Brewery Creek, Vancouver - part 3 (R & B Brewing Co)

A number of new breweries with tap rooms have opened in the historic Brewery Creek neighbourhood of Lower Mount Pleasant, Vancouver, over the last few years.

Brewery map from The Growler Craft Beer Handbook (Fall 2016)

The best way to find brewery details is to purchase a copy of The Growler British Columbia's Quarterly Craft Beer Handbook ($2) available at various outlets including London Drugs and breweries including Storm Brewing, East Vancouver.

On a Monday night (3 October 2016) and on my first visit to breweries in the area I ended up in the newly opened R & B Brewing Co Ale & Pizza House at 54 E 4th Avenue, Vancouver, arriving after a short walk from nearby Brassneck Brewery.

 

When you enter, the Growler Station is straight ahead or you turn right for the tap room.

A distinctive suspended timber shelf arrangement, displaying growlers etc, is on the left just inside the entrance.

As I had already sampled a variety of beers earlier with flights at Red Truck Beer Co and Brassneck Brewery, I chose a pint of Zesty IPA ($6.50 / 20oz) from one of the two cask ale handpumps.

From the menu on a clipboard, I chose the Pizza with crispy prosciutto, aragula (rocket) and shaved parmesan ($10).

Now I could return to a seat at a long shared table with my beer and a luminous blob to identify my food order. The Zesty IPA was dry hopped with Citra and Enigma and had all the smoothness of a cask ale.

My pizza arrived shortly afterwards and was the ideal accompaniment.

The lights were low (affecting the photos in this post) and some good music was playing on the tap room's unique sound system involving multiple speaker units. Unlike some new establishments which have only hard surfaces, the R & B tap room also has some cushions and absorbent surfaces which are a good thing for the audibility of music and conversation.

Vancouver Mill Machinery Ltd, 215 W 1st Avenue, at Cook Street

On the way back to my Olympic Village accommodation, I stopped to photograph the Wilkinson Steel building at 215 West 1st Avenue which dates from around 1950 and is currently used by the City of Vancouver for storage.

Two days later, on my last night in Vancouver, I was happy to return to the R & B Brewing Ale House with friends Yolanda and Ron for an opportunity to sample more beers from the full range.

A good way to reach R & B Brewing is with the Mobi bike share scheme. It took us less than half an hour to cycle from one of the bike stands outside Vancouver Public Library, guided by Yolanda and Ron who I had arranged to meet there. Shared bike (and helmet) hire costs $7.50 allowing multiple trips of up to 30 minutes each, within a 24 hour period.

We arrived soon after 7pm and the tap room was full. However, after a while people left when a game ended on TV. To our relief, the TV was shut away and we could sit at the long shared table.

We all ordered flights of four beers (4 x 4 oz / $5). Favouring pale ales, my choice was from taps 2,3,4 & 5. The board behind the bar gives details of ABV, IBU and price / glass size together with tasting / ingredients notes.for each beer.

The beers from my flight were: Enigma Kettle Sour with notes of pineapple, tropical fruit and Pinot Gris; Dude Chilling Pale Ale dry hopped with Citra, Galaxy and Centennial; Vancouver Special IPA hopped with Simcoe, Citra, Columbus and Chinook; So Fresh So Green, Green a fresh hop IPA with Centennial from Chilliwack Hop Farms, BC.
Dude Chilling Pale Ale was my favourite of these beers and Ron would later tell me the prank origins of the name and that there is a Dude Chilling Park sign nearby in Guelph Park.

We all found Vancouver Special IPA to be on the sweet side for an IPA. Ron explained the beer's name was derived from a detached house style, popular with builders in the Vancouver suburbs from 1965-1985, known as Vancouver Special. This was confirmed by the adhesive labels for the beer which are offered free from rolls placed near the entrance / exit.

In addition to Ron's knowledge of the local area we had Tyler's knowledge of the brewery and its beers which he shared with us as we moved on to drinking pints. Tyler kindly posed for a photo with a copy of Ullage the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine which I had brought along to leave at a brewery that believes in maintaining the tradition of cask ale. Tyler mentioned that wild hops are growing on the outside of the building and presented us with some to examine. I would take a photo of the hop bines after we left.

Wild hops growing outside R&B Brewing Co

Tyler gave us a sample of Driftwood Brewery (Victoria, BC) Entangled Hopfenweisse (7% ABV) hopped with Mosaic and Amarillo, from a guest brewery tap (#11). This was very nice and so a 16 oz glass of Entangled would be my next beer. I was able to persuade Ron and Yolanda to order pints of Zesty IPA, the cask ale, and would also have a pint myself later as my final draught beer in Canada.

When in Vancouver, if you are visiting CRAFT Beer Market, in the historic Salt building, or nearby breweries like Brassneck, remember to also visit R&B Brewing Co Ale & Pizza, especially if you like a tap room with a cosy atmosphere, unobtrusive service, good music as well as quality beer and food at very reasonable prices. 

