East Side Beer Fest was put on by Liberty Merchant Company at the WISE Hall. All proceeds from ticket sales and draw prizes went directly to support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. It was a crazy wind and rain storm in Vancouver, but lots of people still showed up to taste a wide variety of beer.
The following breweries and agencies were present:
- Bomber brewing
- Bridge Brewing Co
- Copper & Theory
- Craft Beer Imports
- Dageraad brewing
- Driftwood brewery
- Four Winds Brewing Co
- Moody Ales
- Off the Rail Brewing Co
- Parallel 49 Brewing Co
- Powell Street Craft Brewery
- Steel & Oak Brewing Co
- Strange Fellows Brewing
- Trucraft Beverages
- Untapped Craft Imports
- Westbier Imports
As a beer drinker, I loved the event. It’s a great way to try a few different beers all in one place. Plus, you can drink as much as you want. For $25 a ticket, it wasn’t bad at all.
When I go out to restaurants, I always get the same types of beers. Usually light and fruity. It was a good chance to try some new beers to see if I would like them.
Strange Fellows was there serving up their Talisman West Coast Pale Ale, Nocturnum Dark IPA, Jongleur Belgian Wit and Bayard Farmhouse Saison.
Of those, my favourites were the Jongleur Belgian Wit and Bayard Farmhouse Saison.
Moody Ales all the way from Port Moody in Coquitlam was sampling their Affable IPA, Hardy Brown Ales, and Smouldering Smoked Porter.
The Smouldering Smoked Porter was a pretty unique beer in my mind. It tastes dark with hints of smokiness. It would definitely pair well with steaks or meat pies.
Dageraad Brewing has their Blonde Ale, Sri Lanka Belgian Strong Ale with Treacle and Tamarind, and 10 Degrees quadruple.
A good array of beers, but I still like their Blonde Ale the most. The fruity and citrus aroma is what won me over.
Parallel 49 Brewing has so many varieties of beer to try – Craft Lager, Jerkface 9000 Northwest Wheat Ale, Salty Scot Caramel Scotch Ale, 187 On An Undercover Hop Imperial IPA, Bodhisattva Dry Hopped Sour, and Russian Imperial Stout.
What I lover about Parallel 49 is hoe they name their beers and have such cool illustrations.
What caught my eye was their Jerkface 9000 Northwest Wheat Ale. I found it was light with citrus and floral notes.
Bomber Brewing sampled their Pilsner, IPA and Russian Imperial Stout.
I’m still not a fan of darker beers with a strong hop taste, so I gravitated more towards the Pilsner.
Four Winds Brewing Co. sampled their Juxtapose Wild IPA, Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour, Pale Ale and IPA.
I didn’t try them all, but the Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour. It was fruity, sour, and bubbly. Very unique and I would purchase this.
Glutenberg creates gluten-free beers. It’s definitely a good option since more and more people can’t have gluten. The Glutenberg Lapsang d’Automne Gluten Free Beer was pretty strong but I thought it was cool since it was made of tea. Tasted ok, but not for me.
Bridge Brewing Co from North Vancouver had their Bourbon Blood Orange Wheat Ale, North Shore Pale Ale, and Wunderbar Kolsh for tasting.
All of them were pretty good. Definitely hard to choose a favourite, but if I went to a restaurant to grab a beer, I would be happy with any of the 3 I tried.
Powell Street Craft Brewery sampled their Hopdemonium IPA, Ode to Citra Pale Ale and the Dive Bomber Porter.
By the end of the night, beer was flowing and everyone could try something familiar or something completely new.
A very good event for beer drinkers and those who are new to the craft. The East Side Beer Fest was in it’s 4th year and hopefully more years to come. If you missed it this year, keep an eye open for it next year.
Website: http://libertywinemerchants.com/pages/wine-tasting-events.php
