Drinking Locally Blog

While Vancouver’s craft beer scene seems to get all the attention, North Vancouver has been steadily building a healthy craft beer community of its own for many years. Between Bridge Brewing, Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers, Green Leaf Brewing, Black Kettle Brewing and Hearthstone Brewing, there are plenty of reasons to #crossthatbridge and head over to the North Shore for a few beers, and some much deserved fresh air of course! And now, we’ll soon have one more great reason to go play on the shore.

Opening soon, Beere Brewing is poised to be the next addition to the BC craft beer community, and VBT owner Ryan had the chance to catch up with Beere Brewing owner and head brewer Matt Beere to find out more about the plans for his brewery:

What is Beere Brewing?
Beere Brewing Company is about building from the ground up. It began with a passion for making good beer and it has grown into the start of a family business. We love staying true to the explorative nature of brewing, constantly improving our craft, and creating the kind of beer that we enjoy. We are excited to open a space in North Vancouver for craft beer lovers to gather and try what we’ve been working on.

When is your expected open date?
We’re aiming to have the brewery and tasting room open in August 2017. The brewery construction is well underway, with most of the major project milestones complete. Our tanks and brewhouse are almost ready to roll out of Ripley Stainless in Summerland, BC.

What is the story behind the name Beere Brewing?
My dad and I have talked for years about opening up a brewery named Beere Brewing Company. When we finally decided to go for it, we thought we’d go with the obvious choice – our family name.

Why did you choose North Vancouver as a home for Beere Brewing, and where is the brewery located?
We have great history on the North Shore, and we’re looking forward to adding a little more funk to the area. We’re located at 312 Esplanade E – a short walk from the Quay, in the developing industrial area of Lower Lonsdale.

Who will be making beer for Beere Brewing? Do you have a head brewer?
I am very excited to be taking on the role of the head brewer. We will also be bringing some of the passionate people on board that I’ve been brewing with over the years. We’re all very keen to make the jump up and brew on our new 15hL system.

What beer styles will you be focusing on initially and what would you like to do in the future?
Our primary focus will be drinkable hoppy beers, saisons, and some funky styles on a steady rotation. As we grow, we plan to experiment with a lineup of wild and sour beers that incorporate a variety of seasonal fruit, flowers, and wood. Long term plan – barrel aging.

How will we be able to get Beere Brewing Beer? Do you have plans for a tasting room, packaged product, growler fills, etc?
We will be opening a bright south facing tasting room and patio where we’ll offer glasses, flights, growler fills, cans, and bottles. We will also have our beer in four-packs at local liquor shops.

How can people follow your progress?

Follow us online at:

Instagram: @beerebrewingco

Facebook: www.facebook.com/beerebrewing

Web: www.beerebrewing.com

Email: info@beerebrewing.com

From all of us at the Vancouver Brewery Tours team we wish the team at Beere a successful journey to opening day!

This past weekend Canadian Breweries gathered from all over the country in Ottawa to celebrate the best of Canada Craft Beer at the Canadian Brewing Awards. The big winners of the awards? BC Breweries! BC totally dominated this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards winning 1/3rd of all awards, with the coveted Brewery of the Year award going to Mt. Begbie Brewing Company.

And a special congratulations to all the breweries on our Vancouver Brewery Tours!

Here are the winners for each category at the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards:

