Spring has arrived throughout British Columbia, and along with all the flowers and blossoms, new beers are sprouting at craft breweries to celebrate the season.
Warmer days and longer evenings are ideal for enjoying beer outdoors — on a porch, patio or at a picnic. With so many great breweries throughout British Columbia, there are lots of great options for spring-themed beers. Enjoy them at the brewery, in a local pub or restaurant, or at home. Cheers to spring!
Over on the BC Ale Trail site, I recently published a blog featuring more than 60 spring beers from BC breweries. Here are some highlights. For the complete list check out the blog.
Farmhouse Ale by Farm Country Brewing and Field House Brewing (5.5% ABV | 20 IBU)
This special beer is not just a collaboration between two breweries, it also brings together two cities: Abbotsford and Langley. The Farmhouse Ale features lavender from Tuscan Farm Gardens in Abbotsford and honey from Festina Lente Winery in Langley. Honey added during the boil gives this beer subtle sweet floral notes and a dry finish. Dry hop additions of lavender and lemon drop hops further accentuate the lemony floral flavours, and Lithuanian jovaru yeast provides light peppery highlights.
Farm Country Brewing and Field House Brewing can be found on the Fraser Valley Ale Trail.
Claim Jumper Berliner Weisse by Barkerville Brewing (3% ABV)
Quesnel-based Barkerville Brewing used more than 400 lbs of cherry puree in this delicious beer. The result is a light, tart sour with loads of cherry and red currant notes, a bright red colour and a subtle geraniol nose, reminiscent of cut roses.
Barkerville Brewing can be found on the Northeast BC Ale Trail.
Tropic Topic by Bright Eye Brewing (5% ABV)
Passion fruit offers a nice tartness, while the guava brings some sweet and savoury to the party for a balanced and refreshing fruited sour. Close your eyes, take a sip, and take your taste buds to the beach.
Bright Eye Brewing can be found on the Southern Interior Ale Trail.
Field Theory Dry-Hopped Table Saison by Dageraad Brewing (4.2% ABV)
Bone-dry and heavily dry-hopped with European noble hops, Field Theory is like a walk through a summer meadow. The brightly herbal hop aroma paves the way to the peppery phenols and fruity esters from fermentation with saison yeast. The beer leaves you with a crisp, dry finish and a powerful thirst for another sip.
Dageraad Brewing can be found on the North of the Fraser Ale Trail.
Tart Wild Ale with Kiwi by Luppolo Brewing (5% ABV)
Fermented with Brett C and Lactobacillus and refermented on hundreds of pounds of fresh local kiwis, this beer pours a bright yellow with a soft white head. Aromas of pineapple and citrus fruit lead to flavours of lemon, tangerine and kiwi with a medium body and bright acidity.
Luppolo Brewing can be found on the Yeast Vancouver Ale Trail.
Stumbling Goat Dry Hopped Maibock by Cannery Brewing (6.5% ABV | 40 IBU):
The next beer in Cannery’s It’s Not Magic, It’s Science series is a dry-hopped Maibock. In Germany, Maibocks are traditionally consumed in May. This version was brewed with classic German malts and New World lager hops Lórien and Motueka, combined with the classic lager hop Czech Saaz. It is a malt-forward beer with a surprising hop complexity.
Cannery Brewing can be found on the Penticton Ale Trail.
Raspberry Lime Pilsner from Lighthouse Brewing (5% ABV | 11 IBU)
This sunshine sipper tastes of sweet and tart raspberries on the signature backbone of a Pilsner with just a subtle hint of lime to finish.
Lighthouse Brewing can be found on the Victoria Ale Trail.
Sipasaurus Rex Dry-Hopped White Ale by Backroads Brewing (5.7% ABV)
This bright, refreshing ale prominently features Mosaic hops for notes of stone fruit, mango, rose and citrus. It won 2nd place at the 2019 BC Beer Awards.
Backroads Brewing can be found on the Kootenay Rockies West Ale Trail.
Bus Fight New England-Style IPA by Twin City Brewing (6.3% ABV | 48 IBU)
Beep Beep! Here’s an IPA that brings the ruckus! An uppercut of juicy orange peel, candied pineapple and ripe melon on the nose with a soft body and mellow flavours of citrus and stone-fruit. Bus Fight is a New England-Style IPA brewed with Golden Promise malt, fistfuls of Citra and Apollo hops, and a fruit-forward, biotransforming, ester-laden yeast strain that keeps this hazy from suffering from the hazy faux pas of being too bitter or too dry.
Twin City Brewing can be found on the Vancouver Island Part 2 Ale Trail.
Last Sunset Raspberry Sour Ale from Lakesider Brewing (4.6% ABV | 10 IBU)
Oodles of Raspberries give this mild sour it’s brilliant pink colour, like a sunset we wish would never end. An ideal choice for weekends at the lake, this beer helps take the heat off of those classic Okanagan summers.
Lakesider Brewing can be found on the Kelowna & West Kelowna Ale Trail.
