It's an IPA world..

Happy Friday!

Congrats to Old Yale for opening its doors in Abbotsford. The new taproom looks stunning.

In today’s issue we:

• Share 17 new beers, including one that used honey instead of hops. 🍯 

• Discover there are more home brewers reading this than we thought!

• Seek your views on what our first beer appreciation courses should cover

• Recommend a trip to Penticton

Enjoy the long weekend!

— Joseph Lavoie

☕️ If you like our work and want to give us an extra boost, you can fill up our coffee mugs. The boost keeps us energized to help you enjoy craft beer to the fullest. NEW! Supporters get exclusive benefits. Check ‘em out.

FEATURED NEW BEER RELEASE

Dageraad’s new flagship IPA

If you know Dageraad, you know it as the brewery that makes impeccable Belgian-inspired ales. Which could explain the detailed rationale the brewery gave its fans for adding an IPA to its permanent lineup:

• Reason #1: they found a cool new yeast that biotransforms the beer to unleash big tropical fruit aromas without the need for massive hopping doses.

• Reason #2: IPAs sell. And if Dageraad is going to continue making interesting Belgian-style ales, it helps to have a beer on tap that appeals to the “beer-fan-but-not-Dageraad-fan” that comes in asking for an IPA.

Either way, I’ve enjoyed previous IPA releases from Dageraad and look forward to having this on the roster. It promises to be fruit-forward and balanced, juicy and clean with a complex range of aromas from Nelson Sauvin, Sultana, Galaxy and Citra Hops.

Available: In the tasting room now, coming to stores this week.

Lagers

• Old Yale’s take on a Mexican Lager was brewed with flaked corn for a touch of sweetness to complement the salt and lime flavours.

Ales and IPAs

• Backcountry’s newest Pale Ale is light bodied and dry hopped with citrus and Simcoe for some tropical notes of citrus, orange, grapefruit, stone fruit, and passionfruit.

• Coast Mountain has only one keg of its new Cascading Dark Ale, brewed with a combo of dark malts for a rich and colourful flavour combo.

• Small Gods collaborated with Dageraad to make a Belgian Hazy Pale Ale featuring fruity and herbaceous notes.

• 3 Dogs double dry-hopped its newest Hazy IPA with Mosaic and Galaxy hops.

• Backcountry went super juicy for its new Cryo IPA.

• Farm Country’s new Hazy Pale Ale is bursting with passion fruit, pineapple and dank citrus. Features El Dorado and Sabro hops.

• Deep Cove is getting into the Cold IPA business, with the official release date still to be confirmed.

Stouts and Sours

• Field House has a strawberry orange sour weisse for a bright and light, easy-drinking sour.

• House of Funk has a take on the classic Belgian style bier de Miel. No hops during the boil. Instead? Wildflower honey. Fermented in oak for 4 months. Should make for a great conversation starter.🍯

• Field House’s latest batch of barrel releases includes two new bottles: One is strawberry foeder ale, which was aged on BC strawberries for five months. The other is a raspberry foeder ale conditioned on BC raspberries for the same amount of time.

• Powell Brewing’s new limited release is a Tangerine Berliner Weisse.

• Backcountry’s new sour is a blue raspberry lemonade sour.

• Mount Arrowsmith’s Weekend Rambler its a mango sour dry hopped with Sabro.

• Mountainview went sweet and sour with its raspberry pomegranate sour.

🎧️ PODCAST

The Brewer’s Entrepreneurial Mindset

In the latest episode of Beer Loop Talks, I meet up with one of Eastbound Brewing Company’s founders, Dave Watson.

I first met Dave in 2018 and enjoyed how much of an open book he was in the highs and lows of launching and running a restaurant and brewery. I also had the joy of working with his partner and head brewer, Dave Lee, on a collaboration beer. So when I found myself back in Toronto last year and was getting started with my business plan for a new brewery, Dave agreed to hop on a call to talk through his own experience.

Dave covers:

1. How a previous failure didn't deter him from launching his own business.

2. The art of pitching investors and why a business plan matters.

3. The surreal experience of opening day

You can listen and subscribe here. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Episode five drops in two weeks.

HOME BREWING

With so many beer enthusiasts reading this newsletter, we were curious to see how many of you take that enthusiasm to the next level and brew your own beer. The numbers were higher than we anticipated!

Have you ever brewed your own beer?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⬜️ (44%) ❤️‍🔥 Yes, I’m an obsessive home brewer.

