In Summer 2016 Vancouver Island Brewing was purchased by Bob MacDonald a partner in Ontario's Muskoka Brewery. As the year progressed and new staff were hired they undertook a huge rebrand and renovation of their brewery. They are now ready to share this with the world (Well at least with British Columbia). On March 2nd Vancouver Island Brewing invited media out to The Blackbird Public House in Vancouver between 7pm and 10pm to try their beer out.
With a rebranding of some old favourites and some brand new products there is a lot to check out with the new Vancouver Island Brewing. Even the old rebraded favourites have been altered by new production manager Danny Seeton formerly of Parallel 49 Brewing.
For the relaunch of their brand they brought out 7 beers to try. Unfortunately I did not try all seven as they were serving 20oz pints at The Blackbird. The beer that they brought were as follows:
Piper's Pale Ale, Carmanah Ale, Dark Lager, Victoria Lager, 19 IPA, Juan De Fuca Cerveza and Sombrio Citrus Session.
I was able to sample the 19 IPA a Session IPA, Piper's Pale Ale and the Carmanah Ale (Formerly the Sea Dog Amber). All three beers come in at 4.8% as the brewery sits on the 48th Parallel. I enjoyed all three beer. I would quibble with the 19 IPA being an IPA and not an ISA or Session IPA as it is well below the norm of around 6%.
While I enjoyed the beer the other media seemed to enjoy both the beer and the food that was on offer.
I look forward to trying more beer from the newly relaunched Vancouver Island Brewing. Look for reviews in the future.
Keep your eyes peeled for their new lineup!
Vancouver Island Brewing
http://vibrewing.com/
