A few sips of the sessional ales at CAMRA brewer’s challenge make Vancouver’s slow-out-of-the-gates spring season feel more tolerable
More than 200 folks cheersed to good craft beer and great weather at the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Vancouver Fest of Ale Spring Sessional, which took place at Main Street’s London Pub on Saturday, April 16, 2011.

The all-day event—part tasting, part brewer’s challenge—saw 17 local breweries enter 18 beers into a contest judged by a panel of “certified” beer tasting judges. A people’s choice award was also handed out, determined by ballots distributed to “the people” upon entry to the pub, with the winner getting a temporary guest tap at London Pub.

People started lining up outside before 11 a.m. to sample the “sessional” ales from the wall of casks—a pyramid of beer kegs stacked against a wall—and stayed through sundown. (I learned from event organizers that the term “sessional” is British for drinking a large quantity of beer during a social gathering without becoming intoxicated.)

Brewer’s Challenge at Fest of Ale Spring Sessional
To participate in the event, brewers were asked to brew a beer big in taste and low in alcohol by volume (abv), with a maximum abv content of 3.5 percent. To put this in some kind of perspective, a regular beer averages about 5 percent.

With no style limitations, the resulting brews ranged from mild ales and pale bitters to wheat ale and even a stout.

The drinking list was as follows:

Damon’s Mild Ale – Barley Station Brew Pub, brewed by Damon Robson
Tariq’s Pale Bitter – Big Ridge Brewing Company, brewed by Tariq Kahn
Claire’s Northern English Brown Ale – Big River Brew Pub, brewed by Claire Connolly (who, I might add, knocked my socks off with a delicious coconut concoction at CAMRA’s Winterfest event in December)
Dave’s Berliner Weisse – Brewhouse at Whistler, brewed by Dave Woodward
Terry’s No Justice Pale Ale – Cannery Brewing Company, brewed by Terry Schoffer
Daniel’s Saison – Coal Harbour Brewing Company, brewed by Daniel Knibbs
Vern’s Ordinary Beer – Granville Island Brewing, brewed by Vern Lambourne
Dean’s Light American Wheat Ale – Lighthouse Brewing Company, brewed by Dean McLeod
Ron & Don’s Best Bitter – Moon Under Water Brew Pub, brewed by Ron and Don Bradley
David’s Honey Badger Pale Ale – Noble Pig Brew Pub, brewed by David Beardsel
Brent’s Blood Orange Berliner Weisse – R&B Brewing, brewed by Brent Mills
Gary’s Eat Your Breakfast Stout – Red Racer Beer, brewed by Gary Lohin
Anders & Jack’s Ordinary Bitter – Russel Brewing Company, brewed by Jack Bensley and Anders McKinnon
Anders & Jack’s Sessional Brett Pale Ale – Russel Brewing Company, brewed by Jack Bensley and Anders McKinnon
Conrad’s Ginger Beer – Steamworks Brewing Company, brewed by Conrad Gmoser
Dave’s Two Lions Pale Ale – Taylor’s Crossing Brewery, brewed by Dave Varga
Jeff’s Peach Cream Ale – Tin Whistle Brewing Co., brewed by Jeff Todd
Iain’s Dry Hopped Pale Ale – Yaletown Brewing Company, brewed by Iain Hill

Spring Sessional awards go to…
CAMRA judges presented the Brewer’s Challenge Award to Ron and Don Bradley of Moon Under Water Brew Pub for their much talked about Ron & Don’s Best Bitter. Along with a little prestige, the brewers were presented with a copy of Yeast by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff, $100 cash and a coveted pair of tickets to a Vancouver Whitecaps FC match.

The People’s Choice Award was given to Tariq Kahn of Big Ridge Brewing Company for his pale bitter—a fitting way to celebrate his birthday, which was the day before. As part of the prize, Kahn’s beer will be on exclusive guest tap at London Pub with four kegs in rotation. Get over there in the near future to sample some of the winner’s brew.

Gary’s Eat Your Breakfast Stout from Red Racer Beer was a close second, with a three-way tie for third that consisted of Noble Pig Brew Pub’s Honey Badger Pale Ale, Lighthouse’s Light American Wheat Ale and Moon Under Water’s Best Bitter.

