24 Days of B.C. Beer: Velour Toboggan Blackberry Dark Ale by Dageraad Brewing (No.7)

Welcome to 24 Days of Beer, in which we guide you through what might be a very dark month. Aren’t you glad we’re here to tell you what to drain your sorrows with?

Well, we’ve reached an awkward point here at 24 Days of Beer. No, it’s not my partner throwing me out of the house for becoming an unrepentant alcoholic. It’s the first time I have to throw dirt on a beer.

And yes, have to is the operative phrase. What would this series be without some accountability? None of this is sponsored content. As much as I’d love for breweries to invest heavily into the magazine and my own personal pocket, that’s not the case. So it’s my editorial duty to tell you when I think a beer is great, and when I think it’s not. I know that—it’s just that we at Vanmag are much more accustomed to championing and celebrating the folks that give us such a great craft beer scene.

Burnaby’s Dageraad Brewing is unquestionably one of those places. It’s one of my favourite breweries in the province and, when we did a Best Brewery feature last February, Dageraad took second place. It’s no mystery why: the crew at Dageraad consistently brews extremely high quality beer (its Rainshine Blonde Ale is one of my all-time favourites and the Never Tear Us Apart collab with Yellow Dog is the best thing I’ve drank this year) and boasts some incredible art design to boot.

You can understand how incredibly amped I was, then, to try a new winter-themed release from Dageraad, the Velour Toboggan Blackberry Dark Ale. I love dark ales. I love blackberry. The can looks incredible.

Alas, it was not to be.

It just… doesn’t really taste like anything—not blackberry, not dark ale; just a jumbled mess of hops that doesn’t work at all.

And hey, I know what you’re thinking: ‘What the hell does this guy know about beer? Dageraad is awesome and they’re the actual experts!’

I can’t argue with your fake outrage, so don’t let me make this decision for you. Do go ahead and try it and heckle me by email or Twitter or from six feet away at the grocery store if you think I’m wrong. But please, know that I would only be telling you this if I really, really thought I had to.

Pour one out for the first beer on 24 Days to be not recommended. Actually, pour the whole four-pack out.

Previous 24 Days of Beer:
Tmavý Pivo 13 by Slowhand Brewing (No.1)
Mint Chocolate Stout by Moody Ales (No.2)
All Season Nitro Dry Stout by Container Brewing (No.3)
Four Year Oatmeal Stout by Strathcona Beer Company (No.4)
Idleback Amber Ale by Slackwater Brewing (No.5)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Porter by Bad Tattoo Brewing (No.6)