Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
If New York is one of the closest cities to England measured in miles (or kilometres), Victoria, the capital of BC west of Vancouver on Vancouver Island, is perhaps the most proximate, culturally. British Columbia proudly wears its connection to Great Britain and the British monarchy on its sleeve, and this city, named for Queen Victoria, looks and feels more like Wee Britain (fans of “Arrested Development” will get the reference) than metropolitan Vancouver does. It’s reported that between 500,000 and 750,000 cups of tea are served annually during Afternoon Tea at the world-famous Empress Hotel (721 Government St.).
But we’re talking about visiting for real ale (there is a local CAMRA society for BC), not tea. Victoria is home to nine breweries, and all of them at least offer some cask beer, even the most American-leaning Driftwood Brewing (450 Hillside Ave.) and the newest one on the block, Hoyne Brewing (2740 Bridge St.),which just so happens to share the block with Driftwood.
Canada’s first brewpub, Spinnakers (308 Catherine St.), co-founded in 1984 and still owned by Paul Hadfield, is one of the two breweries outside the exceedingly walkable downtown area. Located in Vic West, Spinnakers is a brewery and gastropub, and offers a Victorian guesthouse. If you don’t mind staying a healthy walk from downtown, it’s an excellent lodging option. It’s hard to leave, considering the harbor view from the deck and knowing that each weekday at 4 p.m., a new cask-conditioned ale comes on.
The cask program is courtesy of brewer Kala Hadfield, Paul’s daughter, who enjoys experimenting with the casks. She utilizes many teas, and the last time I visited I had a wheat beer with ginger and lime. A new cask 260 days a year requires plenty of ingenuity. As an aside, order the fish and chips, and the malt vinegar it’s served with is made by Paul himself from Spinnakers’ own beers. The IPA malt vinegar also makes a delicious salad topper.
On the relatively new side, and a short distance from the well-worn Victoria Ale Trail, Moon Under Water (350B Bay St.) is a brewpub that achieves its goal of being the “third place” for locals. With the brewery set on the pub floor in full view, every beer is cask-conditioned, including Tranquility, what is called a Canadian IPA, boasting 70 IBU and made with exclusively Canadian malts. The German-style Creepy Uncle Dunkel is also a winner, especially over a few rounds of pool.
In the heart of Old Town, Swans Brewpub and Hotel (506 Pandora Ave.) packs ’em in both for the beer and the nightly live music. The beers range from traditional British bitters to a more-exotic Coconut Porter. Just around the corner, dine and imbibe overlooking the harbor at the Canoe Brewpub (450 Swift St.), where the brewers adhere to the Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian Purity Law that bans any and all of the spices and such that Spinnakers plays with. But they do play with beer in the kitchen, where brunch dishes to dessert items frequently feature beers, including the poutine, one of French Canada’s gifts to the world, even if it’s essentially fries with cheese curds and gravy, which at Canoe is prepared with a brown ale demi-glace and topped with duck confit.
For a pure poutine experience, a 10-minute drive out to Esquimalt, hit La Belle Patate (1215 Esquimalt Road) first thing in the morning to soak up all those imperial pints. This “Authentic Québécois Cuisine” is built on a foundation of hand-cut fries. The “breakfast poutine” is topped with poached eggs, bacon and sausage, or for a hearty lunch, double down on the Québécois factor and try it topped with Montreal-style smoked meat.