Campaign for Real Ale promotes quality ale and pubs
These advocates for traditional beer are volunteers dedicated to promoting good-quality real ale and pubs. CAMRA chapters around the world work toward proper quality, value and choice; support the community of public ale houses; call for improved licensing and the general appreciation of good pints as a part of our culture and heritage.

Just a thought, but I think Roger’s Arena could use their help…

Next up, Vancouver Craft Beer Week – May 6–14, 2011
If you are kicking yourself for not attending the spring sessional, don’t fear! Vancouver Craft Beer Week is coming up from May 6–14, 2011.

With nine days of thirst-quenching events, tastings and workshops, there are plenty of opportunities to get in on the hops.

Just a warning, in case you are someone that likes to mull things over, tickets are getting downed like hotcakes, with a few events already sold out. My personal recommendation is the Dead Famous Pub Crawl, a day-long brewpub-crawl through Yaletown and across to Granville Island. Prizes for the best dead people.

Read the whole article at Granville Magazine online: http://www.granvilleonline.ca/beer/camra-spring-sessional-beer-fest-ale

Ah begob an’ begorrah, shure ’tis St. Patrick’s day tamarrah, and if any Irishman actually spoke like that, his compatriots would beat him to death with a made-in-Taiwan plastic shillelagh.

True Irish patois is fast, incomprehensible and as studded with profanity as a PG-13 fruitcake. Ye bloody great clatter of eejits.

You know what else really frosts my lucky charms? In pubs across the province, punters will be bellying up to the bar and ordering a pint of Guinness and then bragging about how thick it is. It’s not thick. You are.

Why? Well, the bespectacled boffins at the Journal of Food Science have exhaustively proved (after visiting 70 pubs in 14 countries) that Guinness tastes best in Ireland. The black stuff we get here is largely brewed under licence by Labatt’s.

Why not hoist a local stout to celebrate the day instead?

None could be a more fitting tribute than Crannóg Brewing’s Back Hand of God, a robust dry stout filled with dark chocolate malts and a crisp finish. Brewed in Sorrento, B.C., the Back Hand is more of a love-tap to your palate than the name might suggest. It’s also fully organic, so qualifies as drinking green beer.

If you happen to be over at the Wolf and Hound for session-music and a bit o’ craic, belay that black-and-tan and ask instead for a pint o’ plague. Storm Brewing’s Black Plague Stout is so good, just thinking about it makes me break out all over in goose-buboes. It’s near double the strength of imported Guinness and closer in spirit to the original brew that would have loosened the synapses of Joyce, Behan, Shaw and Yeats.

For those seeking something lighter, peruse the various Rogue brewing offerings at your local bottleshop and you’ll find their Kells Irish-Style Lager. It’s as light and golden as the tune from a pennywhistle and skips across the tongue the way a fishing curragh skitters over the waves. By comparison, Harp is more of a shambles than Leprechaun 4.

Incidentally, today marks the 40th anniversary of CAMRA. If you’re out-by, why not grab a local craft-beer to celebrate?

Brendan McAleer brings us the latest and greatest (and sometimes the worst) from the world of craft brewing. He is a member of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), a society dedicated to supporting local craft brewing. Check out his blog at www.yetanotherdamnbeerblog.blogspot.com for reviews, suggestions and the definition of baconjam.

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

Read more: http://www.nsnews.com/grab+local+stout/4448778/story.html#ixzz1I9Aur800

(Silver Spring, Md.) – Its cold, its comforting, its beer….but for Sam Calagione, founder of one of America’s leading craft brewers Dogfish Head Brewery, beer is a passion, a business and a personal quest for best, most imaginative brews. Premiering Sunday, November 21 at 10 PM E/P on Discovery Channel (TLC locally), BREW MASTERS follows Sam and his partners in suds as they travel the country and the world sourcing exotic ingredients and discovering ancient techniques to produce beers of astounding originality.

From chocolate to mussels to tomatoes, Sam is constantly pushing his team and himself to innovate and celebrate the amazing world of beer and beer making. The imagination of the Dogfish Head team is matched only by the fun they inject into every facet of their jobs. Beer tasting meetings in the conference room with co-workers, a bocce ball league in the parking lot, filming original rap videos in the brewery plant, it’s all in a days work for BREW MASTERS.

