An IPA for people who don’t always enjoy IPAs

 

Billed as a “West Coast IPA” by the brewery, in my opinion Four Winds’ Juxtopose Wild IPA is not at all typical of the West Coast style of IPAs, which I associate with an overly harsh hoppy character.  This beauty, on the other hand, is nicely balanced so that the 50 IBU, already on the lower end of the spectrum for West Coast style, comes through very palatable and refreshing.

Perhaps it is the wild yeasts used that gives it a very pleasing citrus quality, with lots of tropical fruit in the background.  At 6.5% ABV, this beer also scores on the lower end of the alcohol spectrum for typical IPAs, which makes it a very approachable one for those who normally avoid this style of beer.

~ David

Get on the gose Badwagon

The Beer that Magically Goes with Everything
Written by Brad Leone, Bon Appetit

Photo by: Laura Murray

It's the dog days of summer, your commute is brutal and the workdays are long. You're sweating more than your beer is. What is that beer you're drinking, anyways? Is that a heavy, bitter IPA in your hand?

Trade it in for a gose.

Now is that time for a refreshing beer that won't make you want to chug water or take a nap after but one that has flavor and character. If you haven't been stocking your cooler with gose (pronounced "go-sah"), go ahead and start.

Photo by: Laura Murray

Gose is a light beer made with water, wheat, coriander, and salt, and typically should be 4-5% ABV. If you're familiar with sour beers, it's on the mild end of that specturm, like the Miller Lite of sour beers. Gose tends to have a nice, sour and tart lemon flavor that finishes with clean and tickles the tongue with a hint of salt. Those flavors combine to make a super refreshing beer, perfect for beach, barbecue, and sitting-in-front-of-the-nearest-fan drinking. The low alcohol content and salty finishe won't leave you sluggish and dehydrated like a double IPA. In fact, it's almost like you're not drinking beer at all, but beer's younger cousin that's related to kombucha but the family doesn't like to talk about it. But it is beer, and you'll find it in grocery store aisles (not in Canada) made by Westbrook, Anderson Valley, Siz Point, Sierra Nevada Otra Vez, or Victory Kirsch Gose.

Read full artificial at: Bon Appetit 

Beer & Dessert Pairing Guide

With brews such as oatmeal raisin cookie, peanut butter milk stout and horchata it's no secret that beer and sweets are a winning combo. Gone are the days when the only thing they served with beer were pretzels. 

But pairing beer with desserts isn't as simple as one thinks. Depending on the type of beer whether pilsner, hefeweizen, IPA or any other beer of choice, it may require a more sweeter or more subtle dessert. That's why Shari's Berries has created a beer and dessert pairing guide to enhance your next brew experience. There are 16 different types of beer to choose from.  Which pairing will you try first?

~ Colleen

Western Beer Club member

We visited Osaka Japan

In Oct 2015 we visited Osaka Japan for 4 days. We spent much of our time in the Dotonbori district which is famous for its street food including local favourites like Takoyaki (Octopus balls topped w’ Bonito flakes), Okonomiyaki (pancakes made of shredded cabbage and seafood), crab legs, gyozas and of course steaming bowls of Ramen.

After all that eating our thoughts naturally turned to beer. Unlike here in Vancouver, most craft brewpubs in Osaka don’t actually brew their own beer and serve 100% guest taps. They also don’t do Growlers.

Our first stop was Yellow Ape (http://ameblo.jp/yellow-ape-craft/). They don't brew their own beer but they serve a nice variety of guest taps in their whopping 200 sq ft tasting room. Prices are steep but it has is a quirky ambience, owing partly to extreme coziness and partly to the Spanish tapas style bar snacks made with wholly Japanese ingredients. We tried the Minoh Pilsner from Osaka and the Shigakogen Porter from Nagaon - both were nice but they serve tiny 260ml pours - more like we’d see in a flight.

The music featured a heavy rotation of Taylor Swift (like everywhere in Osaka) but on the upside they have free Wi-Fi and a great selection of local English language craft beer magazines to browse.

