Natural Selections BC craft sampler

A couple of weeks ago I picked up the Natural Selections six-pack sampler of BC craft beers at my local LCBO. I’m a fan of BC craft beer, but came away a little disappointed. A lot of beers in this sampler have too much malt for my liking. The first I tried was R&B Brewing’s Raven Cream Ale. I didn’t like, it but meh, that was one. I was excited to try the Strange Brew/SCTV-themed Elsinore, a pale lager from Phillips, a Victoria brewery whose work I enjoy. It wasn’t what I was expecting. There was too much maltiness, and I was expecting a straight-up lager. Bear Paw Honey Lager from Whistler brewing again had too much sweet honey maltiness, but that was to be expected. I’m not that big of a fan of Whistler beer to begin with.

I did enjoy Steamworks Pilsner, but I’ve had that in the past. Four Winds’s Saison was rather enjoyable. Four Winds is out of Delta, south of Vancouver. Rounding out the sampler is a decent Belgian-style pale ale by Dead Frog (yeah, that’s what they’re called) called The Bold. It has a chocolate maltiness, but more of a dry roast flavour to it with some bitterness. And yes, the photo of the six-pack was taken beside my kitchen sick before I was about to do dishes.

Wow, another Tales from the Beer Truck post? IT’S TRUE!

I have not posted here since May and decided tonight was as good of a night as any to fix that.

I guess I should start by talking about my trip to Vancouver at the end of May, because there are a lot of beer-related things to share with that. The main reason, as I mentioned the last time I travelled to BC, is that BC has a far superior craft beer industry than Ontario. It seems every town has its own brewery.  I can speculate a lot of this has to do with more than two retailers in province. There’s the BC Liquor Store and other private beer and wine stores, though you can’t buy beer at your corner store. Beer is considerably more expensive than in Ontario, however. I saw Mill Street Lemon Tea going for $5 a can at one private store.

Some highlight beers tried include Parallel 49‘s Banana Hammock Hefeweizen, as you could guess, a  Hefeweizen with strong hints of banana. There was Bottle Rocket ISA from Victoria’s Philips Brewing Company. You’re starting to see Philips in Ontario LCBO’s, and I recommend trying their works. Not to confuse one with Toronto’s Steamwhistle, Vancouver’s Steamworks produces good beer, and also great food in their brew pub (Yeah, yeah, it also shares its name with a famous Toronto bathhouse, but that’s for another blog). The Tap and Barrel also has a great beer menu.

I should also give mention for Fernie Brewing’s What the Huck, a huckleberry wheat ale, just for the name.

There were also West Coast American craft beers I enjoyed including Rose City Red by Alameda Brewing Co. in Portland and Loser Pale Ale from Seattle’s Elysian Brewing. Originally Loser was released as a 20th anniversary tribute to Sub Pop Records.

Well that trip was over two months ago now. I should mention a local beer I’ve tried lately and enjoyed. I met a friend at The Only on the Danforth last weekend and really enjoyed Farmer’s Market Rhubarb Saison, a small-batch “Welly One-Off” from Wellington. This is a refreshing summer beer made with locally grown Rhubarb (from Guelph, where Wellington is located). I recommend trying it if you can find it.