Beer Review #9: Laid Back Lager

I've been here long enough now to get to know most of the local brew's by sight - so big green stickers with 'NEW!!!' written on them are certain to get me excited.

Such is the case with Laid Back Lager. Even without the aid of BC Liquor store's oh-so-subtle subtle marketing strategy it's hard to miss the can anyway. It looks like what I suspect a Beach Boy's album cover looks like; lots of sunny pastel colours, surfboards and other generic summer-ish crap.

This of course totally out of sync with the real world - I'm browsing at 4:30pm it's pitch dark, raining, and I may have just seen a mammoth come rearing out of Waterfront station. But this beer is bringing back thoughts of summer; palm trees, sunshine, being able to feel my toes most of the time, loads of fucking wasps everywhere...

I'm able to hold onto this nostalgia until I get my beers home and take a closer look at the can - Laid Back Lager is produced by 'Big Surf Brewing Company'. Where are they from, I hear you cry with rabid curiosity; California? Florida? Hawaii maybe?

They're from bloody Kelowna! As in, Kelowna, BC. As in down the road, and currently gripped (so says the CBC website) in slightly shittier weather than Vancouver itself is right now! And what the fuck is this 'Big Surf' nonsense? Kelowna is at least 4 hours from the sea!

I feel cheated - I thought I was getting a beer that had come from a hallowed land of swaying palm trees and coco-nut bikini clad- hotties. Instead I feel like I should be offering Laid Back lager a nice warm cocoa and some comfy slippers before he catches a nasty chill.

But, putting all these feelings aside, how does Laid Back Lager do as a beer?

It certainly pours like a lager. The white head is gone in a couple of seconds and literally nothing hangs around. It's a clear yellow colour with surprisingly little carbonation for a lager too. I can smell that it's beer, but there's not much else too it. Maybe some citrus lurking in the bottom but I'm really having to fight to get anything out of it.

The taste is a little weird though, but not necessarily bad. I'm getting a little hint of apples but aside from that it doesn't have much to it, even for a lager.

It goes down pretty easy so I guess if you were lying on a beach in California it wouldn't be terrible, but I have no idea why anyone would bother bringing this stuff all that way. In no way would it be worth it.

I could sort of understand this escapist beer mentality it if BC was some awful part of the world, but it isn't. Ok, it's cold right now but there's mountains, snow, forests, possibly bears or something - all that nature crap. Shame on you Big Surf - be proud of your province!

Verdict: 4/10

My First Taste of BItter's Beer & Food

Pub Favourites with a Masters Degree


Nestled near the corner of West Hastings and Carrall at 16 West Hastings Street, the Bitter Tasting Room balances industrial chic with warm pub-style informality. Bare brick walls, exposed beer kegs and open kitchen sit well with the simple but comfy furniture and the whole place doesn’t make you feel like you’ll need to stand on ceremony.

A quick glance over the menu and I feel like I’m back in London; pickled eggs, pork scratchings, beer nuts, and a host of other pub favorites are on offer. But Bitter is offering something beyond standard pub-grub; these are handmade, organic, high quality versions of pub favorites. Scotch eggs are a staple back home but I have to admit the one’s from Bitter are better than anything I’ve had in the UK; crispy and golden brown on the outside and the sausage meat is packed with flavor. The biggest surprise though are the pork scratchings. I imagined a coronary-waiting-to-happen in a sealed foil bag hanging on a hook behind the bar. These are light, chewy, without a hint of grease and dusted with just enough Cayenne Pepper to give them a kick. The closest I can think to compare are shrimp crackers in terms of texture, but the flavor is completely different.

The sausages can also come highly recommended – the Weisswurst we tried was a new one for me. When it arrives at our table our server explains how we remove the skin ourselves; this is hands on food and as I look around the room most of the guests have abandoned cutlery a few mouthfuls in. The Weistwurst is delicious – lightly spiced, soft with an almost pate texture – and it goes brilliantly with Bitter’s home-made sweet honey mustard.

The food is great, but the beer is better: the Bitter Tasting Room is a hopheads Mecca. Owner Sean Heather has clearly taken pains to make ensure that Bitter can offer a beer-tasting experience to rival anything else in Vancouver and the effort has paid off. From the moment you walk in you can’t miss the 12ft high beer coolers. I spot English ales, Asian lagers, German wheat beers, local craft porters and dozens of others.

