October

Cheap & Beer-Ful

Well, perhaps putting three pumpkin beers into one pack was a little self-indulgent of me.  This month we’re going back to basics, and scaling back on the price!  While most craft beers these days run $5-$7 a can, we’ve instead found six brews at $4 or less.  We are all too familiar with the need to buckle down before the Christmas gluttony comes for our wallets, waistlines, and livers, so this is our way of looking out for you.

The beer club releases on the third Saturday every month.  There is no sign up for our beer club, just drop by the store any time were open and pick up a pack!  The price will be between $30 and $35.

Hellion Lager

New Level Brewing

We’ll kick things off with a beer that really exemplifies what this pack is all about.  Macro-brewers are the big producers, think Budweiser, Molson, Sleeman, these are the mostly light style beers in every bar and liquor store by the 24 pack.  They may be lacking a little in character but they make up for it in universal appeal.  On the other hand you’ve got micro-breweries, who make much more unique beer, but it’s really aimed at the beer geek crowd.  Let’s be honest, If you’ve been drinking Kokanee all your life you’re not going to likely be won over by a 7% double dry hop mango milkshake IPA, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  But what happens when a geeky producer like New Level makes an approachable style beer?  Well you get this!  A clean and ultra-crushable lager that still has a little bit of character thanks to the attention to detail inherit with small scale brewing.

$3.5

Post Prohibition Pilsner

Russell Brewing

Russell Brewing is an example of a brewery that started micro but then went macro over a series of sales, they are now publicly traded.  Despite that they still aim to please the micro-brew crowd with some well made beers.  This Post Prohibition Pilsner was inspired by British Columbias short lived (1917-1921) prohibition period by utilising some unique ingredients of the time period such as flaked corn and rice.  Those two ingredients add some sweetness and depth to the malt profile of this beer, while remaining true to style.

$3.5

Bronc Copper

Last Spike Brewery

Last Spike exists as a contract brewery.  What that means is if you’ve got the recipe, they’ve got the equipment to brew it, often a major hurdle that keeps skilled brewers from getting their craft out to market.  In house Last Spike also produces the “Bronc” brand.  We’ve been long time fans of their lager for a Saturday night hockey game kind of beer.  The copper brings a caramel malt to the forefront, while remaining super easy drinking.

$3

Mystic Haze

Vancouver Island Brewing

Vancouver Island Brewing has a fair bit of history, having been founded all the way  back in 1984.  VI Brewing rose to pretty big heights for a period, being one of the earliest craft brewers on the island.  Recently they’ve been dealt a major rent increase forcing them to close their downtown taproom.  While rent increases are one factor (that almost all of us can relate to in some way or another), the other harsh reality is that competition is higher than ever before in the craft beer industry.  Not to say that breweries are competing against each other, but they are all competing for a spot in the market.  Vancouver Island Brewing hasn’t rung the bell yet, and perhaps they wont have to considering they can still put out beers at a step down in price from what many others can, which can be helpful for when your rent goes up too.

$4

Beyond Reason

Collective Arts

I’m going to be honest, I think they got the name mixed up on this one.  At four bucks a pop and 2.9% ABV this “micro pale ale” is well within reason.  What is beyond reason though is just how much flavour this micro beer is packing!  Mosaic and Citra hops give a bold tropical and citrus punch while remaining nimble in the body and really easy on the alcohol, which isn’t such a bad thing sometimes.

$4

Hard Day

Red Truck Brewing

Red Truck was founded on the idea of keeping beer simple.  Put it on four wheels, don’t reinvent the wheel.  They’ve stuck to that with a core lineup that is dependable, affordable, and drinkable.  That said this NW IPA is no slouch, at 6.3% and 69 IBU’s it’ll compete with an other west coaster out there.  A combination of methods have gone into preserving the oils of the hops without developing excess bitterness.  This is an IPA you could have a couple of without feeling like your tongue is getting bruised.  

$4