, there is no doubt certain styles appeal more to people during certain seasons. Come winter, people are looking for warm roasted malt flavours, sometimes spices, dark jammy fruits and even spirit-like qualities. Granville Island has kept west-coasters satiated and happy through winter for years, serving up their Lions Winter Ale. With the distribution channels of Creemore Springs Brewing supporting them, it’s no surprise to see…. [Read More]

Captivator Doppel Bock — Tree Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: June 15, 2012

Okay kids, I hope you’ve all had fun this week. BC Beer Week has one more kick at the can; at the end of this post, it’s officially OCB Week and we’ll be all Ontario for the next 10 days or so. But before that, I’m stoked to review another bottle from the Tree Brewery feature currently at the LCBO, their Captivator Doppel Bock. If you remember from my post on Cameron’s Deviator Doppel Bock, in homage to the “original” Doppel Bock, Salvator, Doppel Bocks often have names that end in “ator” (I’m still waiting on Gator Doppel Bock; it bites back!). Obviously, Tree has followed in that tradition, with Captivator. Not really a classic beer in the summer, which…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged bc beer week, bock, doppel bock, tree, tree brewing | Leave a comment

Burley Barley Wine 2008 — Phillips Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: June 14, 2012

Burley Barley Wine — Phillips Brewing Co.

Okay, many apologies. You’re not finding this one at the LCBO. I’m not even sure how available it is in BC, to be honest. But it’s still BC Beer Week here, and I’m pretty stoked about this review. It’s a bottle of Burley Barley Wine from 2008, and I must say, I’m really excited to even have a bottle. It was brought to me by Claude Lefebvre, owner of Double Trouble Brewing and North American Craft (and the guy I work for). Thanks Claude! As I’ve mentioned before here, Barley Wines are beers that not only can age for a while, but often benefit from it. So a bottle from 2008 stands to have gotten better from it’s production. Time…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged barley wine, bc beer week, phillips, phillips brewing co., top-pick | Leave a comment

Hop Head Black IPA – Tree Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: June 13, 2012

And BC beer week just keeps on going. Back to a Tree product (not the last), their highly regarded Hop Head Black IPA. This stuff sold like crazy in Kelowna where it’s made, and was talked about all over BarTowel.com among other places. Black IPA – or Cascadian Dark Ale – is a fairly newly recognized style. In fact, there is no shortage of people who still won’t recognize it. I tend to defer to others on what actually constitutes a “style”, but I would agree that this type of beer needs to be classed as “something”, even if it’s simply a sub-class of another style (IPA, for instance). If you’ve never had one and you like Russian Imperial Stouts…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged bc beer week, black ipa, ipa, tree, tree brewing, tree brewing co. | Leave a comment

Ginger Beer – Phillips Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: June 12, 2012

BC beer week continues here on the blog (it’s BC beer week, if you missed it). Next up in line is another one of the better known micros from BC, Phillips Brewing Co. Keep6 Imports has brought a few Phillips products into Ontario through private orders, so you might have come across, say, their Hop Circle IPA (wonderful stuff). Their Ginger Beer was brought in, in very limited quantities, for summer. It won’t be at every LCBO, but if you’ve got a local that gets the specialty beer releases (think things like Unearthly, Thornbridge, the Tree Brewery feature, etc), it’s likely they’ll have a couple of cases of Phillips Ginger Beer. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see more Phillips…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged bc beer week, ginger beer, phillips, spiced beer, top-pick | 2 Responses

Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale – Tree Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: June 11, 2012

Well, here it is, BC beer week on Toronto Beer Blog. I had decided last week, given the large amount of BC beer currently available at the LCBO, and also the sexiness of said beer, to do a whole week just on BC brews. The players we currently have access to here in Ontario are Tree who, in addition to the regularly available Hop Head IPA, also has a five bottle brewery feature on; Central City who just landed a general list for their magnificent Red Racer IPA; and Phillips who has a limited release of their Ginger Beer for the summer. We are seeing these companies increasing their availability because drinkers want them and are buying their products. So…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged bc week, tree | Leave a comment

Duke’s Cider – Tree Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: May 1, 2012

One of the new-comers to the LCBO this year, Duke’s Cider is produced by Tree Brewing. From Kelowna BC, Duke’s Cider uses a blend of Okanagan apples in its juice. Last year Duke’s was the number one craft cider in BC. It is on LCBO shelves as of this week, and it won’t surprise anyone if it does really well here, too.

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged cider, cider week, tree | Leave a comment

Hop Head IPA – Tree Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: September 11, 2011

I know we’ve talked about this before, but it’s just a fact: There are a lot of awesome IPAs from the west coast. Now I’ll add the usual caveat: I consider anything west of Regina “West Coast”, which makes calling a beer from Tree Brewing out of Kelowna BC, “West Coast”. I have done this ever since a BC-born friend of mine referred to me, with no joking in his voice, as an “East Coaster”. I found this interesting, as there is about 1000km between where I live and where the ocean is. According to Google I can actually be in salt water quicker by heading north (if I’m flying, and seriously, who wold drive?) and going to James Bay,…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged hops, ipa, top-pick, tree brewing co. | 2 Responses

Red Racer IPA – Central City Brewing

By chris | Published: August 6, 2011

A lot of people bang on about BC here in Toronto. The trees are bigger, the people cooler, the air fresher, the sushi better. You’ve probably heard it. Lord knows I have. Not having been west since I was three, I’m really in no place to rebut any of those claims, however, I can certainly support one: There are some killer beers. We’ve been blessed to have Tree Brewing’s Hop Head IPA, and now our friends and heroes at Keep6 Imports have gotten in Red Racer IPA, the pride of Surrey BC. Central City won “Brewery of the Year” at last year’s CBA’s, and Red Racer IPA was voted best beer in BC 2008-2009 by CAMRA Vancouver. A nice pedigree…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged central city brewing, hops, ipa, top-pick | 1 Response

Okanagan Springs Pale Ale – Now at the LCBO

By chris | Published: March 14, 2011

Just in this morning from the good folks at Okanagan Springs Brewery Love the Beer? Bring it Home Okanagan Spring Brewery Pale Ale Now Available at LCBO Vancouver, B.C. (March 14, 2011) ‐ Ontario craft beer lovers can now bring home what B.C. beer drinkers have been enjoying for more than 20 years. LCBO stores around the province are now stocking six‐pack bottles of Okanagan Spring Brewery’s flagship brew, the Pale Ale.

Posted in Beer News | Also tagged okanagan springs brewery, pale ale | 8 Responses