Have you ever seen a pod of Orcas? How about a pod of Orcas in a 4 pack?
The Pod Pack
The Pod Pack is a selection of 4 beers made especially to support the Pacific Salmon Foundation. Pod Pack is a collaboration between local island breweries with the objective of helping to preserve our coastal wildlife (orcas and salmon). One dollar from the sale of every Pod Pack will be donated to the Pacific Salmon Foundation to help their efforts in preserving wild B.C. salmon stocks, a vital food source for the southern resident killer whales.
The 4 beers that come in the Pod Pack are:
- Ucluelet Brewing Co. Helles Bock
- Mayne Island Brewing Co. Pacific Gose
- Whistle Buoy Brewing Rose Pale Ale
- Ace Brewing Company Plum & Rosemary Saison
The box is pretty cool with the orca fin!
I will cover the Saison and Helles Bock from the Pod Pack today, and the orcas that are tagged to each of these beers.
‘Solstice’ by Ace Brewing Company
Solstice by Ace Brewing Company from Courtenay, BC, is the Saison in the pack, with Solstice being the name of one of the orcas in our local population. Solstice (L89) is 28 years, and can likely be travelling with his mother since the passing of Granny (J-2), one of the most well-known orcas in the world. Solstice is the offspring of Spirit (L-22).
Solstice by Ace Brewing Company colour is a medium intensity cloudy apricot or Italian prune plum meat colour. It has a light intensity nose with sweet spices. This Saison is medium-bodied, dryish, with medium hoppiness and medium-plus acidity. An enjoyable creamy bubble simultaneously with acidic prickle on your tongue; an interesting texture. You get light stone fruit, a touch of sweet spices, cinnamon, and rosemary flavours. I also picked up some saltiness to the Saison.
An enjoyable beer that is not too heavy would be nice on the patio once we get our sunny days back.
‘Wave Walker’ Helles Bock by Ucluelet Brewing
Who is Wave Walker? Wave Walker (L-88) orca was named since he was first spotted riding the wave from his mother’s slipstream. The 28-year-old orca is now the only living member of the L2 family group.
What is a Helles Bock? A Helles Bock is a beer typically made in the Spring. It is generally a bit sweeter, is malty with a light hoppiness. And has a higher alcohol content.
The Ucluelet Brewing Wave Walker Helles Bock comes in at 6.8% alc, a strong beer. It has a clear, medium amber colour. Light sweetness, hops, caramel, light toastiness, and sweet spices on the nose. It is medium-bodied, off-dry with a caramel malty flavour. Light hoppiness. Medium-sized bubble but fairly smooth. Lingering hoppiness bitterness and some saltiness at the very end. Very easy to drink.
Here is a URL with pics and descriptions of our L-pod orcas.
Where Can I Buy The Pod Pack to Help Salmon and Orcas?
You can buy the Pod Pack, to help support the Pacific Salmon Foundation which supports our orcas and salmon, at this link: https://vibrewing.com/product/podpack2021-4x473ml/
