After camping at the Sooke Potholes, my friend and I biked back along the Galloping Goose to Victoria, with only one stop to pick fresh blackberries growing right by the trail. The fourth day (for me) of Bike Tour 2012 was beautiful but hot, and we were quite thirsty by the time we reached Vancouver Island Brewery. A tour had started moments before we rolled our bikes into the taproom, but rather than join the group we decided just to do a tasting session. (There was a bit of  a time crunch — we wanted to visit one more brewery, as well as get something to eat, before my friend’s return trip to Seattle on the Clipper.)

Taster at Vancouver Island Brewing — Victoria, BC

Rob’s Picks
• Beachcomber Summer Ale – Crisp and bubbly, with banana/clove flavors and good bready finish. Nice balance of flavor.
• Piper’s Pale Ale – English style pale. Very smooth and creamy. Subtle hoppiness, lingering maltiness. Really solid.
• Hermann’s Dark Lager – Great dry and coffee-flavored ale. Light body, but solid.

The Rest
• Spyhopper Honey Brown – Not so brown. Nice honey sweetness and somewhat malty, but a touch watery. Pretty light.
• Sea Dog Amber – Malty, slightly sweet. Very smooth and well-balanced, but not too interesting to me.

Full disclosure: I’d been to Vancouver Island Brewery once before, way back in 2003 or so. I showed up a few minutes before they closed for the day, however, and only had enough time to buy a tiny logo taster glass — didn’t even get to try any of their beer. It felt good to get that corrected, finally.