6 BC Beers to Celebrate an Epic Day on Cox Bay
Long Beach Lodge's Sandbar Bistro is a great spot to kick up your feet with a craft beer both inspired by, and created in BC. |
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Alright, you’ve had a big day. You caught a few fun waves, walked the beach, maybe even took in the view from the Cox Bay Lookout, and now it’s time to relax on the Sandbar patio with a delicious beverage.
Lucky for you, the Sandbar has curated an epic beer list that offers a wide array of selections from breweries across Vancouver Island and the mainland.
Here are a few examples to help you pick your celebratory poison.
Cheers!
Blonde Ale - Tofino Brewing Company
ABV: 5.5%
The Blonde is a more traditional offering from Tofino Brewing Company. It’s been sold alongside their lager in six-packs for the last decade or so. But the Blonde just levelled up to Tall Boy status, which gives us a few extra millilitres to enjoy that sweet sweet malty goodness.
With notes of caramel, pepper, biscuit and citrus, the end result is shockingly smooth.
White Bark Witbier - Driftwood Brewery
ABV: 5%
This one’s a new school take on an old school beer. The witbier brewing style, which dates back to 14th century monasteries in Belgium, uses blends of herbs and spices instead of malt.
The White Bark balances the spice with a healthy dose of citrus in there, creating very patio-appropriate results.
Ethereal IPA - Tofino Brewing Company
ABV: 6.5%
Local lore suggests that the recipe for this dangerously crushable, juicy, hazy IPA came to Tofino Brewing’s head brewmaster while he was DEEP inside the barrel of a backlit Cox Bay wave on a foggy-ish September afternoon.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, but it is worth noting that Oxford defines the word ethereal as “extremely delicate and light in a way that’s too perfect for this world.”
That part of the story checks out.
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Raised by Wolves IPA - Driftwood Brewery
ABV: 7%
Driftwood Brewery completely redefined the BC Craft Beer scene when it released Fat Tug in 2010. For years, the BC market had been flooded with unbalanced IPAs that were almost too bitter to be considered drinkable. But then Fat Tug came along and got us all hooked on juicier, more fruit-forward IPAs.
Raised by Wolves takes that forward-thinking expertise and drops it into a more up-to-date, hazy IPA with notes of papaya, melon and mango.
Careful now! Because at 7%, the wolves leave a few teethmarks.
Marigold Pale Ale - Superflux Brewing
ABV: 5.5%
We’ve been proudly serving Superflux at the Lodge for over a decade. Their first line of IPAs tasted like they were sent from the future. And Superflux has been setting the standard for juice-packed, hazy beers ever since.
With its lower ABV, The Marigold is considered a Pale Ale, but it still drinks like an IPA (and a smooth one at that). With notes of grapefruit, lime and Sauvignon Blanc skin, it boasts an acidity that pairs nicely with our Tofino-famous Cox Bay Beef Burger.
Original BC Apple Cider - No Boats on Sunday
ABV: 5.0%
Ok, so No Boats on Sunday isn’t from BC, nor is it considered beer. But this delicious cider makes the list because not everybody wants to hop on a one-way train to Gluten Town. And the recipe uses 100% locally-sourced apples from BC, which gives it more than enough cred to make the list.
The company’s actually from Nova Scotia. And the name’s inspired by a policy from Halifax’s busy harbour that encouraged people to kick their feet up on Sunday afternoons.
We’d like to think that commitment to leisure applies to Cox Bay as well!
The Sandbar opens on Thursday, May 12th from 12:00pm to sunset, rain or shine. Please come join us on Cox Bay's best outdoor patio and tell us all about your day!
* Please drink responsibly.
