Brewery Creek, Vancouver - part 5 (Big Rock)

On the afternoon of Sunday 2 October, 2016, the Caskmaster Grand Championship was hosted by Big Rock Urban Brewery.

This was one of the first events in BC Craft Beer Month (October). Ticket holders (Can$25) could sample cask ales from fifteen local breweries and vote for their favourite.
The breweries included R&B Brewing Co, Real Cask Brewing and Strathcona Beer Co. The 2016 winner was Main Street Brewing Co. Second place was a tie with Callister Brewing Co and Steel & Oak Brewing.

It was dark by the time I arrived at Big Rock Urban Brewery, on Sunday 2 October, after an earlier visit to 33 Acres Brewing, about half a mile away, higher up Mount Pleasant.

All the traces of the Caskmaster Grand Championship had been cleared away and few people remained. There is a large dining area (Big Rock Urban Eatery) at the front of the building but I went towards the back and found a comfortable seat at the bar with views of the lounge and brewery behind me.

The drinks menu lists beers served in 12oz or Pint measures and reasonably priced at Can$4.5 / Can$6 respectively. A flight of 4 x 6oz glasses costs Can$9. Rock Creek Cider and a guest tap supply alternatives to the beers brewed here.

I ordered a pint of Citradelic IPA (6% ABV, 67 IBU) as I like beers with Citra hops and this was no exception. English and Canadian malts are also used in brewing this copper coloured beer.

Beer story notes on the brewery's website mention 'BC Brewmaster Jody Hammell was given the keys to a brand new brewhouse, which was set up to do things our larger brewhouse in Calgary wasn't necessarily designed to do. Citradelic is the first of many delicious results of that plan. It has been such a hit with our west coast drinkers, that it's now won the right to debut across Canada.'

The brewery with its copper and stainless steel vessels certainly looks most impressive.
As I was staying near False Creek, it was only a short walk home after this visit, passing Olympic Village Skytrain station.

Big Rock Urban Brewery
310 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada


www.bigrockurban.com

Brewery Creek, Vancouver - part 4 (33 Acres Brewing Co)

33 Acres Brewing Co is located at 15 West 8th Avenue. There is a Mobi bike sharing station nearby and bicycle parking stands on the pavement in front of the building.

The walk from Broadway - City Hall, via tree-lined West 8th Avenue, is fairly level and passes Jonathan Rogers Park, with open views towards the mountains of North Vancouver, just before reaching 33 Acres Brewing Co.

Earlier, on the evening of Sunday 2 October, I met Lucinda off the 99 / B Line express bus from the University of British Columbia (UBC) at the Broadway - City Hall stop, just outside the entrance to the Skytrain station with the same name. This point is marked with a blue box near the base of the map above.

The 33 Acres tasting room was busy when we arrived. A high table with no stools was the only option at first but luckily we were soon able to find another table with seating. The room has a capacity of 60 and no reservations are possible.
We admired the minimalistic style of the room which is painted white and has big windows at the front. Some plants relieve the industrial style.
Coffee, from a sleek machine on the bar cournter, as well as beer are served here.
The beer I enjoyed here was 33 Acres of Ocean (5.6% ABV) in a style described as 'evolutionary from a typical IPA with an assertive hop, lower alcohol content, and a slight pine aroma.' It is brewed with hops, harvested near the Pacific Ocean, including Galena, Cascade and Citra.
Different food trucks provide food at most lunchtime and evening sessions except Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.
With Lucinda to talk to, there was no opportunity to take more photos at 33 Acres.
From here it would be easy to walk to Brassneck, R&B Brewing or Big Rock. Blog posts, with rather more photos from my solo visits, are also available for these brewery taprooms in the Brewery Creek / Mount Pleasant area.

33 Acres Brewing Co
15 West 8th Avenue,

Vancouver,
B.C., Canada

http://33acresbrewing.com/


Footnote:

Two days later, I would catch a bus to UBC to visit the Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA) with its superb collection that includes items from the Haida Nation including decorative pipes made from argillite.

Afterwards I met up with Lucinda, at her college, and she kindly offered me a bottle of Grapefruit Ale brewed in British Columbia by Whistler Brewing Co, a 5% ABV seasonal beer that is her favourite and has now become one of mine! Cheers!

Brewery Creek, Vancouver - part 2 (Brassneck Brewery)

Brassneck Brewery is about half a mile south from Main Street - Science World Skytrain station. It is an uphill walk from there or from Red Truck Beer Co, via Scotia Street, which was my starting point on Monday 3 October, 2016 and featured in the previous blog post.

The brewery vessels are visible through large windows that face Main Street.

