Author Archives: Daniel Wilson

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About Daniel Wilson

I love making drinks for my friends and family, and, of course, sampling my concoctions myself! Finding and playing around with recipes is a favourite past time of mine and I hope to share that passion with all my readers.

Sip Trips #73: Around the World at Home

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As it is with most weeks for me and Mrs. Sip, the last one was pretty darn busy. We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary, co-hosted the Sip Advisor’s annual beer pong tournament, participated in a Disney trivia event, and had a fun meal out in New West. Here are some notes from the week that was:

Four Years Strong

Mrs. Sip has always wanted to try Lupo, an upscale Italian restaurant in downtown Vancouver. I figured with our anniversary approaching, it might finally be time to book a reservation. We had a wonderful meal – prior to watching Book of Mormon – which included a shared Bufala Mozzarella Salad to start, Ricotta Gnocchi (with pork cheeks) for Mrs. Sip and Taglierini (with wild mushrooms and chilies) for myself, and finished with a Gelato trio for dessert. The meal was washed down with a very nice bottle of Italian pinot grigio.

Italian Food

SIP-A-Dee-Do-Da

When the Sip Alliance first heard about Disney trivia, hosted at The Pint, we were keenly interested, as Disney love runs in the family. This event proved to be so popular that they kept adding dates and one night quickly grew to four, thanks to the massive waitlist. Unlike some other trivia activities around town, there was a $5 entrance price for this one, but we were just happy to have a spot.

While we finished just outside the top three teams, I was impressed with The Pint’s food menu. This includes a number of great options, perhaps best highlighted by being able to order wings, chicken strips, rice bowls, pulled pork, and other items, done 40 different ways (varying sauces and dry rubs). On Tuesday’s, you can get their Team Platters for $19, instead of $32, while pitchers are only $15. My only complaint would be that their craft beer lineup is lacking, especially for a place called The Pint.

Dipping Sauces

Taco Time

With the week being as busy as it was, Mrs. Sip and I decided we needed a little one-on-one time. Therefore, I made the trip out to New West, where the bronzed goddess works, to join her for a meal at Originals Restaurante Mexicano. We both ordered taco platters, trying a total of six different styles, with our mutual favourite being the Carnitas (slow cooked fried pork in cinnamon and orange). The restaurant also had three craft beers on tap and it was far from your typical selections. Ridge Brewing, Dogwood Brewing and Dead Frog Brewing were all represented. Best of all, the eatery has two happy hours, from 3-6 and 8-11, where these beverages can be had for only $4.

This upcoming Labour Day long weekend will provide a rare stay-cation for Mrs. Sip and I. All that really means is that there is much trouble we can get up to. Check back next week to see exactly how we handled the time off!

BC Beer Baron #245 – Four Mile Cactus Grapefruit IPA

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While out for a walk recently, Mrs. Sip and I came upon a BC Liquor Stores location. Wanting to check out what was available, but not really looking to buy anything (I had some stock to go through already in the fridge), I told Mrs. Sip I was 90% sure this would only be an informational visit. That was, until I found this new release from Four Mile Brewing.

To be fair, Mrs. Sip insisted I purchase the Cactus Grapefruit IPA – she’s such an amazing wife! The 6% ABV, 70 IBUs beverage is light on alcohol (for an IPA), but strong on hops. Four Mile describes the beer as “a swig of California sunshine”!

Four Mile Cactus Grapefruit IPA

The limited edition brew is available in bomber-sized bottles exclusively at BC Liquor Stores. The IPA is, of course, highlighted by flavours of grapefruit, giving the drink a sweet and sour mix.

Suggested food pairings include seafood dishes, such as grilled squid and fish and chips. I’m not sure what the ‘Cactus’ refers to in the beer’s name, but Four Mile also has a Prickly Pear Cactus Wheat Ale that I’ve been hoping to try.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #244 – Sherwood Mountain Skeena West Pale Ale

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When Ma and Pa Sip were in Terrace, BC a few months back, they made sure to pick up a couple Sherwood Mountain Brewing bombers for their number one son.

Among those, was the company’s Skeena West Pale Ale, which was a very good drink. The 5.5% ABV brew features flavours of caramel and biscuit with a nice hop balance.

Sherwood Mountain Skeena West Pale Ale

The beer is named after the Skeena River, which is the second longest river to exist entirely in the province and is home to a number of wildlife species, including various salmon and bears. Particularly notable is that the rare Kermode Bear (aka Spirit Bear) inhabits the Skeena Valley, which surrounds the body of water.

