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.

BC Beer Baron #13 – Main Street Westminster Brown

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The Sip Advisor has been getting more into darker brews – including browns – in recent times and I welcomed the opportunity to grab a bomber of this beer from Main Street Brewing.

I thought the Westminster Brown was good, but wondered if the ale could have been a little more complex. That said, this is an international incident type of beer, with malts coming from Canada, England and Germany. At only 30 IBU, I didn’t get the hoppy finish the ale is advertised to contain.

Main Street Westminster Brown

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

I’m not a big brown ale fan, but this one was okay. I agree with the Sip Advisor’s assessment that it could have been more complex in taste, but perhaps this is exactly what true brown ale fans want in their beers.

I’d like to return to Main Street Brewing sometime soon. The only time I’ve been able to get to their facility was last June after doing a Beer Trivia event. I remember the setting being quite nice and comfortable, but at that time, I was lucky to remember anything at all. Let’s just say that the Beer Trivia provided ample opportunity for drinks and the Sip Advisor was imbibing.

For those that have never been, you should check out that entire beer district, which also includes Brassneck Brewing and 33 Acres Brewing, among a host of great bars and restaurants all the way up Main Street.

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

BC Beer Baron #12 – Driftwood Crooked Coast Altbier

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I have previously enjoyed Driftwood Brewing beers, such as their White Bark Witbier and Fat Tug IPA, so giving this beverage a shot wasn’t a difficult choice. For those unfamiliar, the alt style of beer comes from Dusseldorf, Germany and means “old beer”.

The Crooked Coast Altbier was good. While the brewery suggests pairings, including vegetables (celery, fennel and parsnips) and bratwurst and other pork products, I enjoyed it with a spaghetti dinner (complete with garlic bread and Caesar salad) prepared by Ma Sip, as we listened to some David Bowie tunes, in honour of his life.

Driftwood Crooked Coast Altbier

This Driftwood beer seems to have a story or legend attached to it: “On a misshapen island away from the eyes of the world, the inhabitants have twisted together German noble hops and Munich malt, an unholy Amber Ale brewed to trick the tongue. Do not speak its name. A crooked gesture will suffice.”

The saga depicted above had me intrigued and got me thinking that perhaps this was the perfect beer to toast Mr. Bowie, a master of creativity, innovation and character construction. Sometimes things just line up like this.

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

The beer had a bitter finish that I couldn’t get over, so the drink was better left in the hands of the Sip Advisor. I did love the artwork on the bottle, though, and wish credit to the artist had been available.

The lovely and adventurous Mrs. Sip and I have tossed around the idea of heading to Victoria on the upcoming Family Day long weekend to visit friends and make new ones at the many breweries located on Vancouver Island. Driftwood’s tasting room would definitely be on our route, if the mini vacation goes ahead.

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

BC Beer Baron #11 – Yaletown Golden Buddha IPA

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Despite its proximity, it had been a while since we’d stopped into the Yaletown Brewery for a beer, so while Mrs. Sip collected her steps for the day (damn you Fitbit!), I suggested we make a trip out of our extended walk and see what they had on tap.

We came in on the perfect day. All the restaurant’s beers, from mainstays to limited releases were only $4.50, a deal I believe they run every Sunday to go with their range of pizzas, which are also discounted. While Mrs. Sip ordered a beer that will be discussed here at a later date, I asked for a serving of their Golden Buddha IPA.

Yaletown Brewery

I really enjoyed this beer and Mrs. Sip and I remarked at how this once apprehensive towards hoppy beers guy, now loves them. I’m not sure if it’s because the style grew on me, or my tastes evolved, but either way, I’m happy for the development.

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

Given the high alcohol (8.3%) and decent IBU (65), it was a very smooth IPA. The bitter aftertaste wasn’t too much of a problem and the beer was easier to drink than I would expect.

As we live within Yaletown’s borders, we’ll have to keep the nearby brewery in mind… especially when I’m forced to go on more “romantic” walks!

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

BC Beer Baron #10 – Tree Hop Head IPA

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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 Hop Head IPA

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.

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

BC Beer Baron #9: Storm Vanilla Whiskey Stout

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Cousin Sip had one of Storm Brewing’s new refillable bomber bottles and because she’s going through a month of trying not to drink (what an odd concept!), she was practically forced to give the amazing brew to me, before the beer went bad. In my travels, I’ve never seen refillable bombers (growlers and Bostons seem to be the norm), so I hope this is a new trend that will spread across the land.

The Vanilla Whiskey Stout is pretty easy to sum up: it’s spectacular. The beer is strong and flavourful, with a blend of vanilla and whiskey tastes. The smell is also very inviting and we all marvelled over how good it smelled after being trapped in its bottle for as long as it had.

Storm Brewing

For those that have yet to visit Storm Brewing, it should be on every local beer aficionado’s bucket list. When you first enter, though, you might think the brewery has no interest in their customer’s experience. I urge you to push on, my little sippers, and you will meet one of the best staffs in the game. Aside from the people, the beers are amazing and ever-changing, with a list of “Brainstorms” that is updated regularly. I promise you will fall in love with the brewery that features a rat as their mascot.

You won’t find Storm beers at any liquor store, but some selections can be located at bars around BC’s Lower Mainland. The Vanilla Whiskey Stout has quickly become one of my favourites and it’s totally worth the effort of searching high and low for a serving… or convincing you cousin to share the joy!