The entrance is set back slightly from the street with a striking organic design on the approach to the door. The growler station is immediately inside and the bar / tasting room is beyond on the left.

Inside, the bar area was busy but luckily one place was available on a long table in line with the bar. If Brassneck Brewery is busy on a Monday evening it must be difficult to find a table at the weekend.
I was also fortunate to find myself sitting next to Christina, on a trip from Stratford, London, who was crossing the continent on her return to the UK via Raleigh, for a friend's wedding and New York City.

A blackboard shows the available beers priced at Can$2.50 for 6oz, Can$5 for 12 oz or a Brass Bat - flight of four 6oz glasses for Can$8 (excluding taxes).

The Brass Bat comes with a neat label listing the beers chosen.

My beers were No Brainer (4.5% ABV) Pre-Prohibition style corn lager, Brassneck Ale (5%), Ten times Ten (5.5%) American Pale Ale hopped with fresh Centennial from BC Hop Co and Passive Agressive (6.5%) dry hopped pale ale. The No Brainer was lacking in flavour, the Brassneck Ale reminded me of Fuller's London Pride. These beers weren't gassy like some keg beers and of the four, Passive Aggressive was my favourite and one of the top beers on this trip.

There were a lot of building, decor and furniture details to admire in the bar like polished concrete surfaces and the bark edged, thick wooden table. Perhaps the tree trunk had been floated down the Fraser river before being sawn into planks?

Timber of various shapes and colurs was also used to make partition walls to separate the bar area from the brewery area.

An end wall panel was illustrated with black and white graphic designs for the different Brassneck beers.

Before leaving there was a chance to have a quick look into part of the brewery area.

There is an opportunity to buy distinctive t-shjrts or trucker caps from the merchandise displayed above the route to the exit.
I liked the relaxed atmosphere at Brassneck Brewing and felt part of an exclusive club with its stylish design features and interesting beer range.

The third and final brewery visit on tonight's trail would be R&B Brewing, less than a quarter of mile away. It was now dark and my walking route would take me past the City Centre motor hotel with its mural fronting Main Street.

There are elevated views towards the centre of Vancouver from this part of Mount Pleasant. See the subsequent blog post for further details of R&B Brewing.

Brassneck Brewery
2148 Main Street,
Vancouver,
B.C., Canada

www.brassneck.ca

Opening hours for the taproom (Nov 2016):
Mon-Fri      2pm - 11pm
Sat & Sun 12pm - 11pm
Closed holidays

Brewery Creek, Vancouver - part 1 (Red Truck Beer Co)

Red Truck Beer Co is the first brewery tap I visited in the Brewery Creek area of Vancouver on the evening of Monday 3 October.

Mobi bikes and Trans Am Totem - Biennale sculpture

Earlier, I had spent the day cycling around Vancouver on multiple short trips with Mobi, the bike sharing scheme.

After parking my latest shared bike, I would find my way on foot to Red Truck Beer Co, which is only about half a mile from Pacific Central Terminal and the Main Street / Science World Skytrain station.

Walking uphill along East 1st Avenue, it was interesting to find art galleries who may have chosen to locate in this part of the city as an alternative to the traditional art gallery locations where rents have risen in recent years.

Red Truck Beer Co occupies a large sloping site and the main brewery building is set well back from the street. Unusual details include the kegs forming part of the entrance posts, the cartoon covered silos and the collection of red trucks, of various vintages, on-site.

Approaching closer, you will notice the water tower, something of a local landmark, standing proudly above the customer entrance.

Even closer, the white wording under the black Truck Stop sign can be read: 'Beer Burgers Dogs Salads Fries Beer'.

Entering the Truck Stop, you notice two big downward pointing arrows above the bar counter, left for beer orders and right for food orders chosen from the large menu on the side wall. The stainless steel brewing vessels are visible through the windows behind the bar. Three TVs evenly suspended above the bar show different sports events. Padded bar stools are provided for seating at the bar or at the high tables with wood surfaces.

Approaching the bar, the beer list is displayed overhead and I ordered a Craftmaster 4 Taster for Can$8. The chunky paddle has a metal top plate in keeping with the industrial style of the building.

My choices were White ISA (4.2% ABV), Red Truck ISA (4.2%), Golden Ale (4.0%) and Red Truck IPA (6.3%). My favourites were the White ISA, a refreshing beer to start with and the amber coloured American style IPA. Four other Red Truck beers were available including a lager, a red Pilsner and a blackberry Bourbon ale..

Looking outside, a group of runners had gathered in the car park area and from the cycle parking it seems the Truck Stop is also popular with cyclists.

Also visible is the area with chairs and tables, covered by parasols, that is not fully enclosed, for customers who prefer to be outside.

