Tag: IPA

2022 Sumer/Autumn Beer Roundup

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Interesting times continue! I’ve left the culinary industry and began a new career in retail, started a podcast with my buddy Simon, become and middle-aged homeowner/DIY enthusiast and lately I’ve tried to generally chill out more on my off hours. 

Key to my even keel amidst these chaotic times is to kick back with a brew or two on my off hours. Savouring my beer and taking notes has been a great exercise in mindfulness and has helped me not only expand my palate, but also learn new things about my favourite liquid art form. It’s about time to pass on a couple things I’ve noticed during this last summer/autumn. 

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Ace Brewing (Courtenay, BC)

Shawn 2 Comments

During a couple days off this summer Crystal, me and our MTB buddies Jen and Sean spent a scorching afternoon thrashing around Hornby Island’s beautiful Mount Geoffrey trail network. After packing up the bikes the crew needed shade, food and alcohol and seeing as the local Meadery was closed we headed to nearby Courtenay where the breweries are plentiful and the IPAs flow like Mrya Falls.

The newest of these watering holes, Ace Brewing opened up in 2019 just in time to fill the vacuum left by the now- defunct Forbidden Brewing. This cemented Courtenay’s hipster cred as a two brewery town and gave people a place to enjoy craft beer and a bit of socially-distanced social time during the worst of the pandemic.

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5 BC Beers That Got Us Through 2020

Shawn 1 Comment

I don’t need to tell anyone 2020 was challenging year, we all felt it in one way or another. People got sick, whole countries burned both literally and metaphorically, our industry got trashed, lots of things went wrong. The subconscious weirdness of the year weighed on everyone and by early fall I was becoming as much a psychiatrist to my crew as I was a chef.. Life on the front lines.

Amidst this chaos my wife and I bought a house. We’d been planning it for years and the perfect fit just happened to pop up. The final months of Armageddon included packing, moving, screaming cats and learning all about house insurance. Oh, and the holidays, lots of fun.

I drank a lot of beer last year. I think a lot of people drank a lot last year. It’s not the best tag line for a post, but here we all are. I tried to do my best to keep my pandemic imbibing under control, and I think I did a pretty good job. I did make friends with a handful of new beers that are worth discussing.

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Best BC Summer Beers of 2016

Shawn 1 Comment

2016 Summer Beer ListAnother summer has landed here on the West coast and it’s shaping up to be extremely busy for the EDB team. There’s work, seafood festivals, pop-ups, bike trips to various places on the island and mainland plus visits with friends, family and all manner of industry establishments all packed into the next two and a half months. Whew!

To offset all this madness it’s important to always set aside a few moments of calm here and there to unwind the mind and body… And crack open a craft beer! *Ksssssht*Yes! Once again it’s time to have a look back at my favourite BC brews of the spring and forward to the bombers I’ll be savouring all summer long.

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Eight More BC Summer Beers

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More BC Summer BeersIt’s been a scorcher this summer.

Not that I’m complaining… I like getting to work with dry socks and I love spending my weekends in the great outdoors!

It’s been a big change to have two days off with my wife! *laughs* Go ahead and insert your off-colour marriage joke here… But really, Crystal and I have been mountain biking, hiking, taking the dog to the beach and adventuring to new restaurants, farmer’s markets and junk shops. In short, we’ve enjoyed ourselves a lot.

Consequently, I haven’t spent as much time on the blog as I suppose I should… Sorry y’all.

During all these shenanigans I’ve discovered a handful of new, local beers that have accompanied and enhanced said shenanigans in all the right ways.

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