1.    European Style Lager (Pilsner)
Gold: Big Rock Brewery, Pilsner
Silver: Brewsters Brewing Company, Original Lager
Bronze: Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault inc., La Kedwick Pilsner
2.    European Style Amber to Dark Lager
Gold: Junction Craft Brewing, Junction Black Lager
Silver: Silversmith Brewing Company, The Black Lager
Bronze: Bomber Märzen, Bomber Brewing
3.    Bock – Traditional German Style
Gold: Boxing Rock Brewing Company, Stayin’ Alive
Silver: Tooth and Nail Brewing Company, Invigorator
Bronze: Central City Brewers and Distillers, Red Racer Dopplebock
4.    Kellerbier/Zwickelbier
Gold: Moon Under Water Brewery, POTTS PILS
Silver: Riot Brewing Co., Good Vibrations Classical Pilsner
Bronze: Hopfenstark Brewery, Helles
5.    German Style Kölsch
Gold: Mt. Begbie Brewing Company, High Country Kolsch
Silver: Axe & Barrel Brewery, King Kolsch
Bronze: Abe Erb Brewing Co., 1857 Kolsch-Style Lagered Ale
6.    Wheat Beer – Belgian Style (Wit)
Gold: les 3 Brasseurs, La Blanche
Silver: Brasserie Artisanale La Korrigane, Mary Morgan
Bronze: Market Brewing Co., Flee to Pennsylvania
7.    Wheat Beer – German Style (Weiss)
Gold: Uncle Leo’s Brewery, Uncle Leo’s Vohs Weizenbier
Silver: Side Launch Brewing Company, Side Launch Wheat
Bronze: Les Trois Mousquetaires Microbrasseurs, Blanche
8.    Baltic Porter
Gold: The Cannery Brewing Co., “Kiek in de Kök ” Baltic Porter
Silver: Ferme Brasserie Schoune Inc,, Encre des Ténèbres
Bronze: StoneHammer Brewing, Continuity Baltic Porter
9.    Belgian-Style Dubbel or Quadrupel
Gold: Railway City Brewing Co, The Strongman
Silver: Townsite Brewing, Biere d’ Hiver
Bronze: Frampton Brasse, Nuit d’automne
10.    Belgian-Style Tripel
Gold: New Limburg Brewing company, Tripel
Silver: Four Winds Brewing Company Ltd, Triplicity Belgian Tripel
Bronze: Village Brewery, Village Friend
11.    Belgian Style Abbey Ale/Pale Ale
Gold: North Brewing Company, Gus’ 65m Ale
Silver: Dageraad Brewing inc., Burnabarian
Bronze: Gladstone Brewing Co., Gladstone Single
12.    Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale
Gold: Publican House Brewery, Eight or Better
Silver: À la Fût, Cowsûre
Bronze: Strathcona Beer Company, Strathcona Belgian Gold
13.    French and Belgian Style Saison
Gold:Steamworks/Dageraad Collaboration, East of East Van Saison
Silver: Winterlong Brewing Co., Mountain Hero
Bronze: Stone City Ales, Chloé
14.    Belgian-Style Brett Beer
Gold: Le Trefle Noir Microbrasserie, Surelevent
Silver: PEI brewing Company, Patience
Bronze: Luppolo Brewing Company, Luppolo Wild Saison with Pear
15.    German-Style Sour Ale
Gold: L’Espace Public, Bière de Coin d’Rue
Silver: Collective Arts Brewing, Prophets & Nomads
Bronze: Nickel Brook Brewing Co., Raspberry Uber
16.    Belgian-Style Sour Ale
Gold: LTM – Les Trois Mousquetaires Microbrasseurs, Ceci n’est pas une gueuze
Silver: Stone City Ales, Conundrum
Bronze: Strange Fellows Brewing, Reynard
17.    Porter
Gold: Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co., Blacksnake Porter
Silver: Yaletown Brewing Company, Valley of the Monks Porter
Bronze: Propeller Brewing Company, Porter
18.    Brown Ale
Gold: Corsaire Microbrasserie, Corsaire Brown Ale
Silver: Corsaire Microbrasserie, Dark Mild
Bronze: Powell Brewery, Dive Bomb
19.    Scotch Ale
Gold: Farnham Ale & Lager, scotch ale
Silver: Common Crown Brewing Co., Andy’s Wee Heavy Scottish Ale
Bronze: Mt. Begbie Brewing Company, Brave Liver Scotch Ale
20.    English Style Pale Ale
Gold: R&B Brewing Inc., Red Devil pale ale
Silver: Off The Rail Brewing Co., Off The Rail Classic Pale Ale
Bronze: Steamworks Brewpub Gastown, Commonwealth Pale Ale
21.    English Bitters
Gold: Off The Rail Brewing Co., Off The Rail Belt Up ESB
Silver: Powell Brewery, Old Jalopy Pale Ale
Bronze: MacLeans Ales Inc, MacLean’s ESB
22.    Sweet Stout or Cream Stout
Gold: Microbrasserie St-Pancrace, Pointe-Noire
Silver: Wellington Brewery, Chocolate Milk Stout
Bronze: Troubled Monk Brewery, Milk Stout
23.    Oatmeal Stout
Gold: FRANK Brewing Co., Simple Man
Silver: Bushwakker Brewing Company, Pickard’s Oatmeal Stout
Bronze: Hopfenstark Brewery, Stout Black Francis
24.    Dry Stout
Gold: Pump House Brewery Ltd., Muddy River Stout
Silver: Granite Brewery, Keefe’s Irish Stout
Bronze: Microbrasserie Riverbend, Stout
25.    Imperial Stout
Gold: BLACK BRIDGE BREWERY, Folklore Imperial Stout
Silver: Le Trèfle Noir Microbrasserie, Chernoe Pivo
Bronze: Bomber Brewing, Bomber Russian Imperial Stout
26.    English Style India Pale Ale
Gold: Strathcona Beer Company, Strathcona British IPA
Silver: Off The Rail Brewing Co., Off The Rail Crazy Train IPA
Bronze: Amsterdam Brewing Company, Rocks and Shoals
27.    North American Style Lager
Gold: Great Western Brewing Company, Brewhouse Pilsner
Silver: Great Western Brewing Company, Great Western Classic
Bronze: Cool Beer Brewing Company, Cool Beer Lager
28.    North American Style Premium Lager
Gold: HogsBack Brewing Co, Vintage Lager
Silver: Red Truck Beer Company, Red Truck Lager
Bronze: Moosehead Breweries Limited, Moosehead Lager
29.    North American Style Amber Lager
Gold: Trading Post Brewing, Smuggler’s Trail Rye Amber Ale
