ItB次元官网网址檚 another hot summer day as Dean McLeod turns the sprinkler off and proceeds to tap a metal hoop further across the bulge of a barrelB次元官网网址檚 staves.
B次元官网网址淲e use [a garden] sprinkler to keep them moist or they can dry out and crack, especially in a hot summer like this,B次元官网网址� McLeod said.
This summer the head brewer of Victoria Caledonian Brewery and Distillery has been using the whiskey hogshead barrels to special age a batch of Holy WillieB次元官网网址檚 Robust Porter for an upcoming seasonal that will appear in 650-millilitre bottles, or B次元官网网址榖ombers.B次元官网网址� It helps that the distillery half of Caledonian has brought it a load of pre-aged whiskey barrels (including the strong peated styles of Islay, and the more popular Speyside) for its in-house whiskey blend, which is for sale on site at the Enterprise Crescent tasting room.
The whiskey-aged porter will also appear at the 25th anniversary edition of the Great Canadian Beer Festival, Sept. 8 and 9 at Royal Athletic Park.
While itB次元官网网址檚 a big birthday for Beer Fest, itB次元官网网址檚 also a big birthday for the Caledonian brewery, whose Twa Dogs label of beer has now been on shelves for a year. McLeod is about to launch a new raspberry kolsch seasonal in addition to Twa DogsB次元官网网址� regular line of the beers, the Drouthy Neibor IPA, Jolly BeggarB次元官网网址檚 Pale Ale, KeekinB次元官网网址� Glass Pilsner, Mistress of My Soul Saison and Holy WillieB次元官网网址檚 Robust Porter.
B次元官网网址淥ur top seller is the IPA, by a lot, pretty much like every brewery,B次元官网网址� McLeod said.
Caledonian is in the midst of testing its first whiskeys in a variety of barrels that previously aged wines, sherries and more. The facility, a former Graphics Office and Zellers distribution warehouse, has been renovated into a distillery complete with copper stills, towering tanks, heat adjusted aging rooms for the casks and barrels of various sizes.
The main brewing area is brimming with top of the line equipment and a bottling equipment. TheyB次元官网网址檙e currently hosting and monitoring a third-party batch by another new brewer in town, Sooke Oceanside Brewing.
In the meantime, cases of beer are flying out the door by the palette-full but come winter McLeodB次元官网网址檚 focus will shift slightly from brewing beers to filling the hundreds of empty barrels with what will become CaledonianB次元官网网址檚 whiskey. ItB次元官网网址檚 a process heB次元官网网址檚 been learning under CaledonianB次元官网网址檚 master distiller Mike Nicolson.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a learning curve but a lot of itB次元官网网址檚 basic, preparing the B次元官网网址榥ew makeB次元官网网址� [spirit] before it goes into any casks,B次元官网网址� McLeod said.
RELATED:
Joe Wiebe, author of , confimed the growing craft beer industry is not slowing down. Already, six breweries have opened on Vancouver Island since McLeood first poured Twa Dogs in August of 2016.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a nice little boom of new breweries opening on the South Island, with more on the way,B次元官网网址� Wiebe said.
The closest being Sooke Oceanside and Riot Brewing in Chemainus, with 脦le Sauvage (in the former Prima Strada location at Bridge Street) and Sooke Brewing on the way later this year.
With so many breweries opening, Beer Fest has become a go-to event for beer geeks like Wiebe - a well-travelled craft beer writer - to keep updated on B.C.B次元官网网址檚 constantly expanding industry.
Surprisingly, thereB次元官网网址檚 still tickets available, partly due to a circulating myth that Beer Fest still sells out in eight minutes (which it has done), though thereB次元官网网址檚 a growing waiting list for breweries to join the festival.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 getting emails from people begging me for tickets, and IB次元官网网址檓 just telling them to go to the site,B次元官网网址� laughs Gerry Hieter, chair and co-founder of GCBF. B次元官网网址淔or years we did sell out in eight minutes, but not this year.B次元官网网址�
While , booths for breweries arenB次元官网网址檛.
Going into 2018, Hieter expects a 40-booth waitlist for Beer Fest as there are currently 151 breweries in B.C. but only 68 booths at the festival.
A brief history of the Great Canadian Beer Fest:
Beer Fest has faced some challenges since beer lovers first crowded into the Victoria Conference Centre to swap tokens for taster glasses.
B次元官网网址淲e started getting overcrowded and we werenB次元官网网址檛 getting our dates reserved so we moved outside which turned into a very good move for us,B次元官网网址� Hieter recalled.
Beer Fest moved to Royal Athletic Park in 2003 and, after a steep learning curve, itB次元官网网址檚 been smooth sailing ever since. Well, mostly.
B次元官网网址淭he bigger challenges were regulatory, mostly from the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, whoB次元官网网址檝e thrown some curveballs along the way.B次元官网网址�
One year, the night before the festival, Hieter was told all partial kegs would have to be drained before they could leave the grounds.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 about 250 kegs draining into the sewer at RAP,B次元官网网址� Hieter said. B次元官网网址淲e asked politely if LCLB could rethink it and they backed off.B次元官网网址�
There was also a challenge of over consumption, but after a generation of people growing up with craft beer, Beer Fest goers have become a very civil group.
B次元官网网址淥n any given weekend we have 8,000 to 10,000 people and the average number of people we remove from the festival is 12,B次元官网网址� Hieter said, adding half of those are removed for smoking pot.
Tickets are available .
