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 #56: Tapping and Tasting

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While many would hesitate to be out at an all-inclusive beer and cider event on a Thursday evening (especially one where you’re supposed to play Urban Rec volleyball that same night), that’s not a theory Mrs. Sip and I follow. Rather, along with members of the Sip Alliance, we checked out Tapped Vancouver at the Yaletown Roundhouse.

I probably would have balked at the event’s $66 regular entrance fee; however, when the activity came up on Groupon for $30, it was a pretty easy decision to make. For the price, we had unlimited access to all vendors and a souvenir tasting glass (which Mrs. Sip and I have a growing collection of). We did find it odd that this event would be taking place on a Thursday, rather than over the weekend, but the old “it’s for charity” argument won out.

Donate-A-Quarter-To-Charity

The breweries and cideries featured at the gala included: Black Kettle, Parallel 49, Bomber, Driftwood, Howe Sound, Lonetree Cider, Phillips, Whistler, and Russell. To be honest, I think the $30 entrance is just barely justifiable and I feel for anyone who paid the full price. There was absolutely no food – save for one food cart outside – and some beer vendors only brought one option with them, while others gave half pours, even though the event was all-inclusive (ie. fill my damn glass, homey!).

The MVP of the night would have to be Black Kettle Brewing, which had numerous bombers of three different beers and never went stingy with their pouring. Whistler Brewing would have ranked highly too, but their selections were from the brewery’s Winter Party Pack, which I had just purchased days before. I can’t fault them for that… or can I!?

I have to say that I’ve enjoyed both booze events I’ve attended at the Yaletown Roundhouse, having also relished the 2014 Made with Love cocktail competition hosted there. It’s a fun venue and its close proximity to the Sip Advisor offices is much appreciated. Too bad volleyball at the Richmond Olympic Oval didn’t go nearly as well as Tapped Vancouver!

Volleyball Balloon

On Saturday, to celebrate Mrs. Sip’s recent birthday, we put together our own blind wine tasting. Each couple was tasked with bringing a bottle of wine (white or red), which would be concealed in a BC Liquor Store paper bag. Then, the group would sample at will until notes and scores had been entered on each selection, before the final reveal.

We ended up with five whites and three reds, which I think was the perfect balance. My favourite bottle of the tasting was the Pinotage Mrs. Sip and I brought home from South Africa’s Groot Constantia winery. The overall winner was Cappo Shiraz, which Mrs. Sip’s parents won in a raffle through their curling association, of all places.

Wine Tasting Today

The event was a lot of fun for all and gave typically white drinkers a chance to try some reds. If you have a wine lover in your close circle, I suggest doing this for a birthday event. They will love the effort you put into it, as well as getting everyone together to celebrate.

That about wraps January up for the ol’ Sip Advisor and it’s been one hell of a month. When you have a brewery complimenting ‘how you weekend’, you know you’re doing well! Next month doesn’t let up however, as we have a bunch of great activities already lined up, such as the Science of Cocktails and the Family Day long weekend will no doubt include some sort of hijinks!

BC Beer Baron #28 – Phillips Phoenix Gold Lager

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Each month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer extravaganza that I will be sharing with you throughout 2016, I will highlight a specific style or theme of beers for a whole week of articles. For the opening month of this project, I wanted to look at some of the flagship and original offerings from breweries around the province.

The Phoenix Gold Lager literally rose from the ashes, as a collection of the bottles was rediscovered in 2003, two years after Phillips began making beers. It’s a solid brew that the brewery suggest pairing with spicy Asian foods, seafood, and medium cheeses.

Phillips Phoenix Lager

Originally located in Esquimalt, B.C., Phillips began creating beers in 2001. I love the story behind Phillips and if you visit the brewery’s website, you can read a poetic version of the tale. To sum up here, though, brewer Matt Phillips risked his financial future on the success of the brewery, maxing out numerous credit cards (no bank would give him a loan) in order to get the operation up and running.

