Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller

Way back in February I was the undeserving recipient of some amazing Canadian generosity when Ryan O'Connor, who edits the CAMRA Vancouver newsletter, bestowed on me a tasty assortment of some of his favorite British Columbia craft beers.  He recommended that I not sit for too long on the two bottles of Old Cellar Dweller barleywine from Victoria's Driftwood Brewery, as part of the attraction was the "big, sticky, resinous hop nose", which he said goes away with just a little age.

It was a good call.  When I opened a bottle of Cellar Dweller at a neighborhood poker game a couple weeks after Ryan gave it to me, it was a big hit.  We also tried another barleywine that he brought with him, the Old Bad Cat from Fat Cat Brewery in Nanaimo, BC.  The Cellar Dweller's tons of malt and hops blew away the Bad Cat, which was merely syrupy in comparison.

Last week I opened the other bottle of Cellar Dweller so I could give a slightly more descriptive report than "tons of malt and hops".  The bottle was at room temperature, and the hop aromas may have faded a bit, because strong alcohol was the main component in the nose this time.  Flavorwise, it has lots of everything, all balanced well against one another:  brown-sugar (or even burnt-sugar) malt, lots of bitter, orangey hops, and a little alcohol sting (it is 12%).  It was pleasantly viscous, with a hoppy/roasty finish that didn't overstay its welcome.  This time Dave, Carla, and I compared it with a year-old bottle of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, and the fresh Old Cellar Dweller won hands down.  The hops in the Bigfoot were bitter but losing their floral qualities, and the body just wasn't as full as the Driftwood.

Ryan also brought some cans of Red Racer IPA from Central City Brewing in Surrey.  It was a very nice, big IPA, plenty of hops but not over the top.  He also dropped some off with Ezra, who describes it in more detail in this review, as well as comparing it to Bear Republic's Racer 5.  Ezra also reports that Bear Republic has sued Central City, claiming that Red Racer infringes their Racer 5 trademark.  Don't you think the world would be a better place with fewer lawyers in it?

Anyway, many thanks to Ryan for the unexpected beer delivery.  And definitely seek out some Old Cellar Dweller or other Driftwood beers if you find yourself in the Great White North.

North of the Border

We were on vacation this week in British Columbia. In Victoria we got to have a beer with Carla's cousin Kelly and his wife Carol. The beer prices were very alarming to us: $6.50 a pint in pubs and $13 a 6-pack in liquor stores (yikes!).

The granddaddy brewpub in Victoria is Spinnaker's. It has a fine waterfront location, but we found the beer and the food both to be bland. The best beer in town was at Swan's Buckerfields -- the cask bitter and cask stout were both very good, as was the seasonal Wit. Right around the corner is the Canoe Brewpub, with acres of harborside seating and a cool atmosphere inside. The bitter there was OK.

Two other local brews I enjoyed on tap were Hermann's Dark Lager from Vancouver Island Brewing and the IPA from Phillips Brewing. I also plunked down $13 for a 6-pack of cans of Race Rocks Amber from Lighthouse Brewing. It was pleasantly malty -- I'd have it again.