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ (33%) ✔️ Yes, and never again

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ (22%) 🤷‍♀️ Why would I spend 6 hours brewing, only to wait weeks before drinking my beer?

BEER APPRECIATION

What do you want to learn?

Our mission is to help you appreciate beer on a whole new level. In our first year, we’ve mostly tried to deliver on that mission by keeping you in the loop about new beer releases and beer-related events in the Lower Mainland. Now we’d like to expand that mission by helping you appreciate every sip of beer you have, no matter where you are. We have some ideas for fun, interactive, affordable, and low-commitment courses that would deepen your appreciation of beer, but we need your help prioritizing our ideas.

If you only do one thing this weekend

This one requires a bit of a drive, but if you happen to making your way east, this two-day festival kicks off today at 4pm and runs through Saturday at 6pm at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. This festival is one of the largest and longest running annual beer festivals in the Pacific Northwest. Tickets on sale here.

Also happening this weekend

🎚️ Beats, beers, burritos…it’s Frequency Fridays at Russell Brewing, 7-9pm.

🤣 Five Roads Brewing is hosting comedian Ed Hill tomorrow. Tickets $23.

🎸 Red Truck has live music Friday and Saturday from 730-9pm.

NEW! 🚚 Steel and Oak has a full lineup of food trucks this weekend. Sirius Cravings is onsite from 5-8pm tonight. Tacosaurus will be there from 1-7pm on Saturday. And Wings is bringing a wide range of flavours on Sunday, 1-7pm.

🎶 Deadfrog has live music every Sunday from 230-6pm.

🪕 Smuggler’s Trail also has live music this Sunday, 3-6pm.

🎤 Open Mic Sundays at Container Brewing. Grab a beer, get on the mic, bring your fans. Sign-up is at 6pm, mic opens at 7pm.

Upcoming Events

NEW! 📺️ The BC Ale Trail will be chatting with Chris Bjerrisgaard from Small Gods Brewing , Harley Smith from Longwood Brewing, and Tim LaHay from The Barley Merchant for a virtual hoppy hour on April 19. Tune in live.

NEW! 🎪 Vancouver Brewers Fest kicks off on April 21 and runs through to April 30. Ten days of beer-filled events with 25 participating Vancouver breweries. Some events are ticketed. You can get the full event list here.

😂 Farm Country is hosting Brewhaha, a night of comedy on April 16th. Tickets $15.

🎤 Karaoke Night makes its return at HUBCo brewing in Mission, on April 22.

NEW! Another Beer Co. is organizing a massive flea market on April 23.

NEW! 🔥 Luppolo is marking the release of its new Smoked Helles Lager with The Smoke Show on April 29, featuring DJ Lux.

NEW! 🎪 Langley Craft Beverage Week kicks off May 12 for 9 days of festivities.

🎪 Kelowna Beer Fest will feature 30+ breweries on May 13, 1-7pm.

🤠 Farm Country is hosting a Honky Tonk Showdown on May 18th, 6-10pm.

🎪 Brewhalla is back in Fort Langley on Saturday, May 20th for the 6th annual craft beer and music festival.

🤯 Trivia Nights

• Every Monday at Smuggler's Trail in Langley

• Every Monday at Mariner in Coquitlam

• Every Tuesday at Old Yale in Chilliwack

• Every Tuesday at Farm Country in Langley

• Every Wednesday at Moody Ales in Port Moody

• Every Thursday at 3 Dogs Brewing in White Rock, it’s music trivia.

• Every Thursday at Small Gods is full deck games night.

• Every Thursday at Persephone in Gibsons.

• Container hosts game night on the first and third Tuesday of every month.

🏃‍♀️ Run Clubs

• Steel & Oak hosts a run club every Wednesday night. Run 3km or 5km to earn that beer!

• Small Gods invites you to join the Small Gods Production Team every Tuesday evening. Meet at the brewery at 6pm, run around Sidney and return at 7pm to enjoy $1 off the latest beer release.

• NEW! Tinhouse hosts a run club every Tuesday at 630pm.

Lord Barleycorn

• Brewery: Strange Fellows

• Location: Vancouver

Tasting Notes:

This is a fascinating lager. It pours crystal clear and golden with oak and vanilla aromas that dominate the nose. The flavours are wonderful. The whole experience starts with a wave of bourbon barrel oak, before a wave of vanilla and tobacco takes over. The flavours mellow out with time to reveal a light malt note. The crispy finish makes this incredibly skippable. Spectacular.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Beer Loops you may have missed

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