The long weekend is upon us and it’s as good a time as any to crack open a beer.
I’ll always encourage you to support British Columbia’s incredible craft breweries and it feels even more important now in the wake of the recently-launched Protect BC Craft Beer campaign.
Seeing that Monday is BC Day, and this long weekend is truly a celebration of our incredible province, I wanted to highlight five great beers from BC craft breweries for you to potentially enjoy.
This list could be hundreds of beers long and I encourage you to try whatever BC-made beers your heart desires this weekend.
But five beers, none of which have been featured in this column before, seemed like a solid starting point though, and I'll leave the rest up to you.
I also tried to provide a little variety with different types of beers, so hopefully at least one of these fits the bill for what you’re craving!
Without further adieu, moving from west to east…
Tart and vibrant, this sour is conditioned on a bold blend of lime purée and prickly pear, and the brewery says the latter delivers “a flavour more watermelon than watermelon itself." Having said that, they still dose it with a splash of watermelon flavour as well to ensure it delivers the Jolly Rancher taste that the name promises. This bad boy comes in at 6% ABV (alcohol by volume).
This dry-hopped west coast pale ale focuses on hop flavour rather than bitterness. Coming in at 5.3% ABV, its subtle malt combined with hop aromatics create a highly-satisfying pale ale for any occasion. A long weekend barbecue might be the best occasion, however, as the brewery says it pairs great with “anything grilled.”
.jpg)
A summer staple for Field House, their Salted Lime Mexican Lager is light, crisp and crushable at 4.9% ABV. There’s also a non-alcoholic version if you’re avoiding alcohol at the moment! Real lime juice and Vancouver Island sea salt are added to this popular creation, elevating the foreign-inspired beer with a familiar twist.
Hop lovers will love this summer release from Cannery in Penticton. It’s a hazy New England IPA with a “relaxed bitterness and pillowy soft mouthfeel,” the brewery explains. They utilize Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka and Nectaron hops in the 2025 version of Hop Chowdah. It’s also manageable for an IPA at 6.5% ABV.
One of Fernie’s long-time, year-round staples, Project 9 is a true Bavarian pilsner that is made using time-honoured brewing methods. According to the brewery, a “selection of fine noble hops” and the use of Munich and pilsner malts are the key to creating this award-winning beer, which comes in at an even 5% ABV.
Josh Duncan is the NowMedia news director and a craft beer lover. Reach him at [email protected]. His beer column appears every Saturday afternoon in this space.