R&B Brewing Co, 54 E 4th Avenue,

Vancouver, BC  V5T 1E8
Tel 604-336-0275
www.randbbrewing.com

East Vancouver Brewery Taps - part 1 (Storm Brewing)

On Saturday 1 October, 2016, I caught a 135 bus from Burrard Station towards SFU (Simon Fraser University). The eastward route passes through Downtown Eastside and then along East Hastings Street.

After stopping opposite the Ovaltine Cafe, soon after the Main Street junction, the 135 bus runs non-stop to a stop near the Commercial Drive junction, which is where I got off.

The choice of which brewery to visit first was easy as signs for Storm Brewing were visible, a short distance north on Commercial Drive.

Inside the brewery, a metal sign explains the history and serving approach at Storm Brewing - 'Welcome to Vancouver's oldest independent craft brewery - est 1994

No pints & flights

6 samples per person

cash contribution in tip jar

one sample at a time

hold onto your cup

no repeats'

After placing an appropriate note in the tip jar I was given a plastic branded cup and chose my first beer to sample 'Chai Ale' (5% ABV), from the 'Brainstorm' (weekly rotating beer creations) taps on the right side of the bar, which are set up for dispensing into cups or take out growlers.

Apple Ginger Pilsner sample

The other beer I sampled which I rated as highly was Apple Ginger Pilsner (5% ABV) another 'Brainstom' beer with interesting flavours, something that Storm Brewing is renowned for.

My other favourite beer was from the 'Mainstays' range - Hurricane IPA (7% ABV).
This is a 'no frills' taproom where customers do not have the luxury of seating but some may find a barrel top surface to rest their Storm beer cup on. The laid-back and friendly staff add to the unique atmosphere of a place that is hard to forget even after the briefest of visits.

Customers are also close to brewing vessels and associated pipework and equipment which is functional rather than aesthetic in appearance.

James Walton - Storm Brewery

Before leaving the brewery, I offered a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine, to the bar staff and was rewarded with a chance to meet James Walton, described on the Storm Brewing website 'the team' page as 'Brewer / Owner / Delivery Truck Driver / Mad Scientist' who was just about to leave the premises. James helpfully suggested visiting Callister Brewing Co next as it was a short walk away, heading east along Franklin Street, back towards Downtown Vancouver.

For anyone visiting Vancouver breweries for the first time my recommendation would be to visit Storm Brewing first, something which I managed to do without deliberate planning but thanks to the placing of bus stops!

Storm Brewing, 310 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC
Check the brewery's 'Contact Us' website page for current daily opening hours which are generally daytime, with closing time extended to 8pm at weekends.

Samuel Adams Brewery Tour - Boston

Before leaving the UK, I booked a place on the 'Morning Mash In Tour' at 9.40am on Friday 13 November, using a link from the brewery's website. The tour is free but a suggested donation of $2 to local charities can be made on arrival.

The brewery is situated at 30 Germania Street, within walking distance of Stony Brook and Green Street T (subway) stations on the MBTA Orange Line.

As I was staying in 'The Hedges' Airbnb accommodation near Green Street station in Jamaica Plain, I simply had to walk down Brookside Avenue to reach the brewery, after a leisurely breakfast.

Haffenreffer Brewers site

Once the site of Haffenreffer Brewery, established in 1870 and closed in 1964, Jim Koch set up Boston Brewing Company on the site in 1988. The brand name, Samuel Adams, was adopted from the American patriot and statesman, born in Boston in 1722.

I was one of the first to arrive and we waited for the doors to open in time for the 9.40am tour.

Inside the reception area you will find a cabinet housing some bottles and items to illustrate Boston's Brewing History. A Samuel Adams sign on the wall is made out of bottle caps.

On another wall, a screen displayed details of Samuel Adams beers with a feed from Untappd on the right hand side showing Who's drinking Samuel Adams.

A Boston Brewing Company 'Tasting Tree' print on display used the three main branches on a large tree to represent the malt, yeast and hops influences on beer flavours. Near the base of the tree a fourth branch had words for spices. Words on the river represented the appearance of beer. Each branch on the smaller tree on the left had a word describing Off Flavours. The small tree on the right had branches with words for other beer characteristics like Mouthfeel, Body and Alcohol.

Our guide for the tour was Steve. He started with some ground rules and said 'Feel free to take pictures'. He suggested using hashtag ForTheLoveOfBeer if posting them on social media. The route from the reception area to the brewhouse is through a repurposed tank. Steve led us into a side room for an introductory talk.