“BREW MASTERS taps more than just kegs and barrels, it unlocks a fascinating history of beer making, showcasing the ingenuity and passion behind our love affair with those alluring suds and how it played a role in building civilizations,” said Clark Bunting, President and General Manager of Discovery Channel.

Running a successful business also requires inspiration, so BREW MASTERS hits the road for the ultimate beer tasting road trip. Sam sets out to recreate “ancient ales” that have been discovered at sites around the world from Egypt to Peru. He travels to Rome to research old world Italian beers as inspiration for a new site in New York with Mario Batali. A visit to New Zealand introduces the idea of making the “first tomato based beer.” And back home, Sam is tasked to come up with a commemorative beer called “Bitches Brew” to celebrate the 40th anniversary release of Miles Davis’ famous recording.”

Learn more at: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/

WARNING!!! There have been many reports of establishments adding higher-than-normal automatic gratuities to bills (20% or worse). Be sure to ask ahead of time what you will be charged, if this is something you are concerned with.

With all the commotion the Olympics (am I allowed to use that word?) promise to bring us in February, you’d think we might at least get some interesting beer out of it?

This page will attempt to be a clearing house of places to go and beers to drink, both before and during the Olympics. Be sure to let me know if you hear of anything I could add, or if you’ve given any of these a try.

And, okay, Palle’s making me really JEALOUS!!!!

Provinces

• Atlantic provinces – Propeller, Picaroon, Garrison … maybe they could sneak Adam and Gillian in with the kegs?
  • given Palle’s review I’m definitely heading down there at least once!
  • Feb 18: Peter sends this sad news: “Atlantic House is out of many of their on-tap local (to the Atlantic) brews. They got sent only small kegs, which ran out in the first day after 4 hours, according to the barkeep. They had a few left on tap, mostly Keiths and Moosehead. Otherwise the local (to them) was still available in bottle only.”
  • Feb 18: Better news from Ryan! “I just got back from the Atlantic house and the info on the CAMRA website is a bit wrong. The craft beer is at the Revue stage across from the arts club), and they still have atlantic craft beer. I just got back from there and they had (and I drank) bottles of Garrison nut brown, Pumphouse Cream Ale, and Picaroon Bitter. (They also had propeller bitter). Candahar has Whistler Black Tusk and Lager on tap. Cover during the day (before 4?) is $5.75 and includes your first beer. don’t bother buying another beer as extra drink tickets are $6.90!!! (whistler pale ale and honey larger were apparently cheaper). I’m still amazed that cover + beer is cheaper than beer… (and no, they wouldn’t let me leave and buy cover again… )”
  • Feb 23: Alas, word is there is NO genuine Atlantic beer to be had there anymore. Maybe they’ll get some, but why go through the expense if the hoards are happy with swill? Regardless, be sure to ask before you stand in line.
• Ontario will be featuring Mill St, Steam Whistle, Beau’s and Great Lakes.
  • @OntarioCulinary has been mentioning beer tastings.
  • see Palle’s review
• Quebec (which doesn’t seem to have a site?) is featuring Archibald Microbrasserie brews at $9 for a large can (see Palle’s review)
• Northern House
  • According to Yukon Brewing‘s Bob Baxter, “we have our Yukon Red (top ranked beer in the Canadian Brewing Awards 2009 at 45/50) as well as Yukon Gold, Lead Dog Ale, Midnight Sun Espresso Stout, and Ice Fog IPA.” Alas Bob let me know that their brews are being served only for “special” events…

Countries

• German beer gardens!   Serving up Köstritzer Schwarzbier (very nice!) and Wernesgrüner Pils Legende (haven’t tried it yet), $8.25 for a plastic cup’s worth.
  • Also bratwurst on a bun for $7 and a really yummy pork sandwich for $9
  • it’s free from 10-5, then they boot people out, and it’s a $10 cover after 6pm
  • yeah it’s a bit pricey, but it’s better quality than GM Place by far, and probably cheaper
  • And, alas, Fräuleins are yet to be seen…
  • check Palle Hoffstein’s review here
  • Feb 23: Can you be TOO successful? Apparently they are selling 70-80 kegs per day rather than the expected 30, and they ran out of the genuine German beer by last weekend. They are reported to be flying more in, and in the meantime have purchased huge amounts of fresh beer from R&B, Central City and no doubt other local breweries (at least they have the good to buy local). If you’re heading there, be sure to ask what’s pouring before standing in line… and to compensate the punters for serving “lesser” beer they’ve raised the evening cover to $20. !?!?
• the Irish might put on something interesting… though hopes are not high it will be from Ireland… and at $9 for a pint of Guinness?!?
• Heineken House is listed here only for the sake of completeness… yawn. Though they ARE bringing in a dozen shipping containers of kegs from Holland, so at least it will be real Heine.
• reports suggestion “don’t bother” beer-wise with Russian, French or Swiss pavilions…

Locals

No doubt some Vancouver establishments will be trying to impress the visitors. Anyone heard of anything?

