Island Craft

Book excerpt: Winner of a 2020 Gourmand World Cookbook Award in Canada Hopheads, rejoice! Take the ultimate beer-lover’s road trip from Victoria, BC’s craft beer capital, to Tofino and Campbell River, visiting craft breweries and brewpubs in between. Your guide? Jon Stott, born and bred in Victoria—and beer enthusiast extraordinaire. In 1961, Vancouver Island had just one brewery. In 2018, Stott visited thirty-three breweries on the island—and three more breweries were slated to open within the year. For each brewery or brewpub, Stott shares well-researched backstories, examines the relationships between breweries and the communities in which they operate, profiles owners and brewers, and shares tasting notes for many of the beers each place offers. Beginning at Spinnakers, Canada’s oldest and longest operating brewpub, the book culminates at Beach Fire Brewing and Nosh House in Campbell River, and includes a directory of Vancouver Island’s Breweries and brewpubs, a glossary of brewing terms, and a guide to different styles of beer.