Brewtoria Part II

Well, as promised, here is the rest of my beer quest through the lovely city of Victoria.... I hit the two spots which people were really turning me onto: Spinnakers and Phillips.

First, Spinnakers!
I walked into this beautiful brewpub at 11am and was greeted by some friendly and very knowledgeable staff who offered me several samples of their fine fermented heaven nectar....

I tried their IPA, their Blue Bridge (double IPA), their Extra Special Bitter, their Hefeweizen, and their Tsarist Stout.... The IPA, Blue Bridge, and Hefeweizen are all served at 4 degrees celcius, which mean you can actually taste everything in the beer... and man do you want to! My zombie apocalypse pick is the Blue Bridge; it pours a pale yellow and has some serious citrus on the nose, not really floral at all. Also, the aftertaste is not a lingering one so you're dipping in for more just as soon as you come up for air..... I rate this DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS at 8.2%!!! YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF!!! This was also, consequently, the zombie apocalypse choice of bartenders Marc and (Ryan? I think was his name). Compared to the IPA, the Blue Bridge wins out for me because its more complex in flavour. With the IPA you get a lot of hops at the beginning and then a long lingering aftertaste. It's still really good.... but the Blue Bridge is better!

For waitress, Morgan, the zombie apocalypse beer is the Extra Special Bitter, which is poured at 10 degrees celcius.... It's not my choice but it is a fine beer. You got a nice bitter bite at the beginning and then the malt comes to play and you can a sweet kiss at the end.... not bad for a pint of beer! Good for a cool evening sippin', perhaps after an evening of dogsledding....

Final comment on Spinnakers: GO TO THERE!!!!

O.k, so after my pre-noon fun at the brewpub, I hit Phillips, which was a ton of fun! It opened in 2001 and was created by Matt Phillips, a former brewmaster at Spinnakers. He got his brewery off the ground by maxing out all the credit cards he could get a hold of because he couldn't get a loan from the bank... and now he owns one of the coolest breweries on the island! Awesome!

The tour was a ton of fun! Beer is pouring right from the beginning and comes with you as you take a peak at where the magic happens! I recommend the tour for sure! These people are passionate about beer and it shows... it really does.

I tried many a beer at Phillips but the one that stood out for sure was their Longboat Chocolate Porter. It's unlike anything I've tried before... tastes like chocolate milk! It's really interesting for a porter... not smokey or roasty at all..... just chocolately goodness! It's sweet but not sickly sweet, although I think this is a one pint every once in a while kinda beer... you don't want too many of them... then the sweetness will get you..... get you good!

I didn't make a zombie apocalypse pick for Phillips, but Bill's was the Cascadian Brown Ale, which wasn't available for tasting so I'll just take his word for it!

O.k, next up I'll be in Tofino.... see you at the edge of the western world!