Blue Buck - Phillips Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Victoria)

Blue Buck - Phillips Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Victoria) 5.0%

Full gold in a glass with a resilient if not overly large head of foam. Nice caramel touch to the slightly raw malt flavour that reminds me of a malthouse. The hops are subtle but lend balancing hints of cedar and forest tones to the flavour. This beer delivers as promised as a tasty session ale, one that features more malt than hops character.

Red Racer India Pale Ale - Central City Brewers (Canada - British Columbia - Surrey)

Red Racer India Pale Ale - Central City Brewers (Canada - British Columbia - Surrey) 6.5%

A slightly red full gold colour in a glass with a big head of white frothy foam. Resin, cedar, citrus (grapefruit) and mango hops aroma. Strongly hoppy flavour, with grapefruit, papaya, cedar, pine and sticky resin. Quite bitter but with some sweetness from the malty mixed in. A bitter hops (especially grapefruit) and slightly metallic aftertaste. This is a solid IPA that would go well with stirfry and one that I would drink regularly if it was local, that's no knock against Red Racer I just prefer my locally produced beers for environmental reasons.

Captivator Doppelbock - Tree Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Kelowna) 8.0%

Captivator Doppelbock - Tree Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Kelowna) 8.0%

Dark brown that is deep and nearly opaque but acquires some darkly glowing amber tones when you hold it up to the light; a fairly thin off-white head of foam. There is some light sediment at the bottom of the bottle but nothing you need to avoid.

The aroma is delicious. What, you want me to be more specific? Ok, it's richly malty and sweet with touches of caramel and white cake but it is heavily laden with sweet dark fruit tones like baked raisins or prunes as well as molasses tones and vanilla.

The taste is quite sweet and very malty, dark fruit tones and molasses a more than bit of vanilla. A mix of dry hops, tastes of alcohol and some faint wood tones takes some of the edge off of the sweetness but this is a very sweet and very delicious beer. This is a sweeter and lighter doppelbock than some that have more roasty or coffee, chocolate and smoke flavours but it is still loaded with malt flavour and it is quite high in alcohol

It is a limited edition so I strongly recommend checking your local stores to see if they have any left and buy a few. Enjoy one now and set aside a few for aging or for a special occasion.

Summer Weizen - Okanagan Spring (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 5.0%

Summer Weizen - Okanagan Spring (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 5.0%

The aroma is a blast of apricot, peach and passionfruit with some hints of citrus. Okanagan Spring's Summer Weizen pours a lovely and cloudy apricot colour with a moderate head.

The taste is also potently apricot, mostly dominating the complimentary wheat flavours. You can certainly still taste the wheat: it gives the beer an appetizing creaminess. Also, the apricot and other fruit flavours (I feel like the passionfruit comes through well in the taste) are so pleasant and tasty that as long as you tend to like a fruit flavoured wheat ale, and know what to expect from this one, you are sure to like Summer Weizen.

As always, Okanagan Spring has an interesting and informative label which I appreciate. I also like the fact that use apricots (presumably) grown in the Okanagan Valley region.

Mild Winter Ale - Okanagan Springs (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 4.8%

Mild Winter Ale - Okanagan Springs (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon) 4.8%

A sweet slightly maple, lightly chocolate aroma with roast notes. A dark brown in a glass; chestnut really just like the information on the label says. The taste is somewhat caramelized and almost (but not quite) sticky at first, like a Red Ale, but with a chocolatey finish. There are some dry hop tones throughout and they make the beer refreshingly crisp.

It is a little light, or mild, for a Winter Beer but since that is exactly what they were going for I have to say that Okanagan Springs did a good job with their Mild Winter Ale: it's light and refreshing but still has those warming malt flavours perfect for cold December nights (or cold March afternoons).

The Cannery Collection - Cannery Brewing (Penticton)

IPA - Canning Brewery (Canada - British Columbia - Penticton) 6.0%

A dark amber colour in a glass with a nice frothy head and good lacing. A malty aroma with a hefty dose of resin and pine. Quite a bitter hops taste with roasty malt and full of resin and pine. Just a few red fruit flavours intermixed throughout and maybe just a touch of citrus in the finish.

