You forgo the factory brew on special and go for a pint of locally crafted ale at your favourite watering hole.
You skip the cheap beer fridges at the local liquor store and opt instead for a “bomber” of your favourite local seasonal brew.
You take it one step further and go right to the source, purchasing your beer in refillable glass “growlers” directly from the brewery.
October is your month, B.C. craft beer enthusiast. A month you will surely forget — or remember in a frothy haze left behind by all the delicious beer tastings over the next 31 days. So get out there and paint the town amber, brown or blonde, and enjoy the second-annual B.C. Craft Beer Month with these fine events around town:
Mondays: Stop in to The Beagle Pub (301 Cook) for a nightly cask tasting at 5:30pm thoughout the month. Oct. 8 features the Pumpkin Ale and Chocolate Porter by Lighthouse Brewing Company.
Tuesdays: The Strathcona Hotel’s Games Room (919 Douglas, entrance off Courtney) is featuring cask tastings between 5 and 6pm. Stop in Oct. 9 for a taste of Hoyne Brewing’s Wet Hopped Pale Ale, brewed with local hand-picked Centennial and Cascade hops. More info at strathconahotel.com.
Thursdays: Stop by the Strathcona Hotel’s Clubhouse (919 Douglas) at 5pm for a weekly cask tasting. The Oct. 4 offering will be Lighthouse Brewing Company’s Dry Hopped Switchback IPA. More info at strathconahotel.com.
Fridays: Drop in to the Canoe Brewpub (450 Swift) between 4:30 and 6:30pm for mystery cask nights (featuring two-for-one appies). The Oct. 5 offering is a creation from Canoe Brewpub brewmaster Daniel Murphy. Canoe will also be featuring casks from Salt Spring Island, Coal Harbour and Phillips over the month.
And if you can’t make it to any of these events, or find yourself looking for a taste of cask ale on a Wednesday, stop by Canada’s oldest brewpub Spinnakers (308 Catherine), where they serve a new cask every night (Monday to Friday) for $6 a pint. Oct. 4 features their Original Pale Ale with Sterlings and Oct. 5 features the Northwest Ale with fresh Sooke Cascades.
For a full schedule of B.C. Craft Beer Month events, go to craftbeermonth.ca, or visit our local beer consumer advocacy group, The Campaign for Real Ale at camra.ca. M