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My buddy is heading to B.C. this August and asked me what he should look for, and what he should ship/bring back. Other than Phillips and Central City, I don't know what to recommend, so I thought I'd ask you travelers.

akr71 wrote:My buddy is heading to B.C. this August and asked me what he should look for, and what he should ship/bring back. Other than Phillips and Central City, I don't know what to recommend, so I thought I'd ask you travelers.

a growler from Swans

Anything from Driftwood, Fat Tug IPA is a must try. Russell makes some good stuff as well—particularly that wheat wine we had here a few months back. I've also been hearing very good things about Lighthouse's Switchback IPA and their Seckhand Saison is very good as well.

sleepyjamie wrote:

akr71 wrote:My buddy is heading to B.C. this August and asked me what he should look for, and what he should ship/bring back. Other than Phillips and Central City, I don't know what to recommend, so I thought I'd ask you travelers.

a growler from Swans

Swans Coconut Porter is really tasty. Not sure if they're making it this time of year or not.

akr71 wrote:My buddy is heading to B.C. this August and asked me what he should look for, and what he should ship/bring back. Other than Phillips and Central City, I don't know what to recommend, so I thought I'd ask you travelers.

Depending where you are, some other good things that can be found.

- Again, only on draft, like Swans. Crannog's Back Hand of God Stout is first rate. If you know where you are going to be, let me know and I will check if it is available locally.

- As mentioned earlier, anything Driftwood does is very tasty.

- The Tree Hop Head and Imperial IPA are both tasty.

- Everything I've had from the Nelson brewery has also been first rate.

- I've also heard good things about R & B brewing, although I have yet to taste anything special from this house.

Just for grins, I'll post a copy of the BC sections of the NW Brewing News listings later.

Thanks for all the suggestions/ideas. I'm not so interested in bars/restaurants where he can find good beer - he can drink fizzy yellow water while there, for all I care! I'm more interested in what he can bring back.

Keep 'em comin

Cannery Brewing, i really enjoyed their maple stout.

ajcarp wrote:- Again, only on draft, like Swans. Crannog's Back Hand of God Stout is first rate. If you know where you are going to be, let me know and I will check if it is available locally.

Are Swans not bottling anything? I had a bottle of their Coconut Porter over the holidays, but perhaps that was just a special occasion thing?

They do bottle some in 650 ml bottles. From what I can tell, sold only from their own store next to the pub in Victoria. I have yet to see it else where here in BC, although I have only made it to the really great stores in Vancouver once. Here in Kelowna, we are lucky to see a Phillips specialty.

If you like cider, insist upon some Okanagan ginger cider. It has just the right amount of ginger, making it the best cider I've ever had.

Jmac00 wrote:Cannery Brewing, i really enjoyed their maple stout.

I emptied a bottle of that recently. It was delicious.

ajcarp wrote:They do bottle some in 650 ml bottles. From what I can tell, sold only from their own store next to the pub in Victoria. I have yet to see it else where here in BC, although I have only made it to the really great stores in Vancouver once. Here in Kelowna, we are lucky to see a Phillips specialty.

That's a shame.

I believe that Brewery Creek in Vancouver often gets Swans stuff in. I think that's where my buddy got me the bomber of Coconut Porter.

KMcK wrote:If you like cider, insist upon some Okanagan ginger cider. It has just the right amount of ginger, making it the best cider I've ever had.

I do enjoy cider, but this could be a dangerous proposition. We've got about 12-15 apple trees and I've gotten some dirty looks from the wife for suggesting that we need a cider press.

akr71 wrote:I do enjoy cider, but this could be a dangerous proposition. We've got about 12-15 apple trees and I've gotten some dirty looks from the wife for suggesting that we need a cider press.

We need to discuss that further. My BIL and I have been talking about the same thing because he's got a number of huge apple trees.

akr71 wrote:

KMcK wrote:If you like cider, insist upon some Okanagan ginger cider. It has just the right amount of ginger, making it the best cider I've ever had.

I do enjoy cider, but this could be a dangerous proposition. We've got about 12-15 apple trees and I've gotten some dirty looks from the wife for suggesting that we need a cider press.

all the more reason to let her try this cider

KMcK wrote:

Jmac00 wrote:Cannery Brewing, i really enjoyed their maple stout.

I emptied a bottle of that recently. It was delicious.

Did you get it somewhere local? if so, spill the beans...lol

Jmac00 wrote:

KMcK wrote:

Jmac00 wrote:Cannery Brewing, i really enjoyed their maple stout.

I emptied a bottle of that recently. It was delicious.

Did you get it somewhere local? if so, spill the beans...lol

I got it at the brewery in April. I sampled all their wares and decided that this was the one worth taking home.

KMcK wrote:

KMcK wrote:

Jmac00 wrote:Cannery Brewing, i really enjoyed their maple stout.

I emptied a bottle of that recently. It was delicious.

I got it at the brewery in April. I sampled all their wares and decided that this was the one worth taking home.

KMcK knows all. The Cannery Brewing tour/store, in Penticton, although it looks like it is in a shopping mall/office, is quite good. I think they are filling growlers by now. Penticton also has the Tin Whistle Brewery that has tastings right on 97 by the Ramada Inn. Most of their beers are a little sweet for me, but they made a great Imperial IPA for a cask event, so I know they can do it. The Kettle Vally Station pub about a block away from there usually has something from Cannery, Tin Whistle and Tree on tap.

ajcarp wrote:KMcK knows all. The Cannery Brewing tour/store, in Penticton, although it looks like it is in a shopping mall/office, is quite good. I think they are filling growlers by now. Penticton also has the Tin Whistle Brewery that has tastings right on 97 by the Ramada Inn. Most of their beers are a little sweet for me, but they made a great Imperial IPA for a cask event, so I know they can do it. The Kettle Vally Station pub about a block away from there usually has something from Cannery, Tin Whistle and Tree on tap.

I got the impression that the building Cannery is in used to be a cannery. Tin Whistle seems to focus on fruit beers, which makes sense given the location. I took home a bottle of their Scorpion DIPA. Unfortunately there was no scorpion in it. Also it had mellowed a lot by the time I drank it (compared to the sample I had on site), which was too bad.