Sherwood Mountain’s brewmaster learned this recipe from Lake of Bays Brewing in Baysville, Ontario. The beer was a solid beverage, so it’s no surprise the brewery expects it to become a flagship offering, as time goes by.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #243 – Main Street/Doan’s Roggenweizen

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On a recent craft beer crawl through the Brewery Creek region of Vancouver, we made our final stop at Main Street Brewing, where I was able to order a pint of this collaborative effort with Doan’s Brewing.

The Roggenweizen (which basically translates to Rye Hefeweizen) combines two of the Sip Advisor’s favourite things in rye/whiskey and hef beers. The 5% ABV, 15 IBUs beverage is a limited edition beer, so drinkers may want to track it down sooner than later.

Main Street & Doan’s Roggenweizen

Doan’s seems to like experimenting with Rye, as earlier this year the Sip Advisor enjoyed a serving of their Rye Stout. They have also concocted a Rye IPA and Rye Pilsner (in collaboration with Bomber Brewing).

As for Main Street, I’ve always been a fan of their beer label work, which is featured on banners that hang at their location. It also remains one of my favourite breweries to pop into while touring out-of-town visitors around Vancouver.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #242 – Phillips Solaris White Peach Ale

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One of my final drinks of last month’s Tip N’ Taste in Langley was this summer pleaser from Phillips Brewing… and to think, I almost passed up the opportunity.

The Solaris White Peach Ale is light in almost every way imaginable: colour, alcohol (4.3% ABV), hops and malts. That makes the unfiltered beer very friendly to all drinkers with a refreshing peach flavour. For a comparison, Cousin Sip equated the beverage to being like Stanley Park’s SunSetter Summer Ale. As the brewery states: “Life’s a peach, drink it up!”

Phillips Solaris White Peach Ale

Featuring a pyramid as part of its label design, Phillips dares customers to “crack the code of the summer heat and unlock the secrets of the Beeramid”. Part of the Phillips seasonal lineup, the beer is perfect for summer drinking (available in 473ml tall cans) and was released alongside the Electric Unicorn White IPA.

Phillips recently ran a great media campaign (even getting attention from the New York Daily News), involving the delivery of beer by a bald eagle. Unfortunately, this got them into some hot water with the BC government, but they figured out a creative way to finish the promotion.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #241 – Off the Rail Beez Kneez Honey Ginger Ale

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Always on the lookout for new and interesting beers, I recently came across this Off the Rail Brewing release while popping into a private liquor store in Kelowna, as the Sip Syndicate loaded up on suds for the long weekend ahead.

The Beez Kneez Honey Ginger Ale is sweet with a ginger bite on the finish. There’s a nice balance between the two here, but the Sip Advisor is learning that I’m not the biggest fan of beers with honey as part of the recipe. However, I know the sweetness is exactly what others are looking for in their brews. If that’s the case, this might be the beverage for you.

Off the Rail Beez Kneez Honey Ginger Ale

The seasonal release, which comes with stats of 5% ABV and 34 IBUs, is available in bomber-sized bottles at various liquor stores, as well as being on tap at Off the Rail’s East Vancouver tasting room. It would likely make for a good drink to have on hand while enjoying the great outdoors and imbibing in summer fun.

Sampling this beer reminds me that Mrs. Sip and I are way overdue for our annual self-guided bike tour through the ‘Yeast Van’ breweries. There are a few new additions to the region – along with the classics – so that should make for a great journey.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #240 – Tin Whistle Scorpion Double IPA

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Looking for beers to cleanse the palate during a wine weekend in Kelowna last month, I eagerly grabbed this Tin Whistle Brewing product. Although it survived the trip and came home with me, it wasn’t long before its luck ran out.

The Scorpion Double IPA is packed with citrus flavour thanks to its high dosage of hops. At 8% ABV and 85 IBUs, the beer is sure to sting drinkers and that’s just the way the Sip Advisor likes ‘em.

Tin Whistle Scorpion Double IPA

The Imperial IPA is available in bomber-sized bottles from various liquor stores. The brewery seems to have a thing for naming their beers after deadly creatures, also having the Rattlesnake ESB, Black Widow Mild Ale and Killer Bee Porter, among their arsenal.

I first had this beer a couple years back at the Penticton Farmer’s Market, where Tin Whistle routinely sets up shop. I still have yet to visit their brewery, which will have to wait for a future expedition.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #239 – 33 Acres of Egress

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On a recent visit to 33 Acres Brewing, the Sip Alliance filled up a few growlers (of varying sizes) for later enjoyment. One of those was of this newer menu item.

