Checkerhead Brewing

Checkerhead Brewing This is the story of a juggler who became a brewer. His passion for beer is evident in every hand-cr

We’re coming up on the 11-year anniversary of the Father’s Day brew kit that started this whole adventure.I’ve often jok...
06/04/2026

We’re coming up on the 11-year anniversary of the Father’s Day brew kit that started this whole adventure.

I’ve often joked that brewing requires a very specific combination of ADHD and OCD tendencies. You need to be paying attention to absolutely everything while following a precise process that leaves very little room for error. For whatever reason, my brain seems perfectly calibrated for it. The brewing, the cleaning, the packaging, the marketing — every part of it scratches an itch.

While Emiko was in Japan during May, I realized I’m still not quite “automatic” enough in the brewery to comfortably brew while distracted. Every step still requires focus, and with plenty of beer already in the kegs, I decided to press pause until she got home.

Yesterday I fired the system back up.

My buddy Iain () once compared brewing to training a muscle, and I’m happy to report that my brewing muscles hadn’t completely atrophied. The brew day went flawlessly, everything hit its numbers, and it felt fantastic to be back in the rhythm of it all.

Future-Dave is going to be very grateful for the batch of Man of the Mountain Dark Mild that Yesterday-Dave brewed.

🍺💪









The past two weekends have brought a whole new crop of legends to the Checkerhead Brewing Bathroom Wall of Fame.These br...
06/02/2026

The past two weekends have brought a whole new crop of legends to the Checkerhead Brewing Bathroom Wall of Fame.

These brave souls made the hike, struck a pose, snapped the photo, and earned their place in Flight Club. If you know, you know.

At this point, the woman at the Walmart Photo Centre sees me walk through the door and just starts laughing.

“More mountain bums?”

Yep.

And what a batch. Outstanding poses. Creative prop work. Strong commitment to the bit. These free-spirited adventurers completely understand the weird little slice of whimsy that this wall represents and dive in headfirst (and occasionally pantsless).

Honestly, I’m impressed every single time. The Wall of Fame continues to grow, and with the rate we’re going, Row #4 isn’t far away.

The only question is: how long until we fill the whole wall?

🍑🏔️🍺









ShirleyWeHaveBEER

Eight years ago, when we first moved to Vancouver Island, I drove this quirky little 1989 Nissan S-Cargo across on the f...
05/31/2026

Eight years ago, when we first moved to Vancouver Island, I drove this quirky little 1989 Nissan S-Cargo across on the ferry and imagined all sorts of adventures ahead.

Not long after arriving, reality struck. The power steering rack developed a serious leak and the quote to repair it—with parts coming from Japan—was around $4,000. At the time, that was pretty much what the whole vehicle was worth.

Cost to fix it: $4,000.

Cost to turn it into yard art: $0.

So yard art it became.

For the last eight years it’s been parked in various spots around the property, slowly collecting moss, character, and a healthy coating of West Coast authenticity.

Then COVID hit. My juggling career came to a sudden stop, and I made one of the biggest decisions of my life: turning a homebrewing obsession into a brewery.

Checkerhead Brewing officially opened on April 1, 2025, and one of the most unexpected joys has been meeting the incredible people who have found their way to our little corner of Shirley. Time and again, folks have shown up wanting to contribute, help out, and become part of the story.

This year, another one of those amazing humans appeared.

Keagan looked at my moss-covered S-Cargo and saw potential.

Yesterday, with the help of several friends, we loaded it onto a trailer and sent it off to begin its next chapter. A few hours later he sent me this AI mockup showing what it might look like transformed into a tiny beer-serving tap van.

And honestly?

I kind of love it.

It’ll need a fresh paint job. It’ll need some customization. It’ll need a whole lot of work.

But imagine pulling up to a special event in a restored Japanese microvan with beer taps hanging off the side.

Actually... don’t imagine it.

Let’s build it.

Keagan, I can’t wait to see what this little machine becomes in your capable hands. Here’s hoping the first event it serves at is one of yours.

🍻🚐









SALTY BALLS ARE BACK.Well… technically Emiko is back from her month-long trip to Japan, and I’m extremely happy to have ...
05/28/2026

SALTY BALLS ARE BACK.

Well… technically Emiko is back from her month-long trip to Japan, and I’m extremely happy to have my wife back home in Shirley. But yes — that also means Salty Balls returns this weekend.

⚽ Salty Balls will DEFINITELY be available Friday.

🎂 Saturday is Emiko’s birthday, and a crew of Shirley Girls (aka The Golden Members) are taking her up-island to FoamFest for some birthday shenanigans. Depending on when Team Chaos returns home, there may or may not be Salty Balls on Saturday.

✅ Sunday though? Salty Balls will absolutely be back in action.

