#giveaway – 2 tickets to the West Coast Chocolate Festival and Rogers Chocolates at the Granville Island Brewery Taproom. COMMENT ON THIS POST TO WIN!! A fabulous tasting and pairing seminar, showcasing the best of great ales and beers, and the magic of Rogers Chocolate.

The first Rogers’ chocolates were made in 1885 by Charles (Candy) Rogers in the back of his grocery shop in Victoria, B.C. Surprisingly little has changed in their Victorian-inspired stores. Their chocolate-filled aromas and the pleasure of selecting hand-wrapped chocolates remain simply irresistible.

Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolates with creamy centres, chocolates with nuts, chocolate-covered ginger, espresso beans and caramel. Exquisite chocolates, beautifully wrapped and ready for giving. Rogers’ Chocolates has something to surprise and delight the chocolate lover in everyone.

Rogers Chocolate, celebrating 125 years in business, this year, 2010, will pair a delicious chocolate with the brewmasters choices. And look at some of the choices!

Friday night, November 5, this group of festival goers are in for a treat!

Chocolate Stout is rich and warming. A perfect complement to Vancouver’s cold winter nights. It is brewed with 4 different malts. Hops from the Pacific Northwest and organic, fairtrade chocolate from Rogers’ Chocolates. This beer’s dark chocolate colouring and aromas of roast malt, cocoa and coffee flavours are accompanied by dried fruit and a mellow bitterness.

LIONS WINTER ALE combines premium malt with aromatic specialty hops. The vanilla-like finish of this robust ale is a great excuse to get out of the cold and enjoy this beer made from the finest natural ingredients.

GASTOWN AMBER ALE was brewed to commemorate our 10th anniversary and it became an instant favourite with local beer enthusiasts. This full-bodied ale offers all the aromatic complexities that true ale fans appreciate in “a darker shade of pale”.

ROBSON ST. HEFEWEIZEN chilled in a tall, slim glass and although our brewmaster may scoff, a lemon wedge is the perfect accessory to the natural fruit flavours of this refreshing beer.

KITSILANO MAPLE CREAM ALE is a smooth reminder of Vancouver’s laid-back lifestyle. Enjoy the bold taste of this bronze-coloured ale and toast all that Vancouver has to offer.

Raspberry Wheat Ale: Our raspberry wheat ale combines malt, water, hops, yeast and fraser valley raspberries to create a light wheat ale with a crisp and distinctive raspberry finish. Raspberry Wheat Ale can be enjoyed on its own or paired with a variety of fresh fruit dishes, fresh salads, chicken or light meat. It is a must have for summer evenings or a picnic in the park.

The usual comment of first-time visitors to the Taproom

“Now this is a cool place!”  What’s not to like? The forty-foot ceilings with exposed wooden beams create a distinctive environment. Our pilot brewery is in full view next door, through floor-to-ceiling windows. And our beer is… well…thats what made GIB famous.

More info:

Since its inception, as the first Canadian microbrewery, Granville Island Brewing has been dedicated to handcrafting its premium beers according to strict quality standards.  We use only pure ingredients in the beer making process: select Canadian two-row barley malt and imported malts, the finest blend of European and Pacific Northwest hops, special yeasts and of course fresh BC water.  In the case of our Maple Cream Ale or Honey Lager, only the purest maple and honey make it into our brews.  This guarantees that the brewery’s award-winning beers are 100% all natural.  As the first Canadian microbrewery, we feel it is our duty to offer you quality products with a little twist of Vancouver.