Obviously, things worked out, as the brewery moved into their current facility, in Victoria, in 2008 and are regarded as one of the province’s most popular brewing companies. For example, their Blue Buck Pale Ale (which will eventually be featured as part of the BC Beer Baron project) has often been credited for successfully introducing drinkers to craft beer.

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

BC Beer Baron #27 – Parallel 49 Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale

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Each month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer extravaganza that I will be sharing with you throughout 2016, I will highlight a specific style or theme of beers for a whole week of articles. For the opening month of this project, I wanted to look at some of the flagship and original offerings from breweries around the province.

While Parallel 49 Brewing has grown to have numerous beers on tap in their East Vancouver (affectionately known as ‘Yeast Van’ among beer aficionados) tasting room and available in stores across the province, my original experience with the company was through their Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale, which I still enjoy today.

Parallel 49 Gypsy Tears

“Of all the test batches we did, we found that Gypsy was a clear winner, and thus was part of the launch beers,” said Chris Bjerrisgaard, Marketing Manager of Parallel 49. “It remains popular to this day because it’s an incredibly versatile beer which can please the core craft beer nerd, as well as those who are not even into craft beer. It’s malt and hop balance allow you to drink a lot of them without getting tired of it. All in all, it’s the Swiss army knife of craft beers… it does it all!”

Started by a troupe of home brewers, Parallel 49 has evolved to become one of Vancouver’s most popular craft breweries, featuring an always expanding product line. The team opened a restaurant together in 2008, before focusing on their own brewery, launched in 2012. Over time, I’ve tried countless Parallel 49 beers and don’t know if I could name a favourite. Some have satisfied, a couple have disappointed. Gypsy Tears, a solid brew, may be up there among my favourites from the company.

Mrs. Sip and I have visited Parallel 49’s tasting room on a few separate occasions. Most recently, we went in with Sis-in-Law Sip and ordered one sample of everything they had on tap. While this worked in getting to try their entire menu at the time, we weren’t provided any kind of map or chart of what was what, so we had to play the “guess the beer” game. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, if you ask the Sip Advisor!

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

BC Beer Baron #26 – Vancouver Island Hermann’s Dark Lager

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Each month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer extravaganza that I will be sharing with you throughout 2016, I will highlight a specific style or theme of beers for a whole week of articles. For the opening month of this project, I wanted to look at some of the flagship and original offerings from breweries around the province.

Vancouver Island Brewing has been in business for over 30 years, or as they put it, since “Bon Jovi was a hot new band, mullets were cool, [and] lawn darts were legal!” Born in 1984 as Island Pacific Brewery (Vancouver Island’s first of its kind), the company started small and has grown exponentially over the years, changing its name in 1992.

Their Hermann’s Dark Lager was first created in 1986 and has remained a staple of the brewery ever since. The beer is named after brewmaster Hermann Hoerterer, whose name also adorns their Hermannator Ice Bock. When Hoerterer moved to Canada, he brought with him the inspiration to create the Dark Lager, among other recipes.

Vancouver Island Hermann's Dark Lager

“It is a testament to [Hoerterer’s] brewing skill that he formulated the recipe for a beer that continues to be a significant brand in the west coast markets thirty years later,” said Barry Fisher, President of Vancouver Island Brewing. “The craft beer market today is far more receptive to beers that bring new experiences. Fortunately, Hermann’s Dark has benefited from being attractive for new drinkers, while holding on to a loyal group of dedicated Hermann’s fans.  Hermann’s Dark: often copied, never duplicated.”

A few years ago, Mrs. Sip and I visited Vancouver Island at their beautiful facility on Government Street. There, we did a tasting and had a long chat with our server about the brewery and beer in general. Without Vancouver Island, other Victoria breweries, such as Phillips, Hoyne, Lighthouse, Driftwood, Moon Under Water, and Spinnakers might not exist. For that alone, they deserve credit.

