Join the revolution and share a hand-crafted beer with Joe Wiebe, the Thirsty Writer, as he celebrates the release of his book, Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries.
On Monday, June 17, Wiebe will be at Otter Books signing copies of his book between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m. that evening, he will be giving a talk at Mike's Place Pub. The evening event will feature a cask of the Nelson Brewing Company's Full Nelson Organic Imperial IPA. Both events are free.
In Craft Beer Revolution, Wiebe documents the fascinating craft beer movement in BC, profiling its history, the breweries themselves, the people behind the kegs and casks, and the colourful stories. The book is filled to the brim with recommendations for beer tasting tours around the province, lists of the best brews that BC has to offer and entertaining trivia that will make beer geeks salivate.
To write this book, Wiebe undertook what he called his “Craft Beer Odyssey” — a road trip around the bottom half of the province visiting as many craft beer hubs as possible. The Lion's Head Smoke and Brew Pub near Castlegar was an essential stop on this trip; in his book, he describes it as "an oasis of craft beer," which offers artisan smoked meat along with twelve taps featuring beer from breweries across the province, including Nelson Brewing, Tree Brewing, Fernie Brewing, Mt. Begbie Brewing, Crannóg Ales, Cannery Brewing and Spinnakers Brewery.
The Nelson Brewing Company is another major player in the craft beer revolution. They opened in 1991, and in 2006, they decided to go all-organic, a move that created some challenges due to the difficulty in finding certain ingredients (hops, in particular). However, this movement to towards healthier, more sustainable production by brewers such as the Nelson Brewing Company has spurred a growth in organic hop production, especially in Canada and the United States.
British Columbians are embracing craft beer like never before. It may, in part, be wrapped up in an ever-growing movement to consume high-quality, local products. However, there is more to craft beer than its superb ingredients. Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, writes that “craft brewing universally involves boldly flavoured beers coupled with a defiantly independent spirit.” In Craft Beer Revolution, Wiebe celebrates this independent spirit that has overwhelmingly soaked into BC’s brewing scene.
For more information about Joe Wiebe or his book go to craftbeerrevolution.ca.