Early on, Stephane took to baseball as a shortstop before slowly growing weary of the competitiveness of that position. This often meant, as he got into his teens, he was stuck as a second baseman or catching stray balls out in the field. He didn’t mind, because it gave him a chance to experience a kinship with his favorite Major League Baseball star, Roberto Alomar, who, you guessed it, played...

If you want to experience The Drake Eatery for the first time or the most recent time, know that their doors are footsteps away.  If you want to experience that feeling all you need to do is visit 517 Pandora Ave in Victoria, BC.

The 10th edition of Victoria Beer Week promises to be the grandest yet, featuring a stellar lineup of events, tastings, and exclusive brewery experiences held at the breweries themselves, and then finishing off with a special finale put on by the Victoria Beer Society. 

Paying homage to FBC’s history, the Retro Pack contains 4 classic FBC brews, each can design hailing from a different  era. But with all the past brews available to choose from, how did they land upon this line-up? An FBC staff vote, of  course. So, take a trip down memory lane, revisit these nostalgic brews in their old-school designs, then head to your  closest liquor store to grab one before...

“Every year the competition offers consumers and buyers a guide for finding quality ciders, and this year really showcased how creative and dynamic this industry has become,” said Emily Ritchie, Executive Director of the Northwest Cider Association (NWCA), the trade non-profit that organizes the NW Cider Cup. “The number of cideries in our region has increased from around 10 to 200 in a little over a decade - that’s nearly a 2,000% increase. To say that we’ve seen some growth would be an understatement.” 

While the non-alc craft beer segment has been seeing exponential growth, FBC has been working up a sweat behind the scenes on the creation of this new brand. From start to finish, they had two clear goals in mind – to ensure the beer tasted as good as their full-flavoured, alcohol containing counterpart; and that the brand spoke to the active and athletic mountain-town adventurer.

“New events include Down Unda featuring southern hemisphere hops and New Zealand pilsners alongside SaltChuck Pies at the gorgeous Esquimalt Park Gorge Pavilion; and Sour Power a 70’s themed sour beer disco party with Tight Hair headlining for a real Saturday Night Fever. Dubbel Down will return to the iconic Victoria Public Market on Friday, May 12th for a night of Belgian inspired beers and cuisine. The ever popular Beer & Pizza Night will be hosted at Driftwood Brewery and partners with local vendor Bicycle Pizza for a delicious multi-course pairing. Victoria Beer Week will also kick off the Langford based Friday’s at the Station series at Langford Station. This pop-up beer garden series will continue every Friday for the rest of summer. More details about each event will be released over the next couple weeks on their Instagram, @vicbeerweek. 

Early Bird discounted tickets for Victoria Beer Society members will go on sale on Friday, February 10th at 10:00am online at victoriabeersociety.com. General on-sale for the public is scheduled for Friday, March 17th.”