Well, July was busy (what’s new), but not nearly as crammed full of outings as June had been. I guess that’s what happens when you stay close to home and don’t take two trips out of town. Here’s what we got up to over the first full month of summer:

BC Liquor Stores is currently celebrating their 100^th Anniversary, featuring some unique products made exclusively for the occasion. One of these items, a tall can four-pack of Strange Fellows Moon Rabbit Szechuan Saison, caught my eye to begin July and I just had to pick it up. I love spice and I love saisons, so it was a no-brainer to give the release a shot. There’s some other goodies that look neat too, so I’ll have to try some more of them.

One big night of the month saw the Sip Advisor and a friend meet at Kelly O’Bryan’s for a debaucherous night of drinking. We met at about 6pm and while the original plan was to have dinner and a couple drinks, then go our separate ways, we ended up at the pub until 1:30am, half an hour after the place had closed. Over the course of the night, I believe I had 10 brews, comprised of many Red Truck Pale Ales and a few Whistler Grapefruit Ales (thank you late night happy hour!). To sustain this drinking session, I enjoyed my order of Chicken Lips N’ Fries, which is their version of chicken fingers – the joke being that chickens don’t have fingers, much less lips.

Another notable day was when we finally got to hold Boy Sip’s first birthday, four months after it occurred. For the occasion, I produced a trio of cocktails, along with a mocktail punch. The drinks for the Alice in Wonderland-themed Very Merry Unbirthday party included the Mad Tea (Hey Y’All Black Tea Vodka, Yuzu Liqueur, Club Soda), Off with Their Heads (Crown Royal Vanilla Whiskey, Blackberry-Blueberry Juice, Ginger Beer) and Through the Looking Glass (Aviation Gin, Strawberry Lemonade, Tonic Water), while the mocktail punch was called Futterwacken and consisted of equal parts White Tea Lavender, Watermelon Juice and Lemon-Lime Soda. We also had beer, wine, vodka sodas, and other non-alcoholic beverages available for guests.

A few days later, Mrs. Sip and I received our second COVID-19 vaccinations. To celebrate, we went across the street to Hops Pub, which had Burt Reynolds shots on special, so we each imbibed with one. Spiced Rum well drinks were also being featured, so I went with a Spiced Rum and Coke, while Mrs. Sip had a Spiced Rum and Ginger Ale. To eat, we split an order of their Loaded Italian Fries with Meat Sauce. It was our first trip to this local pub and we enjoyed the stay on their patio.

To end the month, the Sip Family headed to White Rock/South Surrey for a pair of first visits, starting with the newly-opened Galaxie Brewing. Mrs. Sip and I shared two flights, allowing us to try each of the brewery’s eight beers. These included the Atomic Bomb Hazy Ale, Nebulous Hazy IPA, Zero Gravity Lime Radler, Lite Year West Coast IPA, Blue Moon Blueberry Ale, Haileys Comet White IPA, Black Hole Chocolate Stout, and Interstellar Pale Ale. Galaxie is really taking advantage of their space theming, with neat decorations inside the tasting room and I especially love their bottle cap planet logo. While we didn’t have anything to eat this time around, they do offer pizzas, paninis and charcuterie boards. Galaxie also has wine, cider and craft sodas available.

Next up, was the Mainland Whisky tasting room, where we were drawn in by the prospect of craft cocktails, live music and most importantly, Po Boy sandwiches. Mrs. Sip and I shared Blackened Chicken and Blackened Shrimp Po Boys, to go along with a trio of cocktails, comprised of the Iced Normando (Cherry Whisky Liqueur, Amaretto, Dr. Pepper), Cocorita (Corn Whisky, Triple Sec, Lime, Pineapple, Coconut) and Strawberry Mint Julep (Time Machine Whisky, Strawberry, Mint, Soda). The food was fantastic, the drinks delicious and the live music provided the perfect finish to our visit. Next week, they’re cooking up barbecue chicken and ribs and if we didn’t already have a family barbecue to attend, we may have returned for another enjoyable evening.

So, that was the month. Not a ton going on, but what did happen was very memorable. If August can provide the same blend of occasional events, mixed with good times with friends and family, I will be one happy Sip Advisor!