Our second stop was Garage 39 (http://garage39.com/) and I could become a regular. People were devouring authentic pub food (Japanese, French, Spanish & English) and they served a great selection of guest taps (not brewing any beer either). The service was excellent and it’s the kind of place where in the middle of the most foreign place, you feel instantly at home (unlike some cheesy fake Irish pub).

They serve flights of 3 beers. Prices were also double (maybe triple) that of Vancouver but they make up for it with friendly & knowledgeable service. We tried a Shigakougen IPA (6%), a Shigakougen Saison (7%) and a Miyajima Pilsner (5%). I liked the Saison best . Thankfully there was no Taylor Swift - instead they played a funky selection of bouncy euro tracks that kept us Shazamming...

Here they gave us the "Osaka Craft Beer Map vol. 03", a wicked map of craft brew pubs organized my district and x-referenced by subway lines. We couldn’t find it online but it sure would have come in handy at the start of our crawl.

Out final stop was at Marca - one of the few craft breweries actually brewing beer in Osaka.
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marca-Cafe-Beer-Factory/591001931032521)

Tiny doesn't begin to describe an entire working brewery & tasting room in under 1000 sq ft. They had 3 of their own beers on tap (2 pale ales and 1 IPA) and a guest tap Saison. We tried them all and the IPA was our favorite. They do serve a few Japanese bar snacks but the prices were steep so we didn't hang around for long.  Mizuki Kamiya, the owner & brewmaster has been at it for 3 years now but the place lacked ambience and seemed clinical.

It’s always fun to check out the local craft beer spots wherever we travel. Even if it just reminds us how very spoiled we are in Vancouver with our amazing craft breweries and tasting rooms.

~ Ron & Carmen

Websites dedicated to Craft Beer in Japan: 

Beer In Japan - Osaka: http://beerinjapan.com/bij/858/beer-in-osaka/ (Beer Scene in Japan – Japanese & English)

RateBeer – Osaka: http://www.ratebeer.com/places/city/osaka/0/105/ (Worldwide Ratings of Beer - English) 

The Japan Beer Times: http://japanbeertimes.com/ (Craft Beer Magazine of Japan –English & Japanese)
Beer Zen: http://beerzenjournal.com/ (Journal for Japanese Craft Beer – English & Japanese)

Microbrew-Themed Cruises

Crystal Cruises is putting a twist on its "Wine & Food" Experiences of Discovery motif by replacing the wine with lagers, stouts and IPAs that are barrel-aged, made with bacon, have names like Funky Old Time, and more – all for a new Microbrew-themed luxury cruise.  Read more.

Postmark

Did you know there is a Railtown in Vancouver?  I don’t feel like much of a Vancouverite because I didn’t know that, and I’ve lived here all my life! It is located East of Gastown and North of Chinatown. It is mostly an industrial area, with great funky coffee and sandwich shops in and around. And this is where you’ll find Postmark.

Postmark started out as a Fresh Tap winery with a dream of “one day” opening a brew pub. After talking to Steve a dream is what it was.  He never in his wildest dreams thought it would come true, but the stars aligned and on June 17^th Postmark opened their doors.

They have an amazing set up, elegant and classy yet it is not pretentious or stuffy. As you walk towards this incredible building, built in 1921, look to your left and you’ll see there sort of outdoor growler filling station (you’ll understand when you arrive). A large open window will allow you to get your growler filled and not have to get congested with the guests enjoying flights inside. Make sure to look up, the light fixture is an old farm wheel.

As you walk through the giant doors, standing about 12 feet high you’ll notice large steel tanks where all the fantastic beer is being brewed.  Enter into the tasting room where there are several tables and cozy couches to settle into to enjoy a flight, pint or even a glass of fresh tap wine.

Behind the bar are beautiful chalk boards showing off the lists of wine and beers available, as well the creations the chef is preparing.

At their opening, which I was lucky to attend, they had 2 beers available Red IPA, as well as Saison. Both were excellent and I recommend a trip into Railtown to sample.  By the end of July they will have a Stout and a Hefe available. The Hefe is what I am looking forward, described as a dry Bavarian style Weiss beer brewed with lemon zest and local raspberries!


Thanks to Kate, Mike, Steve & the rest of the staff for a great night, I look forward to sampling your future beers, and even some fresh tap. 

 

~ Colleen

 

more photos here