Vancouver Island Brewing Reviews

didgerito	2.4 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale fairly hazy you can’t see through it, but you don’t see particles either, slightly decaying fruit on nose, taste is light mild citrus fruity hop, no specific fruits come through, but the aftertaste leans towards grapefruit, but not too badly (im bored of grapefruit tasting brews). Not much malt presence and kind of boring otherwise. Tuesday, April 23, 2024
cmacklin	3.2 Vancouver Island Beach Shack Guava Blonde 473ml can. Pours a clear amber orange with a small, foamy, short lived, off-white head that laces. Sweet, fruity aroma of bready wheat malt, guava and floral hops. Sweet fruity flavour of grainy wheat malt, guava, peach and leafy green hops in a dry, mild bitter finish. Light body with an oily to watery texture and average to soft carbonation. Refreshing and crushable. Wednesday, April 10, 2024
didgerito	2.2 Vancouver Island Islander Lager Pint can packed 3 months ago. Smell is lager maybe a bit metallic. Taste is a bit of a let down, kind of mildly malty and sweet, some hop bitterness, but it also has a sort of decayed plant taste which may be diacetyl? This note combined with the sweetness is a bit off putting. The bitterness on the finish makes the whole experience a bit muddled but I welcome the bitter finish compared to the initial palate. Overall tastes a bit off, but by no means horrible. This brewery can and does usually do better. Thursday, March 28, 2024
jgb9348	4 Vancouver Island Pineapple Kveik IPA Super hazy golden and straw coloured body with a fairly thick four centimetre tall pure white head that fades relatively quicklyi but leaves an ugly lace on the sides, above the 90 per cent opaque yellow body. Aroma of grass, pine, hay, flowers, light grain with a hint of pineapples here and a small dose of fairly noticeable yeaast - but not smelling like other Kveiks I've had. Medium-bodied; Fairly crisp, grassy and perfumey flavours up front with a bite of pineapples and even a touch of passionfruit noticeable, but no real tartness at all, with some hoppy bitterness from the alpha acids at the end make this more IPA-like. Aftertaste is dry, crisp, fairly malty and showing more like an IPA than a saison (or fruit beer) but the line is close, but regardless, the complexity is very nice with the yeast here, but also some light fruit notes play out nicely with the hops and supportive malts providing the balance. Overall, a very nice IPA with mellow fruits and even more of a mellow kveik/yeast profile, but complexity throughout and pretty easy-drinking and low alcohol makes this very nice and worthy to bring home across Canada and the US in a suitcase! I sampled this sixteen ounce, pint-sized can, purchased from Jak's Liqour in South Granville, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 01-July-2022 for CA$4,29, packaged on 16-June-2022 and sampled at my house here in Washington on 24-August-2022. Sunday, January 28, 2024
gunner72	3.3 Vancouver Island Broken Islands Hazy IPA Monday, January 1, 2024
kevinsenn	2.6 Vancouver Island Broken Islands Hazy IPA Can. Metallic and slightly fruity with a dry finish. Meh. Saturday, November 25, 2023
kevinsenn	3.2 Vancouver Island Northern Swell A fruity and floral and very drinkable session. Monday, November 20, 2023
Oakes	3.4 Vancouver Island Surfrider Tropical IPA Pale and hazy. Thin head. Aroma is fruity - nectarines and papaya. Malt base is thin, hops are fruity, bitterness is low. It ends up okay - not quite as good as Broken Islands, though. Sunday, October 29, 2023
kevinsenn	2.8 Vancouver Island Victoria Pilsner Can. Aroma is bland. Taste is decent; bitter and spicy with a few fruity notes. Saturday, October 21, 2023
SampleExports60	3.5 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale Tuesday, October 17, 2023
wetherel	3.7 Vancouver Island Victoria Pilsner (2020-) On tap at the brewery on Vancouver Island. High clarity golden color. Clean malty aroma. Low bitterness. I love Pilsner malt. Light and easy to drink. Very good. Friday, September 15, 2023
wetherel	4.1 Vancouver Island PSF Maibock On tap at the brewery in Victoria Island. Deep golden color. Very nice malty aroma and sweetness. Easy to drink. Very good. Friday, September 15, 2023
wetherel	4 Vancouver Island Dominion Dark Lager On tap at the brewery in Victoria Island. Black color. Nice fine lacing. Lightly sweet roasted grain flavor…like a light Russian imperial stout. Easy to drink. Very good. Friday, September 15, 2023
