When I walk into a café, there are a few key indicators that I look for, and what beans they’re brewing is one of the biggies. When I see bags of Bows & Arrows, I know I’m in a solid place. This small family-and-friend-run business in Victoria is tucked into a...
The location of Canada’s first Aboriginal arts hotel may come as a surprise—even to locals who walk past the front door every day. The front desk of the unassuming, tucked away, brand new boutique hotel is in the Urban Aboriginal Fair Trade Gallery; you can check...
While we may be well into 2015 (I know, right?), many of the years’ new breweries are only just starting to get off the ground. But with hundreds (literally) of new breweries currently in the works, it can be a bit daunting when planning your brewery hopping...
True confession: I love movies. The best thing to do in my opinion is to enter a movie theater, with a good glass of something in your hand and loose yourself in another world for two and a half hours. To experience sights and sounds that only exist on the very...
From our sister publication and cider expert, this story originally ran on CIDERCRAFTmag.com. Beverage-making 101: balance is key. For cider, the apples required to produce a quality bevvie must have the appropriate balance of tannins, acidity and (most...
From the slopes of Skaha Bench, south of Penticton and Naramata Bench, rests Pentâge, the under-the-radar, always impressing, boutique winery. Nestled on 23 acres overlooking Skaha Lake, the winery was founded in 1996 by Paul Gardner and Julie Rennie, and they have...
Fun fact: cold drinks are awesome. Yet, the ability to insert caffeine into a bottle might not be as easy as you think. Iced tea has been common for millennia, and soda gets a pass by using caffeine created primarily in a pharmaceutical lab in China. (According to...
There aren’t a lot of hemp vodkas around, and most of the ones that are out there are marketed as stoner novelty products with pot leaves on the labels. Since 2010, British Columbia's Victoria Spirits has produced a serious take on the style instead. Their Left...
It’s winter, you need something to warm from the inside. Steamworks Brewing's Blitzen Belgian Tripel Winter Ale won the top prize at the 2014 BC Beer Awards for "Strong Beer," so you can imagine it’s up to the challenge. The label on has a steam punk, steam-driven...
Though it’s true that art is in the eye of the beholder, there’s no denying that The Listel Hotel is one of Vancouver’s artiest properties, from any point of view. From the sculptural pieces awaiting your arrival outside the Robson Street entrance, to the...