• don’t forget about Gastown!
• R&B are selling their special Iceholes brew and are having trouble keeping stores stocked! Grab one beFORE Colbert puts it on TV, or you’ll have to go to Ebay to get one…
• Howe Sound have released their own take on the festivities with their Three Beavers Imperial red ale, but since their site is annoyingly nothing but one giant Flash, I can’t link to it.
• I did get one email from someone rather annoyed at Steamworks: “Our experience was marred somewhat by the 18% service charge added to the bill. Despite my British heritage I am usually a good tipper but was somewhat miffed by this, especially as we were subjected to the unusual occurence of an airhead waitress wearing an ‘I couldn’t give a shit pin’.”

Weird

• How about a fake Irish pub that’s actually a piece of performance art? The Candahar on Granville Island…

Some General Resources

City Caucus seems to be keeping on top of the freebies quite well, and they have a very nice Google map

This is an ideal event for a person looking to find out more about beer and the craft brewing scene in BC. Where else can you have a good brew and watch a movie at the same time, except at home!

Beer Wars Movie Date: Sunday, January 31 Time: 4:00pm Venue: District 319, 319 Main Street, Vancouver, BC Cost: $30.00, $25.00 CAMRA members (includes entry & all beer) Tickets: SOLD OUT District 319 is an exclusive venue that is only available for private functions. It was an abandoned Asian movie house that has been renovated into a stylish, state-of-the-art multimedia facility.

Sponsored by

The Details

• this offer is available only until January 17, 2010
• the shirts feature a small logo on the front, and a large logo on the back
• to be eligible, you either (1) joined after September 10, 2009, or (2) your renewal is postmarked or otherwise paid by end-of-day January 1, 2010
• you can pick your shirt up at the AGM on January 17th, or have it mailed to you (to your address on record) for an extra $3.00
• you can pay by cheque, cash or Paypal (plus Paypal fees)
• if you pre-order your shirt, you WILL get a shirt of the size you want — but pre-orders must be received and paid by end-of-day January 1, 2010
• if you don’t pre-order, well… we’ll have a limited number of styles and sizes at the AGM, and when we run out that’s it!
• for this offer, all shirts are black, but don’t fret, other colours (and styles!) will be available soon…

Pre-ordering your shirt and picking it up at the AGM is definitely the recommended way to go.

Renewal Options

You can renew by mail or via Paypal, and you’ll find such info here.

T-Shirt Payment Options

• bring $5.00 to the AGM
• order via Paypal (Paypal fees apply) using the form below
• send a cheque for $5.00 ($8.00 if you want the shirt mailed to you) to T-Shirt Renewal, CAMRA Vancouver, P.O. Box 47013, 15 – 555 West 12th Ave, Vancouver, B.C., V5Z 3X7

T-Shirt Paypal Orders

Note you do NOT need a Paypal account — just a credit card!

Member number and name:
Delivery option:	Choose One… Picked up at AGM – $5.46 Mailed – $8.55
Style and size:	Choose One… Womens Small Womens Medium Womens Large Womens Extra Large Womens XXL Mens Small Mens Medium Mens Large Mens Extra Large Mens XXL

There are two ways to override this. In both cases we first make a page with the right name, e.g. “news”.

Then… either edit the .htaccess file to do a redirect, like this:

RedirectMatch "^/news/$"  http://wp.camravancouver.ca/category/news/
Redirect /news/index.php  http://wp.camravancouver.ca/category/news/

(You don’t REALLY need the second one, but it doesn’t hurt to be anal…)

Or make an adjustment to the JQuery code that massages the page list into our menus, in the Header template:

jQuery("#dropmenu a[href$='/news/']").attr("href","/category/news/");

All the latter does is add the category to the menu. This can be useful in certain situations, but the former solution is actually better, because it takes the original page out of circulation. In the latter case, you can still go to “/news/” and NOT see the category listing.