wetherel	3.8 Vancouver Island Beachcomber Hefeweizen On tap at the brewery in Victoria Island. Medium clarity golden color. Nice banana clove aroma. Some earthy hop notes. Light wheat sweetness. Easy to drink. Pretty good. Friday, September 15, 2023
pictoman	2.7 Vancouver Island / Blind Enthusiasm Late-Hopped Lager Poured from the tap. Clear blonde gold with minimal white head. Grain and corn malt with very feint floral hops. Pretty lacklustre. Friday, September 15, 2023
Oakes	3.6 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale Hazy, and quite pale. Thin head. Smells like there's not much, just husks, but there's some citra-ish grassy green onion hops as well. On the palate, the hop character explodes, much more complex lychee, grapefruit and limonene terps, stone fruit... lots of things going on. The malt is definitely thin, but has a bit more to it than the aroma hinted. Solid. Saturday, September 2, 2023
pictoman	3.4 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale Poured from the tap (as Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar House Hazy Pale Ale, but confirmed brewed by V.I.B.). Hazy blonde with small white head. Light and citrusy with a touch of pith, feint honey in the background. Okay. Wednesday, August 23, 2023
pictoman	3.6 Vancouver Island West Coast IPA Poured from the tap (as Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar House IPA brewed by V.I.B., but asked and they said it was this one so didn’t bother making a new rating). Lightly hazed gold with small white head. Biscuit malt, pine, grapefruit, and floral hops. Decent. Wednesday, August 23, 2023
johnnnniee	3.3 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale Can from MrBarleywine,thanks for the hookup! Pours a hazy pale yellow color with a decent sized bubbly white head that slowly dissipates. Lemony earthy with crackery bready maltiness. Bits of mint and spice. Not bad but not very exciting either. Sunday, August 13, 2023
johnnnniee	3.6 Vancouver Island West Coast IPA Can shared by MrBarleywine, thanks for the opportunity! Lightly hazy light gold color with a thin white head that persists. Bready with light toast bits of grapefruit earth and light pine. Saturday, August 12, 2023
Oakes	3.6 Vancouver Island Broken Islands Hazy IPA Bright, fruity, mango and passionfruit. Fairly low bitterness. Malt is pale, soft, with a pleasant balancing sweetness. Friday, August 11, 2023
DialSquare	3.2 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale Tallboy can from Spinnakers in Victoria, BC: light yellow pour. aroma of floral and citrus. tastes are wheat malts, earthy, citrus. bitter late with mineral in finish. Monday, July 24, 2023
funcut	4.4 Vancouver Island Islander Lager Hvala mom prijatelju Kiki na ovom pivu koje mi je donio .. Pivo je jedno od najboljih koje sam pio iz Kanade...okus gorkast ...pitko .. klizi niz grlo ...uzivao sam u ovoj pivi .. odlicno pivo Monday, July 17, 2023
Crit	2.7 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale Hazy straw, small white head. Musty tropical nose. Vague start, lightly musty, medium uncoordinated bitterness Friday, March 31, 2023
jercraigs	3.7 Vancouver Island Field Berry Sour 2023-02-24. Crisp ruby red body with a small pink head. 4+ Aroma of berry mix, very light funky undertones. Flavour has a sweet berry mix at the core with a tart lightly acidic over layer. Smooth average to light bodied palate, soft to low carbonation. Simple but tasty. 7/5/7/3/15 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
jercraigs	3.4 Vancouver Island Peach & Ginger Saison 2023-02-24. Orange body modest off-white head and lace. 3+ Aroma of funky peach and what I wouldn’t have pegged as ginger without reading it in the name. Flavour is an interesting mix of peach and spice, it’s kind of nice and kind of off putting at the same time. Some interesting esters in the finish. Average bodied palate, good carbonation. Decent. 7/3/7/3/14 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
jercraigs	3.4 Vancouver Island Nanaimo Bar Imperial Porter 2023-02-24. Black body, small creamy tan head and lace. Aroma of roast cocoa, coconut and vanilla. Flavour is lightly roasty, cocoa, touch of coconut. 7+ A vanilla like note but not quite? Average bodied palate, modest carbonation is fine but thinner than the beer warrants in my opinion. The blend of things works better in aroma than flavour for me. 7/4/6-7/3/14 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
