Help Feed Vancouver's Hungry by Drinking Craft Beer

If you are looking for a reason to justify a mid-week craft beer session, look no further than Liberty Wine Merchant's 2nd Annual East Side Beer Fest to be held Wednesday, March 5th at the WISE Hall, located at the corner of Victoria Drive and Adanac Street.

The event, organized by Liberty's Commercial Drive location, is donating all proceeds from the event to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and is asking all who attend to also bring a non-perishable food item to the event which will also be passed on to the food bank.

Last year's inaugural event was a sell out which helped Liberty donate $4,287 to the Food Bank along with the food items donated at the door by thirsty craft beer lovers. This year's event has a great line up of breweries and beer importing agents lined up (see list below).

"For the 2nd Annual we have decided to go with a mix of new vendors and old, half from B.C. and half agents importing world class beers," stated Liberty Commercial store manager William Ford. "Some notable new additions are recent start-ups Four Winds and Bomber Brewing and new agents UnTapped, Modern Malt and new-to-us Bravo."

As an added bonus, Liberty have confirmed that their own nano-distillery, The Liberty Distillery, will be pouring samples of their vodka and white whiskey.

Food will also be available from various Commercial Drive businesses to help soak up all the great craft beers and artisan spirits on offer. Don't wait until the last minute as last year's event had no tickets available at the door due to being sold out ahead of time.

The event runs from 7-9 PM with tickets running $24.99 each or 4 for $80. For more information on the event and where to get tickets check out Liberty's event page here.

List of confirmed breweries and agents
Breweries: Driftwood, Central City, Phillips, Howe Sound, Parallel 49, Four Winds, Mill St., Bomber

Agents: McClelland Premium Imports (Erdinger, Delirium, Rodenbach), Bravo (ie. Saison Dupont, Gulden Draak, Caracole), TruCraft (ie. Lagunitas, Super Bock, Brooklyn, Hopworks), Untapped (ie. Trou du Diable, Dieu du Ciel, Rev. Nat's), Modern Malt (ie. Occidental, Base Camp, No-Li), The Liberty Distillery (Vodka & White Whiskey), Peacock & Martin (ie. Westmalle, Tempelier, Fraoch)

The Fat Tug Standard - One Man's Search for the Ultimate Pint

Things have been getting kind of heavy & political lately on VEBB so I thought I'd break up the rants with something I have enjoyed researching...back to your regularly broadcast programming shortly...

In search of the ultimate Fat Tug...sounds like a lot of fun to me

Back in the mid-80's, when I was on my first extended trip in Europe and Middle East, I developed some survival skills to help me get by in the wilds beyond the borders Surrey where I grew up.

One such skill of great importance was the one I used to decide which restaurant or bar I was going to plant my ass in and this method I dubbed "The Amstel Standard".

I developed this in Greece, where at that time the only decent beer I could find was Amstel and by decent, I mean best of a bad, Eurotrash selection. My method was based on sound empirical research and basically involved me looking at countless menus around whatever city/town/village I was in to see if they sold Amstel beer and if so, at what price.

If they did and the price was good, that's where I camped out and drank beer. Having only a few dollars a day to spend while backpacking, finding the cheapest place to slake my thirst was a top priority, as often I had to choose between food and beer (and you know who won that battle most days), so I would be on constant lookout for the best deal while out sightseeing or doing whatever it was I was up to that day.

Very advanced and clever, don't you think.

I adopted this method in each country I visited, renaming it after my favourite, or sometimes the only available beer in that country. In Israel, it was the "Gold Star Standard", the best adaptation of the name, but probably the worst beer I ever used as a standard, not that there was much choice in mid-80's in Israel.

The other day I got to thinking (yes, sometimes I have a momentary lapse of reason or two) and decided to research "The Fat Tug Standard", which, now that I think about it, sounds more like something that should catch the attention of the vice squad than searching for the best deal on my favourite beer. My love for this beer is only surpassed by my love for my wife and daughter so I thought I would do some "research". I just love it when my wife asks me where I am off and I can reply, "just doing research for my blog dear, see you in a few hours." Of course, she knows what this means, but in this case, at least she won't be able to easily find me perched at the bar in either St Augustine's or Tangent Cafe, my two locals, as I wander all Vancouver looking for the ultimate (read cheapest) Fat Tug.

I do have to say that there are many different factors that contribute to cost here in Vancouver that may not apply in the beach bars of Greece, such as the existence and cost of a liquor license and business permit, paying staff more than just drinks, costs of building upkeep (there is little upkeep when your bar is a palapa with no walls) and I tend to be less picky about where I drink when I am sitting with my feet in the sand surrounded by merry backpackers and scantily-clad Scandinavian women (obviously the Amstel Standard was developed during my single days) and when I am paying in currency valued much less than the Canadian dollar.

Here in Vancouver I choose where I belly up to the bar based on many different factors such as staff knowledge and service levels, how my beer is served, atmosphere, the ethics of the bar management/ownership, whether I want to watch the game or not, convenience to transit, approval of my wife, whether Fat Tug, or a suitable substitute IPA, is one tap and, of course, price, but price usually only factors in if it is so prohibitive that it obliterates all other factors.

