Each month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer extravaganza that I will be sharing with you throughout 2016, I will highlight a specific style or theme of beers for a whole week of articles. Since March features St. Patrick’s Day and many of us largely associate the celebration with Guinness beer, the Sip Advisor thought it would be a prime month to highlight some of B.C.’s best stout beers.

Having just gone through Chocolate Week last month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer project, I vowed that my Stout Week would stray from any chocolate-based versions of the feature beer and instead focus on unique ingredients to the mix. The fine folks at Tofino Brewing helped greatly with that decision.

For some perverse reason, I’ve been looking forward to trying the Kelp Stout, ever since I heard of it. Kelp? In a beer? You’re damn right! Even the Tofino brewers are having fun with this odd addition, writing: “If there’s one sentiment that’s constantly repeated among craft beer drinkers it is, ‘This beer is good but it needs more seaweed!’ If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times. Well folks, message received.”

The beer is quite complex, with a roasted malty smokiness, which I absolutely loved. All natural and unfiltered, the beverage is brewed with locally harvested kelp. The 6% ABV brew is available year round and can be located in BC Liquor Stores. I would assume this stout pairs well with sushi, but I didn’t test that hypothesis.

A special thanks goes out to Ma and Pa Sip who picked up a set of beers for me when they were on the island, visiting Ucluelet and Tofino last month. They visited the brewery, which they said was a lot of fun, despite the fact that neither of them are beer drinkers. They did it all for little ol’ me!

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