jercraigs	3.5 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale 2023-02-24. Lightly hazy pale pastel yellow body, small head. Aroma has a light hop haze and mineral lemon character. Flavour is light, pleasant muddled hops, light mineral undertones. Light bodied palate, moderate carbonation. Pleasant and quaffable. 7/3/7/3/14-15 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
jercraigs	3.5 Vancouver Island West Coast IPA 2023-02-24. Very lightly hazy orange body, modest beige head and lace. Aroma of resiny citrus hops. Flavour is moderately bitter, modest citrusy hops, light green hop and resin. Light bodied palate, good carbonation. 7/4/7/3/14 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
jercraigs	3.4 Vancouver Island Nicholl’s Black Velvet Stout 2023-02-24. Black body modest tan head. 3+ Aroma of spice, cinnamon. Nutmeg or allspice and light roast. Flavour is interesting, light roast and dark malt, cinnamon and cocoa, and tiny impression of nutmeg like spice that might just be in my head? Average bodied palate, good carbonation. Okay, the base could be more robust to support the flavours for me. 7/4/7/3/14 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
jercraigs	3.2 Vancouver Island Northern Swell 2023-02-24. Crisp yellow orange body, small white head. 3+ Aroma of pithy citrus. Flavour is hoppy, muddled citrus and fruit, light resin and a decent amount of hop bitterness. Average bodied palate, good carbonation. Okay. 7/3-4/6/3/13-14 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
jercraigs	3.4 Vancouver Island Late Hopped Lager 2023-02-24. Crisp bright yellow body, modest off-white head. 3+ Aroma has grassy hop character. Flavour has nice grassy floral hop character. Light bodied palate, good carbonation. Light but interesting. 7/3/7/3/14 On tap at Vancouver Island Brewing, Victoria, BC. Sunday, March 12, 2023
mabel	3.7 Vancouver Island Broken Islands Hazy IPA [11746-20190821] Tap. Fruity fresh citrus aroma. Hazy, pale orange body with a medium-lasting creamy off-white head and some lacing. Bitter citrus fruit flavour has a nice lingering fruit note. Medium body is bitter. Great balance. (7/3/8/4/15) 3.7 (@ Garricks Head Pub, Victoria, BC) Saturday, March 11, 2023
Gerbeer	3.6 Vancouver Island Collaboration Series: Cranberry & Pomegranate IPA 473 ml can. Pours a dull copper color with moderate head. Aromas of mashed fruit and bready malts. Flavors of sharp dark berries, melons, pomegranate, citrus, and toasted malts Tuesday, February 28, 2023
mabel	3.2 Vancouver Island / Mount Arrowsmith Castles in the Sand Pineapple Saison [11699-20190818] Tap. Lightly toasted pulled pork and mild pineapple fruit bites in the aroma. Slightly hazy, pale orange pink body with a quick foamy white head. Toasted old fruit skins and lightly soured pineapple lemon flavour. Medium body. Average. (7/3/6/3/13) 3.2 (@ The Hatch, Tofino, BC) Tuesday, February 21, 2023
didgerito	3.5 Vancouver Island Broken Islands Hazy IPA Pours moderately hazy, not opaque or anything like that. Taste is decent but not particularly noteworthy, more on the citrus side for an IPA, mild citrus but not much tropical fruit at all. Some decent malt coming through. Really just a fairly good middle of the road ipa, nothing wrong with it but it doesn't stand out. Wednesday, December 28, 2022
didgerito	2.3 Vancouver Island Northern Swell Pours somewhat hazy. Smells like ipa. Body is interesting, kind of watery but also a bit viscous, hard to explain, almost like it separates in your mouth. Taste is fairly standard ipa, mainly a mild grapefruit flavour, a bit more delicate than the average ipa. Malt presence seems a bit absent, but it's there when it warms up, i guess the more delicate nature of the hop profile requires a milder malt? There's some flavour that hits the tongue near the finish that seems unique, really not sure how to describe it, almost like a bit of tart "barnyard" but it's not unpleasant and seems to prevent bitterness from building in the mouth to the same extent as other ipas. I wouldn't consider it sessionable. Thursday, December 15, 2022
didgerito	2.4 Vancouver Island Dominion Dark Lager Looks nice, but definitely not my style. Tastes like a dark beer, but the flavours are a bit indistinguishable to me, sort of woody, maybe raisin, kind of boozy and sweet. Does have some cocao or mild coffee. Reminds me of a Holsten Festbock, but that's 7% - this was 5.5%. Very fresh at least. Sunday, December 11, 2022
