- Story by Jane Zatlyny Photography by Don Denton
I like beer 鈥� sometimes. When it comes to beverages, it鈥檚 hard to beat the refreshing taste of an ice-cold ale alongside a dozen fresh-shucked oysters, or a dark, chocolate-brown stout with grilled baby back ribs. Still, my natural inclination when dining out has always been to reach for the wine list.
But lately, as I walk by the banks of fridges devoted to craft beer at my local liquor store, I can鈥檛 help but wonder: am I missing something? For answers, I asked Joe Wiebe, author of Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider鈥檚 Guide to BC Breweries and all-round BC beer enthusiast, to lead me through a beer tasting.
As we settle in at a back table at Victoria鈥檚 , Joe orders a flight of beer for us to sample. We talk about how Victoria, with its long-established brewpubs like Spinnakers and Swans, has always been at the epicentre of the Canadian craft beer movement.
鈥淚 like to say Victoria is the cradle of the revolution,鈥� Joe says, noting that changes to liquor legislation in 2013 allowed breweries in BC to operate tasting rooms, much like wineries, further propelling the popularity of craft beer here.
Like alchemists, craft brewers today experiment with herbs, spices and fruits. They express themselves through the hops they use and through new interpretations of traditional brewing techniques.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e producing some incredibly exciting flavours,鈥� says Joe. 鈥淏eer has really evolved in the last decade or so. It鈥檚 a tasting culture now.鈥�
It鈥檚 these more eclectic brews that I鈥檓 most interested in tasting, beginning with our first beer, Strawberry Hibiscus Milkshake IPA from Vancouver鈥檚 (6 per cent alcohol). The name is intriguing, but how good can a strawberry-flavoured, milky beer taste?
Surprisingly good, it turns out: this is no ordinary milkshake. 鈥淢ilkshake鈥� actually refers to the use of lactose by the brewer, an unfermentable sugar that retains sweetness in the beer. It鈥檚 the perfect complement to the star ingredient: ripe strawberries. The first taste reminds me of spring鈥檚 first strawberry, greedily plucked in the field, while Joe likens it to strawberry ice cream.
Next up? A Beets by Sinden sour beer from (5.5 per cent). Deep pink in colour, this beer is unusual for two reasons, says Joe. One, it鈥檚 made with beets, and two, it鈥檚 part of a category of beers known as sours.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e erupted in the last few years as their own category of beer,鈥� he explains. Traditional sour beers have a three-year aging process, but modern craft brewers figured out how to accelerate the aging process by heating the beer in the brewing kettle. Sour beers then became more practical to produce and more affordable for consumers.
Sour beers are often the 鈥済ateway鈥� beer for people who don鈥檛 think they like beer, says Joe: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very sour, and there鈥檚 a certain type of person who just loves them. They鈥檒l taste one and say, 鈥極h! I didn鈥檛 know beer could taste like that!鈥欌��
Raising the glass of peony-coloured beer to my nose, I really can smell the beets, or at least a very earthy suggestion of beets. The beer is sour, but pleasantly so and very refreshing. If I didn鈥檛 know better, I would have said this was a cider.
鈥淭his beer is proof of how far the craft beer industry has come,鈥� laughs Joe as he drains his tiny glass. 鈥淗ere I am, a big bearded guy in a flannel shirt, drinking a pink beer.鈥�
The third beer in our flight was another sour 鈥� the Corvus Lingonberry Lime Gose from in Abbotsford. Joe says that this salty sour beer won Gold at the World Beer Cup 鈥� quite an honour for a fledgling BC brewery.
As I peer into the cloudy, pinkish glass of wheat beer, I can鈥檛 really distinguish the smell of red lingonberries. But I can taste the tartness of lime and the salinity of the Himalayan salt in my first sip.
鈥淭his beer would taste great with seafood or a big bowl of mussels,鈥� I mention to Joe.
鈥淏eer works really well with food in general,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much more versatile than wine, and the carbonation is great for cleaning the palate between courses.鈥�
Interesting point. I鈥檇 never thought of that.
Leaving sours behind for now, Joe introduces me to another sub-category of beer 鈥� the very popular hazy IPA. The Humans IPA from in Port Moody (6.3 per cent) is like lemon meringue pie in a glass: it鈥檚 golden-coloured with a pleasant froth and a sweet, lemon-drop scent.
鈥淏rewers have started to experiment with adding hops later in the process, so you get more of the fruity sweet characteristics of the hops and less of the bitterness,鈥� Joe explains. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what gives us that huge burst of lemon aroma.鈥� The beer鈥檚 flavour is just as fruity but not sugary. It reminds me of tropical mango, pineapple and peach.
It鈥檚 time for our second flight (I should mention at this juncture that neither of us are driving and we鈥檙e sharing six-ounce glasses). This time, we鈥檙e turning to nut brown, dark and stout beers, beginning with the Silk Road Chai Nut Brown Ale (5.2 per cent) from in Victoria. You鈥檇 have to like the scent and flavour of chai tea spices to enjoy this amber-coloured brew, a classic nut brown ale made with loose tea from Victoria鈥檚 Silk Road Tea. Fortunately, I do.
鈥淗ere you have something with definite spices,鈥� says Joe. 鈥淚t reminds me of some sort of baked Christmas treat.鈥�
I agree: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a molasses flavour coming through, like the sticky goodness of a fruit cake on the bottom of the pan.鈥� Again, I can imagine a great food pairing, perhaps a cr猫me br没l茅e.
Coriander, cloves, orange zest, Belgian candi sugar and local plums flavour our next beer, Saison Noel (6 per cent) from in North Saanich.
鈥淭his small brewery produces some incredible craft beers,鈥� says Joe. 鈥淭hey make the candi sugar themselves in the brew kettle.鈥�
The Belgian-style dark beer tastes well-rounded, sweet, but not cloyingly so, with a slight tannin aftertaste. Don鈥檛 tell Joe, but for this wine lover, Saison Noel is reminiscent of a rich Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our last beer is a stout, and it does not disappoint. The Mole Stout (6 per cent) from in North Vancouver is crafted in the style of the famous Oaxacan dish, and brewed with poblano and jalapeno spices. Like a true mole, its flavour profile is complex. 鈥淪ome beers with peppers are incredibly hot,鈥� says Joe. This stout is not. The peppers add depth without the searing heat; cocoa nibs, chocolate malt and fresh Mexican spices balance the full, rich flavour of this delicious stout.
As we finished our last drops of beer, I admit to Joe that I was truly surprised at what I鈥檇 just experienced 鈥� so much so that I may no longer automatically reach for the wine list. Joe nods. He鈥檚 heard all of this before.
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e a high-level beer geek or someone who doesn鈥檛 know a lot about beer, order a flight of beers, and you鈥檙e sure to find something there you like,鈥� he says.
INFO
7th Annual Victoria Beer Week, March 6-14
Learn more about BC craft beers at the 7th annual Victoria Beer Week.
Check out these events to try some new and unique brews:
鈥� Lift Off! The opening night event will feature all-new beers from a variety of BC breweries
鈥� Pucker Up Sample all of the sour beers on tap at the Garrick鈥檚 Head & Churchill Pubs
鈥� Saturday Night Casks More than 20 cask-conditioned beers showcase brewmakers鈥� creativity, often using highly unusual ingredients
/schedule
Make craft breweries a highlight of your next B.C. staycation by checking out this province-wide ale trail. bcaletrail.ca
Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider鈥檚 Guide to BC Breweries
Paperback, 2nd edition, by .
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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