Need a Keg? Head to R&B Brewing...Vancouver peeps

Last weekend was one of my good buddies wedding. And he is a craft beer head like me. As such he would definitely not be serving your average macro at the event or surrounding events. He contacted a few of his favourite local breweries and was excited to tell me about the options at R&B brewing. R&B doesn't just offer their standard beers in keg format, they also offer custom casks to your tasting.

My buddy ended up with a Cask of the Raven Cream Ale which had been on oak and extra hopped. This beer was super delicious and fun as I got to tap it since my buddy was busy with all of the wedding festivities. This is definitely a great option if you are having a special occasion.

Service at the brewery was excellent. Everyone that helped us out was super friendly and spoke to us about the different projects and beers they have going on. Definitely a cool experience and will be keeping them in mind next time I have a special event.

Great Canadian Beer Fest

Headed over to Victoria last week for the 2010 edition of the Great Canadian Beer Fest. This is the largest beer festival in Canada and it sells out every year. I had heard good things about going on the Friday as there are more special beers available that get drank up before Saturday. The day started off early and we headed out to the ferry. Grabbed some coffee and the 1:30 went by super quick.

Once on the Island we headed downtown and grabbed a pre-festival lunch at Swan's Brewpub. As I had never been here before I ordered a sampler. In my sampler I had the Brown Ale, the ESB, the Belgian Wit, and the Stout. All were very tasty, but I especially enjoyed the Wit, which is not normally one of my favourite styles. I also enjoyed a Lamb Burger which was very tasty.


After we finished lunch we had some time and decided to go check out one of our favourite BC Breweries, Phillips. Checked out the store front which is very cool and was super stoked to see so many people in filling up their growlers for the weekend. We also bumped in to a friend from high school Kurtis. Check out the link cause the prank they played on him was very funny.

Once we got to the festival the lineup was quite long to get in, but surprisingly once the gates opened it moved very quickly. Once in I was overwhelmed with all of the choices available for tasting. I won't go over everything but here is a synopsis.

Favourite Beer Tasted: Dead Frog Cascadian Nutbrown. Super tasty.

Most disappointing beer: Green Flash La Freak. I had big expectations after trying there other beers but this just not stand up for me.

Wish I had tried: Lighthouse Brewing - Espr
esso Vodka Infused Imperial Stout. Heard great things about this one after.
Beer that will inspire a road trip: Peaks Brewing - Train Wreck IPA and Chocolate Porter. Both were delicious can't wait to make a trip.


Most Interesting: R&B Black Raspberry Lambic.



All in all this was a great trip and cant wait to go back next year. I definitely recommend it if you love beer.