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flight gallery 2

1/3/2020

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Look at the different beers! Lots of good stuff here - the metal tray at riip, the bones at Yellow Dog, and that beefy handle on to the tray at Red Bird.

Beer definitely goes with sunshine too. Don't the ones from riip and Bad Dog look enticing?

But then the moody dark lighting at Analog is super cool.

Analog (Edmonton) - riip (Huntington Beach) - Bad Dog (Sooke)
Yellow Dog (Port Moody) - Cannery (Penticton) - Red Bird (Kelowna)

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flight gallery

1/3/2020

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It's always exciting - to me anyway - to see how a brewery puts a flight together. The glasses, the tray, how do they identify the beers, the glasses - each brewery is just a little different.

The presentation of the flight is the final detail demonstrating a brewery's commitment to getting everything right. Golden's Whitetooth and Kelowna's Rustic Reel are prime examples. Whitetooth has beautiful glasses and the shellacked plank of wood tray. Rustic Reel's tray is a perfect compliment to the feel of the brewery, and I don't think I've ever seen flight tray come with snacks.

On the other hand, you could argue that the plain tray from Kelowna's Boundary Brewing demonstrates that they're too busy making great beer to spend time on the tray. And their beer is great, so this is plausible.

Whitetooth (Golden) - Streetcar (North Van) - House of Funk (North Van)
Bad Tattoo (Penticton) - Rustic Reel (Kelowna) - Boundary (Kelowna)

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a vintage dilemma

12/27/2019

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This is a TREK 9000 from 1992. It is an important bike in that it is the first dip of a toe into the pool of full suspension by a company that would become one of the largest bike manufacturers in the world. However, important does not equal good. And as a former "proud" owner of a TREK SUSPENSION TRACK bike, I can tell you that it is not a good bike.

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Specialized FSR XC Pro

12/13/2019

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This is a 2004 Specialized FSR XC Pro. It's a direct descendant of the FSR XC of 1999, which was touted as the anti-freeride bike. Freeride was the name given to the heavy DH-ish bikes that were being made to ride down mountains. The FSR XCs though were also supposed to work well going up mountains.

Hard to believe that only five or so years of full suspension bikes in the marketplace, they needed a major correction, but, that's what we got.

This FSR really wasn't anything special, but I bought one three years ago for cheap, and it became I think anyway, an interesting story.

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it's friday night!

12/5/2019

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It's Friday night dammit - let's talk beer!

I've fallen so far behind now it's laughable. I do have a lot to talk about though. Specifically the Phillips Brewing Space Case.

In years past Phillips put out an advent calendar of beers called the Snowcase. 24 beers in a box, a lot that hadn't been made bu Phillips in years. They haven't made this in five years now I think, which is really unfortunate because it was a ton of fun.

Still no Snowcase this year, but instead, the Space Case - a dozen bomber bottles of new brews. I didn't set any kind of schedule for this, I just went ahead and opened them as I saw fit. And I'm just going to rate them on a "would I buy it again" yes-or-no basis.

Ruby Dew Cranberry Tart pale ale.

This is a solid Buy Again. It's not too tart, very drinkable, tastes great - it's just very enjoyable. Maybe better suited to summer patio drinking, but still good.

3.75/5

Glitter Bells Juicy pale ale.

Ah the "juicy" ale. I still don't have solid feelings about the juicy or New England style ale. I've some that are great, and some that ruined my tastebuds for the rest of the day. I can't shake the feeling that I'm supposed to like them just because Heady Topper and King Julius are so good.

The Untappd Bros are not too impressed with this as it's sitting at 3.35. I like it, but not enough to buy again.

3.5/5

Jovaru Lithuanian Golden Ale.

Now I gotta learn about the Lithuanian beer scene?! It's cool, just make good beer, it doesn't matter where it comes from.

Golden Ale is really hit-or-miss for me. The good ones are Pilsner-like I find - clear and bright, crisp even (sorry, crisp is a really dumb word to use when describing a liquid), and a bitter finish. This has all of those things and I would buy this one again.

3.75/5

Peak Season Post Slope Saison.

I'm out of order here maybe, but it doesn't matter.

This is a great saison! I don't know for certain what makes a saison taste like a saison - the yeast strain I guess? - but this one tastes great. Like the Glitter Bells though it's not faring well on Untappd; only 3.32.

None of that matters of course, but I do find it weird when someone says a beer is good, and gives it 3/5. That's what I would give a beer I didn't like. Oh well.

4/5

Ryzenheimer Ryzenbock.

I love a dark malty rye beer, and this is a beauty. I almost always drink beer too cold, so when I am savouring a beer like this it usually gets better as I go. This one ended up being very good.

4/5

Nakimushi Tropical Smoothie IPA

This is probably my fav of the first six. Terrific citrus flavours, just the right amount of bitterness, highly drinkable.

4/5

Part one of the Space Case, and not a bad beer in the bunch. At least three real standouts too.

Important to note that the Space Case was a screaming good deal! With taxes it was roughly $5 a bottle. Which is why I bought a second case! HAHA!

Let's have another!

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it's friday night!

11/8/2019

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It's Friday night dammit - let's talk beer!

Maybe I need to make posts more often than just on Friday afternoon - I can't keep up.

We're checking out a smorgasboard of BC beers this time - I love tall can singles!

From Townsite Brewing of Powell River, BC, it's Suncoast pale ale. This was highly enjoyable with the great hop flavour you expect from a pale ale, but not too bitter.

I had only had one Townsite prior to this, and I didn't like it. But it was an IPA and a long time ago, so good thing I didn't let that stop me from trying another.

3.75/5

Twin Sails is on Murray St. in Port Moody, BC, home of five excellent breweries all within a three block radius. Front Lawn Bench Press does not disappoint; it's really hoppy and has just the right amount of bitterness.

Twin Sails has just great branding and they love to make the hazy beers. I would highly recommend hitting up Port Moody as everyone there is killing it.

4/5

This collaboration is the 10th Anniversary of the Vancouver Beer Week celebration, made by Four Winds Brewing, Powell Brewery, and Dageraad Brewing. It's a dry-hopped saison, very light but not highly flavourful.

This was certainly good, but it really didn't knock me over.

3.75/5

Time for some Huge Citrus from Moody Ales, our second entry this week from Murray Street. It's maybe the least hazy Hazy IPA I've ever had. Still, it tastes great.

You really have to wonder about the process when a brewery makes a hazy beer and it comes out this clear. Does this mean they screwed up? It tastes fine, but this is clearly not hazy.

(see what I did there?)

3.75/5

Four more great beers from BC - yawn.

Kidding of course - it's incredible how good the scene is here. And it's not just Vancouver either. Fernie, Nanaimo, Penticton, Kelowna, and Victoria are all home to terrific breweries. Even if you live in a remote area here, fresh beer is never far away.

Let's have another.

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it's friday night

11/1/2019

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It's Friday dammit - let's talk beer!

We moved from Edmonton to Osoyoos this summer, and essentially had an extended vacation there. I enjoyed some very good BC beers that were not so common in Edmonton - however - beers from Phillips were pretty hard to come by.

Fast forward to fall, we're in Kelowna now, and I'm catching up on all the stuff Phillips put out in the summer.

This is Bat As from Phillips Brewing, a Sauvin Spritzer session IPA. It's a lightweight for sure, but very tasty, and - ugh - crushable. If we could run the clock back to summer, this would be the beer to drink lots of in the pool.

I don't know what "Bat As" means, or where the name comes from, but "Sauvin Spritzer" I guess comes from Nelson Sauvin hops, and the current in thing, which is to make beers like white wine spritzers.

3.75/5

Lime Light Berliner Weisse from Phillips, and you'll have to trust me as I took a pic of the other side of the can here. I really liked the design. I love Berliner Weisees, I love lime, I love this beer! Very tart, great lime flavour.

Bring this back any time Phillips and I'll buy it.

4/5

Phillips Grainbow 18 grain IPA, their 18th Anniversary beer. It's another light and easy drinking IPA for the summer. Certainly enjoyable, if not necessarily memorable.

I haven't had a great deal of Phillips' Anniversary beers, but the Rice IPA and Bizarro Berliner Weisse have been my favorites by a long shot.

3.75/5

I bought it as Walkin' Around beer, and I don't think i even poured one in a glass. So if you're just dying to know how hazy this was, my apologies. It's a great walkin' around beer, but I've had much better NE-style beers, assuming that's what this is even.

As you'll see soon, I've had some hazy beers that aren't hazy at all. Words; how do they work?

3.75/5

If you gave me a choice between a NW-style IPA and a NE-style, I'm going to take the NW every time. Unless the NE-style you're offering me is from The Alchemist or Tree House. I've never had a NE-style IPA from one of OG brewers - I'm told they're very good. Apart from that, I prefer the bright and clear IPA stylings of the Northwest.