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

BC Beer Baron #25 – Red Truck Ale

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Each month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer extravaganza that I will be sharing with you throughout 2016, I will highlight a specific style or theme of beers for a whole week of articles. For the opening month of this project, I wanted to look at some of the flagship and original offerings from breweries around the province.

Red Truck Brewing has been a Vancouver fixture since it was founded in 2005. Originally located in North Vancouver, the company recently moved their operations to the Brewery Creek region of the Downtown Vancouver core. They stress brewing honest beers by hardworking people.

I first enjoyed the Red Truck Ale at my local watering hole: Jimmy’s Taphouse. It quickly became a go-to pitcher beverage for me, while out with friends. Therefore, many nights ended with an order of Red Truck.

Red Truck Ale

The brewery is recognizable for their line of delivery trucks, including Old Weird Harold, Flying High Frank, and the Young and Old Frankensteins. Red Truck has recently ventured into more adventurous waters with their limited edition releases, including the Ridin’ Shotgun Belgian Blonde Ale and Double Clutch Unfiltered Double Pale Ale. These are largely only available in their tasting room.

Mrs. Sip and I have yet to visit Red Truck’s new facility, although we’ve heard that it is a hopping place and we’re not just talking about their IPA recipe. Even former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, stopped by the joint, although this gained the brewery more flack than good press from the liberal Vancouver crowd.

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

BC Beer Baron #24 – Granville Island Island Lager

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Each month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer extravaganza that I will be sharing with you throughout 2016, I will highlight a specific style or theme of beers for a whole week of articles. For the opening month of this project, I wanted to look at some of the flagship and original offerings from breweries around the province.

What better way to start than with BC’s very first craft brewery: Granville Island. The brewery opened its doors all the way back in 1984, changing the local beer landscape. Their first release was the Island Lager, which can still be found being poured at the brewery and at restaurants around BC, as well as being available at liquor stores throughout the province to this day.

Granville Island Island Lager.jpg

“A traditionally brewed and full-flavoured lager seemed a natural choice for our first brew,” said Nickolai Zarchukoff, Sponsorship and Event Coordinator of Granville Island Brewing. “The enduring popularity of our lager is most likely due to the fact that most beer drinkers are consumers of macro-brewed mainstream lagers. Our lager has proved a durable alternative and exists as an introduction into the world of craft beer.”

From that original release spawned numerous beers (most of which are named after locations around Vancouver), including English Bay Pale Ale, Cypress Honey Lager, and False Creek Raspberry Ale. While there has been some debate as to whether Granville Island Brewing still belongs in the micro-brewery category, following its acquisition by brewing giant Molson Coors, the brewery continues to put out small batch releases, keeping them in the craft beer conversation.

Personally, I love making the odd trip out to GIB’s Granville Island tasting room and checking out what’s new on tap. It’s a good walk or bike ride away and reminds me of some of my first craft beer experiences, picking up their mixed packs and enjoying them poolside at Ma and Pa Sip’s place. As the brewery’s mantra goes: “It’s Good to Be Here”!

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

BC Beer Baron #23 – Stanley Park Windstorm Pale Ale

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While recently dining out at Wild Tale in Yaletown, Mrs. Sip and I took advantage of their happy hour drink deals. On the beer side of that ledger was selections from Stanley Park Brewing and I was happy to place an order.

I really enjoyed my servings of the Stanley Park Pale Ale, which were paired with our lobster dinner, featuring items such as seafood chowder, mussels, trio of salads (potato, coleslaw and mixed greens), one and a half pounds of lobster, and dessert. I felt the Pale Ale partnered best with the chowder and salads, but it wasn’t out of place with the other meal items, either. The brewery suggests pairings of grilled steak, citrus salad, Thai curry, and roasted vegetables.

