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. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, this month’s feature week will look at beers of a chocolate nature, perfect to celebrate the occasion.

On our recent beer travels around BC’s Lower Mainland for the Family Day long weekend, we stopped in at the Mission Springs Pub for a snack and to try some of their brews.

Over a platter of pulled pork nachos, we ordered a couple tasting flights. My favourite beverage among my samples was the Spirit Bear Spiced Chocolate Imperial Stout. The beer has a nice spice aroma and taste to go along with the always enjoyable chocolate flavour. At 8% ABV, the Spirit Bear is on the stronger side, as implied with its ‘Imperial Stout’ moniker.

Spirit Bears (also known as Kermode Bears, named after former Royal BC Museum director Francis Kermode) can be found in parts of BC and are even the official provincial mammal. The white or cream-coloured bears feature heavily in the stories of BC’s native population.

I liked the Mission Springs Pub and could see why it’s a popular local watering hole. Brewpubs are my favourite places to go for food and drink and when I venture out this way in the future, I’ll make sure to pop in for another round.

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