Silver: Bad Tattoo Brewing Co., Los Muertos Cerveza Negra
Bronze: Old Flame Brewing Company, Old Flame Red
30.    North American Style Dark Lager
Gold: Old Flame Brewing Company, Old Flame Brunette
Silver: Tree Brewing Co., Red Lager
31.    Light (Calorie-Reduced) Lager
Gold: Corsaire Microbrasserie, Anne Bonny Pils
Silver: Great Western Brewing Company, Great Western Light
Bronze: Moosehead Breweries Limited, Moosehead Cracked Canoe
32.    Cream Ale
Gold: Mt. Begbie Brewing Company, Begbie Cream Ale
Silver: Anderson Craft Ales, Cream Ale
Bronze: Cameron’s Brewing Company, Cameron’s Cosmic Cream Ale
33.    North American Style Amber/Red Ale
Gold: Bobcaygeon Brewing Company, Dockside
Silver: Cowbell Brewing Co., Doc Perdue’s Bobcat
Bronze: Torque Brewing Inc., Red Line IPA
34.    North American Style Blonde or Golden Ale
Gold: Amsterdam Brewing Company Natural Blonde
Silver: Henderson Brewing Company, Food Truck
Bronze: Troubled Monk Brewery, Golden Gaetz Golden Ale
35.    American-Style Black Ale
Gold: Steamworks Brewing Co., Steamworks Black Angel IPA
Silver: Bomber Brewing, Absolute Horizon Cascadian Dark Ale
Bronze: Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks, Raiden Black Rye IPA
36.    North American Style Pale Ale
Gold: Rouge River Brewing Company, Beneath the Planet of the APAs
Silver: Collective Arts Brewing, Rhyme & Reason
Bronze: Cameron’s Brewing Company, Cameron’s 12 Mile India Pale Lager
37.    Wheat Beer – North American Style
Gold: Brewsters Brewing Company, Wild West Wheat Ale
Silver: Big Rock Brewery, Grasshopper Kristallweizen
Bronze: Publican House Brewery, High Noon
38.    American Style India Pale Ale
Gold: Powell Brewery, Lazy D’Haze IPA
Silver: Bridge Brewing Company, Side Cut IPA
Bronze: Lagabière, Ta Meilleure
39.    Session India Pale Ale
Gold:Collective Arts Brewing, State of Mind
Silver: Microbrasserie Moulin 7 Inc., Ciel Ouvert
Bronze: PEI brewing Company, Vic Park APA
40.    American Style Imperial India Pale Ale
Gold: Nickel Brook Brewing Co., Immodest
Silver: Deep Cover Brewers and Distillers, Dry Dock Double IPA
Bronze: Muskoka Brewery, Muskoka Twice as Mad Tom
41.    American Belgo-Style Ale
Gold: Elora Brewing Company, Wandering Monk Belgian IPA
Silver: Phillips Brewing & Malting Co, Electric Unicorn White IPA
Bronze: Brasserie Dunham, Saison du Pinacle
42.    American-style Brett Beer
Gold: Nickel Brook Brewing Co., Uncommon Element
Silver: Tooth and Nail Brewing Company, Streif
Bronze: Redline Brewhouse, Series 1
43.    American-style Sour Ale
Gold: Townsite Brewing, Blackberry Sour
Silver: Four Winds Brewing Company Ltd, Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour
Bronze: L’Espace Public, Bière de Driveway
44.    Special Honey/Maple Lager or Ale
Gold: Microbrasserie Siboire, Imperial McMaple
Silver: Fernie Brewing Co., Fernie Brewing Co. Sap Sucker Maple Porter
Bronze: Brasserie Artisanale La Korrigane, Croquemitaine DC
45.    Fruit Beer or Field Beer
Gold: Blood Brothers Brewing, Fall of Thebes – Cherry
Silver: La Chouape, Allis Saison Argousier
Bronze: Nickel Brook Brewing Co., Ceres
46.    Gluten Free Beer
Gold: Brasseurs Sans Gluten, Glutenberg India Pale Ale
Silver: Brasseurs Sans Gluten, Glutenberg Rousse
Bronze: Brasseurs Sans Gluten, Glutenberg Pale Ale Américaine
47.    Session Ale
Gold: Ribstone Creek Brewery, Ribstone Creek English Mild
Silver: Railway City Brewing Co, Express ISL
Bronze: Blindman Brewing, Blindman River Session Ale
48.    Experimental Beer
Gold: Burdock, BUMO
Silver: Brasserie Vrooden Brewery, Doppelsticke Altbier
Bronze: Brasseurs Sans Gluten, Glutenberg Rotundone Noire
49.    Herb and Spice Beer
Gold: Whistler Brewing Co., Whistler Chestnut Ale
Silver: Brasserie Artisanale La Korrigane, Amaruq
Bronze: Garden Brewers, Saison Sixième: Collaboration with Block Three Brewing Co.
50.    Smoked Beer
Gold: Coal Harbour Brewing Co., Smoke & Mirrors Imperial Smoked Ale
Silver: Microbrasserie du Lièvre, La phénix
Bronze: Yellow Dog Brewing Company, Shake A Paw Smoked Porter
51.    Barley Wine-Style Ale – English-Style
Gold: Central City Brewers and Distillers, Thor’s Hammer
Silver: les 3 Brasseurs, Chaufferette
Bronze: Cameron’s Brewing Company, Cameron’s Where The Buffalo Roam Barleywine
52.    Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer – Dark Beer
Gold: Calabogie Brewing Company, Grassy Bay Farmhouse Ale
Silver: Powell Brewery, Ode to Wallflower
Bronze: Innocente Brewing Company, Drunkard’s Cloak
53.    Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Gold: North Brewing Company, Midnight- Glenora Barrel Aged Strong Dark Belgian
Silver: Great Lakes Brewery, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Solstice Stout
Bronze: PEI brewing Company, Hell Street
54.    Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
Gold: Indie Ale House, Spadina Monkey – CHERRY
Silver: À la Fût, Co-Hop V – Rouge de Mékinac
Bronze: Calabogie Brewing Company, Downstream #1
55.    Flavoured Stout/Porter
Gold: Hastings Mill Brewing Company, Griswold Winter Ale
Silver: Deadfrog Brewery, Reina de Fuego
Bronze: The Cannery Brewing Co., Thornless Blackberry Porter

