I’m just about done with Victoria Beer Week. You shouldn’t be able to attend this many fun beer events in one week. No, you should. Victoria Beer Week is probably the best festival of its kind you’re going to find anywhere.
This is not hyperbole. If you wanted to have one night of fun during the last drab days of winter, Victoria Beer Week’s All about the Wood event at the Victoria Public Market last night was the place to be. Beers aged in wooden casks, with some matured over two years, took centre stage.
Brewers got some magical concoctions ready just for this night.
There were regular beers like Driftwood’s seasonal Latus, but, for the most part, there were dozens of unique casks or limited brews.
Dageraad had Entropy #6 and #7, which were conditioned in different casks to show off how wood can affect the flavors.
Spinnakers dropped Barrel 58, a rich, dark sour; next to them, Strange Fellows laid out a spread of casked wild ales, krieks, and lambics with their Boris Russian Imperial Stout, featuring peat roasted barley from Scotland. Four Winds brought their strong game with Pomona wild sour, Quadrennial dark sour, Norwegian Wood, and, my favourite of the bunch, tequila barrel aged Pequeno Cabo.
No to be outdone with diversity, Powell Brewery unloaded heaps of beer on attendees, including a fourth anniversary barley wine, a fifth anniversary hazy IPA, Funky Gose Medina, and Vanish No.1, a farmhouse ale matured for over two years in french oak barrels. This was smooth and unique, and I was lucky enough to score one the rare bottles (which I’ve saved for graduation).
Yellow Dog, Central City, and Parallel 49 also all brought offerings of barrel-aged goodness with strong ABV to match. Torchlight’s Noctis was a delicious surprise also worth mentioning.
My favourite of the night was Luppolo Brewing, out of East Vancouver. The Alba Rustic Table Saison they offered is probably the lightest, fizziest beer to ever dance across your tongue. Heaven. They also quickly ran out of their Evoluta barrel-aged dubbel, which you won’t get to taste unless you were at this event.
Victoria Beer Week runs until Saturday; find more info here.