I go for a selection of four samples – “The Islander” as it’s called – and I’m not disappointed. There’s a Dunkel (Dark German beer) by the name of Dr. Funk from Phillips, a Cream Ale from Lighthouse Breweries, the 9.5% ABV Eisbock style ‘Hermanator’ from V.I.B and “White Bark” a Wheat Ale by Driftwood.

The Hermanator is a pleasant surprise – 9.5% ABV beers often don’t turn out too well – but Vancouver Island brewery have cooked up something here that carries it off well. There are earthy malts on the taste along with grape juice and a hint of something that almost reminds me of soy sauce. You can taste that it’s a stronger beer but it’s not so overpowering that I’d be put off going for another.
The cream ale goes beautifully with the Weisswurst. It’s hoppy, slightly bitter and keeps a nice head. It’s 7% but you wouldn’t guess it from the flavor and it doesn’t overpower the Weisswurst but sits alongside it perfectly.

The stand-out beer for me though, in this selection, is the White Bark wheat ale by Driftwood. It pours nice and cloudy and has some amazing citrus smells coming off it. It’s got a low carbonation and though I tend to think of these as summer beers it’s goes down beautifully on a chilly Vancouver night.

Technically you’d probably call Bitter a gastropub, but only for want of a better word. I associate ‘gastropubs’ with restaurants that awkwardly dip a toe into the booze market without much enthusiasm or expertise, but Bitter seem to have the passion and the knowledge to create a genuinely novel experience. Devoted hop-heads will appreciate the chance to see what the local brewing scene has to offer, and the servers are happy to point you in the right direction if Bitter is your first foray outside the world of Bud Light (shame on you!).

Cheers!

For reservations, call 604-558-4658 or visit Bitter's website
You can also find them on Facebook & Twitter 

Beer Review #8: Labatt Wildcat Strong

Picked this one up as part of a special offer at the BC Liquor Store opposite waterfront. It was cheap, but I still think I might have been robbed.

It may be true that I was drawn to this beer because it had a picture of some mountain lion-y thing on the front and I like cats.

It may also be true that the SKY SPORTS ACTION NEWS style font made me associate this beer with getting drunk while something exciting is going on, rather than watching a re-run of mission impossible on a damp sunday evening.

And it may even be true that I held out a faint hope that it would make the Sex-Panther roar when I opened the can.

But none of these things can make up for what I find inside the can.

I've had reasonable experiences with this company before; Labatt's Blue is a bit of a staple out here in Canada and as an inoffensive lager it certainly gets the job done. While I'm naturally wary of extra-strong beers that aren't Belgian I thought I would give the Labatt's boys a break and see if they can impress me with WildCat.

On the pour it actually looks ok. Nice colour, plenty of carbonation and actually retains some head after the initial fizz dies down.

It doesn't have much of a smell - some sweet malt and corn but nothing especially offensive. Trouble is, there's nothing good going on either.

Taste is worse - there's the same lack of any kind of flavour but it's got a rank metal aftertaste that doesn't hit for about 4 seconds, then hangs around for far too long. The aftertaste would be bearable if there's was some during-taste to make up for it, but there's not much of anything going on here.

The brewers are very keen to boast that WildCat contains 'No Additives'. Frankly, if people are drinking 6.1% beer they probably aren't doing it for the health benefits, and if chucking a shitload of E-Numbers, artificial flavourings or asbestos powder into this stuff would improve the flavour (or at least get rid of that sodding aftertaste, which is still with me as I type this, a good 30 seconds after my last sip) then I say go for it!

This beer has low price and high ABV content going for it if that's your thing. If not, avoid, avoid, avoid!

Verdict: 3/10

Beer Review #7: Vertical Winter Ale

As the weather turns colder and the days grow short I'm left with a choice: construct a cocoon from pillows and retreat beneath the ground for the winter, or go on a hunt for warming winter ales. Since I only have 2 pillows and my housemates aren't happy with my building a larger fort out of sofa cushions, it looks like I'm off to the liquor store.

Enter 'Tree Brewing Company'. Established in 1996 (so says the bottle) this is another Canadian brew. The bottle is a pretty plan affair - company name embossed on the glass and a label around the neck. They have at least gone to the trouble of personalising their own bottle caps but at first glance this isn't an eye catching affair.

