Pint Post

A bonus to working with club members is you get to do a few special things from time to time.

In October I signed us up for Pint Post, it’s a bit expensive for what you get, but in time we should be tasting some smaller and limited batches that will not be available in stores. And unless you get the breweries often you’d miss out.

Once a month we’ll receive a package delivered right to our door which will include at least 2 liters of beer.

November Pint Post 2016:

Three feature craft beers from Vancouver: One of Vancouver’s smallest breweries, oldest breweries and most popular breweries.  Listed from light to dark beer,  focus on drinkability.

Doan’s Brewing: Kolsch

Breweries tasting notes: From Vancouver’s smallest brewery, this traditional style Kolsch has the light body and easy drinking of a lager but the malt complexity of an ale. Light carbonation brings forward the German hops providing a crisp citrus flavour.

Western Beer club tasting notes:  With a golden appearance, this earthy, with a hint of (spice or fruit) has a light bodied bitter taste. We’d all drink this one again.

R & B Brewing: Dude Chilling Pale Ale

Breweries tasting notes: A new addition to the R&B lineup, this pale ale is dry hopped with Citra, Galaxy and Centennial hops. A sessionable ale for those that still want a little hop profile.

Pairs well with tapas or cheese

Western Beer Club tasting notes: With an amber copper appearance, this hoppy full bodied light beer has a bitter taste. With mixed reviews among the beer club, some would drink it again others found it too hoppy. I wasn’t one of them !

Postmark Brewing: Stout

Breweries tasting notes: Contrary to most stouts, Postmark has developed a stout that is dark in colour but light in taste. Balanced with notes of caramel, chocolate and coffee. 2016 Gold Medal winner of Canadian Brewing Awards.

Western Beer Club tasting notes:  This black stout has a smoky, roasted taste to it. It is clearly a full bodied beer. It was not a favorite by most of the members. However only 1 or the 5 of us tasting would say they like stout or porter type beers.

~ Colleen

Soft opening at Red Racer, Yaletown

Red Racer Restaurant:
871 Beatty Street, Vancouver

On Friday July 24^th, Surrey’s Central City Brewers + Distillers opened their 4800 sq ft Red Racer pub in the old Dix’s BBQ location on Beatty St in Vancouver. We checked it out earlier at a V.I.P. preview event.

This is a full service restaurant, not a brewpub, as they’re not brewing beer onsite (yet). The interior has been refreshed but remains mostly the same as it was for Dix. The service was vastly improved.



The sweeping main bar has a custom serving up a varied  40+ craft beers; 14 of their own plus various guest taps from mainly local craft breweries including:  Bomber, Bridge, Dageraad, Persophone, Deschutes, 33 Acres, Driftwood, Steel & Oak, Postmark, 4 Winds, Hoyne, Steamworks, Powell St, Parallel 49, Hearthstone and others. Their big screen TV’s also serve as beer menus showing what beers are being served on tap, how full each keg is and the prices for a glass, pint or pitcher. Our server mentioned that growler refills will be available soon.

Food is key and includes the BBQ that Dix was known for and a Build Your Own Burger Bar. We tried many of the starters they plan to serve and especially enjoyed the Spring Rolls Al Pastor (good crunch), the Scotch Eggs (well-seasoned) and the Squid Diablo (nice heat). The pulled pork sandwiches were tasty as were the pork ribs (a little salty) but the surprise favourite was the  S’more dessert.

Looking forward to a follow-up visit to check out the burger bar and work through more of the brews on tap.

~ Ron          .

@FoodieIam

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