He talked us through the history of beer with plenty of amusing anecdotes. Steve then talked about the ingredients for beer and passed three different types of malted barley around for us to taste. Some Cascade hop cones were passed around for us to split apart and roll in our fingers to get aromas of citrus, pine and fresh cut grass. Steve said 'We use Boston tap water'. The water is filtered down and built back up to the composition of 1984 Boston tap water. Now it was time to move into the brewhouse to hear about the brewing process.

In the large area of the brewhouse, Steve's voice had to compete with some brewery noises and for anyone at the back of the group it was sometimes difficult to hear what he was saying.

The Jamaica Plain brewhouse, shown in these photos, is now used for brewing specialist Sam Adams beers. However, my research shows that the largest quantities of Samuel Adams beers are now brewed in two larger breweries. Jim Koch was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and in 1997 the Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewery in Cincinnati was purchased. In 2008, the former F&M Schaefer brewery in Breinigsville (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) was purchased from Diageo.

After his brewhouse talk, Steve asked if the tour group would like to try three fresh award winning Sam Adams beers. This was greeted by a loud cheer of 'Yeah' but an even louder cheer was needed before Steve was satisfied with our enthusiasm and led us to the tasting room.

Steve's colleague, Noah, was on hand to assist with serving beers in the tasting room.

The first beer to sample was Sam Adams Boston Lager. We were each given sampling glasses and jugs were passed down the tables for us to fill our glasses from. Steve stepped us through the beer appraisal process: Step 0 -  'Cheers'; Step 1 - Visual inspection to check appearance. Using some Caramel 60 malt in the recipe gives Boston Lager its amber colour;

 Step 2 - Aroma - notice the hops. Steve mentioned the importance of keeping beer away from sunlight to avoid skunky beer; Step 3 - Flavour. This can be tested both on the tongue and from the back of the throat. Step 4 - Mouthfeel and body. Swish it around your palate 'what we call chewing on your beer'.

The next beer is a dark beer - Belgian Porter. 5.8% ABV. Steve advised us to expect clove, banana and bubblegum flavours from the yeast.

The third beer is Chocolate Coffee Stout, an experimental beer, 6.4% ABV, 'breakfast in a glass' made with Sumatra coffe and baker's chocolate. This was the first time this beer had been brewed so I was privileged to get a chance to sample it.

Steve told us about Utopias the Sam Adams 'extreme beer' that is sold in ceramic bottles that are made in Brazil. Utopias holds the record for the highest ABV for any naturally fermenting beer (29.5% ABV).  A two month fermentation process involves feeding the beer with maple syrup. It is also the most expensive beer in the world. Steve said that Samuel Adams treat this as a fun project which is sold to distributors at cost. The beer is aged in barrels and blended and is not carbonated. Steve passed an empty bottle around for us to smell. It is brewed at the Jamaica Plain brewhouse and takes two years to make. It isn't bottled at the Jamaica Plain brewhouse so cannot be sold there, due to the restrictive license.

The 'bonus' fourth beer is a 'pretty unique' sour beer, Flavours Red, which includes about 10% Kosmic Mother Funk (KMF) 6.3% ABV. The recipe came from an employee not tied to the brewing progress who made a homebrew.
Steve asked for a vote on the group's favourite beers and it turned out that all four beers had about the same number of votes.
As we were leaving the tasting room, Steve mentioned that the tasting glasses 'are yours to keep and cherish forever - personally I think they make great shot glasses'. There is also brown paper for wrapping glasses on the exit from the gift shop. 

Gift shop items

Steve told us we could top up our glasses before leaving and drink in the gift shop but warned us not to go outside with beer in a glass as immediate arrest is possible due to strict Massachusetts drinking laws.

Thanks to Steve and Noah for hosting the tour and to Boston Brewing Company for hosting the brewery tour at the Samuel Adams brewhouse, Jamaica Plain.

Samuel Adams Brewery Tours - website link

Aeronaut Brewing Co, Somerville, MA

After walking Boston's Freedom Trail and ending up at the Bunker Hill monument, Charlestown, on Sunday 15 November, a visit to Aeronaut Brewing Co in Somerville seemed like a good idea.

Pleasant Street, Charlestown

It is a downhill walk to Community College T station and then a straight walk over Gilmore Bridge, crossing railway tracks, until the junction with Monsignor O'Brien Highway.

panorama photo - looking north from Gilmore Bridge footpath

Monsignor O'Brien Highway with elevated track of the Green Line

Walk away from Charles River under the elevated track of the Green Line until the crossing for Lechmere T station. Catch an 87 MBTA bus from the adjacent bus station to the Somerville Avenue at Loring Street stop just after the Market Basket supermarket. Aeronaut Brewing Co is in a large building at the west end of Tyler Street.

Entrance to Aeronaut Brewing Co - note parking for bikes

On entering the building you notice that there are high ceilings. 

If you want coffee or something to eat head for the Foods Hub. Otherwise head into the brewery space with a bar in the far corner.