Still, I'm freezing and this stuff claims to be 'Winter Ale' so I'll give it a go. There's a mention of a 'vanilla finish' on the beer which sounds interesting too.

Beer Review #6: Rising Sun Pale Ale

Turned this up at the BC Liquor Store on Cambie. I've crossed Japan off my list for the Beers Around the World Challenge months ago (Ah, for the days when a simple bottle of Kirin Ichiban could still get my heart racing. It was a simpler time, was March of 2011) but this is something I've never heard of before.

The label tells me it's from Baird's brewery and from the name 'Rising Sun' I make the assumption that it's Japanese. I'm slightly concerned that thinking like that might be racist.

The rest of the bottle doesn't give me any clues - there's plenty of writing on the back but it's all in some kind of crazy foreign script that could be a desperate plea for help from a slave labourer in the bottling plant for all I know. Some light googling later and my suspicions are confirmed - Baird's is a brewery in Japan , there's no mention of slave labour being used in their factories and I'm probably not racist for not recognising Japanese script.

There's some cool artwork happening on the label. The red sun brings back childhood memories of beating the shit out of E-Honda on Street Fighter, the whole thing has got a lot of colour and Baird have got their craft-beer bases covered with a customised bottle cap with a picture of some barley on it. I've got high hopes for this one.

I’m a little concerned on the pour - Rising Sun doesn’t look as delicious as I was hoping. There’s some yeasty cloudiness and some specs of sediment floating about.

But lo and behold, it smells great! Piney and grassy with some fruity hop smells in there as well. There’s less of the fruit and more of the pine when it hits the mouth but there’s still some citrus going on there too. There’s a bitterness on the finish which might scare off some drinkers but, frankly, they’d be wrong and I hate them. It tastes awesome.

Since I haven’t learned to read Japanese between starting this article and writing this sentence I’ve no idea what strength this stuff is, but based on taste I’d put it around 5%. The only drawback for rising sun is price; this bottle was 360ml and set me back $7. It’s bloody delicious but I couldn’t justify this as anything other than a one off treat.

Verdict: 8/10

Beer Review #5: Red Horse

Ladies and gentlemen, hats off to the good people at Brewery Creek liquor store on Main.

After months of trawling the streets of London in search of the national beer of the Philippines here I find it, lurking in an unassuming Vancouver liquor store. In my twisted and disturbing world this is a bit like turning up an autographed copy of the bible.

Presumably Filipinos are game for getting lashed because it's a big bastard of a can - 500ml. It's scant on artwork but I feel damn manly holding it. It's coated in Testosterone Red. There are proud mustang heads rearing at me. There's not much writing (real beers don't need words!) but what it has is bold and rugged. If it was possible for a font to have a beard, this would probably have a waist length monstrosity with bits of bear meat stuck in it.

Its got its foreign credentials in order as well. There's the obligatory 'export only' sticker, and it's even got that ribbed bit at the top of the can which I've seen on foreign cans of coke you can pick up in dodgy newsagents in Peckham. This stuff might be made by San Miguel but it looks exotic enough to get me excited.

The marketing blurb promises a "full flavoured taste and extra satisfying strength". They are presumably getting at the fact that this stuff is 8% ABV. We're getting dangerously close to hobo-juice territory here. There are a few Belgian craft beers I've come across that can get away with this kind of strength without making a brew that tastes like angry petrol but Red Horse has set itself up for a challenge by brewing up something this strong.

On the pour it looks ok. Pale colour, clear, well carbonated and a clean looking head that leaves some nice lacing on the glass.

Unfortunately, that's where the fun stops. The smell has some grains lurking about in there somewhere but mostly I can smell booze - lots and lots of booze. I'm not opposed to a beer smelling like it has alcohol in it, but it would be nice if it smelt of something else.

I'm not mad keen on tasting it but I soldier on all the same.

Apparently, contrary to popular belief, he who dares does not always win.

It's boozy and harsh which is what I was expecting, but there's something else in there too. Lurking around as an aftertaste is something like soapy vomit. It's not overpowering - I don't feel compelled to retch all over my keyboard - but it's still there hanging around like a fearsome fart on a dancefloor ruining an otherwise tolerable experience.

