A Beer Revolution in British Columbia
With its moderate climate and strong British influence, Victoria, British Columbia, is hardly the place you'd expect a revolution to start.
But on May 15, 1984, Canada's Real Ale revolution began when homebrewer and beer enthusiast Paul Hadfield opened the country's first licensed brewpub overlooking the Inner Harbour. Since then, Spinnaker's Brewpub (308 Catherine Street; 250-384-6613 or 877-838-2739) has grown bigger and better. It's not just an English-style pub. There's also a restaurant where patrons can bring their children, as well as guest suites and even a gourmet store.
Spinnaker's, rated one of Canada's five best brewpubs by the Toronto Globe and Mail, offers three cask-conditioned ales, served at cellar temperatures out of beer engines imported from England. Doc Hadfield's Pale Ale, made with English malt and Northwest hops, is the house "session ale." Also on draft are Mitchell's Extra Special Bitter, and Jameson's Scottish Ale--a popular style in Victoria. Spinnaker's also serves chilled beers, including an India pale ale based on those made in Burton-on-Trent; a pale ale called Spinnaker Ale; and Raspberry Ale, a cloudy, pinkish beer that looks like a cooler and tastes delicious.
In Victoria's Old Town, not far from the famous "Blue Bridge," is Swans Pub, Restaurant and Hotel (506 Pandora Street; 250-361-3310 or 800-668-7926). In the late 1980's, Englishman Michael Williams renovated a warehouse and feed store. The old structure was such an ugly duckling that Williams called the remade version "Swans." The first floor is home to an upscale restaurant and pub, where Williams displays works of Native Canadian art from one of the largest private collections in Canada.
A pleasant way to sample the British-style ales is to sit in the sunroom that wraps around the hotel's east and south sides. The cask-conditioned offerings include Buckerfield's Bitter, a copper-colored rendition of a Best Bitter; Swans Oatmeal Stout; and Appleton Brown Ale. Chilled beers are available, too: Riley's Scotch Ale, brewed in the "wee heavy" style; Pandora Pale Ale; Arctic Ale, a light beer that's ideal for the summertime; and Old Towne Bavarian Lager.
Under British Columbia's licensing laws, grocery and convenience stores can't sell beer to go, but hotels can. Swans Hotel's beer and wine shop carries cold bottles of the house lagers and ales, as well as a variety of beers from across the province.
If Spinnaker's and Swans link British and Canadian beer traditions, Victoria's two other brewpubs represent the new generation of brewing. Harbour Canoe Club (450 Swift Street; 250-361-1940) bills itself as Canada's only marine brewpub, offering facilities for boaters as well as kayaking and canoeing packages. This two-level pub, once the City Lights municipal hydro plant, has high wooden ceilings, plenty of windows, and skylights that give it an upbeat atmosphere. Since it opened two years ago, it's been popular with the city's young professionals.
Harbor Canoe Club's lineup of beers consists of Boardwalk Brown Ale, Dry Dock Extra Special Bitter, City Lights Pale Ale, and Davey Jones Lager; there's also a rotation of seasonal beers. All are unfiltered and naturally carbonated. Draft beer is available in 20-ounce pints (the measure of a "proper pint" in Victoria) and five-beer samplers called "The Fleet." Cold bottles are available to go.
Hugo's Brew Club and Lounge (625 Courtney Street; 250-920-4844), like the Harbour Canoe Club, is an "industrial-style" brewpub. It's a spacious place with wooden floors, high tables and bar stools, and exposed pipes and ducts.
Hugo's beers have a Continental, rather than an English, influence. Hugo's Pilsner, with a malty body and grassy finish, was the best beer I tasted in my tour of Victoria's brewpubs. The beer selection also includes Bullet Blonde Ale, brewed with Belgian malt; Pale Moon Ale, a pale ale loaded with Cascade hops; coffee-flavored Hotel Porter; and Victoria's most unusual beer, Super G Ginseng Cream Ale, with its unusual gingery finish. Why Super G? Before coming here, brewmaster Benjamin Schottle worked at a brewpub in the ski resort of Whistler.
Today, British Columbia's craft brewers offer more than 50 ales and lagers--enough for a local tour operator to offer monthly tours of Canada's newest "Ale Trail." But Victoria's beer fans maintain they'd enjoy even better variety and higher quality if the provincial tax burden didn't fall so disproportionately on small brewers. The local Campaign for Real Ale chapter has been petitioning B.C. politicians, asking them to lighten the tax load.