British Columbia Beer Guide - Breweries in B.C. and Their Beers
« Prev Brewery  |  Next Brewery »

Whistler Brewing Co.

 - Microbrewery, Independent   3 stars - average
Function Junction
Whistler
http://www.whistlerbrewing.com/

Originally established in one of North America's premiere ski resorts, started producing beer in 1989. Several ownership/management changes created a somewhat unstable track record, not helped by its bewildering and ever-changing array of products in search of a customer base. In 1999, merged with Coquihalla and Bowen Island and consolidated the brewing operations of those brands at the Whistler facility. By 2001, Whistler brands were purchased by Big Rock Brewery of Calgary, Alberta, but were being produced at Bear Brewing in Kamloops.  Big Rock kept a couple of Whistler brands alive for who knows what purpose, but eventually sold the brand along with Bear Brewing (which became Kamloops Brewing) in 2005.

Whistler beers were then relaunched in 2006.  Despite the fact that Kamloops is a long way from Whistler - in more ways than one - the Whistler beers are brewed 'exclusively with Whistler Glacier water.'  The ambitious aim of the company, according to an on-line article in June, 2007, is to make 'a brew that is known and enjoyed around the world and is synonymous with the place from which it comes.' (...that's Whistler, not Kamloops.)

In 2009, just ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler returned to its namesake town by opening a small brewery at Function Junction. The bulk of product is still brewed in Kamloops, but at least it now has one foot firmly in it's 'home' town, with a Tap House that is open for visitors.

(09/10/2011)  More Comments [3 5 stars - superb!]   Add Your Comments/Rate this Brewery

Brands

Avalanche (Pilsner, 5%) - (Discontinued long ago)    More Comments [0]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Black Tusk Ale (Porter, 5.5%) - Still surviving! A black beer, revealing deep red at the edges. Malty aroma, strong, roasted malt flavour. Sharply chocolately bitterness, with fairly clean finish. A robust, enjoyable beer.    More Comments [2]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Cream Ale (Brown Ale, 4.5%) - (Discontinued) Another B.C. "Cream Ale" (Shaftebury, Russel Bros) that defies the traditional description of a Cream Ale (light-coloured ale fermented at colder than normal temperatures). This is an amber/light brown colour with a malty, roasty nose. Good mouth feel and malty flavour with mild bitterness. Not bad - for a brown ale.    More Comments [1]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Hemp Blonde Ale (Pale Ale, 5%) - (Not available)    More Comments [1]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Hemp Pale Ale (Pale Ale, 5%) - (Not available) Blonde ale, pale ale, whatever…just put 'hemp' in it and it'll sell, right?    More Comments [0]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Mother's Pale Ale (Pale Ale, 5%) - (No longer available) Mediocre pale ale awkwardly employing a bad pun for a name (Whistler's Mother…)    More Comments [0]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Mountain Lager (Lager, 5%) - (Discontinued)    More Comments [0]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Premium Export Golden Ale (Pale Ale, 5%) - Gimme a break with the marketing-ese names already! A little more attention to product distinction may yield better results.    More Comments [3]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Premium Lager (Lager, 5%) - (No longer available)    More Comments [0]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Premium Pale Ale (Pale Ale, 5%) - (No longer available)    More Comments [0]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer

Winter Dunkel (Seasonal, 5%) - Deep brown-red color, with strong caramel aroma and flavour. Some mandarin orange notes, and a smooth malty finish with lingering caramel. Some complexity but for me, the whole caramel thing was over-powering.
  21/12/2012  More Comments [0]   Add Comments/Rate this Beer


Home  Full Brewery List
« Prev Brewery  Next Brewery »
+
Website by: Figure 4 Enterprises Inc.
Google Analytics Alternative