Red Horse hasn't amazed me. Well chuffed at finding it - I can cross the Philippines off the list for my Beers Around the World Challenge - but I'll not be rushing out to stock up the fridge with it. I guess the 8% ABV content is a plus if you're trying to get ready for a night out sharpish, but if that's your aim there are better beers that will do the same job. Other than that, it's not got much to offer.

Verdict 3/10

The Beer Hunter reports:

Every good hearted beer hunter appreciates the importance of a good brew to go with a movie.

But the licensing laws of British Columbia make it mighty tough to enjoy a beer in front of the silver screen. One particularly handsome journalist has investigated the impact of these regulations on the Rio Theater in East Vancouver. 

TheBeerHunter encourages you to go along and show your support for the lovely people at the Rio and catch a movie there!

Beer Review #4: Innis and Gunn

At just $2.75 from the BC Liquor Store on Main this was a steal.

Innis and Gunn are a microbrewery in Edinburgh, Scotland, who seem to specialise in bottling a complex blend of liquid awesome. This beer is a favourite from back home and finding it out here makes me excited in a very nearly inappropriate way.

For such an amazing brew the bottle is pretty down to earth - no need for pretension when a beer with more sex appeal and charisma than an electric guitar playing Lamboughini lurks within. If you take the time to read the back there's some clue as to what you're in for. There's lots of talk of 'hand-selecting' and 'oak flavours' conjuring up the image of an old Scottish man in a castle somewhere showering these barrels with love and care, possibly (but understandably) at the expense of neglecting his wife and children. Well, if he is, screw them. The beer is awesome.

This stuff looks brilliant - when you hold it up to the light it's like looking at the side of a honey jar. I feel like I want to spread it on toast, but I'm dimly aware that kind of behaviour might be frowned upon by mainstream society.

The smell is oaky and malty and there's a lot of vanilla and honey in there too. And there are no nasty surprises when it gets into your mouth; you drink exactly what you smell. There's a lot going on here, and I'm happy about all of it.

It's possible that this beer would make the perfect man: strong and robust (6.6% ABV) yet sensitive. Able to embrace his feminine vanilla side while still being able to kick the crap out of some mouthy lager who's been getting handsy with his girlfriend.

Confusing metaphors aside, this is definitely not to be missed. It's different, it's delicious and it not got the bitterness that might put you off making a move away from your mainstream lagers. It's light enough that you can put a few of these away but you won't want to rush through it. This is definitely a beer to be savoured.

Verdict: 9/10

Beer review #3: Rocky Mountain Pilsner

Picked this one up for a bargain at Spirit of Home Liquor store on Granville street. As their 'beer of the month' it was down to $10 for six - damn good value for an independent store. Always enthusiastic about getting trashed for the bare minimum spend, I gave it a go.

This offering comes to us from the good people at Russell Breweries. The can doesn't bring to mind delicious drinky-beer so much as some kind of extra strength cleaning product - too much silver and minty-fresh green slapped on there for my liking. I think they're going for 'virgin mountain snow' but I'm getting 'keeps surfaces spotless and germ free'.

Still, OmniKlean style can aside, what's the beer like? The label promises "Fresh, Crisp, Clean" - suddenly I'm thinking of laundry detergents. Have I discovered the first beer which will treat your woolens delicately without skimping on cleaning power?

On the pour it's definitely a pilsner; pale, clear, nice and fizzy. Not much of a head and what there is doesn't hang around for long. Not too much of a smell to it either.

Taste? I'm pleasantly surprised! A little watered down but served cold (this one had been in the freezer for ten minutes) it's refreshing, light, and doesn't have the dodgy aftertaste you're apt to find in a cheaper brew.

I probably won't be rushing back for more of these once the offer is over but even though they only weigh in at 5% ABV I'm still prepared to make this my session beer for the month and give Cariboos genuine draft a rest.

Verdict: 6/10

Beer Review #2: Duchy Original Organic Old Ruby Ale

I'm tempted to go back and visit the liquor store where I bought this to figure out where the hell they got it from in the first place.

This beer, as the label shows is part of the Duchy Originals range of organic foods - a line of products owned by Prince Charles and sold exclusively (supposedly) in the UK supermarket Waitrose. Does its appearance in Canada perhaps signify the first step in a convoluted plot aimed at placing the nation back under imperial rule? Could this be the sinister machinations of a future English king bent on world domination through the export of bespoke beverages? And if it is, why would anyone come up with such a shit plan?