In either case, best to put text like this into the page itself, as a backup:

If you see this page, something is wrong with our redirects!!

You really want to go here instead.

Could probably put a trigger in there somehow to alert someone if such a page IS ever seen.

You are cordially invited to CAMRA Vancouver’s annual general meeting at the Alibi Room on Sunday, January 17, beginning at 2:30pm.

Members will receive a report on the society’s business from the past year and elect the 2010 executive. The winners of the 2010 CAMRA Vancouver Awards will be also be announced.

Attendance is open to CAMRA Vancouver members only. If you are currently not a member, you can join us and sign up at the door. Please RSVP so that we can ensure enough food and drink will be on hand for all.

Note: CAMRA Vancouver will also host two screenings of “Beer Wars” following the AGM, just down the street at District 319. There are only 300 tickets, so purchase yours online today.

It’s that time again. Leaves are changing colours, the sky is getting dark, it’s raining more often than not. Conditions are perfect to enjoy the bountiful fall harvest and some wonderful dark full-bodied ales. This festival’s lineup is:

• Central City ESB
• Dead Frog Oaked Winter Warmer
• Deschutes Jubelale
• Dix Barley Wine
• Driftwood Porter
• Driftwood #2 TBA
• Granville Island TBA
• Lighthouse Winter Ale
• Longwood Brewpub Imperial Stout
• Mission Springs Winter Pumpkin Ale
• R&B Bourbon Oak-meal Stout
• Spinnakers Gingerbread Ale
• Spinnakers Mt. Tolmie Dark Ale with Highland Park 18
• Storm TBA
• Swans TBA
• Vancouver Island “Caskannator”
• Whistler Brewhouse Woodwards IPA

Time: Saturday, November 21 @ noon – 5:00pm

Place: Spinnakers, 308 Catherine Street, Victoria

Limit: only 25 advance tickets for CAMRA Vancouver members; none sold at the door

Cost: $40 (+ PayPal service charge), includes first three samples, souvenir glass, and complimentary appetizers

Payment Options:

Online

Name:

Note: a PayPal account is not required to purchase via PayPal.

For those staying overnight, consider the following accommodations:

Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub & Guesthouses

308 Catherine Street

Victoria, B.C. V9A 3S8

Tel: 1-877-838-2739

www.spinnakers.com

Swans Suite Hotel

506 Pandora Avenue
Victoria, B.C. V8W 1N6

Tel: 1-800-668-7926

www.swanshotel.com

Traveller’s Inn

Various Victoria locations

Tel: 1-888-872-8355

www.travellersinn.com

What happened to an Oktoberfest in Vancouver with good beer, gut buergerliche Essen, and some real, live oom pah pah? CAMRA Vancouver, Granville Island Brewing, Oyama Sausage Co., Swiss Bakery, and Yelp bring you all three. Join us for an evening of viel Spass, at the Granville Island Brewing Tap Room.

Celebrate Oktoberfest, Bayern art, with GIB lager, Hefeweizen, IPA, and a special brew made just for this event by brewmaster, Vern Lambourne. To enjoy with the beer, there will be Swiss Bakery soft pretzels and specially-made Oyama mustard; Swiss Bakery breads and pretzel buns; and Oyama charcuterie, cheeses, Weisswurst, and sauerkraut. For dessert, we will have some delectable Swiss Bakery Black Forest cake.

We also have our very own tuba quartet—Mama and the OomPapas—to set the mood right and some lucky revellers will be leaving the party with door prizes. Eins, zwei, g’suffa!

Time: Friday, September 25 @ 7:30pm – midnight

Place: Granville Island Tap Room, 1441 Cartwright Street, Vancouver

Limit: only 100 advance tickets; none sold at the door

Cost: $30, $25 CAMRA members; includes food, two drinks, and entertainment

Payment options:

Become a CAMRA member now and start saving money today when you support craft beer.

Online

SOLD OUT

In Person

See Lundy Dale at Firefly Fine Wines and Ales 2857 Cambie Street, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 875-3325

CAMRA wishes to thank the following sponsors for their generous support: