Welp, 2020 is officially over and done with. And good friggin’ riddance, what with the near constant state of calamity and crisis we’ve all been subjected to. But as much as we’d like to pretend the last 12 months never happened, it’s time for our annual Top 5 stories of the year, as determined by you, our incredibly good-looking and nice-smelling readers (in the form of web traffic).
So forgive us while we peel back the scab and relive the non-stop parade of bullshit that was 2020. Apologies in advance.
1. The Growler’s ultimate guide to B.C. craft beer and cider delivery
Our most popular story of the year was our online beer and cider delivery guide, which we (and by “we”, I mean “I”) updated on an almost hourly basis as the early days of the Covid-19 quarantine threw the craft beer beer industry (and every other industry, and aspect of our society) into disarray.
2. These are B.C.’s best and worst beer towns, according to census data
We decided to once and for all answer the question of which B.C. town gets the bragging rights as the province’s best beer town. In order to find an empirical, subjective yet completely flawed solution, we decided to massively oversimply the question, and look at one metric only: breweries per capita—or, technically, residents per brewery. The results were predictably controversial.
3. B.C. brewers and distillers produce hand sanitizer for front line workers in COVID-19 fight
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And when a global pandemic and complete economic shutdown give you hundreds of kegs of unsellable draft beer, you make hand sanitizer, naturally.
4. Play The Growler’s COVID-19 Quarantine Bingo!
Just because we couldn’t leave the house for a few months there didn’t mean we couldn’t have fun. Our COVID-19 Quarantine Bingo saved many from endless hours of monotony. Drinking at home alone has never been so fun!
5. Vancouver’s Coal Harbour Brewing Co. closes following fines, licence suspension
The first of several B.C. craft brewery closures in 2020 occurred in late January when Vancouver’s Coal Harbour Brewing Co. announced it was closing its doors after being fined by the provincial liquor board for failing to pay back taxes. Sadly, Axe & Barrel in Langford, Hearthstone Brewing in North Vancouver, Vancouver’s Craft Collective Beerworks and Postmark Brewing, as well as Boundary Brewing in Kelowna would soon follow. Thankfully, brewery openings across the province vastly outnumbered the closures, with many of the closed breweries reopening under different branding and ownership.