The 33 Acres of Egress is a Belgian Grisette, featuring flavours of malt and pepper to go along with aromas of apricots and blackberries. The 4.2% ABV beer is apparently inspired by the tradition of miners enjoying similar beverages after a hard day’s work within dark, humid tunnels. Today, we continue this tradition with drinks after long days at the office or other places of work.

33 Acres of Egress.jpg

33 Acres, ever the storytellers, write of the beer: “Cradled by earth’s core, a worthy sweat drips from the air, chipping away inside the passage. Pausing to lean against the cool bedrock, clammy palms flatten against the rough stony contours. Coursing blood circulates while fondly glancing back to where the shift began. A familiar whistle sounds signalling work’s timely end and the usual chorus of hurrahs ensue. Twinkling grins adorn the corridor as fingertips glide along the sculpted tunnel edges stepping into an ever-growing portal home.”

Mrs. Sip once remarked that the tasting room needed a little more colour to go along with its white walls and furniture. Not that I realize they call it ‘the quarry’, I get the design and also this brew’s backstory.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

Sip Trips #72: Everything Under the Sun

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It’s been a surprisingly busy past couple weeks. I thought I could take a week off from Sip Trips articles, as I do from time to time when there’s nothing to report on, only to realize I should have written something last week. Time to make amends!

Buckin’ Bronco

With Ma and Pa Sip, as well as the Sip-in-Laws coming to visit for a big family dinner, we needed a place to go. Using Open Table, Ma Sip chanced upon the Yale Saloon and good thing she did. There, we were treated to amazing food (southern barbecue dishes like pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches and fusion cuisine, such as mac n’ cheese popsicles) and terrific service. The restaurant’s manager even inflated the ring so the Sip Advisor could ride the mechanical bull a couple times. The only criticism I can lob at the Yale Saloon is that they have absolutely no local craft beer on their menu. Perhaps that will come in time.

Bull Riding

New Brews

A couple of impromptu brewery crawls over recent times have yielded some new discoveries. This included my first visits to Vancouver’s Faculty Brewing as well as Old Yale Brewing and Chaos & Solace Brewing – which we didn’t even know existed – in Chilliwack. We also popped into the long-awaited R&B Ale and Pizza House for some drinks and food. Now all I need to do is finally get around to doing another bike tour of the Yeast Van region, where a few new operations have launched lately. For more details on our beer tours, check out the BC Beer Baron listings.

All You Need is Love

We began this week with a bang, as one of my favourite events of the year finally came around again. The Made with Love cocktail competition at the Fairmont Hotel featured not only amazing drinks, but also some great food, including freshly shucked oysters, spring rolls, tuna tartare cones, and chicken wraps, among other hors d’oeuvres. The food seemed to stop being served about halfway through the event, which is too bad because that’s exactly when some guests need it the most, as they realize just how much they’re actually drinking.

Cocktail Super Glue

My favourite cocktail of the night came from Reece Sims of Per Se Social Corner, while Mrs. Sip’s preferred bevvy was provided by Mia Gianz of Odd Society Spirits. Best of all, in a world where prices seem to rise annually, this year, early bird tickets were the cheapest I’d ever seen them, at only $45. I can’t wait for the 2017 edition.

This weekend, the Sip Advisor and Mrs. Sip celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary and the return of my annual beer pong tournament takes place. After that, there’s the Labour Day long weekend, which although we’re stay-cationing, there will be much to report on. Looks like I won’t be taking any more weeks off for a while!

BC Beer Baron #238 – Chaos & Solace Five Corners IPA

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Mrs. Sip and I feel we’re fairly entrenched in the craft beer scene and know what’s going on with new operations opening up and such. Imagine our surprise then, when we were planning what to do upon leaving our Cultus Lake campsite recently and discovered that Chaos & Solace Brewing had opened and we had absolutely no clue.

When we popped into the brewery, we shared a flight of the beers they had on tap, which for the Sip Advisor was highlighted by the Five Corners IPA. The beer has a typical alcohol content at 6% ABV, but is hoppy as heck at 85 IBUs. The beverage uses “a shwack” of local hops from Chilliwack Hop Farms in the recipe, thus jacking up its bitterness and flavours and aromas of citrus and fruit.

Chaos & Solace Brewing

Not content to stop at just the Chilliwack hops, Cascade, Centennial and other west coast variations are also added to the concoction. As the company writes: “Love hops?  This is the beer for you!” The drink’s name, Five Corners, refers to the city’s downtown core, which received the name when established in the late 1800’s.

Chaos & Solace just opened a couple months back, but already have a solid lineup of beers available at their downtown Chilliwack tasting room. Unfortunately, a few of those items were already tapped out when Mrs. Sip and I visited, but that’s understandable for a new operation. We look forward to future developments.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…