Review - Rochefort 10

Building on my last review of the abbey-style Guldenberg, I recently was able to sample and review Rochefort 10, from the Trappist brewery of the same name in Southern Belgian. Rochefort is one of the eight official Trappist monastery breweries and has been brewing beer since the end of the 16th century. They produce three beers: 6, 8, and 10. The alcoholic strength of these beers roughly corresponds to the numbers, a holdover from the days before highly accurate alcohol calculation.

Review - De Ranke Guldenberg

With the biggest Canucks game in nearly two decades looming, I find myself in the unlikely location of Fort McMurray, fighting one of the biggest wildfires in Canadian history. It's a funny world sometimes. Unfortunately for me, the rig camp I'm staying in that houses 6000 workers is completely dry on penalty of expulsion. Fortunately for the reader I have a couple of reviews saved up for such an occasion.

Victoria CAMRA home brewing competition

The results for the CAMRA home brew contest in Victoria are in at last. It seems there were far more entries than expected (nearly 200) and thus judging took longer than originally planned. The results for all 14 categories are now final, but it appears the Best in Show winners and winners of the Phillips Showcase have not yet been decided, so stay tuned. The contest attracted attention from across the country and the ribbons were mostly dominated by members of some of the big homebrew clubs such as Vanbrewers, ALES, and the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers. I didn't recognise too many local names among the winners, but I did notice fellow beer blogger Ian Lloyd from left4beer won a silver in the Amber Lagers category, and local malter Mike Doehnel took the Gold for Belgian Ales. Congrats guys! It also came as a pleasant surprise that yours truly the Basement Brewer took home a pair of silver medals. The Half Pounder won for India Pale Ales and The Harvester for Belgian Ales. This is a real honour considering the amount of quality entries this contest received. Thanks to all the guys from CAMRA who worked hard to make this event happen, I promise to help out next year if I'm not fighting fire!

Review - Driftwood Spring Rite

I apologise for the long delay since my last post, but all my attentions for the past couple of weeks have been focused on fighting the Slave Lake fire in Northern Alberta. I've finally got a few days off now and I'm back on the good ol' Island for a bit of r and r. One of the bonuses of getting down here is finally being able to try Driftwood's new concoction I've been hearing so much about, Spring Rite.

Review - Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale 4.5% abv

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is one of an increasing number of breweries in America focusing on old world styles and old world methods with an American twist. Similar to US breweries such as Russian River, Upright, and Ommegang, Jolly Pumpkin uses brewing techniques that were almost unheard of on this side of the Atlantic not so long ago. Among these methods are open fermentation, allowing for the potential for wild yeasts to alter the character of the beer, long maturation in oak casks as opposed to stainless steel tanks to create complexity of flavour, and natural carbonation in the bottle.

Beer Scene in 100 Mile - Jake's Pub and Grill

I'd like to begin my series of posts on the beer scene in 100 Mile House, where I am working for the summer, with the one and only Jake's Pub and Grill, located in the heart of downtown 100 Mile on highway 97. Jake's is a welcoming sort of place that is always

Vancouver Home Brewing Competition Results

The results are in for the 2011 VanBrewer Awards and it looks like it was a hotly contested event. With a grand prize of $3000, plus having your beer brewed by Russell Brewing it received a lot of attention, with over 320 entries from all across the country.

Review - Upright Brewing Six 6.7%abv

Time for my first review from the bush. Before I get started I should probably mention there may be some limitations to my reviews now that my existence consists of working as a wildfire fighter and living in a van. It's entirely possible, for instance, that my glassware may not be as clean as would be ideal, so if I mention a beer's quickly collapsing head, take it with a grain of salt. If I start to talk about overpowering aromas of diesel fuel and wood smoke, well... it's probably not the beer's fault. With that being said, let's get onto the review.

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.

Review - Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout

Southern Tier Brewing is not known for their mellow beers. They are purveyors of numerous "Imperial" beers, meaning usually more malt, more alcohol and more hops. Perhaps their most famous brew is their Unearthly Imperial India Pale Ale, a beer that is incredibly drinkable considering its staggering alcohol percentage. Continuing in this tradition is the Imperial Choklat Stout, made with actual bittersweet Belgian chocolate.