 

Visit the Canadian Brewery Awards website here for more info: https://www.canadianbrewingawards.com/2017-winner-list/

In two short days, Western Canada’s largest craft beer event the Vancouver Craft Beer Week returns to the sunny grounds of the PNE from May 26th to June 4th. Now in its 8th glorious year, VCBW kicks off a week of celebrating all things craft beer with numerous high profile events and ending with the always entertaining VCBW festival. Not sure where to begin? We’ve put together an outline of some of the most popular events this year.

Events

This year brings new variety and new locations for VCBW events. Here’s just a few of the top Vancouver Craft Beer Week Events being offered for 2017:

Brewers Row Block Party – Sunday May 28th
Head out of Vancouver and into the new craft beer mecca – Port Moody! This block party is one you won’t want to miss

Feats of Strength – Sunday May 28th
Keg stacking, push up competitions, phone book tearings and great beer – say what? That’s right, watch people test their strength all while sampling beer from local iconic breweries like Brassneck Brewing, Superflux, Doan’s Craft Brewing Company, Bridge Brewing and MUCH more.

Forbidden Fruit – Tuesday May 30th
For $40 sample a dazzling array of all things fruity and beer – from sour beers, Belgians, wheat and more from over 20 BC Craft Breweries.

Get your tickets for these great events and more at vancouvercraftbeerweek.com/events

THE Festival – Saturday June 3rd and Sunday June 4th

If you’ve never experienced the VCBW festival at the PNE, do yourself a favour and by your tickets NOW. The grounds are the perfect location for a Vancouver craft beer festival – lots of shade, tonnes of food trucks, more breweries than you can handle (yes that is a challenge!) and the costumes are getting better each year.

Tickets are still available on the VCBW website.

In a few short months summer is finally coming back to Vancouver and with it the return of wedding season, or as it’s known to us at Vancouver Brewery Tours, Bachelor Party Brewery Tour season! With 4 years experience planning bachelor party brewery tours for literally hundreds of different groups of dudes, you could say we’ve seen it all and then some!