And if you’re simply in the mood for delicious beverages and complimentary popcorn, here’s what’s ON TAP this weekend:

🍺 Moroccofied Cerveza
🎪 Hop Juggler SMASH (Fresh Galena Hops)
🥥 Minnie Maniac Coconut Blonde
🌊 Ali’s Red Currant Ale
🐝 Lemon • Basil • Bees Belgian Wit
🍌 Dunkelweizenheimer
🎭 IN JEST ESB (Collab with Vancouver Island Brewing)
🐓 C & B Bitter (Collab with Warren Boyer)

A couple heads-ups though:

⚠️ Only TWO kegs remain of the wildly popular Lemon • Basil • Bees.
⚠️ Moroccofied Cerveza and Ali’s Red Currant Ale are also getting dangerously low.

Meanwhile, I’ve got a Hazy currently dry-hopping and a Märzen waiting in the wings. With Emiko home again, I’m no longer juggling two people’s daily chores, which means I can get back to brewing with vengeance.

There’s some REALLY fun stuff coming down the pipeline.

Can’t wait to put some liquid happiness in your mouth.









Some beers are born from careful planning and technical precision. Others are born from burgers, fries, ridiculous conve...
05/23/2026

Some beers are born from careful planning and technical precision. Others are born from burgers, fries, ridiculous conversations, and an unhealthy obsession with Pop-Tarts.

This one is definitely the second kind.

Gillian Mann ( / / / / ) is one of the most wonderfully chaotic humans I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. After writing an absolutely killer review of Checkerhead Brewing in the BC Ale Trail’s Sooke & Shirley Brewery Day feature, she officially became one of my favourite people on the planet.

Then came “THE MEETING.”

Thursday afternoon at Ile Sauvage. Burgers and fries from . Beer-fueled nonsense. Creative chaos. The kind of conversation where every idea somehow becomes both worse and better at the exact same time.

Somewhere between bites of burger and discussions about breweries, community, and Pop-Tarts, we accidentally created a beer concept that simply HAS to exist:

💥 Gillian’s Tart Pop Raspberry Sour 💥

A kettle sour inspired by Gillian’s legendary Pop-Tart enthusiasm and powered entirely by absurdity.

Now the dream is evolving. I suggested we explore turning this into a Pink Boots Brew Day collaboration, so naturally I’ll be chatting with Lundy Dale () to see what kind of beautiful chaos we can create together.

Short-term plan?
Get Gillian out to Checkerhead Brewing, brew a pilot batch on my small system, and unleash this toaster-powered raspberry madness on the unsuspecting public.

Because honestly…Beer Fueled Creativity might be one of my favourite things in the world.









Some beers are brewed to please everyone. This one absolutely isn’t.The Minnie Maniac Coconut Blonde was the first beer ...
05/21/2026

Some beers are brewed to please everyone. This one absolutely isn’t.

The Minnie Maniac Coconut Blonde was the first beer I ever made where what ended up in the glass matched exactly what I’d imagined in my head. No compromises. No “close enough.” Just the beer I wanted it to be from the very beginning.

Inspired by my coconut-water-loving, hula-hoop-spinning Kiwi friend Toni Smith (sometimes known as Minnie Maniac) this blonde ale is unapologetically coconut-forward and wildly unique. People either fall completely in love with it… or they look at me like I’ve committed a crime against beer.

And honestly? Fair enough. Some people also think pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. Those people are wrong too.

To give it a proper nod to Toni’s New Zealand roots, I brewed it with New Zealand hops and fermented it using a yeast strain I propagated from honey produced by our own bees here on the property. Weird? Maybe. Delicious? Absolutely.

When we opened in 2025 this beer became the runaway hit of the season, and I already know there are a few people counting the days until its return this weekend.

Here’s what’ll be pouring at Checkerhead this weekend:

🍺 Moroccofied Cerveza
🎪 Hop Juggler SMASH (Galena Edition)
🥥 Minnie Maniac Coconut Blonde
🌊 Ali’s Red Currant Ale
🐝 Lemon • Basil • Bees Belgian Wit
🍌 Dunkelweizenheimer
🎭 IN JEST ESB (Collab with Vancouver Island Brewing)
🐓 C & B Bitter (Collab with Warren Boyer)





There are going to be a few very happy people this weekend… because the Minnie Maniac Coconut Blonde is BACK on tap at C...
05/20/2026

There are going to be a few very happy people this weekend… because the Minnie Maniac Coconut Blonde is BACK on tap at Checkerhead Brewing.

This tribute beer was brewed for my friend Toni Smith — better known on stage as Minnie Maniac — and if you had it the first time around, you already know why it became 2025’s best seller.

Built around huge coconut character and hopped exclusively with New Zealand varieties Pacific Gem and Rakau (because Toni’s a proud Kiwi 🇳🇿), this blonde ale gets hit with coconut three separate times during the brewing process. The result is smooth, tropical, wildly aromatic, and dangerously easy to drink.

