When it comes to beer ingredients, hops are the revolutionary rock stars. These flowers of the humulus lupulus plant are arguably the driving force behind beer’s resurrection in the 1980s and 1990s, bringing eye-opening and mind-expanding new flavours to what […]
A brewery by any other name…
Anyone who’s done it will tell you that opening a brewery isn’t easy. Choosing the name? Even harder. Despite all the time and effort involved, and having so much riding on choosing the right one, some of B.C.’s breweries have […]
Beer to the ground! Here’s our quarterly round-up of B.C.’s newest breweries for Spring 2018
Our spies are working overtime to keep up with all the new breweries opening every month in B.C. Another Beer Co. New Westminster (summer 2018) Sapperton used to be the brewing capital of the province, and ABC hopes to […]
So glitter beer is a thing now…
Few things excite me more than innovative new beers. Beers with new flavours or ingredients, beers that are brewed with new technology or techniques, beers that are bursting with creativity and pushing the envelope of what a beer can even […]
Eastern Promises: B.C. craft beer looks to take on Asia
Here in British Columbia we are lucky to have it all. Lush greenery, mountains, swimmable lakes and oceans, a temperate climate with crisp air and clean water. We also have more than 150 craft breweries spanning across the province, pumping […]
Craft brewery tasting room dos and don’ts
All over this fine province, the craft brewery tasting room has quickly become a community hub. It’s a place where people of all ages can come together over a common love for the finer things in life. The vast majority […]
Five years, 100 new breweries
Back in 2013, when the first edition of my book, Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries, came out, there were 50 craft breweries in the province. But at my book launch early in June, I joked that […]
Brewer vs Brewer: The British Isles Edition
When it comes to the great beer styles of the world, it seems like the real ales of the British Isles just can’t get any respect. Adoration for Belgian, German and North American styles is near universal. The Belgians […]
Political pints: B.C. breweries are mixing alcohol and politics, with unintended consequences
Despite the old adage about never discussing politics in polite company, drinking establishments have long been fertile ground for political revolution. Boston’s Green Dragon Tavern became known as the “headquarters of the American Revolution,” while Le Procope in Paris was […]
The B.C. Craft Beer Quest
I wasn’t always like this. Two years ago, I was more interested in buying the cheapest, most underwhelming, domestic beer that I could find—until I had my “conversion moment.” For me that moment occurred in 2016 at the B.C. […]