903 replies to this topic

[johnk]

No mystery why craft beers are thriving. Beer made by beer lovers for beer lovers, not swill churned out by marketing monkeys.

[VicHockeyFan]

No mystery why craft beers are thriving. Beer made by beer lovers for beer lovers, not swill churned out by marketing monkeys.

 

I think you'll find the brewing process is nearly identical.

 

And the small brewers have gained from a marketing perception that they are more "crafty".  So they also might be the creative marketing monkeys.

[lanforod]

I bet craft brewers are more careful what goes into the beer though. Garbage in, garbage out.

[Matt R.]

Phoenix Gold stubbies used to say "imported from Esquimalt" on them.  Good beer, even better marketing.

 

Matt.

[amor de cosmos]

i think this is already moonpub's biggest seller
http://www.cbc.ca/ne...mnist-1.3093893

[jklymak]

I think you'll find the brewing process is nearly identical.

And the small brewers have gained from a marketing perception that they are more "crafty". So they also might be the creative marketing monkeys.

I'm sure wonder bread is made by a nearly identical process as wildfires bread.

[VicHockeyFan]

I'm sure wonder bread is made by a nearly identical process as wildfires bread.

 

It is.  But with extra whitener, and ingredients to keep it soft, fresh and longer-lasting.

 

The same might be true about the big breweries.

 

But if people like the taste and price of the big beers, why does everyone have to be so snobby? 

[thundergun]

^ I seem to recall you being snobby about McDonald's even though a lot of people like that crap. How is this any different?

[amor de cosmos]

Four Mile Brewing has added a fourth dimension to its growing business — a second liquor store.

The company, owned by the Haymes family, will open the store this week after finishing touches are applied to the spot at the top of the Colwood Strip.

The store has been years in the making and is being opened to break open the Four Mile brand.

“It’s an extension of the current business. We have one store, the brew pub and we have a brewery — and we wanted to grow the brand identity,” said Graham Haymes Jr.

The family bought the liquor licence and moved it to Colwood at 300 Goldstream Ave., beside Thrifty Foods.

Haymes said the location makes sense on a number of levels, not the least of which being the steady growth in the area.

“There’s been so much growth on the West Shore, it seems to grow 10 per cent each year, so I think there is a good chunk of market we can grow into,” Haymes said. “We’re excited about the location, and whenever you’re beside a grocery store you’re in a good spot.”

The new liquor store, which fills a 3,000-square-foot footprint, takes over what had been two stores within a strip mall.

http://www.timescolo...shore-1.1962013

[VicHockeyFan]

^ I seem to recall you being snobby about McDonald's even though a lot of people like that crap. How is this any different?

 

Wasn't me.  I love McDonald's.

[amor de cosmos]

Breweries, distilleries and meaderies will be allowed to open up on farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve provided they meet the same rules set out for wineries.

That's one of a series of reforms announced by the province Monday that aim to make it easier for farmers to set up agricultural processing plants and otherwise earn more money from their land.

As with wineries in the ALR, at least half the farm ingredients that go into the beer, spirits or mead must be grown on the farm.

Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick noted hops farming is on an upswing in areas such as Chilliwack and Kamloops, and predicts the rule change will create an incentive for more farmers to take a risk and get into beverage production.

"If that means you can enjoy some mead or some beer on a piece of farmland and that's what it takes to get that farmland back into production, I'm okay with that," Letnick said in an interview at an herb farm in Surrey.

http://www.vicnews.c.../307462081.html

[lanforod]

That is awesome. Easy for small acreages with small production runs of craft beer?

[VicHockeyFan]

I had to look up mead.  Never heard of that before.

[amor de cosmos]

sunshine coast & comox valley. not victoria but close enough?
http://blogs.theprov...he-lower-coast/
http://blogs.theprov...he-upper-coast/

[amor de cosmos]

pt 3 comox valley
http://blogs.theprov...e-comox-valley/

[amor de cosmos]

It's been two years and 5,000 grey hairs in the making, but now local craft beer brewer Matt Phillips will be doing his own barley malting with the help of regional farmers.

Next Friday, Phillips Brewing Company, located on Government Street, will mark the grand opening of its very own on-site malting plant – the first of its size in Victoria and B.C.

According to Phillips, the local facility is one of only a handful of malting plants across North America, and will partner with Vancouver Island farmers to use locally grown barley in its beer.

http://www.bclocalne.../323977901.html

[amor de cosmos]

Hops, a principal ingredient in beer, were historically a major local agri-business here, but the local industry completely fizzled out in the 1990s.

Hop farming in B.C. dates back to the 1860s and peaked in the 1940s, when the province’s 2,000 acres of cultivation represented the largest hop-growing region in the British Commonwealth. But the industry completely dried up over the second half of the 20th century amid market consolidation led by major brewing conglomerates.

In the last decade, though, hops have once again become a feasible cash crop in B.C., with demand driven by the province’s craft beer boom.

When the last of the original B.C. hop farms closed down in 1997, there were fewer than 25 brewers and brew pubs in B.C., said Ken Beattie, executive director of the B.C. Craft Brewers Guild. Now, that number has skyrocketed to more than 110.

http://www.timescolo...-beer-1.2052163

[amor de cosmos]

'tis the season
 

Why Americans are so obsessed with pumpkin spice everything – according to science
September 11, 2015 12.36pm EDT
Jordan Gaines LewisNeuroscience Doctoral Candidate at Penn State College of Medicine

It was a humid, sticky 32°C when I made a quick trip to the grocery store in shorts and a tank top earlier this week. Despite the heat, however, the store clearly wanted me to think it was the fall season – and for us Americans, that means pumpkin spice.

Weaving in and out of each aisle, I was inundated with row upon row of pumpkin spice M&Ms, pumpkin spice yogurt, pumpkin spice Oreos, pumpkin spice cereal, pumpkin spice beer, pumpkin spice cookies, pumpkin spice bagels, pumpkin spice Pop-Tarts, pumpkin spice popcorn, pumpkin spice hummus, pumpkin spice creamer for my pumpkin spice coffee...

https://theconversat...o-science-47342

[Mike K.]

One of my favourites at beer fest was a pumpkin beer. Couldn't tell you what it was but I liked it. And this is coming from a guy who loves PBR and Lucky.

[amor de cosmos]

why not something like this for the island? i hope the bend comparisons keep coming!
 

How to do the Bend Ale Trail - The Largest Beer Trail in the West

Use the Bend Ale Trail Atlas and Passport to discover all breweries along the world famous Bend Ale Trail! Make sure you read the rules of the trail here before you head out because if you don't follow the rules, you don't get a prize.

As you forge your way along the Bend Ale Trail , whip out your passport (one required per person) and ask for a stamp at each brewery. No purchase is necessary at any of the brewery stops, though it’s a great chance to sample suds everywhere you go. Please refer to each brewery's hours of operation here, as not all of them are open 7 days a week.

Got stamps from 10 breweries? Awesome! Pat yourself on the back, then stop by or send your completed passport to the Bend Visitor Center (please note Bend Visitor Center hours of operation) to receive your prize, a commemorative Bend Silipint! Got stamps from all 1​6 breweries? Rock on with your bad self! Not only do you get the Silipint, we'll also give you a nifty Bend Ale Trail bottle opener.

It's probably not wise to attempt the entire Bend Ale Trail in one day. Luckily Bend is home to many great hotels & motels, resorts, vacation rentals, and even B&Bs. Find your perfect place to rest up along the Bend Ale Trail on our where to stay page.

http://www.visitbend...Bend-Ale-Trail/

Edited by amor de cosmos, 18 September 2015 - 08:29 AM.