In any case, it turned up in a liquor store on Cambie so, in the spirit of patriotism and getting all beered up I parted with $4.10 for a bottle of the stuff.

Right off the bat it looks pretty classy. There's coats of arms, royal sigils and possibly coded messages from the illuminati slapped all over this thing. It claims to be 'preserving our heritage', it lists the specific species of barley used and it's got so many sustainability credentials that it seems quite likely that this beer will be the last living thing on earth after the Mole People rise up from the underworld to devour us all. The one missed goal is the plain bottle cap. Even shitty brands of lager go to the trouble of personalising their caps and it seems just plain lazy for his highness to overlook such a detail. Shame on you Charlie. 

Sometimes patriotism is drinkable

When you get inside it holds up pretty well. 'Ruby' is a bit of an exaggeration but there's some reddy colours in there that give the name some credibility. It tastes pretty good too - malty and fizzy and nowhere near as heavy as I was expecting. 

The one thing this beer can't do is justify its price tag - at $4.10 and only 5% ABV this is a very expensive way to get on it. If it had a bit more kick to it so one bottle would start off a night on the lash in good stead, then it might be able to justify its high roller status, but as it stands it barely pips budweiser to the post - and still falls behind Cariboos, the local bargain brew. This is not a beer to get plastered on at a party and one bottle on its own somehow fails to satisfy completely.

To sum up Old Ruby Ale looks good and tastes good, but not good enough to justify the price tag - a price tag which is bumped up significantly by the cost of importing it.

5 out of 10.

7 out of 10 (at UK prices)

Beer Review # 1: Cariboos Genuine Draft

For a brewery not famous enough to qualify for its own wikipedia article, I've seen an awful lot of this stuff around.

Within: Liquid charisma

The can boasts that the beer is made from 'pure spring water'. This isn't much of an achievement but they've stuck it on there all the same. There's also some stuff about planting trees whenever you buy their beer, which assuages the environmental concerns in every beer hunter's soul. 

Sadly absent is the usual obligatory story about how the beer is brewed using 'age old techniques', presumably by some wizened old man who mutters to himself like a senile, alcoholic version of Willy Wonka. 

There's a picture of what I assume is a caribou on the can as well. This isn't really doing anything for me.  

They have probably assumed (rightly in my case) that it's the cheap and cheerful price tag rather than an expectation of some life-changing beverage experience that's attracted you in the first place. 

A pack of 20 cans set me back just over $30 - the cheapest I've found so far. A bargain price can often be a warning sign for a weak brew but Cariboos Genuine Draft comes in at respectable 5.5%. 

Now that I've exhausted the delights of the outside of the can, what about the beer?

Pours easily, brief white head that pretty much completely disappears. Pale, clear colour. Smell is pretty sweet and flavour is what you'd expect - inoffensive and mostly bland. Little bit of a metallic aftertaste but that may have to do with it coming out of a can. 

Light and easy to drink without much else going on, this beer is never going to rock the world. 

But, given its fairly impressive alcohol content and low price this is already establishing itself as my session beer of choice. You're not going to want to place yourself in an isolation tank for three or four days to heighten your senses to peak precision before drinking, but you could comfortably put away a few of these while watching a movie or trying to force a conversation with an accountant you've been introduced to at a party. 

Verdict: 6 out of 10

From Beer to Eternity

A wise man once said,

'Some people say alcohol's a drug. It's not a drug - it's a drink.'

I offer you that piece of non-sensical gibberish to prepare you for what lies ahead.

I'm Alan - a 24 year old Londoner currently wandering about in Vancouver, Canada. I do a bit of journalism and telly related work. I have almost 6 friends. I once woke up in Quebec without any shoes.

This is my blog. It delves into the heart of Vancouver to see just what kind of beer this city can brew and bottle and what kind of pint it can pull.

That guy who is me

Is there a pub in Vancouver where you can order a yard of ale? Can you find a liquor store in British Columbia that sells Ugandan lager? Is it possible to convince a brewery manager that I'm a respectable journalist and not just some dickhead trying to get free beer?

These great mysteries, among others, will be answered.

Aside from that nonsense I'll be reviewing the best and worst drinkables that the Great White North has to offer as well. With a wealth of microbreweries and a big market for international brews Vancouver is certainly a good place to start.

So I invite you to join me in the Great Canadian Beer hunt!