A visit to the well signed washrooms revealed another aspect of industrial design.

These basins and taps are a memorable feature influenced by the Truck Stop theme!

Also in keeping with the theme, a collection of classic truck stop photos is displayed near the passage leading to the washroom.

Just outside the main bar / diner area is a merchandise and growler store. While I was looking at these items, Anthony offered his assistance. Asking about the bike D locks he explained that these were provided on loan for visiting cyclists arriving without a suitable lock.

Cheers Anthony!

Once again, I took the opportunity to pass on a copy of the West Berkshire CAMRA quarterly magazine Ullage and take a photo as a record.

In retrospect, it would have been a good idea to go on one of the brewery tours offered by Red Truck Beer Co.. The brewery website shows that groups of 10-12 can enjoy a 45 minute tour, ending in the tasting room with four beer samples and a bonus Red Truck glass, for Can$12 per head. Public tours are scheduled on Fridays (5pm), Saturdays and Sundays (2pm & 4pm) and can be booked online.
Alternatively, there are live music events at the Truck Stop on Friday and Saturday evenings from 7pm.

Red Truck Beer Co
295 E 1st Ave, 
Vancouver,
B.C., Canada

www.redtruckbeer.com

Opening hours with the All Day Menu available (November 2016):
Sun - Wed: 11am - 10pm
Thur:          11am - 11pm
Fri:             11am - Midnight
 
 

East Vancouver Brewery Taps - part 3 (Strathcona Beer Co)

After visiting Storm Brewing Ltd (blog part 1) and Callister Brewing Co (blog part 2), the third East Vancouver brewery tap visited on Saturday 1 October, 2016 was Strathcona Beer Co, at 895 East Hastings Street, about half a mile west of Callister.

On leaving Callister Brewing Co, the view west along Franklin Street towards downtown Vancouver includes examples of iron gating and there are colourful East Village flags hanging from lampposts.

Just before eaching the junction where Strathcona Beer Co is located, a mural can be seen on Campbell Avenue, on the other side of East Hastings Street.

Opposite the side of Strathcona Beer Co, also on Campbell Avenue, a large colourful planter and a new bench with an integral planter have been installed to add further colour.

The Strathcona Beer Co building stands out in white with red neon signage and is easy to spot from a distance! The front low part of the building is the lounge / tap room while the higher back part of the building houses the brewery equipment.

The daylight was fading and inside the lounge / tap room was only dimly lit. Surfaces are hard with a polished concrete floor, low internal walls and table supports also formed from concrete. 

The neon theme continues inside. The brewery is situated about half a mile north of Strathcona Park and Strathcona is recognised as British Columbia's oldest residential neighbourhood, dating back to the arrival of the transcontinental railway.

Vertical neon / flourescent lights front the concrete uprights, bridged by tall windows, that separate the back of the bar from the brewery behind. When the lights are on in the brewery, the tall stainless steel brewing vessels can be seen.

Beer menus are placed on all the tables. On my visit, a lounge licence had not yet been granted and with a tasting licence pints were not available making the alternative of a beer flight the obvious choice. For Can$8.93 my choice of four glasses was Saison (5.8% ABV, 29 IBU), India Session Ale (4%, 60), North West Pale Ale (5.1%, 55) using New World hops including Phoenix, Cascade and New Zealand Wakatu and Strathcona British IPA (6%, 60) 'inspired by British Old World ales and Brewmaster traditions'.

These were presented by Jadynn on a stylish wooden paddle inspired by 1970s skateboard decks.

Jadynn kindly posed for a photo with the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine Ullage. I had brought a few copies along on my trip to give away to anyone interested in beer and brewing. Perhaps this copy might even reach Michael 'Fezz' Nazarec, Brewmaster and co-founder of Strathcona Beer Co..

The brewery opened in July 2015. On Twitter, a tweet from @stratchconabeer on 18 November, 2016, mentions 'Lounge License Done' with the A-board outside now chalked to read 'Proudly pouring pints since Nov 17 !!!!'. It seems licensing laws in British Columbia can take a while to sort out.
Pizzas are served here but it was late afternoon and I was not yet tempted to eat. A good selection of music was playing at a good volume and tracks included Jonathan Richman's 'Roadrunner' and David Bowie's 'Heroes'.
After drinking my four beers, of which North West Pale Ale was my favourite, it was time to leave. Conveniently, there is a bus stop and shelter just outside and from here I caught the 16 bus as far as downtown Vancouver.

Strathcona Beer Co
895 East Hastings Street,
Vancouver,
B.C., Canada


www.strathconabeer.com

'We value social development, individual creativity and encourage positive and meaningful contributions to our community.'