A member of the Sip Syndicate recently brought a six-pack of these Tree Brewing beers over to Ma and Pa Sip’s place and left a few behind. Then, like a vulture, I swooped in and took one for my own enjoyment. Of course, I didn’t tear into the beer as Mrs. Sip and I had witnessed the scavenger birds do to a fallen donkey on our tour of Southern Africa (no, I have a little class!), but I did crack one open for myself.

The Hop Head IPA is intense, but nothing that can’t be handled. The beer has been around since 1999 and the brewery boasts that it was “the first ‘serious’ IPA to be crafted for wide consumption by a Canadian Brewery.” It is meant for ‘Hop Heads’… you know, those serious lovers of IPAs and hoppy brews

Tree suggests pairing the beer with everything from curry and lamb to blue cheese and sweet desserts. That’s a wide array of edibles to tackle for the beer that won bronze and silver medals at the 2007 and 2008 Canadian Brewing Awards, respectively.

I like Tree’s slogan of “Drink real ale cause bud is just for smoking!” It’s a good line to appeal to BC beer drinkers and marijuana smokers, while taking a shot at brewing giant Budweiser, all at the same time.

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