Haus of Hybrid: beer

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This past Sunday I somehow lucked out and was tasked with going to the media preview of Portside, the latest venture by Mark Brand.

Located in Gastown, Portside hopes to bring East coast pub culture to Vancouver. Right off the bat they had my interest, as Vancouver isn't exactly known as the most friendly place.

With a name like Portside, it's quite obvious that they're going for a nautical vibe, and there are all sorts of cool artifacts to check out in the space. On top of being a bar, Portside also has a stage for live music acts, filling a void of medium-sized venues in the city.

Some highlights of the night, including me stuffing my face (as per usual)

The menu sticks to the basics, but is definitely a step up from your average drunk food. Highlights include the pulled pork, and hot dogs. Drinks are definitely the main attraction though, as Porside features an impressive 24 beers on tap, with 6 selections each from: local, Canadian, American, and international. Needless to say, I didn't get a chance to try them all, but that will certainly be a goal of mine in the coming weeks.

Overall, Portside has an awesome vibe, and great food and drinks to back it up. I'm looking forward to checking out a live show and getting closer to my beer goal.

Vancouver Craft Beer Week has come and gone and I'm really looking forward to it next year.

It was my first time attending any of the events and I was pleasantly surprised. I attended the Sisters of the Tap dinner, which is one of the marquee events of the week and was blown away. Sure, there were growing pains, and yes, I was extremely out of my element, but the food! The beer! Great.

I loved seeing the women who are part of this very masculine industry - particularly female brewers who work in BC breweries.

I chatted briefly with Claire Connolly (you may know her from the VCBW posters that were around town), who is from the UK, and she said she loves being a Brewmaster in Canada because it's a very progressive industry. The UK is still very traditional in their views on beer, so that would that stifle her creativity.

Well, we're lucky to have her, and all these fabulous women!