The Bodacious B.C. Beer Blog

The blog about beautiful beers from B.C. started brewing a couple of weeks ago when my brother messaged me on Facebook and told me he was heading west on business and did I want anything?

Um, yes, dear brother. Yes I do. Please get me a Fat Tug and if you can find it, one of those Double IPAs from Central City Brewing. “I’ll see what I can do,” answered big brother Brian.`

My interest in writing a B.C. beer blog was actually piqued just before that conversation. That’s when the Canadian  Brewing Awards (CBAs) were handed out and Ontario won the overall crown; took eight of nine medals in the IPA, IIPA and Pale Ale categories; and swept the IPAs altogether. Okay, Great Lakes Brewing of Toronto swept that class all by itself, but let’s not quibble.

Anyway, my pal Don said I was crowing a little too much about Ontario’s victory. “Weren’t you born out there?” Yup.  North Vancouver born, Toronto raised and now a proud Oshawa boy. “So give your home province some love,” he said.

“I will,” I said, “when my B.C. beers get here.”

Steve, wearing traditional Kiwi drinking garb

The other reason B.C beer was a high priority for me had to do with Steve, our large ex-pat Canuck living at large in New Zealand. The big fella headed west to Vancouver after our Humber College days and was there at the cusp of the craft beer explosion in Lotus Land. One of his pals in those days was Gary Lohin, an almost equally tall dude who slinged drinks behind the bar at Grouse Nest, the bar at the Grouse Mountain ski resort in beautiful North Van (represent!) with Steve in the 80s.

Today Lohin is the brewmaster and co-owner of Central City Brewing in suburban Surrey, one of B.C’s biggest and probably its best known brewery. Revered as a Beer God on the west coast, Lohin has helped transform the craft beer sector in British Columbia.

“Smart dude; he stuck to his guns,” Steve noted about his pal. “I knew him when we were just punkass bartenders. He started home brewing, then worked for a brewpub, then he became brewmaster there and presto! He’s running this amazing brewery/distillery operation, one of the biggest in BC.”

Lohin’s Red Racer line of beers have won 10 gold medals at the CBAs during the past five years and Central City has been honoured as Brewery of the Year twice– in 2010 and 2012 – so the dude clearly knows what he’s doing.

His signature Red Racer IPA – the top IPA in the country in 2010 – is widely available in Ontario and is damn good. I know this because I’ve had many of them. Steve, sadly, was long gone to New Zealand before Lohin got Central City off the ground and has never tasted his former bartending partner’s creations.

(Poor Steve now suffers in Wellington, N.Z., which rivals San Diego as the craft beer capital of the world, so shed no tears for the lad.)

So when my brother brought back some big bottles of BC’s best, I was a little excited. There was Fat Tug from Driftwood Brewery, the 2011 Beer of the Year and at one time Canada’s highest ranked beer on the prestigious Rate Beer forum. He also found me Amnesiac, a Double IPA from Phillips Brewing with a 94 rating; and Central City’s Red Racer IIPA (also known as Red Betty) was in the package as well.

I also picked up a few other B.C. beers along the way: Hoperation, a Tripel Cross/Belgian IPA from Phillips; and Cutthroat West Coast Ale from Tree Brewing.

Gary Lohin. Beer God of B.C.

The Red Betty was the beer my friends were most anxious to hear about. This nine per cent ABV powerhouse scored 98 on Rate Beer and with an IBU of 90, packed quite a punch. It is also a much decorated beer, having won gold medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2010, 2012 and 2013 in the IIPA category. It poured a dark copper with a thin head with hops that were not as strong on the nose as I’d anticipated. Light citrus with caramel malts on the tongue, Red Betty packed a real nice bitter finish. A very malty and extremely tasty brew.

Fat Tug was the beer I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. At seven per cent ABV and 80 IBUs, it has some punch of its own, along with a strong aroma of citrus – especially grapefruit – on the nose and on the tongue. Some pine and biscuit malts helped give it a delicious bitter finish. An outstanding beer. One of my all-time favourites and Rate Beer’s too. It scored 99.

The Amnesiac IIPA clocks in at 8.5 per cent ABV and it poured orange with a thick creamy head. Nice citrus hops on the nose; some sweetness as well. Tastes of tropical fruits and grapefruit and it boasted a bitter finish with big caramel malts and a boozy aftertaste. A big boy beer befitting the angry looking elephant on the label.

Megan Fox once made a movie in B.C.
Did I say Megan Fox? I did say Megan Fox

Cutthroat West Coast Ale had troubles keeping up with this illustrious company. I didn’t taste much in the way of hops and while it had a decent malt base, the beer was unremarkable. Except I just remarked on it, but whatever.

Finally I got to the Hoperation, an interesting mash of two distinct Belgie styles – the Tripel and the Belgium IPA. It poured a hazy yellow with a thick creamy and persistent head. The aroma is of orange, lemon and spices and the taste is mild on the tongue before the malts and the 7.3 per cent ABV kicks in.  Some booze on the finish with floral hops and more spices. An adventurous brew. Cool label, too.

It’s easy to see why B.C. – despite Ontario’s recent winning streak at the CBAs – is still the hotbed for craft beer in Canada. For Steve’s sake, I’m glad I was able to try the IIPA Red Betty from Central City, but if I had to pick a winner, it’s Fat Tug. Simply a sublime beer.

But no worries, Steve. You can tell your friend Gary (if ever you see him again) that his brewery rocks. And if the Beer Gods and Canada Post don’t object, you can taste for yourself when your package of Red Racer IPA arrives at your door. But let’s keep that on the down low, shall we?

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Bodacious B.C. beers from big brother Brian

I have a backlog of other beers that I need to get to, so I’ll give you two now, including a surprise pick-up at the LCBO in Ajax: Outburst IIPA from Pyramid Brewing of Seattle. At 8.5 per cent and 80 IBUs, this is very strong ale. It poured a lovely copper with a thick creamy head and a pungent hop aroma. I tasted grapefruit and some pine. I got a hint of alcohol but it lacked the powerful bitterness usually found in an Imperial IPA. Still very tasty, and at $4.95 for 650 ml, a helluva bargain to boot.

Resin Bag IPA from Left Field Brewing was the catch of the day when the J Man and I toured the Beaches BBQ and Brew Fest in Toronto recently. A very hoppy beer with grapefruit and orange on the nose, it reminded me a lot of Sculpin, the excellent Ballast Point IPA which scored 100 on Rate Beer. There was some caramel sweetness, but mostly wild citrus flavours. It was a little light on the finish – just 50 IBUs – but overall, a great beer. Rate Beer reviewers scored it 82. I scored it higher.

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Finally, I leave you with a couple of quotes that I can’t get out of my head. First from Steve, during an argument as to which fortified wine was better, sherry or port. (I’m not making this up; I swear.) “Sherry is a cheap back alley Sally,” Steve said. “Port is a classy hookup.” You win, Steve.

And this, from a nice, if a trifle bored woman manning the phones on election night last week, when asked if she was “excited” yet. “Oh yes,” she said. “I’m bursting with fruit flavours.”

Aren’t we all?

Cheers!