On a still-sunny summer Friday night, we decided it was time to check out Camp Beer Co.
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Where: 19664 64 Ave., Langley
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When: Monday-Wednesday, noon-10 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, noon-9 p.m.
Reservations and info: 604-427-4287, Campbeer.ca
Langley is fast becoming a hotspot for craft breweries.
Four popular destinations — Farm Country Brewing, Five Roads Brewing Co., Trading Post Brewery and Tasting Room, and Camp Beer Co. — all reside within an approximately three-kilometre zone. And other noteworthy watering holes, including Dead Frog and Smugglers Trail, aren’t too far from that.
On a still-sunny summer Friday night, we decided it was time to check out Camp Beer Co.
Opened in December 2019 by co-owners Jamie Schreder and Kevin Larsen, the destination is billed as a “community-based brewery and tasting room” that quenches the “thirst of craft” for friends and neighbours in the Fraser Valley city, according to the brewery’s website.
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What this translates to is an airy, approachable venue decorated with a few perfectly campy accoutrements — think wooden tables and plastic patio chairs, as well as a faux cabin face for offering brewery merch.
“We’re all about community at Camp,” says Sam Jennings, the taproom manager. “We’re trying to create an atmosphere that, even though you’re in the middle of Langley, you feel like you’re camping. You feel like you’re somewhere else — you’re in a friend’s back garden or out in the woods having an adventure.”
Jennings says the brewery had a “good few months” after opening before COVID shut down service, forcing the establishment to pivot to takeaway and beer sales.
“We have a bunch of regulars who we have really good rapport with,” Jennings says of the community support during the slowdown. “They helped us tremendously during the first major lockdown. We sold a lot of takeaways, growler fills and cans — so, it was great to see that support.”
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Since reopening, Jennings says the return to in-person service has “been really well received.”
“I think we’ve established ourselves as a part of the Langley and Fraser Valley community, and the craft beer community, too,” Jennings says.
During our visit, we snagged one of the last empty tables inside near the main beer-pouring hub. The sun-soaked patio was packed, as one would anticipate on a warm summer evening.
After a quick thumb through our phones of the QR code-accessed menu — these are still COVID times, after all — our dinner party opted for four-beer flights ($10) in order to best sample what Camp has to offer.
We selected the Upstream Pale Ale, The Forager Peach and Apricot Sour, The Late Harvest Dry Hopped Boysenberry Sour and one of the rotating ciders.
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Each of the selects was more than satisfactory, but it was The Late Harvest that was a fast favourite at our table.
The dry-hopped sour has a dark berry hue thanks to the addition of boysenberry puree, according to the Camp crew. The beer sees El Dorado and Mosaic hops utilized along with water, malted barley, lactose and yeast to round out the brew.
As advertised, we found the beer to be nicely “fragrant and tart.” It paired well with the dishes we ate and was also very enjoyable on its own.
Turns out, it’s a popular pick for many Camp customers as we were told by our server that we’d received one of the last available pours of this particular craft select.
“It’s actually just gone off tap,” Jennings confirms of the craft brew. “We have three core beers — our Lager, Upstream pale ale and Anorak IPA. Everything else we do is pretty seasonal.”
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Jennings says the brewery creates new craft beers each season, along with a Forager rotating series of sours as well as a seasonal Camp series that includes and a Spring Camp, Summer Camp, Fall Camp and Winter Camp beer release. Recent brews have included a citrus wit, a rose-hibiscus saison for summer, a ginger-snap ale for winter, and a smoked amber ale for fall.
“We’ve done experimentation with all sorts of flavours and styles,” Jennings says. “We like to keep it adventurous. Adventure on tap is one of our mottos.”
With beers on the table, we turned our attention to the food.
“We just did some kitchen upgrades so that we can try to elevate our food even more,” Jennings shares of the Camp food collection. “We’re never going to be a restaurant, that’s not our aim. We’re a brewery.
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“We offer nice food, snack-y food that pairs well with beer.”
The menu selection is curated, but not too concise as to not offer an option or two for pretty much everyone. Vegans and vegetarians can find a bite with the Firepit Patty ($6.50), made by the Real Patty Co. and available in both meat and veggie versions, while meat lovers can get their fix from the Smokie Signal ($5.50).
The smokie had a nice, smoked flavour. The beer onions (an additional $1) were an essential addition to the standard ketchup, mustard and relish, adding an extra layer to the otherwise simple smoky on a bun. Our only complaint was regarding the bun, which was no match for the sauce and meat it was assigned to contain. It really could have been heftier.
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Next up was the Spent Grain Pretzel ($5.50), a soft-and-warm twist of dough served with a grainy mustard that offered a nice extra bite. The pull-apart plate was devoured pretty quickly.
Our table loved the Day Pack Taco ($11). Billed as a “campfire taco in a bag” it features pulled pork, shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, roasted corn, black beans on a bed of crushed tortilla chips. The fallout-free bagged taco is topped with a cilantro-lime tequila crema for some added kick.
Consumed with the help of a small wooden fork, it was savoury, crunchy and fresh, although, we could have used a few more pieces of the pulled pork added to the mix.
The Mac N Cheese ($10), which also has a vegetarian-friendly version on offer, was, admittedly, kind of lacklustre. The Anorak IPA-infused cheese sauce, which was accompanied by a smattering of spicy wine chorizo, bite-sized sourdough croutons and a sprinkling of scallions, lacked the ooey-gooey cheesiness we hope for when picking this particular plate.
We had the pasta dish with the optional side Creekside Caesar salad ($4.50). The house-made dressing was creamy, the sourdough crouton bits crunchy and the softly roasted chickpeas — generally underrated, in my opinion — a simple, welcome addition.
Truth be told, what little the menu items lacked was more than made up for by the establishment’s tasty craft beers. And the lively atmosphere, coupled with the fast, friendly service all added up to an enjoyable evening experience.
Source: vancouversun.com