Naramata Nut Brown Ale - Cannery Brewing (Canada - BC - Penticton) 5.5%

A very dark brown in a glass, nearly opaque, with a big frothy head. Roasty molasses and brown bread aroma. A nutty brown bread taste with molasses, touches of hops and some dark fruit hints. A pretty nice brown with a light mouthfeel that keeps it refreshing.

Anarchist Amber Ale - The Cannery Brewing Co. (Canada - British Columbia - Penticton) 5.5%

A roasty and bitter aroma that is yet a little spicy and tangy with red fruit esters. Amber in a glass with a big fluffy head. Definitely some floral red fruit esters in the taste too, a bit of red ale stickiness and a fair amount of hops comes through with a little pine, a bit of something astringent and some spiciness like a very mild cilantro. Malty also with grain flavours, toast and caramel sweetness with a roasty aftertaste.

Hoperation Tripel Cross - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 7.3%

Hoperation Tripel Cross - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 7.3%

A slightly cloudy full gold in a glass. A crazily hoppy aroma of melon, fresh-cut grass but also some nectar and floral touches from the yeast and a high alcohol smell. Very bitter flavour and aftertaste: bordering on the alkaline taste from accidentally chewing a non-chewable pill. The high alcohol comes through a bit at first mixing with the hops taste to taste a bit like a solvent (floor polish or something) but mellows and mixes with the Tripel flavours. The melon hops with a pine chaser dominates the flavour with only touches of the floral yeast tones coming through in dribs and drabs. The mouthfeel is a bitter thin for a tripel which I expect to be thicker than most beers. This Belgian IPA is a tad overhopped to my taste, if they backed off on the hops just a bit some of the malt and yeast flavour might come through just a little better. All that being said, Hoperation Tripel Cross is probably pretty appealing to hops fanatics even though it isn't the best Belgian IPA I've had or the best Phillips Brewing Company product I have had.

False Creek Raspberry Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - BC - Vancouver) 4.5%

False Creek Raspberry Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - BC - Vancouver) 4.5%

Cloudy pink with amber hints in a glass with a frothy quick-fading white head. Tart and sweet raspberry jam aroma but with some nice malty tones in the background. Very tart raspberry flavour with sweet notes, some citrus hints and an appetizing aftertaste. The malt flavour is underwhelming or more accurately overwhelmed by the fruit, so this is a mainly raspberry ale. False Creek Raspberry Ale would mix well in a beertail (aka a beer-cocktail) and would pair well with summer fare from salad to BBQ to sorbet.

A good fruit flavoured beer, if you aren't into flavoured beers: move right along, nothing to see here.

Artisan IPA - Bowen Island Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Vancouver) 5.5%

Artisan IPA - Bowen Island Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Vancouver) 5.5%

A hoppy aroma of grapefruit and pine, a touch metallic. A shade darker than full gold in a glass with a frothy head. A mild IPA with a pine taste followed by malty, toasty sweetness (really quite sweet, though balanced) and a citrus finish. This is a really nice sessionable IPA: mild tasting but still interesting and true to the style as well as being low enough in alcohol that you can have several.

Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - BC - Vancouver) 5.0%

Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - BC - Vancouver) 5.0%

A brown tinted amber in a glass, a lot like maple syrup actually. A sweet maple aroma; roasty with just a hint of smoke. A mild maple taste but also some musty dry hops, wood tones and a bit of roast. A umami and sugary finish. The aftertaste is delectably maple sugar but, in my opinion, Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale just misses the mark by having too much hops in the taste and not enough maple.