I will do my best to break down the city into geographical areas and find as many taps of Fat Tug as I can and I will do a post per area researched. I know I will miss some areas and some locations, but hey, a man only has so much spare time, one liver and I cannot afford a divorce lawyer.

And for those of you who feel I am favouring Driftwood and Fat Tug beer, well, you are absolutely right. This is my blog and I prefer Fat Tug over any other beer in the world I have found.

Since I live about 200 metres of Commercial Drive, I figured that would be as good a place as any to start, so here we go...

(All prices pre-tax & rounded to the nearest cent in ounces only)

Commercial Drive - Draft 
Establishments listed from south to north from 12th Ave to Venables

Licensee	Serving Size	Price Regular	Price Special	Regular Price Breakdown	Special Price Breakdown
St Augustine’s	14oz/414ml	$6.00	$5.00 (Tuesdays)	$0.43 oz	$0.36 oz
Tangent Café	16oz/454ml	$6.00		$0.38 oz
Timbre	16oz/454ml	$6.50	$4.75 (Tuesdays)	$0.41 oz	$0.30 oz
Charlatan	20oz/568ml 16oz/454ml	$6.25 $4.99		$0.31 oz $0.31 oz
Storm Crow	20oz/568ml	$5.75		$0.29 oz
Biercraft	16oz/454ml	$6.50		$.41 oz

Commercial Drive - Bottle 

Licensee	Size	Price	Price Breakdown
Toby’s	22.9oz/650ml	$6.90	$0.30 oz
Liberty	22.9oz/650ml	$5.99	$0.26 oz
LDB	22.9oz/650ml	$5.50	$0.24 oz

If you see any places I have omitted, please email me at vaneastbeerblog@gmail.com and let me know. Also, if you work in an establishment in Vancouver that serves Fat Tug, email and let me know where, how much and serving size (uses ounces not words like sleeve that have absolutely no value).

Cheers and Happy Fat Tugging my friends.

Help Feed Vancouver's Hungry by Drinking Craft Beer!!

How do you feel about combining the activity of drinking world-class craft beer and helping feed Vancouver's hungry and less fortunate citizens?

In support of the Vancouver Food Bank, and as a thank-you for the support of local craft beer consumers, Liberty Wine Merchants of Commercial Drive is organizing the "Inaugural East Side Beer Fest", March 20th, 7pm to -9pm, at East Vancouver's WISE Hall, located at the corner of Victoria Drive and Adanac Street.

Admission is $20, with tickets currently available at all Liberty Wine Merchant locations, and a non-perishable food item for the Food bank, to be dropped off at the event. The event is described as "self-guided" and the tasting is included in the entry price meaning no tickets or tokens need to be purchased inside the event!

"This is our way of giving back to the community that has supported us through our first year on Commercial Drive,"  wrote Liberty Commercial Drive Manager, William Ford in an email to VEBB. "We have been very fortunate to be embraced as part of the community and this event is our way of showing our gratitude to our patrons and neighbours."

Driftwood, Parallel 49, Howe Sound, Lighthouse, Mill St., Propeller, Beerthirst, Copper & Theory, Beverage Concepts and BrewDog have been confirmed with more participants to be announced. There will be a few local, artisan food booths in attendance and hopefully, if things go to plan, one whiskey booth, although nothing has yet been confirmed as to who the whiskey vendor will be.

You may be wondering why a store known for selling wine is organizing a beer festival. If you have not been into the Commercial Drive location, and you love craft beer, you should pop your head in the door.

"Beer has been chosen because we have noticed that east side residents are passionate about beer and, more specifically, passionate about craft, artisanal ales," stated Ford. "We listen to our patrons and try to work together with them to offer the best service and selection we can."

It is my local bottle shop and I am never disappointed with the great beer selection when I go in. Within weeks of opening, this Liberty location had already put together a great inventory of craft beers, with a particular focus on Belgian beers. Ford, like all Liberty managers, has been given the leeway to tailor his stock to local tastes. I actually selfishly hesitated about writing this post as I would love to keep Liberty the hidden secret that it is where I can often find the limited releases, for decent prices, that local beer nuts scour the city in search of, after they have disappeared from the shelves of other stores.  

"What's unique about Liberty Wine Merchants is that each store has it's own personality that is shaped by the demands of their demographic as well as the workers in that store," says Ford. "Commercial Drive has noticed our craft beer selection has been a hit over the past year so we decided to host a charitable tasting event with that focus."

Prices are also very reasonable at Liberty compared to some other liquor retail outlets. Because they are located just a block or so from the government liquor store, Liberty has to be competitive.

"We want people to know that we work tirelessly to hunt down the best values in the market and I think our prices reflect that," reports Ford.  "A testament to that would be that all of the government-store listed items will be on our shelves for less than a loonie more. This is a good reason why we are the #1 LRS for the Central City Red Racer IPA."

Hopes are that this festival will be a success and turn into an annual event which will allow Liberty thank their supporters while giving back to those in need in the community. At $20 plus a non-perishable food item as the admission cost, it is a great deal and helps support those less fortunate in our community by helping them put food on their table.

Seems like a win-win situation to me.