And while celebrating on a bachelor party is a tonne of fun, there is also a lot of work that goes into planning a successful day for the organizer of the group. And while our team takes care of all the details for your group and will make sure your crew has a successful tour, there a few things we recommend to help get the most out of your Vancouver Brewery Tour.

With that in mind, we’ve put together our top suggestions on how to make the most out of your Bachelor Party Brewery Tour with Vancouver Brewery Tours and ensure your man has a great time and leaves his tour ready to take on the next round of festivities!

1) Plan Ahead

Do you have a “must have” day for the bachelor party, or are you flexible on dates? Either way, put your request into us as early as you can. You don’t have to commit to booking your tour right away, but our tours can book up months in advance so it doesn’t hurt to fill out our Private Tour Online Request Form to first see if your date is available. If not, we’ll suggest other available dates that may work for your group. Once you’re ready to move forward with your tour, payment of a deposit will lock down your date and then the fun begins!

2) Choose your Tour Type

Our most popular bachelor party tour is our Vancouver Brewery Tour, which takes you to 3 breweries in just over 3 hours and includes free pick up and drop off, transportation, 1 beer flght per stop, behind the scenes tours and much more. We also offer lots of options for customization. Want to visit a distillery? How about adding a meal to your tour or get dropped off at your favourite restaurant (or the No. 5 Orange) afterwards? You tell us what you want and we’ll make it happen.

3) Breweries to Visit

So many options! You can either leave the planning to us, or we can choose the breweries for you, totally up to you. Choose from 19 of our brewery partners, including Storm Brewing, one of the most popular stops on any of our bachelor party brewery tours.

4) Customize your Experience

Once you’re on tour with us, our experienced guides will work with your group to make sure you get the experience you’re looking for. Want brewery tours at every stop? None of them? Want the focus to be more on tasting beer and getting a few tasting notes for each one? Maybe you’d like to totally geek out and pepper your guide with tough questions? We’re ready!  We’ll also work with your group to put some of your favourite craft beers in front of you and will offer a few suggestions for must try beers at each stop.

5) Take Care of Your Man

The most important tip of the day! While every group wants to have a good time, the best bachelor party brewery tours we’ve seen are the ones that take care of the bachelor and ensure he’ll be in good shape after the tour is over.  How much fun is it really if you feed the bachelor so much beer that they feel sick afterwards? Punishing the bachelor with too much to drink is not fun for anyone! Brewery tours are the lead up to a great evening, not the end of it. Our suggestion? Pace yourself yo! Drinking is fun, laughing hard is fun, going home at 6pm because the bachelor drank too much on tour is NOT fun.

Request a Bachelor Party Brewery Tour

If you’re ready to put a request in, click the online Private Tour Request Form button below.

If you have questions, call 604-318-2280 or email info@vancouverbrewerytours.com.

 

Thanks for reading!
The Vancouver Brewery Tours Team

 

Lebowski-themed Tour Includes Custom Beer Samples, Costume and Trivia Contests at Local Breweries and Bowling at Grandview Lanes

Ever wanted to wear your housecoat in public? Thanks to Vancouver Brewery Tours, fans of the cult classic movie The Big Lebowski will get their chance at the 2nd annual Big Lebowski Brewery and Bowling Tour.

• Saturday May 6th
• 11.30am to 3.30pm
• $79.99pp plus GST

Tour includes Lebowski-inspired craft beers, or “oat sodas” at each brewery stop. Beginning at Callister Brewing, an all new trivia contest will be held in the brewery that will separate the little Lebowskis from the big Lebowskis. Next on down the line is Storm Brewing for the judging of the costume contest and more Lebowski inspired ales. The tour will end at Grandview Lanes Bowling Centre, where participants better hope their toes don’t go “over the line” in their bid to strike it big as the day’s bowling champ.

 

Tour includes:

• ALL of the Beer – 1 beer flight per brewery and your first beer at Bowling
• Bowling fees including shoe rental
• Vancouver Brewery Tours Beer Tasting Journal
• Pick up, drop off and transportation to and from the breweries
• VIP access and entrance fees
• Behind the scenes brewery tours at every brewery
• Passionate and knowledgeable brewery tour guides
• From Grain to Glass – an introduction to the brewing process

Prizes will be awarded throughout the day, with the winner of the trivia contest taking home the coveted custom made Big Lebowski growler designed by our friends at Sigil and Growler – while the winners of the costume contest take home other great prizes.

As with all of Vancouver Brewery Tours’ public and private tours, its Big Lebowski Brewery and Bowling Tour includes pick-up and drop-off from Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver, as well as transportation to and from each of the breweries in its comfortable 14-passenger van. During the ride, guests will enjoy a selection of songs culled from The Big Lebowski soundtrack – everything except The Eagles, of course.