11 Island breweries (6 from Greater Victoria) pick up medals at 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards
11 Island breweries (6 from Greater Victoria) pick up medals at 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards
11 Island breweries pick up 16 medals at 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards
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Good to see — looks like a decent number of gold medals awarded, too. I'm pleased to see some of my favourites like Small Gods, Île Sauvage, and Whistle Buoy get recognition!
(though in my entirely biased opinion, Île Sauvage's Raspberry Sour deserved more than a bronze)
I still haven't been to Small Gods, or tried any of their beers, so I guess a drive up to Sidney will have to happen at some point.
Hoyne is one of my favourites, so it was nice that Helios got an honourable mention.
I strongly recommend it! They have a very nice tasting room in addition to a great lineup of beers and good food options. Plus, they're right nextdoor to Beacon Brewing, so you can check them out in the same trip.
I went to Île Sauvage once.
My mate and I ordered two flights. Beers were decent, but the kettle sours all felt very same-y; I'm guessing they had one main brew of sour that they flavoured with different fruits after an initial brew.
Then, about halfway through our flights, a man entered, followed by two young boys, about 4 and 6 at the time. He walks behind the bar and pours a couple of flight glasses with some of their sours, and hands them to the kids. The kids are clearly excited for this, and eagerly start consuming their beverages. The younger one starts licking the head like it's a frickin' ice cream cone.
There was another couple of patrons at the bar, and them, my friend, and I exchange some confused glances as we quietly finish up our flights. My friend and I didn't discuss it until we left, where we were simply shocked by what we had witnessed. Haven't been back since.