didgerito	2.1 Vancouver Island Victoria Pilsner Sampled from a mixed 12 pack. Tastes like a standard pilsner, but incredibly fresh. Substantial hop bitterness like an authentic pilsner. However as with many European pilsners the alcohol taste apparent. Not my favourite style usually for this reason. It is incredibly fresh and clean tasting and the production date is clearly printed on the bottom. Strong indications this brewery knows what it is doing, I look forward to trying the others. Friday, December 2, 2022
gunner72	3.1 Vancouver Island Nanaimo Bar Imperial Porter Thursday, November 10, 2022
cmacklin	3.2 Vancouver Island Pineapple Kveik IPA 473ml can. Pours a hazy orange gold with a medium, foamy, short lived, off-white head that leaves curtains of lace. Sweet fruity aroma of bready wheat malt, tangerine, light pineapple and floral hops. Sweet fruity flavour of bready wheat malt, tangerine, mango, pineapple and floral hops in a dry, mild bitter finish. Medium body with an oily texture and soft carbonation. Pineapple is pretty mild, but it's juicy, refreshing and easy to drink. Thursday, October 13, 2022
cmacklin	3.3 Vancouver Island Collaboration Series: Guava & Lime Wit 473ml can. Pours a hazy orange gold with a medium, foamy, long lasting, white head that leaves thick curtains of lace. Mild fruity aroma of bready wheat malt, lime, yeast and light guava. Sweet fruity flavour of bready wheat malt, guava, lime, yeast and salt in a dry, slightly tart, mild bitter finish. Light to medium body with a thick, soft, almost creamy texture and soft carbonation. Not really a Wit, more of a flavoured Gose. Wednesday, October 12, 2022
fiulijn	3.2 Vancouver Island Surfrider Tropical IPA Can from Jak's Parkcrest, Burnaby Blond colour, hazy to cloudy. The aroma is mild, it's fruity and maybe piney. It's too dry, which means the body is fairly week; not chalky, but maybe it's buttery; the malt base is clean, maybe anonymous, it has enough bitterness, but little hop quality. Mediocre. Friday, September 23, 2022
henriquetb	3.5 Vancouver Island Beachcomber Hefeweizen Saturday, September 17, 2022
sulawang	3.2 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale Can from Beerbox 2.22 Attack: crisp citrusy Mids: bright tangy grainy malt, lvl2-sweetness, resiny light pine Finish: soft bitter hops, bready biscuit Overall: engaging, prominent hops and malt base, good balance Friday, September 9, 2022
cmacklin	3.4 Vancouver Island West Coast IPA 473ml can. Pours a slightly hazy amber-gold with a medium, frothy, short lived, off-white head that laces. Aroma of caramel malt, grapefruit, light pine and floral hops. Sweet flavour of caramel malt, grapefruit rind, tangerine and pine resin in a dry, bitter hoppy finish. Medium body with an oily texture and average carbonation. A solid oldskool Westy. Friday, August 5, 2022
cmacklin	3.4 Vancouver Island Beachcomber Hefeweizen 473ml can. Pours a hazy gold-yellow with a small, foamy, short lived, white head that laces. Sweet aroma of bready wheat malt, banana, bubble gum, clove, yeast and floral hops. Sweet flavour of bready wheat malt, orange peel, banana, clove, a hint of black pepper and floral hops in a dry, mild bitter finish. Light to medium body with a watery to oily texture and soft carbonation. Refreshing and well made. Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Crit	2.6 Vancouver Island Deep Sea IPA Hazy copper, beige head. Nose of brown sugar/vague fruit. Palate is mostly all hops, not much else. Decent body. One dimensional Tuesday, August 2, 2022
cmacklin	3.5 Vancouver Island Broken Islands Hazy IPA 473ml can. Pours a hazy gold-yellow with a medium, foamy, long lasting, white head that leaves soapy curtains of lace. Sweet fruity aroma of bready wheat malt, tangerine, orange peel, peach, honeydew, earthy yeast and floral hops. Sweet fruity flavour of bready pale malt, orange, grapefruit peel, peach, pineapple, earthy yeast and floral hops in a dry, bitter finish. Light to medium body with an oily texture and average carbonation. Juicy and enjoyable. Tuesday, August 2, 2022
cmacklin	3.4 Vancouver Island Mystic Haze Pale Ale 473ml can. Pours a hazy gold-yellow with a medium, foamy, short lived, white head that laces nicely. Sweet fruity aroma of bready wheat malt, caramel, orange, grapefruit, earthy yeast and floral hops. Sweet fruity flavour of bready wheat malt, caramel, orange, peach, earthy yeast and light piney hops in a dry, mild bitter finish. Light to medium body with a sticky, oily texture and average carbonation. Juicy and crushable. Monday, August 1, 2022