5 Days on the BC Ale Trail
In early 2018 beer journalist Aaron Brussat and I were invited by Vancouver Island's tourism board to travel to Victoria, BC and spend 5 days on the Nanaimo section of the BC Ale Trail. The prospect of cruising the east side of Vancouver Island was, of course, appealing and this was a paid gig for their website (win-win.) Little did we know that we’d meet, in each small town we visited, so many brewers and beer lovers with the shared vision of community over pints of craft beer. Beer is universally binding, and this trip solidified our appreciation for brewing communities outside of our own.
5 Days on the BC Ale Trail, by Aaron Brussat and Ezra Johnson-Greenough
With beer in our veins and clouds in our heads we headed back to Neck Point Park before it was time for dinner. Truly a beautiful place to visit, its rocky coastal edges provided a hell of a view to the sea and all the way across to the mainland. From here we could even see cruise ships heading out to the San Juan Islands and Vancouver. It’s a popular area with scuba divers, and you might even peep a look at a sea lion or orca whale. The trail ambles along the shore and doubles back at times into the woods. It was low tide, and we hopped across the seaweed-coated rocks to take pictures and look at a lone sea lion making its rounds. The wind was up and brought a chill, but the late afternoon sunlight was outstanding. The trail is well maintained and easy for anybody, and totally worthy of a long picnic and stroll.
After dinner at SimonHolt restaurant we retreated to our hotel and had a walk out to the pool house for a relaxing dip in the hot tub and sauna while processing our first BC Ale Trail experience. Knowing it was our last night on the island brought an extra sense of introspection and admiration for the growing community. There is a purity of intent, a youthful exuberance and curiosity, and a moderate but growing collective maturity among the younger breweries we visited. Though many of the breweries along the ale trail are not new, the craft beer scene still feels young with only great things ahead of it.
