Saturday, May 7, 2011

Basement Brewer takes a turn for the Hundred Mile

100 Mile Fire Base
As much as I've enjoyed the off-season this year, all good things must come to an end. The weather is finally starting to warm and that means that time is at hand: fire season. It's time again to return to my job battling the blazes as a wildfire fighter stationed in the town of 100 Mile House, five hours north of Vancouver.
The base whiteboard. It's good to be back

Now for all of you who have never heard of 100 Mile, or have merely driven through it, (and I'm sure you're many) it's not exactly a cultural hotspot. For example, the talk of the town last summer was that a McDonald's might be opening in the near future, a rumour that sadly proved to be untrue. However, Hundo (as it is known to locals) is hardly a stagnant place, as the addition of a new traffic light this year proves, bringing the town's grand total to four. Despite this rapid progression, 100 Mile is not quite the beer town Victoria is. In part due to this, this blog will change somewhat until I return south in September. My homebrewing efforts will unfortunately be on hold until the Fall. There may also be some longer stretches without posts, especially if this fire year turns out to be as bad as the last two summers. I hope you'll stick with me through these changes, valued reader, as without you this blog would be nothing. I will continue with reviews and I have a good supply of new beers from my recent trip to Portland stashed in my van to make this happen (Did I mention I live in my van up here? Don't worry, I don't stay down by the river). For your enjoyment I will also be writing a series of "Beer Scene in 100 Mile" posts to fill the gaps, and to properly get across some of the quality of the 100 Mile experience. So until next time I hope you'll stick with me, and don't fret, Basement Breweries will  be back in full brewing force before you know it.

The Van in a secret camping location.

Don't worry, I didn't forget the beer.

Beer, curry, and wasabi peas. Nice.

3 comments:

  1. Hundred mile is a pretty area. Those pocket lakes and rolling hills are very familiar to me. I used to hunt grouse with a buddy who lives out at the end of the 111 mile road on Dempsey lake. If you're ever out that way say Hi to Arnold Abram for me. I don't know what the summer is going to be like where you are, but down here on the coast it hasn't stopped raining yet. Please remind your Victoria friends that the volunteer site is now open for the Great Canadian Beer Festival. Terry

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  2. Mmmm, woods curry. I'm going to play softball and drink belgian grapefruit IPA all day.

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  3. Hey Terry, ya its been pretty rainy so far up here, but that's pretty typical for this time of year in the Cariboo. I'm already signed up for volunteering at GCBF, looking forward to it and will pass on the word.

    I'd like to try that Belgian IPA Arlo, I'll bet its a good one, you'll have to save me a bottle.
    BB

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