Bar at Aeronaut Brewing (at closing time)

 There always seems to be something going on at Aeronaut Brewing Co to make a visit worthwhile. On Sunday 15 November 2016, Earlier in the day Patrick Coman Band had been playing 'Red & Blues' music for BYO picnic live sessions with other musicians playing bluegrass, folk and Americana between 2pm and 8pm. Videos of the Patrick Coman Band playing Nine to Fivers and Carry On at the event were later posted on YouTube. 

Prateek Poddar

Singer / Songwriter Prateek Poddar was playing acoustic guitar underneath the screen showing an American Football game (New England Patriots v New York Giants) when I arrived.

 

The range of draft beers was listed on blackboards above the bar:

Expat - 6.4% ABV Foreign Export Stout, 

A Session with Dr Nandu - 4.6% ABV American Pale Ale, 

Saison of the Western Ghats - 4.7% ABV French Saison, 

OrangUtan Skies - 6.5% ABV American IPA and

 Lagerfeuer (Campfire) - 5% ABV Marzen made with smoked butternut squash 

 were the choices available. 

My first beer was a half measure of Saison of the Western Ghats, a spicy French style farmhouse ale.

A Session with Dr Nandu

Next, it was time for a US pint (16 fl oz) of A Session with Dr Nandu. An excellent example of a beer in one of my favourite styles. It was good taphouse value at $6.

Brewing vessels are situated opposite the bar.

Tips could be left in the litre steins at the corner of the bar. Prateek finished his set and another acoustic guitarist took his place under the screen.

Sitting near the corner of the bar I was in a good position to watch the musicians, the football game on the screen and the bar itself. Above the bar a blackboard, flanked by a growler, advertised that 32 fl growlers are available. Examples of beer mats with original artwork were pinned on a board underneath.

A banner in the bar gave details of a canned IPA from the brewery - A Year with Dr Nandu.

Jonathan with Ullage

Wearing an Aeronaut Brewing t-shirt, Jonathan agreed to pose with a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine I had brought with me to give any interested beer lovers. My third draft beer selection was OrangUtan Skies, with tropical and citrus hops. This American IPA was also in great condition.

Lia with Ullage

As luck would have it, Lia Olsborg, CAMRA member, cask ale enthusiast, Cellarman with NERAX (New England Real Ale EXhibition) and Aeronaut Brewing was also on duty at the bar this evening. She was interested to find copies of Ullage and posed for a photo.
I passed on best wishes to Lia from Stephen Crossland, the Managing Director of Loch Ness Brewery, a mutual acquaintance. Stephen brought firkins of LochNESS and DarkNESS to the 2014 Spring NERAX cask ale festival at Aeronaut Brewing Co, organised by CASC, the Cask-conditioned Ale Support Campaign. Lia mentioned that she also liked Prince of DarkNESS, which Stephen had brought in bottles.

Lia's overall favourite Aeronaut beer is Berliner Weisse with raspberries added to the cask. On Firkin Fridays, there is always a cask of ale at the taproom in addition to the normal keg taps. Lia says 'I'm waiting for the day that more UK breweries embrace sour beers. They're one of my favorite styles.'.
Asked to name some favourite beers from the UK, Lia suggested Landlord 'when it's good and has been taken care of', Inveralmond's Lia Fail, Purple Moose's Dark Side Of The Moose, Fyne Ales' Jarl, Titanic's Plum Porter and Oakham's Citra. It was nice to discover that Lia's list included two of my favourite beers in Jarl and Citra
We have both enjoyed visits to CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival, held in London every August. However, it was a shame to hear that Lia's plans to visit in 2015 had been upset by UK border controls affecting non-European volunteers.

Expat - Foreign Export Stout

The taproom bar closes at 8pm on Sundays. When last orders were called, my fourth selection was Expat. This 6.4% ABV export stout had roast coffee notes and was a good beer to finish up with. 

Bosco

Now that Lia was busy again, I found that my neighbour at the bar was keen for conversation. He had been enjoying beers and watching the American Football game. As the end of the game, approached the Patriots were behind in points. However, a second from the end, Stephen Gostowski scored a 54 yard field goal with 1 second remaining to give the Patriots a 27-26 victory against the Giants. Bosco, my neighbour, turned out to be a Brazilian who now preferred living in Boston. With the taproom closing, it was time to say goodbye and prepare for the journey back to my Airbnb accommodation, involving a #83 bus ride to Central Square, Red line to Downtown Crossing and then Orange line to Jamaica Plain.

It was easy to find the place I was looking for before leaving Aeronaut Brewing Co!

For more details about Aeronaut Brewing Co visit website www.aeronautbrewing.com which includes current taproom hours.

An interesting article by Christopher Hughes about the founding of Aeronaut Brewing Co was posted on the Boston magazine website (11 April 2014) How Aeronaut Brewing Plans to Change Craft Beer Forever