This batch took on a little extra personality too. I switched up the coconut milk this round and it brought along some subtle floral notes that play ridiculously well with the coconut and hop profile. Honestly, this version might be even better than the original.

And that’s just ONE of the beers pouring this weekend. Here’s the full lineup:

🍺 Moroccofied Cerveza
🎪 Hop Juggler SMASH (Galena Hop Edition)
🥥 Minnie Maniac Coconut Blonde
🌊 Ali’s Red Currant Ale
🐝 Lemon • Basil • Bees Belgian Wit
🍌 Dunkelweizenheimer
🎭 IN JEST ESB (Collab with Vancouver Island Brewing)
🐓 C & B Bitter (Collab with Warren Boyer)

Can’t wait to help you fill your mouth with happiness!






Some people walk into the bathroom and laugh when they see the Wall of Fame — a growing collection of photos from the Pr...
05/15/2026

Some people walk into the bathroom and laugh when they see the Wall of Fame — a growing collection of photos from the Priest Cabin lookout.

Some see it and immediately think, “That hike is for me.”

And then there are the true legends… the people who decide their photo belongs on the wall.

Which brings us to a historic first.

I present to you: THE FIRST EVER P*E KING OF THE MOUNTAIN. 👑⛰️🚽

Apparently this couple has an ongoing collection of photos of—we’ll call him Jon (mostly because that’s actually his name)—peeing in uniquely beautiful places around the world. And now, this majestic stream with a view will forever live on the bathroom wall at Checkerhead Brewing.

Honestly, it feels fitting. Beer goes in… eventually it has to come back out.

Bonus points to this couple for supplying four glorious images. All of them are getting printed and added to the wall the next time I make a trip into town.

Some people hike Priest Cabin.

Some people become legends.

*EKING



The original plan was simple: turn a cedar tree we took down on the property five years ago into a table for the brewery...
05/15/2026

The original plan was simple: turn a cedar tree we took down on the property five years ago into a table for the brewery. If you scroll back through the reels, you can actually watch that tree come down.

Unfortunately… that cedar turned out to be an absolute disaster. Once the slabs were dried, it became very clear they were never going to work.

Huge thanks to Ali from who helped pivot to a beautiful maple slab after the company drying the cedar basically shrugged and said, “yeah… your tree is garbage.”

Fast forward to 2025: Luke — amazing partner of — picked up the maple slab and planed it flat, getting it one step closer to becoming a proper table.

Then in 2026, that slab landed with Justin Gilberston, son of Marty Gilberston (), who paired it with legs from an early 1900s printing press and turned it into something incredibly unique.

And today… that table officially arrived at Checkerhead Brewing 🍻

It’s now ready to hold beer flights, pints, and whatever chaos May Long Weekend brings.

Honestly? I’m slightly terrified by how many people might show up this weekend 😂 BUT I’ve got some great friends stepping in to help, so one way or another—we’ll survive.

ON TAP THIS WEEKEND:

🍺 Moroccofied Cervesa
🍺 Hop Juggler Smash Blonde Ale (Fresh Hopped Galena Edition)
🍺 Ali’s Red Currant Ale
🍺 Lemon • Basil • Bees Belgian Wit
🍺 IN JEST ESB (collab with the guys from )
🍺 Liquid Shirley Peach Hard Seltzer (almost gone)
🍺 Dunkelweizenheimer
🍺 C & B Bitter (collab with from )

And sadly… no SALTY BALLS this weekend.

is still in Japan spending time with aging family members and hanging with our amazing son — and while I miss them both, I’m very excited for her return on May 27 ❤️

Until then… you’re stuck with me.

Happy May Long, everyone 🍻





Some people become regulars because they live nearby… and then there are the legends who willingly make the trek out to ...
05/12/2026

Some people become regulars because they live nearby… and then there are the legends who willingly make the trek out to Shirley again and again. That drive isn’t exactly “on the way” to anything — which makes it mean even more when people keep showing up.

Is it the beers? 🍻
The games? 🎯
The disc golf course tucked behind the brewery? 🥏
The infamous Priest Cabin hike (and the very questionable wall of fame in the bathroom 👀)?

Who knows. Maybe it’s a little bit of everything.

One of my absolute favourite regulars is Lori (), who swears she’ll do the Priest Cabin hike one day… but for now was more than happy to model the legendary Elvis wig behind the bar 😂

And a huge shoutout to her DD, Ward, for 3D printing that incredible hop-shaped lampshade for me — it’s ridiculously cool and I love it.

Thanks, Lori, for always bringing great energy, great laughs, and now apparently great hair to the tasting room.

Thank you… thank you very much. 🎤





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10602 Sherburne Drive
Sooke, BC
V9Z1G8

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