Electric Unicorn White IPA - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 6.5%

Electric Unicorn White IPA - Phillips Brewing Company (Canada - BC - Victoria) 6.5%

It pours a cloudy gold in a glass with a frothy head that fades quickly but leaves nice lacing. Lots of melon (honeydew), unripened mango, passionfruit, some fresh cut grass and a touch of something astringent. Very bitter taste with a pine hops character that didn't stand out in the aroma. A smorgasbord of fruit flavours (orange, mango and passionfruit) come out in the unique blend of hops and wheat beer spice (coriander and cloves) even though the ingredients list only includes coriander and orange peel on top of barley, wheat, hops, water and yeast. A bitter and very appetizing finish with an aftertaste of toast and umami.

Electric Unicorn is great beer with a fun label and bottle cap. This tasty White IPA has a hilarious description /back story on the bottle (see below).

Lions Winter Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Vancouver) 5.5%

Lions Winter Ale - Granville Island Brewing (Canada - British Columbia - Vancouver) 5.5%


A brownish, reddish amber in a glass. Lots of vanilla, wood tones (oak?), and a touch of molasses in the aroma; maybe a hint of chocolate. Vanilla and quite a bit of something milk chocolatey to the taste. After the frist few sips the chocolate (milk, not dark chocolate) aspect of the aroma really came out. Lots of "chewy" malt flavours in there, enough it would seem, to support a high ABV but at the same time it's nice to have a winter ale that has a sessional alcohol content. The wood tones from the aroma can also be found in the taste but they're actually a blend of the subtle hops character (that balances the malt nicely by the way) and the vanilla which I associate with a bourbon or whiskey even as it plays so nicely in Lions Winter Ale. Suggested food pairs on the back ("sweeter full-flavoured foods and cream-based sauces") look promising. Maybe it's the Rocky Mountains on the label but I think it'd go great with fondue as an apres-aki. This is a really nice beer and a splendid Winter beer. Not that they have a real winter in Vancouver but I guess thye do at altitude in the mountains.

Two Canadian Beers that are Red in Title but not in Style

Red Racer Pale Ale (Canada - British Columbia - Surrey) 5.0%

First of all it comes in a really cool can. It has a very sweet malty taste with a hops backer. This American Pale Ale (by style not nationality) has a hoppy citrus aroma and is very nice paired with food although the bitter hops can make spicy foods taste even spicier!

Red Baron Premium Blonde Lager (Canada - Ontario - Waterloo) 4.8%

Pale gold in a glass. Sweet and malty. Light in flavour with a somewhat bitter hops touch in the finish which makes it more refreshing than it otherwise would be. A light malty, hoppy aroma. All in all a nicely crafted lager.

Okanagan Springs Brewery (Canada - British Columbia - Vernon))

Okanagan Springs Brewery located in Vernon, British Columbia has been making beer since 1985. This taster pack included four varieties was purchased (and reviewed) in January. It seems like the composition of these taster pack changes with the season: a seasonal taking the place of the winter appropriate Brewmaster Black Lager. The labels of all of the bottles include a brief write-up of the beer and a few cool informative graphics.

Pale Ale 5.0%

A slightly hoppy and sweet ale, a little nutty and a somewhat caramel flavour. It has a smooth finish with a bitter touch.

Hopped 5.2%

A strong but not overpowering hops taste, it's more balanced than many hop heavy beers. Also not particularly bitter for a beer that tastes so strongly of hops.

Brewmaster Black Lager 5.0%

Malty with coffee and chocolate flavours. Quite dark in a glass with a frothy head. An interesting beer out of a standard brown bottle and a very detailed label tells us something of the beer. An interesting black lager, it has the same refreshing mouthfeel of a lager but with the flavours of a dark beer.

1514 5.0%

This lager is made in accordance with the Bavarian Law of Purity. The result is a lager with more than a hint of hops and malty tastes of freshly toasted bread. Tasty and refreshing.

Begbie Cream Ale - Mount Begbie Brewing Company (Canada - British Columbia - Revelstoke)

Begbie Cream Ale - Mount Begbie Brewing Company (Canada - British Columbia - Revelstoke) 4.7%

Very smooth and creamy. Nice malty smell. A little bitter at first but then it moves into smooth sweet toasted tastiness. It's very nice.

Came in a big bottle (650 ml) with an interesting label and a good story, too bad the bottle cap was so plain.