The Langford Beer Festival, presented by the Victoria Beer Society, returned in great form on Saturday, July 15, this time occupying the Langford Starlight Stadium. Around two dozen vendors populated the field, serving their best beers, ciders, and meads. Much of the fare centred around lighter drinks perfect for refreshing a hot summer day, and the stadium was bustling with people enjoying good drinks and food from a few local vendors.
I started off the day with Beacon Brewing’s Summer Sugar Strawberry Shortcake Sour (4.9%). This sour, sweet beer was brewed adding strawberries at the end of the first fermentation. Graham crackers were added for additional flavour, and lactose was used to preserve some of the sweetness. During the fermentation process, sugars are mostly converted to alcohol, which is why most beer is not sweet; lactose, being a non-fermenting sugar, can be added to retain that sweetness.
Lilooet Brewing offered their Mountain Bluebird Belgian Wit (5.9%), using BC-grown barley, hops, and unmalted wheat, with coriander seed and bitter orange peel. With a creamy, pale appearance, this beer balances the citrus flavours of the crystal hops with the more mellow flavour typical of witbiers.
Next, I tried the Raspberry Vanilla Sour (7.9%) by Category 12 Brewing. With raspberry puree and vanilla added at the end, this one is surprisingly light to drink for its high alcohol content. Often, beers this strong can be difficult to even swallow, but this one tasted far lighter, giving it a solid punch beneath an unassuming exterior.
Bones Brewing served me their Black As Night Imperial Vanilla Stout (10%), which, like all imperials, was strong and dark enough to rise up and consume the glass within which it rests, before coming after you next. However, the added Madagascar vanilla softens the blow, so I suppose I could say that this is the kind of beer that kicks your door down at 2 am and steals your television, all the while apologizing courteously.
From Herald Street Brew Works came the Chai Latte Captain Red Ale (7.3%). Chai tea and beer might seem like a strange combination, but, inexplicably, it seems to work. The tea added during the fermentation adds a down-to-earth spiced flavour. It’s safe to say that if you enjoy chai tea, you’ll enjoy this beer, but I’d be remiss not to warn that the flavour is very strong, overpowering every other flavour in this beer.
Humblebee Meadery offered the Champion of the Sun Saffron & Orange mead (5.5%), which uses actual saffron, an exotic and expensive spice grown in the Mediterranean. This one is intriguingly unusual. Very subtle and moderately sweet, this is a relaxing and refreshing beverage that I returned to a couple of times throughout the afternoon.
Moon Under Water Brewery offered their Creepy Uncle Dunkel Munich Lager (5.4%). The word dunkel means “twilight” in German, and a dunkel was the first beer ever featured at Oktoberfest in 1810. Usually black lagers, or schwarzbiers, use a pilsner base and burnt malts to create their dark appearance, but the dunkel uses a dark Munich malt base instead to create a beer that’s halfway between a traditional light lager and a schwarzbier. The Uncle can be considered to have a dependable flavour for a dark lager: there’s nothing particularly unique about it, but if you know what you’re in for, you get what you know.
Junction Orchard & Cidery brought their Sangria Cider (6%). While traditional sangria is made with fruit juice, wine, and, sometimes, liquor, this drink uses an apple cider base with bosché and pinot noir wine, combined with blueberry passionfruit fruit juice. It has a rich red hue, and is slightly tart but sweet. While I couldn’t taste the wine in it, it’s still a very enjoyable cider.
With a wide selection of craft brews from around the province, the Langford Beer Festival was a roaring success, and I’m certainly looking forward to its return next year. In the meantime, you can attend the Victoria Beer Society’s Great Canadian Beer Festival in September to tide you over.