Vancouver Brewery Tours was invited to visit Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers on July 24th, and go! Vancouver was there to film it all. Get a glimpse into what happens on our tours by watching our TV debut here.
We’ve had beer lovers from all over the world take our tours. From the UK, Switzerland, the US, Mexico and even Newfoundland, the word is getting our about how good Vancouver’s beers are. So don’t take our word for it, read what other beer lovers have to say about our tours. Read reviews from our customers on Trip Advisor here
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Meet Diamond Strickland of Granville Island Brewing. Diamond is not only the Taproom and Retail Manager at one of the most popular breweries in town, she also takes care of our tour groups. Busy girl? You betcha. To learn more about Diamond, and some exciting new beer news from GIB, read on.
1) Tell our readers a little about yourself
I have been in the industry since I turned 19, immediately knowing I wanted to be a part of the growth of beer and cocktail culture starting as a bartender, moving to managing a private liquor store and now managing the site here for Granville Island Brewing.
2) What do you enjoy about working at GIB?
There really isn’t much not to like. We have a great staff, brew a great product, and are proud of our personal growth as well as contributing to the growth of craft beer culture in general.
3) Any exciting news coming out of the brewery you’d like to share with our readers?
Vern has been working hard in the brew house to bring us the much anticipated Pucker Meister Berliner Weisse Small Batch brew. This sour wheat ale is extra exciting for us as it is Vern’s first time making this type of beer. It should be released within the next couple of weeks and I can’t wait to try it!
4) You’ve been a big supporter of our brewery tours. Why did GIB choose to be a spot on our craft brewery tours?
Like I said, we want to be a part of nurturing the overall growth of beer culture in Vancouver. We have a lot of history here being the first craft brewer in Canada and have been doing these types of tours for so long that I was excited to be able to reach more beer enthusiasts than we do without the collaboration. The more people being educated about beer makes me a very happy person!
5) What’s your favourite GIB and non-GIB beer?
Favourite has got to be Ginja Ninja this year! Before Ginja, it was Cypress Honey Lager hands-down, but I am a huge fan of this new brew. Favourite non-GIB beer I will take to my grave as it’s a little embarrassing and insulting to the beer world…everyone has to have at least one guilty pleasure, right? 😉
CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale) Vancouver is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and responsible consumption of craft beer. With chapters all over the world, we’re fortunate to have an active and supportive chapter here in Vancouver. Run entirely on a volunteer basis and funded primarily by memberships, you’ll find these fine folks working tirelessly all over town at events like cask nights, education seminars, petitioning for fair liquor laws and much more. Most importantly, they’re more than happy to chat you up, share their knowledge and point you in the direction of your next favourite beer.
If you’re looking to get involved and take your support of the craft beer market in Vancouver up a notch, we highly recommend becoming a member. For the price of a case of beer, you can put your money to work allowing these folks to continue doing what they do best, and that’s advocacy and support for the craft beer scene in Vancouver. Honestly, it’s worth it just to get their informative newsletter each month. Oh, did I mention members also get sweet deals on beer around town, including 20% off of our tours?
To learn how you can get involved, please visit the CAMRA Vancouver website for more information.
Drink Locally my friends,
From humble beginnings back in 2010, Vancouver Craft Beer Week has grown into an epic celebration of all things beer in BC and beyond. Happening from May 31st to June 8th, we had the opportunity to attend both the opening and closing nights of the festivities and the event did not disappoint.
The closing night was held in a custom beer hall outside the River Rock Casino in Richmond, with an array of local food trucks catering to the hungry lovers. Almost 50 breweries attended the event, coming from Oregon, Washington, BC, the Yukon and Quebec to name a few. Drink tokens were going for 1.25 a taster, which gauranteed participants the opportunity to sample ALOT of beer, which we could happily attest to!
What was notable this year was the increased presence of Vancouver breweries in attendance. While Victoria has typically enjoyed a larger presence in the BC beer community, Vancouver is quickly catching up and poised to give Victoria a run for its money. Notable new Vancouver breweries such as Powell Street Brewing, Deep Cove Brewing, the soon to open Bomber and Main Street Brewing showcased their talent and offered up some great beers for participants.
We’d like to thank the organizers of the event for a fantastic evening and for their committment to supporting the growing craft beer scene in Vancouver. Until next year!
