New Years Beers and Cheers

MEETING 6 - New Years Beers and Cheers

Kyle's Pick - Brewery & Beer #1 - This beer is called the Bolg Belgian Style Tripel from Central City Brewing in Surrey, BC. It was really quite interesting when we first heard that Central City had landed the exclusive brewing and distribution rights to a new series of beers based upon the Hobbit Trilogy, mostly because we're nerds and wanted to see the movie (except for Matt - he's nerd-free since '83). I personally was quite excited to try this, and gave it a high rating, but the rest of the Council couldn't agree with my score of 4.1. The beer is described by the group as a nice caramel and spice aftertaste, as well as a smooth easy-drinker without much of a punch. The sweet finish does make for an anomaly when taking into consideration the 9.5%, which is barely noticeable in the overall taste. It is a solid attempt as a Belgian Tripel, but with so many others trying to duplicate the same style, it would be difficult to match up. Worth trying, but not something you need to stock up for the Summer. It carries a rather high pricetag to boot.

Central City's quote for this beer is priceless. "An Orc chieftain who rules for 150 years, Bolg seems like the kind who would drink his grog of choice and no one would tell him others; however, this flavorful strong Belgian Tripel may be too refined for this over gruesome character."

The Council gave Bolg Belgian Style Tripel an average score of 3.5/5.

Kyle's opinion on this beer, "Enough alcohol to get white orc wasted."



Matt's Pick - Brewery & Beer #2  -This beer is called the Anno 2014 Strong Ale from Dageraad Brewing out of Burnaby, BC. Dageraad Brewing is quickly becoming one of our favourite local sources for craft beer; true perfectionists. This beer took the Council by storm and completely unsuspecting. The ferment at the bottom was easily ignored in this unfiltered beer and it was felt that perhaps the lack of over-filtration made for the better result. It is a clear golden brew with an incredible pear flavour to it, and in addition it still had a nice, slightly herbal undertone. This beer is the second highest score in the Council's history and we look forward to buying out the shelves in our local stores to let our other friends try. 

Dageraad describes this beer as, "A belgian-style golden ale brewed with Keremeos Pears and Indian Coriander." A short description that is all encompassing. We loved it. It was given an average score of 4.3/5.

Matt's Opinion of this beer, "It's complex, well-balance... fuck it, read the label."

Tim's Pick - Brewery & Beer #3 - This beer is called the Arrogant Bastard Ale made by Stone Brewing out of Escondido, CA. In true Tim fashion, he finds the bottle with the most amusing name and description, with the hope that it tastes good as well. Admittedly, it was obvious that this was going to skew towards Matt's tastes and of course it did, but it didn't wow the crowd as much as we had hoped. It's a bitter, rough taste that leaves a heavy feeling in your stomach, but has potential to be something to revisit as our palettes change, since it is clearly an acquired taste. 

The write-up on the bottle is priceless and genius, which makes it even more frustrating that we weren't enthralled by it. Here is the witty essay on the back of the bottle, "This is an aggressive ale. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory-maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beverage will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make things taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this." Arrogant as hell.

Overall, we enjoyed the bottle, but weren't overwhelmed by the beer itself. It received a score of 3.4/5.

Tim's opinion on this beer, "If you're not bitter about bitters, this is your beer."


Shane's Pick - Brewery & Beer #4  -This beer is called the Kickstand Honey Kolsch from Fernie Brewing Co. in Fernie, BC. A very light, easy to drink seasonal Kölsch with subtle flavours, but still a definite crowdpleaser with the hint of honey and moderate carbonation. Shane knew he wanted this beer and had to go to five liquor stores before he got his hands on it, so he knew it was going to be something tasty. It's a beer that you know 80% of the population can handle without complaint and is likely the reason for this seasonal selling out everywhere.

With Shane's additional to the Council comes his incredible photography talents, which he decided to showcase for us with this beer. He brings 12 years of professional experience with him through his company Studio62 out of Vancouver, BC. Here's a sample from his recent modelling shoot:

It was given an average score of 3.7/5.

Shane's opinion of the beer, "The beer of Summer 2015. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Council's Verdict

Beer Name	Kyle	Tim	Matt	Shane	Average Rating
Bolg	4.1	3.2	3.0	3.5	3.5
Anno 2014	4.3	4.3	4.1	4.3	4.3
Arrogant Bastard Ale	3.2	3.5	3.9	3.0	3.4
Kickstand	3.3	3.6	3.3	4.3	3.7

BC Beer Council Introduction

The Blog Concept:

We are a group of like-minded individuals with a passion for craft beer located in the Vancouver, BC area. We will not be bought, bribed, or blackmailed into skewing results to favour one particular brewery - our opinions are completely our own. This blog is a sounding board for us to debate, sample, and contemplate all things that are beer. We are here to help encourage growth of craft beer knowledge within our province, so whether you follow us religiously or take us with a grain of salt, know that we are here to stay.

As our tasting map grows, showcasing where and what we've tried, we welcome suggestions from others who wish to see the opinions we might have on their favorite or most hated brew.

The Process:

• Before each meeting, we will exchange pictures of our weekly beer choice through a WhatsApp group to avoid duplication. 
• At the start of each meeting we will begin with introductions of our beer, listing all pertinent information on the brewery such as where it is from, what type of beer it is and what they are trying to elicit from initial and after-tastes.
• We will dedicate at least an hour of our time to tasting, appraising and discussing everything to do with beer.
• Each rating will be given out of five and cannot be changed after the fact.

Week 1 - Trial and Beerror.

Kyle's Pick - Brewery & Beer #1 - This beer is called the Keller Pilsner from the Persephone Brewing Company in Gibsons, BC. It is one of their seasonal beers that they claim is, "A crisp refreshing unfiltered lager with a bright, floral hop aroma. Very light in colour and body. The slight bready malt flavour is balanced with a firm bitterness and spicy flavour from a massive amount of Czech Saaz hops."


Aethestically, the bottle has very little information on it and gives nothing of the aforementioned details for us to gauge before buying. It is a fluke that I was recommended this, or I likely wouldn't have given it a second thought. Sadly, it turned out to be exactly what would be assumed by the bottle. It's simple, smooth, crisp and easy to drink, but it lacks in the full body and uniqueness that a craft beer offers. It was given an average score of 2.6/5.


Kyle's opinion on this beer, "The best intro beer for someone who doesn't normally drink beer."



Brewery & Beer #2 - Mike's Pick - Brewery & Beer #3 -This beer is called the Hoyner Pilsner from Hoyne Brewing Company in Victoria, BC. It is available all year round and the intent is to replicate a German Pilsner through Germany sourced hops and malts.

The bottle looks appealing and has the signature "Colour, Hops and Malt Scale," found on all Hoyne products, which makes selecting what you want quite simplified. Our highest rated beer of the week, we found it very pleasant for casual drinking, but with enough of a body to fulfill our craft beer needs. It was given an average score of 3.5/5.

Mike's Opinion of this beer, "A lighter beer that you could sit back and enjoy all night. Das ist ein gutes bier!"




Brewery & Beer #3 - Tim's Picks - This beer is called the Banana Hammock from Parallel 49 out of Vancouver, BC. Parallel describes this beer as, "German-style wheat beer with notes of cloves and banana-like esters which make it very good. We swear." Their website is under construction and unfortunately this leaves us lacking on the details on where they position it in their product line-up.

This bottle is modern with an entertaining caricature, a cheesy joke, QR code and links to all of their social media sources. It was a unique summer hefeweizen that went down smooth and left us with their aforementioned promise of a banana aftertaste. It was given an average score of 3.3/5.

Tim's opinion on this beer, "I was a little cautious getting out the Banana Hammock, but this hefe sits nicely in your throat."





Brewery & Beer #4 - Matt's Pick - This beer is called Fat Tug from the Driftwood Brewery out of Victoria, BC. Driftwood bottle describes this as, "With an extreme power to tonnage ratio, this behemoth delivers a barge load of hops. This unassuming 22 ounce bottle packs 80 IBUs of unrelenting diesel power! Let this Fat Tug pull you in slow and low to Hoppy Nirvana..."

The bottle has all of the details one would expect from a craft beer bottle and its truly unique flavour is an acquired taste. Although Matt gave it is a 3.9, the average score ended up at 2.8/5.

Matt's opinion on this beer, "Everyone needs a fat tug now and then, it awakens the taste buds."

Council's Verdict

Council Member	Keller Pilsner	Hoyner Pilsner	Banana Hammock	Fat Tug
Kyle	2.7	3.8	3.1	2.5
Tim	2.5	3.5	3.7	2.2
Mike	2.6	3.7	3.5	2.4
Matt	2.5	2.8	3.0	3.9
Average Rating	2.6	3.5	3.3	2.8

Sources:

Persephone Brewing Company - http://www.persephonebrewing.com/

Hoyne Brewing Company - http://hoynebrewing.ca/

Parallel 49 Brewing - http://parallel49brewing.com/ 

Driftwood Brewing Company - http://driftwoodbeer.com/