It’s time to start planning your spring and early summer ale-ventures, and what better way to kick things off than with a beer festival? Dozens of craft breweries (and maybe even a cidery and distillery or two) all coming together at one venue, with good food, music, and your fellow craft beer lovers — what could be better? Here are the craft beer festivals on the calendar for spring and early summer 2023. Stay tuned for summer and fall festival announcements coming soon. A mountain-top beer festival in Revelstoke (photo: Revelstoke Mountain Resort) Revy Beer Festival • Revelstoke March 3 ..read more

Looking forward to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this week? Here’s a guide to the beverage many folks choose to quaff to celebrate the Irish holiday. When it comes to drinking a specific beer on a certain day of the year, there is no better-known example than drinking stout on St. Patrick’s Day. The tradition goes back a long time, mainly because of the marketing efforts of the Dublin-based Guinness brewery. The craft beer community tends to avoid some of the overdone aspects of St. Patrick’s Day boozing (eg. green-coloured macro-lager), but there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the day by en ..read more

Ale Trails – Season 2: Episode 3 – Southern Interior, Vernon + Shuswap ‘Ale Trails’ is a doc-style mini-series looking at the intersection between mountain biking and local craft breweries, and how both work to support and enhance their community. Join us, as we explore the BC’s Southern Interior, showcasing Vernon and Shuswap, and meeting the proud, passionate locals who call these tight-knit communities home.     The Southern Interior region of BC holds an ecological cross-section of the province with alpine meadows, arid Douglas fir grasslands, damp cedar and hemlock forests of t ..read more

On International Women’s Day, we talk to three women reshaping the BC Beer industry. Julia Hanlon is tired of being asked what it’s like to be a woman in the beer industry.  She started her career with Molson in 2005, before moving into the role of Head Brewer at Steamworks in 2015, a role which has since evolved to include the title of Operations Manager as the brewery has grown. Over 18 years of working in back-of-house roles in the industry, it’s a subject she’s had to discuss many, many times before. Julia Hanlon at Steamworks Brewing in Burnaby, BC (photo: Hilary Angus) “These are th ..read more

In this latest instalment in the Hops Among Friends series showcasing the people who make up the craft beer scene on the BC Ale Trail, Kim Lawton interviews Justin Larter from Barnside Brewing. My most recent Hops Among Friends interview was with Miguel Molina from Boardwalk Brewing in Port Coquitlam. At the end of our discussion, Miguel selected who I would interview next. He chose Justin Larter, the Head Brewer at Barnside Brewing. Established in 2020, Barnside Brewing is in Delta on the South of the Fraser Ale Trail. As one of only a few BC farm-based breweries, it was fascinating to h ..read more

WARNING: the following post includes graphic descriptions of sobriety. Dry January. Sober October. SepTemperance. Okay, the last one is a fugazi. But as we’ve all borne witness to a proliferation of occasions and events promoting sober-centric choices of late, we’ve likewise seen a wave of low-ABV wines, mocktails and non-alcoholic beer flooding a dry market. A realm that was once but an empire of dust in the backs of bar fridges ruled over by a skunky bottle of O’Douls and his trusty man-at-arms, Beck. These are halcyon days for non-imbibers, teetotalers and the sober-curious who walk among u ..read more

It’s nearly impossible today to find a brewery that doesn’t have a live music schedule, or regular trivia or bingo nights. It’s a fun way to enhance the overall tasting room vibe, as well as draw in new customers. But with more and more breweries opening their doors, the push is on to find new and creative ways to stand out in the crowd. Beyond the competition for consumers’ hard-earned dollars, breweries are also looking for ways to differentiate themselves, and to make their values and culture evident. This is easily done through the regular activities and special events that they put on.&nb ..read more

Quesnel’s Barkerville Brewing has brewed a special beer in honour of BC’s first licenced dentist, William Allen “Painless” Jones. Barkerville Brewing is celebrating Black History Month with the launch of a new beer called Painless Jones Schwarzbier. The Quesnel-based brewery, which is named after the nearby historic town of Barkerville and is located on the Northeast BC Ale Trail, has a strong connection to BC history, with much of its branding and beer names associated with stories from our province’s past. Painless Jones Schwarzbier from Barkerville Brewing in Quesnel BC Painless Jones Schwa ..read more

Throughout February, Metro Vancouver craft beer lovers can take part in Tasting Passports along TransLink’s Dine the Line to collect stamps at up to 64 participating businesses for a chance to win a Staycation package, transit passes, swag and more! Blogger Yasmine Hardcastle takes us on a passport preview. As a born and bred Vancouverite, I am a lifelong transit taker. Prior to moving to England a couple of years ago, my partner and I would often hop on transit to check out new or favourite breweries over a weekend or on Fridays after work. It’s just the smart way to safely enjoy Metro Vancou ..read more

Go on a Kootenay Road Trip throughout the month of February to collect stamps for a chance to win some great prizes. Throughout February, explore a diverse mix of breweries and taphouses on the Kootenay Rockies West Ale Trail.   Explore mountain activities, stunning views along rivers and lakes, boutique places to stay, curious attractions, dining, shopping, arts, culture, and heart-racing adventures. Peppered throughout this paradise is a diverse array of creative, entrepreneurial craft breweries and taphouses. Let’s Go! Collecting a stamp on the Kootenay Road Trip Tasting Pass ..read more