Victoria Beer Week 2023 launched on Friday, May 5 with Lift-Off in Market Square, which, despite being a far smaller event than in past years, still had some unique offerings. I began with the Elderflower Spruce Saison by Howl Brewing (5%), because I quite like floral beers. However, although it has a slight floral flavour accompanied by a noticeable kick of hops, I found that overall it was not very complex or memorable.
The I Scream You Scream Vanilla Cookie Golden Stout (6.2%) by Herald Street Brew Works is a mouthful in more than just name. I generally expect a dark and stormy brew from a stout, but this one had a rich transparent gold hue with the intense flavour expected of its alcohol by volume (ABV). The vanilla flavour is subtle but noticeable, with tangy hops and far less malty notes than is typical of a stout.
The Rugged Coast Blackberry Gose (4.5%) by Longwood Brewery has a beautiful cloudy rouge appearance, using Vancouver Island sea salt, blackberries, and a touch of coriander. Tangy hops ring off the back of the tongue, and it’s slightly sweet, with lots of carbonation. This is something I could easily drink quite a few of without much thought to the consequences.
Bayview Brewing presented the Orange Nebula Dreamsicle Sour (4.3%), which has very prominent fruity notes and powerful sour hops. This one tastes less citrusy than the name might suggest, with vanilla and lactose providing the creamy balance, and I found that with each sip I was transported to a fresh springtime garden.
The Pina Colada Hazy Pale Ale (6%) by Herald Street Brew Works was brewed using pineapple puree, which gives it a very understated fruity flavour that you can easily miss if not searching it out. According to the brewmaster, the coconut flavour was achieved by soaking toasted coconut in rum for a few days, but, to be honest, I couldn’t taste it at all. Despite being named after a light, fruity cocktail, this is very much an intense strong beer, and it’s the only one I didn’t care to finish.
Spinnakers Brewpub presented the Rockets in Flight Cream Ale (5%), which has a very fresh woody malt flavour with mild hops that show up more in the swallow than the sip. This is crisp and easy to drink, but there’s something missing from the middle of the tongue that left me feeling disappointed, hoping for a richer flavour profile.
Finally, I returned to Longwood to try its Tenth Plum Brett (9%). This 10-year-anniversary beer began with a rather innocuous golden ale, which was then aged in fresh Arbutus Distillery rye whiskey barrels over Okanagan Damson plums for a year. The addition of three different strains of Brettanomyces yeast completed the recipe, and the end result was a beer so strong that it had to be diluted by 25% with more ale so it didn’t have to be served in a shot glass. This one reminds me of a barley wine in how I unintentionally hold the beer in my mouth for several seconds after I sip, not because I’m trying to savour the flavour, but because my throat is rebelling to swallow on account of the intense, smoky, wooden whiskey flavour. This was the most memorable beer of the evening, and while I would struggle to cope with a full tankard of it, it has more personality than anything else I tasted at Lift-Off.
Stay tuned for more VBW content over the next week. VBW 2023 continues until next Saturday. Visit victoriabeersociety.com/victoriabeerweek for details.