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The Weekend Guide: Funky Father's Day
A new brewery profile, funky beers, Father's Day events and more brewery ranking controversy
Joseph Lavoie
June 17, 2022
Happy Friday and an early happy Father's Day to all you dads!
My daughter has me doing a class of Father's Day Tae Kwon Do on Saturday, and I'm hoping I don't get asked to compete in a "splits contest." I also hope she takes me to a brewery to recover....
There's a lot happening this weekend, with many breweries giving away goodies to Dads (and as far as I can tell, no proof of parentage required, so you're all eligible to win), a brewery profile on North Point Brewing, a great story on more funk in beers, and Justin McElroy's latest controversial brewery rankings. Yes, we have thoughts on them.
Enjoy, and have an awesome weekend!
- Joseph Lavoie
We've launched our first giveaway! Enter to win $250 to some of the best breweries in the lower mainland.
Background photo from Steel and Oak
WHAT TO DRINK THIS WEEKEND
Peach and Brandy Sour
Barnside Brewing has a new release from their small batch barrel program that looks incredibly interesting. It dropped yesterday and is available at the brewery. That's a good thing, because Barnside has a beautiful farmhouse setting appropriate for enjoying this style of beer.
Description: "balanced acidity, citrus fruit, vanilla, a sniff of brandy and other oaky goodness.
Where to get it: Limited quantities, available at the brewery
Location: 6655 60 Ave, Delta | Map
Not feeling like a sour? Barnside also dropped a pub-style ESB. I'll be trying this one out to taste an ESB made with open fermenters. That, and a good ESB is the original sessional beer, and I can't get enough of it.
WHERE TO GO
Featured Brewery: North Point Brewing
Sometimes you want to enjoy a beer in a bright space with lots of natural light, take in some views, enjoy the company of friends, and do so in the comfort of your perfectly designed dining room a beautifully designed taproom. North Point serves up that experience.
Reason to visit the taproom: It is wonderfully chill with cabin lounge vibes, including a second-floor penthouse. That feeling you have when you walk into a perfectly designed Airbnb Plus? Yeah, same feeling here. It's lovely on a sunny afternoon and makes for the perfect spot to enjoy a sunset, especially in the penthouse. If you're looking to chill, North Point is a good place to do it in.
The beer: While we've seen complaints that the beer list leans towards too many IPAs, when we visited recently the menu included a lager, a wheat beer, a couple sours, a blonde and three IPAs. The lagers were well-crafted and quenchable on a sunny afternoon.
What to try: Venture beyond the IPAs and give the lagers a try. If you're looking for flavour, the Banana Pancakes Hefe is a classic Hefeweizen with lots of (surprise!) banana flavour and enough balance to make it sessionable.
Food: Pre-made and heated pizza's from Nicli Antica Pizzeria, plus chips, salsa, pepperoni sticks, and candy.
Patio seating. You have two patio options - a lounge extension of the tap room, which can be covered in less-than-ideal weather conditions, as well as picnic tables with umbrellas on the street.
WHAT TO DO
Father's Day
Looking for an excuse to spend Father's Day a brewery? Not sure where to go? Looking for the right incentive? Maybe these will do the trick:
Dead Frog Brewing is giving away a $250 Spa Utopia Gift Basket.
Locality Brewing has a Father's Day special, which includes a pepperoni bouquet.
Field House Brewing has a collector 16oz Dad Life glass + 6-pack or 4-pack combo for $20.
A-FRAME Brewing is giving away Dad Joke cards, a $20 brewery gift certificate, and T-shirt.
Container Brewing has a $300 giveaway ($150 gift card from the brewery and a $150 gift card from @viewsbalconybar
Crafts and Draughts Patio Party
Some 20+ artists and small business owners will gather in Container Brewing's yard tomorrow over tasty beer and food, complete with a live DJ and views of the North Shore mountains. The list of vendors looks amazing The Bag, Menon, Hello Sunday, The Collected Home and Nala Care.
When: Saturday June 18, 1-6pm
Admission: Free, Registration on eventbrite
Dog-friendly: Yes
Location: Container Brewing
🏳️🌈 Pride at Parkside 🏳️🌈
Parkside Brewery has a massive day lined up to celebrate Pride. The day will begin with Drag Queen Yoga at 11am, followed by kids' faceprinting at 2pm (accompanied by DJ Bella Sie) before an 8pm drag show preludes an 11pm after-party with DK Krista Mac. I'm exhausted just writing that out. Time for a disco nap.
