Red Racer IPA

It's always encouraging to find up-and coming breweries, and Central City Brewing Co. has become exactly that with their line of Red Racer beers.  Operating out of Surrey, BC, their line features some of the best craft brew you can get in a can.  Yes, that's correct, Red Racer comes in aluminum cans - which may be enough to deter some beer enthusiasts for fear of drinking the likes of Kokanee or Miller Lite.  The reality, of course, is that Central City is offering some of the most intriguing beer in Canada (their Imperial IPA was recently named the best beer in Canada by the Campaign for Real Ale).  Brewmasters have recently begun spouting the merits of aluminum cans (preservability, lower bottling costs), and this IPA should show you that you don't lose an ounce of flavor when drinking out of a can.

Now, a word about IPAs.  IPA stands for India Pale Ale, which may surprise you, considering that IPAs were originally brewed in England.  During the late 18th century, English merchants conducting business in India had beer shipped over from England.  Unfortunately, the beer would often spoil in the process.  Eventually, one brewery found out that adding an enormous amount of hops to a traditional pale ale (so named because of the pale color produced by only lightly-toasted malt), beer could be transported over farther distances without spoiling.  The merchants loved this new "India Pale Ale" so much that it became a British staple.  Today, IPAs are considered a staple of good craft breweries, renowned for the complexity of their flavor as well as the differentiation between regions that the hops are grown in.

Now that we've gotten the history portion of the lecture out of the way, let's talk about Central City's Red Racer IPA.  The beer comes in a 6-pack of 355ml cans for about $12 at your local BC liquor.  The can features a beautiful cartoon redhead riding a red fixie (that's a fixed-gear bicycle for you indoorsy types) in a rather risqué manner.

In terms of flavor, you will be blown away by the amount of hops you can taste in this beer.  The near absence of malt flavour allows you to taste every last hop flower.  Actual beer experts tell me that they can taste the region the hops were grown in most beers (a talent which I, sadly, have yet to develop).  In this beer, I can taste the piney, bitter flavour of hops grown in the PNW (that's Pacific Northwest for those of you not fortunate enough to live here).

All in all, this beer should get you excited for the coming can revolution.  Cans offer brewers the ability to store beer for longer periods of time and offer their product at a lower price.  You can also take this to tons of places where bottles aren't allowed, say, the beach or public swimming pool.  Let's hope that other craft breweries follow suit.

www.centralcitybrewing.com

Driftwood Ale

For my first post, I've chosen something I've had my eye on since I moved to Vancouver- Driftwood Ale.  There's something delightfully modern about Driftwood's labels; thick lines, simple illustrations and lots of black/white contrast give you something to look at while enjoying the fruits of one of BC's premier craft breweries. (also, note the hilarious ingredient icons on the left side; water, barley malt, hops and yeast.)

Driftwood Ale's light amber colour shouldn't fool you into thinking that they've skimped on flavour.  To the contrary, this ale has all the strong hop and dry malt notes that I've come to expect from BC craft brews.  It's labeled an ale, but could easily pass for an IPA or Pale.  A hint of fruit gives this beer excellent composition, contrasting fragrant German hops with their cotton candy malt notes.  Driftwood's website, http://driftwoodbeer.com/ , recommends pairing this beer with bitter green salads, Gruyere, or shellfish.  I'd recommend drinking it on its own; anyone who's had a good hoppy ale before knows that you won't be tasting much of anything after drinking it.

Driftwood Ale can be found for under $5 at most BC Liquor stores.  At 5% alc./vol., it's not going to throw you off the deep end, but it will definitely knock your socks off in the taste department.  Expect a visit to the Driftwood Brewery in the future.