What: Authors’ night at Spinnakers
When: Tonight, 6 p.m.
Where: Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub, 308 Catherine St.
Admission: Free (no minors)
When it comes to the craft beer movement, Victoria is, well, kind of a big deal.
So says beer expert Joe Wiebe, visiting Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub tonight to chat about his passion and sign copies of his bestselling new book, Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries.
Victoria-based Wiebe says it was our city that launched Canada’s craft-beer revolution back in 1984. That’s the year Paul Hadfield and John Mitchell opened Spinnakers.
Three decades ago, brewing and selling beer on the same premises was illegal in B.C. The Spinnakers crew lobbied the government hard for changes. Two months after provincial legislation was changed, Spinnakers — the first brew pub in Canada — opened its doors, offering British-style pints brewed at its Inner Harbour location.
Wiebe is an imposing six-foot-six fellow with long blond hair who, years ago, worked as an administrator at the Belfry Theatre. He hunkered down over a pint of Northwest Ale at Spinnakers recently.
“It’s like a hoppy pale ale,” he said. “But with those Northwest hops that have those fruity flavours, not that straight bitterness. There’s a tropical, grapefruity flavour, almost, in the hops.”
Such a discerning palate suggests Wiebe is no typical tippler. And he’s not.
The self-described Thirsty Writer once undertook a 2,400-plus kilometre road trip — “I call it my craft beer odyssey” — visiting brewpubs throughout the province. He regularly writes about beer, wine and spirits for a variety of publications. And Wiebe is the proud owner of six growlers (glass jugs poured directly for customers at the brewery; the idea is to get it fresh).
Beer brewing in B.C. began in Saanich in 1858 when a German immigrant opened Victoria Brewing at Swan Lake. Wiebe says this city has, for almost three decades, been the province’s premier destination for craft beer.
Although Vancouver is quickly catching up, Wiebe says Victoria is the best beer destination in B.C. In Craft Beer Revolution he rhapsodizes about “Victoria’s beer mile” — which includes stops at the Canoe Brewpub, Moon Under Water, Spinnakers and Swans. (The trek does necessitate a Victoria Harbour ferry trip — presumably no problem for those on a serious beer jag.) Wiebe notes the Four Mile Pub will soon be brewing beer on location. In addition, Victoria is home to five high-quality breweries.
In his book, he paints independent brewers as determined, resourceful … and sometimes a bit eccentric. He describes how Matt Phillips of Phillips Brewing started his business on a fistful of credit cards when the banks turned him down. Wiebe writes: “He lived in the brewery, showering at the nearby gym, and began brewing in earnest.”
Today, Phillips is one of the industry’s big success stories.
“It’s the very independent, do-it-yourself, I-can-do-it-in-spite-of what-everyone-says attitude. A lot of them are a little, tiny bit crazy. Not in a bad way. They’re willing to take risks,” he said.
As well as Wiebe, international beer authority Stephen Beaumont (who with Tim Webb co-authored the Pocket Beer Bible) will be greeting the public tonight at Spinnakers. On tap, the pub will offer 11 B.C. beers selected by Wiebe. Several have never been poured on Vancouver Island, including: Wildfire IPA from Cannery Brewing in Penticton; Belgian Brown from Noble Big Brewhouse in Kamloops; and I’m So Freakin’ Hoppy IPA from Invermere’s Arrowhead Brewing.
Wiebe says he occasionally converts consumers of mass-produced ales by simply noting that buying craft beer typically means buying local. “Why do you want to buy PBR [Pabst Blue Ribbon] or Kokanee when you can buy something that’d been made down the street by a fellow?”