But, even though I keep saying the NE-style is not my thing, I keep buying them because my desire to try something new overrides my lack of enthusiasm for the style. And it's what brewers brew these days, so you just have to roll with it. I should talk to a brewer about the style though, because I've had some that have left a nasty burning sensation in my mouth. I've found this in at least three different beers, so it's not a bad batch - I really don't know what it is.

I've never gotten a sensation like that from a NW-style IPA though - just sweet sweet hops.

Let's have another.

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it's friday night

10/25/2019

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It's Friday dammit! Let's talk beer!

I feel a little like Homer Simpson when he was a food critic and he was told he needed to back off on just absolutely loving every place he went to. I've been on a really good run lately though, what can I say?

I have a lot to catch up on; a bunch of Phillips releases from the summer, excellent local Kelowna breweries, and this week's round up of dark beers.

Ladies & Gentlemen.

Parallel 49's Lost Souls Chocolate Pumpkin Porter. I like pumpkin, and there are some very good pumpkin beers out there. Plus it's been a few years for me, so I grabbed a couple this year.

I didn't get a great deal of chocolate from this, and the pumpkin flavour was mild, but I did like it. As usual with stouts and porters, I pretty sure I drank it too cold. It got better and better as I went.

3.75/5

It's Sunday Funday Breakfast Stout from Detonate Brewing of Summerland, BC. An oatmeal stout with hints of coffee and caramel. Excellent heavy bitter and flavourful stout. Detonate is a revelation!

I had never heard of Detonate before we moved to the Lower Okanagon, and I am very impressed so far. Their Call the Hops IPA is terrific, and this stout is excellent. Looking forward to more from these guys.

4/5

From Fernie Brewing it's Ghostrider Pumpkin Brown Ale. It's derived from the very nice First Trax brown ale. I do like First Trax, but this didn't really do much for me. Not much pumpkin, it was just a brown ale.

I love Fernie, but this is not their best. Certainly won't stop me from buying their other beers.

3.5/4

Race Rocks Ale from Lighthouse Brewing of Esquimalt, BC. Of course these days, when you see "ale." This is clearly not a pale ale, and it is awesome. Great toasted malt flavour and a very nice change of pace from the dominate pale ale style.

Lighthouse are maybe not considered in the same league as Victoria heavy hitters Phillips and Driftwood, but maybe they should be because they make great beers. They certainly know their way around IPAs.

4/5

So there you go; I don't absolutely love every beer I try, and I don't only drink pale ales and IPAs. Dark beers like these here are a refreshing change of pace. I really like porters, stouts, ESBs, and even Belgian ales a little.

Let's have another.

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it's friday night

10/18/2019

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It's Friday dammit! Let's talk beer!

Here's a couple more American beers before I go pretty much exclusively CanCon.

Not intentionally mind you, but American stuff just isn't very common here. The two best stores I used to visit in Edmonton carried lots of American craft options, but so far stores I've been to in BC really don't get into it.

I'm guessing it's because they don't need to, given the local scene.

Lagunitas Super Cluster! A heavy citrus and hop infused IPA from a California brewery. Heard that one before hey?

No question that brewers down there like to crank out the IPAs. But they're really good at it, Lagunitas especially.

This one is a beauty too. Very strong citrus and the right amount of bitterness.

4/5

So, when we lived in Osoyoos, on our first trip to Oroville, I nearly flipped out when the grocery store we went in to had Fremont Brewing's Lush IPA. Lush was one of the highlights of our visit to Seattle in 2018.

This is a serious West Coast IPA - hoppy bitter and lots of citrus. Something you'll probably want to work up to if you're not a big IPA drinker.

I am though, and it's a solid 4/5.

I said this before, but again here is evidence of a very different market for beer than you'll find in some Canadian cities. In California and Oregon, breweries pound out heavy IPAs like their lives depend on it. And I'm ok with that.

I'm ok with it because I get cravings for hops. Like I need them. This doesn't happen for any other style. There's so many things that can be done with an IPA though.

Let's have another.

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Rocky Mountain Summit RL

10/17/2019

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Apologies for being away for a couple weeks; we moved and I ended up with a different computer, and it took me a while to figure out the login for this website again.

We're back and we're talking old bikes again. Last week I picked up a very rare bike from Rocky's 1991 lineup - the Summit RL.