MAYBE IT WAS SOMETHING I Ate (DRANK) #35: Craft Beer From The Sunshine Coast

[twitter]When in Rome, drink as the Romans do. Or, when on the Sunshine Coast, drink as a Sunshine Coaster would drink. I am a fan of local food and drink when I travel, and nothing sums up a locale more than craft beer. Call it trendy, but it’s my favourite thing to do when I get somewhere new – find a beer store and grab something made by the locals.

On the Sunshine Coast you have two choices, Perspehone from Gibsons and Townsite Brewing from Powell River.

 Powell River is an extra ferry away from the Sunshine Coast, but Townsite Brewing just wowed me with their labels (just as we eat with our eyes, we drink with them too), their fondness of cerebrating local culture, and their straight up easy drinking brews.

 The Westview Wheat had a bit too much hops for my wife, but I found it a wonderfully easy drinking, balanced blend. The Zunga golden blonde ale went down smoothly, and has a wonderful name. Zunga is a local name for a rope swing, and I could have downed a case worth of swings – or maybe not. Townsite serves their beers in big 650 ml bottles. Easy enough to get your fill in a sitting, and when they’re sold in single bottles, you can vary your selection to get a different taste each day.

  The third beer I scooped up from Townsite was the Blackberry Festivale. When visiting the coast in August, you are wowed with brambles around every corner. They line roads, trails, and golf courses. (True story: one of the favourite things for wives of PGA tour players about Vancouver was snacking on blackberries while wandering the Northview Golf Course during the Air Canada Championships.)

I’m a fruit beer fan. I’m quick to grab a Purple Gas from Big Rock made with Saskatoon Berries. My favorite from Wild Rose Brewing and Granville Island Brewing are their respective raspberry offerings. Howe Sound‘s 4 Way Fruit Ale is an all time fave. When down along the rockies, I’ll grab a huckleberry beer from Fernie or Montana. So when on the west coast, I eagerly grabbed a Blackberry Festivale.

I was a little disappointed by it as there was more wheat beer sense than any fruit. It was more just an essence of it and what was there was lip smacking tartness. Still, it was a refreshing late summer beer fresh from the local terroir.