When: Saturday June 18 from 11am-12:30am
Food: Top Rope Birria Tacos from 12pm-7pm (or sell out)
Location: Parkside Brewery, 2731 Murray St, Port Moody | Map
More events this weekend
Friday: Fridays at the Station at Victoria Beer Society in Langford
Saturday: Midsummer Market at Strange Fellows Brewing in Vancouver
Sunday: Beats & Brews at Farm Country Brewing in Langley
PLAN AHEAD
Foodstock: A GVFB Fundraiser
Join 102.7 THE PEAK and The Greater Vancouver Food Bank for a day of tasty grown up beverages, wicked local bands, yummy unique food trucks, lawn games and more, all to raise funds to help feed those in need in your community.
Location: Swangard Stadium, 3883 Imperial Street, Burnaby
Date: Sunday June 26, 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Tickets: $56.76 – $179.29
Breweries involved: Strange Fellows Brewing, Luppolo Brewing Company, Dageraad Brewing, Bomber Brewing, Studio Brewing, Bridge Brewing, Wildeye Brewing
Cowichan Craft Beer and Food Festival
Here's one for Islanders (and vacationing mainlanders alike). The Cowichan Craft Beer and Food Festival will feature 100+ BC Craft breweries, dozens of artisan food vendors and live music with the Redwoods and local bands.
Details: August 13, 12pm-5pm
Tickets: Pre-sale starting at $24.99, available online
Location: Doc Lewis Park, Chemainus | Map
Read our event list
We've put together a list of upcoming beer events in and around B.C. Check them out and send us any suggestions!
NEWS
Unleash the beer rankings debate
No matter how @j_mcelroy ranked your favourite brewery, they're still your favourite brewery.
He has a grading rubric, his rankers have subjectivity, and their various visits were made over several years.
Beer changes, breweries change, tastes vary.
Serenity now!
— Ben Coli (@Ben_coli)
6:08 AM • Jun 16, 2022
On Tuesday we opined on the first batch of brewery rankings from Justin McElroy. Twitter weighed in and let's just say some people were mad.
Now Justin's released the adequate tier, not to be confused with the mediocre tier that preceded it. And we have thoughts.
Here's where we now sit in the rankings.
Choices were made here (very immediately) and the shouting will begin!
please know your favourite brewery is still good no matter what i said even if i've deeply upset family members and followers
— Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy)
3:34 AM • Jun 15, 2022
What Geoff thinks: As the Beer Loops self-described not-quite-so-educated beer drinker (I call myself a beer fan, not an expert), here's my thoughts on Justin's adequate ranking breweries:
☀️ 33 Acres: Their 33 Acres of Sunshine is one of those beers I've gone back to time and time again - it's easy to drink, refreshing and enjoyable, whether you're sitting on a patio or out for an evening. That by itself should elevate the brewery above adequate.
Sooke Brewing: I had a perfectly delicious and easy-drinking keg beer, which I believe was the Belgian Blonde Ale. Great stuff, even from a red plastic cup.
Vancouver Island Brewing: Do not, under any circumstances, spend a night drinking Hermanator. At 9.5%, it'll be a short night.
What Joseph thinks: Rankings are tough. As someone who hopes to have his own brewery one day, I can't imagine what it would feel like to have my baby judged this way. So I'll start with the bias that making incredibly good beer is very tough, and we often take it for granted.
Container Brewing: Justin outright accepts that placing Container at #99 will be controversial, and count me in the bucket of people who think Container got a bad placement. The taproom is beautiful and comfortable. The patio is spacious. The beer in inventive, and the vibe is fun.
North Point: Well, scroll to the top of this email and you can see what I think about this brewery. The experience was top notch when I was there (with three kids to boot!), and I could have spent hours chilling in this taproom enjoying delicious beer. The beer is not mind blowing, but sometimes, chill is just fine.
Central City: Alright, I agree with Justin on this one. In his original review, he wrote, "it's not 2012 anymore, and there are many places with better beer, more innovative offerings, and more interesting tasting rooms than Central City." Sure, but 2012 was a damn good year, and the Red Racer IPA deserves its place in the BC Brewing Hall of Fame.
WEEKEND READING
🗞️ Long Reads🗞️
Did you know it was once illegal to raise your glass and say "Cheers!"? (Hugging the Bar)
Hear of the 'milk pour'. It's an extreme way of pouring a beer, and one I'll pretend I did intentionally the next time my home tap foams up (VinePair)
The case for more funk in our beers, an argument I'm very supportive of. (Craft Beer and Brewing)
A deep dive on the history of hops (Sergey Konstantinos, Medium)