Stanley Park Windstorm Pale Ale

The beer comes in at 5.7% and 35 IBU, which seems like just the right balance to me. Named Windstorm because of the 2006 squall that may have damaged Stanley Park, but inspired generations of British Columbians to repair and preserve the grounds, the company donates some proceeds from each sale of this brew to the Stanley Park Ecology Society, which provides upkeep of the landmark as well as “promotes awareness of and respect for the natural world”.

Stanley Park Brewing (under the banner of the Turning Point Brewing Company) has received criticism in the past because it operates more like a macro-brewery; have taken their name from an original brewery that operated back in 1897; and doesn’t have some of the intimate features we’ve all come to expect from craft breweries, such as a tasting room. There’s also been an issue with the company being called Stanley Park, but being located in Delta.

Despite all this, I have tasted some of their smaller batch stuff and have really liked it. Add to that their regular line-up containing some good brews and it’s at least worth trying for yourself and seeing whether or not you like it.

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

Sip Trips #55: Dirty Dancing

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The week that was, was incredibly busy with activities each night of the weekend and Mrs. Sip’s birthday on Tuesday. Things started off with a lot of laughs as we went to The Comedy Mix to see Last Comic Standing winner Iliza Shlesinger do her thing, sharing a bucket of beer over the evening.

Prior to the show, we made a trip to Romer’s Burger Bar for their ongoing Craft Bowl competition. The tournament sees each Romer’s location offering two to three beers for customers to choose their favourite in a blind taste test. The winners move on to the next round, with the ultimate champion crowned Super Bowl weekend.

Bud_Bowl

The cost to play a role in the competition is only $6, which gets you a small sample of each brew, as well as a full serving of the one you choose as your pick. The three beers available for this trip were Strange Fellows Pale Ale, Postmark IPA and Driftwood Fat Tug IPA. I won’t go into too many details on the samples, as each will be featured as part of my BC Beer Baron project.

I will say that I ended up choosing the Postmark IPA, but two of our group went for the Strange Fellows Pale Ale, one went for Driftwood Fat Tug IPA, and one went completely off the board, so our tastes were quite varied. For the one who didn’t like any of the three options, Romer’s was nice enough to give him a sleeve of something else off their menu for his full serving. We will be back for another round of the Craft Bowl!

Moving on, the Dine Out Vancouver Festival (January 15-31) is currently taking over the city and when the event line-up was first released, I excitedly came home with about 10 activities penciled in for further research. Upon seeing the price of some of those proceedings, though, I whittled my list down to one activity: the Winter Beer Hall at Big Rock Urban Brewery, which we attended Saturday.

cat at table eating

For $40, we were treated to a three-course meal, accompanied by five 7 oz. cask beer samples. Big Rock was also responsible for brewing the Dine Out Van Fest Ale (a first for the annual foody festival), which was available at the Winter Beer Hall. The English-Style Brown Ale was joined by beers from some of the region’s top breweries, including Real Cask, Bridge, Doan’s, and Storm (a perennial favourite for Mrs. Sip and me). More on those selections when they come up in the 366-day BC craft beer project.

Once we were finished our meal, Mrs. Sip and I moved to a quieter part of the restaurant and ordered a couple other beverages in Big Rock’s Midnight Rhapsody (which I’ve been wanting to try for a while) and Winter Spice Ale (another choice I’ve been curious about). The night rounded out with visiting friends who live close by and sharing even more sudsy goodness.

Sunday morning, I was invited to watch the Seattle Seahawks game versus the Carolina Panthers at The Pint. While I arrived late, with the Seahawks down 31-0, the second half comeback provided some entertainment, while I enjoyed the pub’s Double Caesar, Rum and Coke and a pint of beer. All items were on special, so it wasn’t too much of a hit to the wallet, as Seattle came up short in their bid for another playoff victory.

football playoffs

The weekend wasn’t over yet, though. For Christmas, I bought Mrs. Sip tickets to the touring production of Dirty Dancing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Prior to the show, we sat down for dinner at Wild Tale, which on Sundays features a five-course lobster dinner for $50-$60. Mrs. Sip and I have become big fans of The Flying Pig chain of restaurants and Wild Tale is a member of that family. When Mrs. Sip heard about the lobster dinner, we made reservations quickly.

