Welcome back to On the BC Beer Stump (ARCHIVE) where I feature and rate British Columbia craft beers available in bottles and cans. Today on the stump we've got Granville Island Brewing's Lions Winter Ale, a seasonal beer which has become somewhat of a Vancouver staple when the rain begins to fall (like, now!).
Granville Island Brewing's Lions Winter Ale – 5.5% ABV | IBU 22
QUALITY/TASTE: 9/10
PACKAGING/BRANDING/STORY: 9/10
TOTAL SCORE: 18/20
If there were a dictionary for beers, this brew would be pictured as the perfect example of a winter ale. As I mentioned, it has become a bit of a staple during the winter months in Vancouver with bold caramel flavours bursting through layers of bready malts and hints of cocoa and vanilla. Drink one cold next to a warm fire for maximum enjoyment; a six pack usually lasts me a couple of weeks as it's not a beer I like to drink more than one of in a sitting.
As far as the brand goes, Granville Island Brewing has been consistently awesome since I started drinking it in the 90's. One of the forefathers of craft beer in this city, and this province, they're the only "big" brewery that made it into Joe Wiebe's book, Craft Beer Revolution. Mostly inspired by our city and its history, you can't help but be proud of Vancouver when you see it being celebrated by their brand. Many of their beers are homages to Vancouver, which is obvious with this one as well as another of their seasonals that got me through the summer: their False Creek Raspberry Ale. I recommend both highly.
Bob Kronbauer is the founder and editor-in-chief of Vancouver Is Awesome and loves everything about the craft beer movement in BC. In his former life he worked as a creative director and graphic designer on projects for companies such as Nike, Threadless Select, Stussy, Livestock, Girl Skateboards, Electronic Arts, Palm Pictures, and others. This series is meant to encourage excellence in packaging design and branding as well as the production of the beers themselves.
If you work with a BC beer company and and would like to be featured on the stump email [email protected] to arrange shipping. Please note that if he really doesn't like it, he won't write about it.
