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A couple of weeks ago, Twin Sails Brewing in Port Moody celebrated its 2nd anniversary. To celebrate, they released a total of 8 beers on Friday, November 10, at their anniversary party.

Bryan can attest to the fact that I’m not the biggest advocate for TS because I’m not a big IPA drinker, and TS has made their name with all the interesting IPAs (among other beers) that they’ve produced over the last couple of years. That being said, I was really curious about one of the new releases, so to the contrary of my usual behaviour, I decided to join the crowd, meet up with Bryan (the huge TS fan) and check out the anniversary party. In fact, I even convinced a few of my colleagues to tag along.

And then, a 40-minute line-up later, I got to try all 7 of the 8 new releases that were available at the anniversary party. By this point, my colleagues had given up on me, and went to Yellow Dog next door instead.

The 6 beers here were:

• As If – Dry Hopped Sour IPA – a collaboration with Field House Brewing Co.
• Bière de Crabe – Saison with Crab (yes, you read it right!), lemon peel & sea salt – collaboration with Brasserie Dunham. When I said I was curious about one of the releases, this is the one. I was most excited about trying this!
• Boysen The Hood – Boysenberry Double Milkshake IPA
• Home Ec – Tiramisu Imperial Stout – collaboration with Sons of Vancouver
• 1-year Bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout
• 1-year Rum barrel aged Imperial Con Leche

What did I like?

I really liked As If. It had just the right amount of tartness while you can still taste the hop. It’s surprisingly refreshing; it may be more suitable as a summer beer but it’s good nonetheless.

Bière de Crabe was interesting. It was made with 50lb of Dungeness Crab! I could smell the sea but I didn’t really taste it. And Twin Sails admitted that the taste didn’t come through as much as they had hoped. The lemon peel was quite prominent, and I always enjoy lemony flavours. I don’t know if people would know this was made with seafood if they didn’t see the big crab on the label. (Not suitable for people with seafood allergy)

Do you like a rich stout? Then Home Ec is your answer. Extra rich, lots of espresso flavour, perfect for this weather.

Sometimes I find barrel aged beers too strong, with a syrupy texture. However, I can sip the one-year bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout all day long. Sip, not gulp. The pruney flavour was nice; I much preferred this over the rum barrel aged Con Leche.

I did take a sip of Space Armadillo – Double IPA – from Bryan’s flight; but I’m not big on DIPA so I didn’t get myself a taster. You can definitely taste the hop, but it’s aromatic; not the in-your-face hop bomb.

They didn’t have Random Thoughts on tap – Farmhouse Saison aged 1 year in red wine barrels on cherries & blackberries – but I got ourselves a bottle so we will try it later.

Final Thoughts

Was it worth the wait? Hard to say, but I got to try the new beers on release day. Of course, my colleagues made fun of me later when they were able to get in at 9pm on the same day without any line-up. And then two weeks later, when Bryan, Mr. and I met up this past weekend, the beers were still available on tap and off-sale. But hey, that means I could have them again, and again! Happy birthday, Twin Sails!

Twin Sails Brewing
2821 Murray Street, Port Moody
604-492-4234
twinsailsbrewing.com