The meal began with seafood chowder, followed by mussels, and then a trio of salads (potato, coleslaw and mixed greens). Then, it was main event time, with your choice of one pound of lobster or one and a half pounds for $10 more. The restaurant could only procure the one and a half pound lobsters, so we received the larger size for the smaller price.

lobster delicious with butter

We made our reservation for 5pm, so as to enjoy as much of the restaurant’s 4-6pm happy hour and capitalize on discounted glasses of wine and beers. My Stanley Park Pale Ales paired quite nicely with a number of the dishes, particularly the chowder. Following dinner, it was off to the show, where one might say we had the time of our lives!

There’s never a dull moment at the Sip Advisor Offices and certainly no rest for the wicked. Tonight we will be attending Tapped Vancouver at the Yaletown Roundhouse, while this weekend will be spent celebrating Mrs. Sip’s birthday with blind wine tasting and drinks with friends. After all, there’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead!

BC Beer Baron #22 – Persephone Goddess Golden Ale

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Hanging out with friends last weekend, I was offered a can of this Persephone Brewing release, which I’ve routinely seen stocked in this Sip Syndicate member’s fridge.

The Goddess Golden Ale, in the Sip Advisor’s opinion, can best be described as a good, solid beer. This flagship brew is styled after an English summer bitter beer and I found it to be rather refreshing. Its IBU of 35 is a number I’m finding to be quite fond of and have seen pop up with other beers I’ve enjoyed. Don’t believe me? Well, the brew did win first prize at the 2015 Vancouver International Craft Beer Awards in the ‘Best UK Ale’ category.

Persephone Goddess Golden Ale

Persephone Brewing is located in the Sunshine Coast town of Gibsons. The brewery is named after the daughter of Zeus and Demeter (the harvest goddess) in Greek mythology. Persephone also reigns as queen of the underworld and was a vegetation goddess before that. This all makes sense (well, perhaps not the underworld part) when you look at Persephone’s business and brewing model. Based on an 11-acre farm, growing their own hops, the brewery works hard to release the freshet beer possible, using only ingredients cultivated in B.C.

I haven’t had the chance to try a lot of Persephone’s stuff, but remember liking their Rum Runner Red Ale, when I tried it last spring. The brewery is acting as hosts of the Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Festival over the Family Day long weekend and Mrs. Sip and I have designs on attending. I’ll have to keep my eye out for this budding craft brewery and their burgeoning line of products.

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

BC Beer Baron #21 – Bridge Uganda Sipi Coffee Brown Ale

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As we continue to delve into the cask beers available at Big Rock Urban Brewery’s Winter Beer Hall (as part of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival), we come to Bridge Brewing’s contribution to the event.

The Uganda Sipi Coffee Brown Ale incorporates organic Uganda Sipi Falls coffee beans (hence the name) into the recipe. The cask serving was decent with a nice malty taste and bitter finish. Overall, I didn’t get much of a coffee flavour from this beer, but the brew’s description does note that the aroma will be “soft” and perhaps that goes for the palate, as well.

Bridge Brewing Uganda Sipi Coffee Brown Ale

Despite my dislike for coffee, I can find that flavour to work quite well in beers. As a result, I’ve been curious to try the Uganda Sipi Coffee Brown Ale, after coming across bomber bottles of the brew in BC Liquor Stores. I’m curious to see if the bottle experience of the beer differs from the cask.

Mrs. Sip and I have only been to Bridge Brewing once before and not since they moved into a bigger facility. We’ve been meaning to do a self-guided tour of the North Van brewing scene for a while now, but just haven’t had the time. Patience is a virtue here, my little sippers!

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