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

BC Beer Baron #8 – Parallel 49 Old Boy Brown Ale

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In recent times, I’ve grown quite fond of brown ales, but sadly, the Parallel 49 Old Boy Brown Ale was not one to make my favourites list. The brew just didn’t hit the spot.

I was served the beer at The Hub, in New Westminster, as part of a tasting flight. Perhaps it was overshadowed by my enjoyment of fellow samples, Ninkasi Vanilla Oatis Stout and Fuggles and Warlock Destiny IPA.

Parallel 49 Old Boy

I will say that it’s an easy drinking beer, which might be right up someone else’s alley. The Old Boy is inspired by traditional English brown ales and if provided with another opportunity to try the ale, I probably would.

I have to commend Parallel 49 for their label work on this beer and most others in their portfolio. There isn’t much that beats the image of a proud pint, complete with monocle, cane, moustache and top hat. It’s like a boozier version of Mr. Peanut!

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Sip Trips #53: Best of 2015

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2015 was a great year for Sip Advisor adventures, many of which were documented in our new feature, ‘Sip Trips’. Here are the Top 15 experiences of 2015, in chronological order because it would be way too hard to rank so much awesomeness:

#1: Valentine’s Day Beer Tour

Is there a better way to celebrate you and your partner’s love than boarding a bus with other beer nuts and travelling around to a selection of breweries and other stops? Dubbed the ‘For the Love of Craft’ tour, this route featured stops at Strange Fellowes Brewing, Storm Brewing, Schokolade Chocolate Café, and finished at Odd Society Spirits. Best of all, the tour still allowed for some one-on-one time that night, so you could enjoy each other’s drunken splendor in private.

Valentine's Beer Tour

#2: Portland Beer and Wine Fest

This annual Easter treat is a favourite festival for the Sip Advisor. It’s just so well done, with options for beer, wine, and spirits connoisseurs alike. We especially enjoy the educational presentations, which allow for samples of drink, mixed with food, such as the tequila and chocolate truffle session. After a full day of drinking at the Portland Convention Center, we returned to our hotel for the manager’s reception and then things really got fuzzy.

#3: Bacchanalia

What happens when you drink wine all day and all night… you end up in a bar with a pint of beer as a nightcap! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy wine quite a bit, but I love breaking things up with some brews. It helps keep the palate refreshed. Bacchanalia is a very fun event, featuring countless wineries from around the Okanagan wine region. Best of all, it’s an excuse to get away and spend the weekend at a nice resort (also the site of the wine event)… until you return to a flooded apartment.

#4: Beer Trivia and This Sandwich/That Beer

This was another great weekend of sipping, as we combined Beer Trivia, followed the next day by This Sandwich/That Beer, all part of Vancouver Craft Beer Week. Our team fared well during trivia, which included a number of beverage servings, while the food and drink at This Sandwich/That Beer were both amazing and the venue (The Portside Pub) was a perfect place to host the extravaganza. I’d recommend both events to all beer fans.

Beer Trivia

#5: Tip N’ Taste

This is the only event on this list that did not include Mrs. Sip, who was gallivanting around Europe at the time. I’ve been a supporter of this festival for years and will continue to go back. The drinks offered are joined by great food from a number of local restaurants. You know a night of drinking went well when I wake up before Ma and Pa Sip – who I was sharing a hotel room with – the next morning, nearly missing the location’s continental breakfast.

#6: Galiano Beer and Wine Festival

I’m still amazed that this festival was occurring for the 23rd year in a row and yet most beer aficionados (people more connected than even I) hadn’t heard of it. Arriving early in the morning and having to kill a few hours before the event began was totally worth it. In future years, we may try to stay on the island longer and partake in the party bus transporting attendees from the event to a local pub afterwards for more boozing.

#7: Disneyland 60th Anniversary

Trips to Disneyland for Mrs. Sip and I have evolved from being all about the rides and attractions to being about the rides and attractions… while intoxicated. With each holiday, we find new places to enjoy drinks and new experiences to conquer, while under the influence. On this trip, we visited The Cove Bar for the first time, splitting lobster nachos and sampling drinks from their secret menu. Then, it was off to the Animation Building to try our hand at illustrating Disney characters.

Disneyland 60th

#8: Brewery Bike Tour and Brew Cruise

With a friend visiting from Toronto, I had to share Vancouver’s burgeoning craft beer industry and the best way to tackle the ‘Yeast Van’ region is by bike. We managed to visit eight different locations around the city. As if we hadn’t had enough beer, the next day we were back at it, boarding the S.S. Booze Cruise (okay, that wasn’t the real name of the vessel) for some debauchery on the open seas. In total, over the weekend, I tried over 60 different beers!

#9: First Night in Zambia

After 36 hours of travel, all Mrs. Sip and I wanted to do was crash and acclimatize ourselves to our new time zone. Following a six-hour nap, we hoped to see some of Zambia’s city core during our brief stay. The owner of our accommodation invited us to have a couple beers and offered to take us into town for dinner. What followed was a meal that included fried caterpillars, bottles of wine and beer, and a visit to a local club for a truly Zambian music experience.

#10: Chobe River Cruise

Floating down Botswana’s Chobe River, with beer in hand, was a ‘Welcome to Africa’ moment I will never forget. Everywhere the eye could see provided views of animals in their natural habitat, behaving (rightfully so) as if we were foreigners to their land. A meal shared with our boat’s crew, while watching the sunset and sipping wine made you feel more connected with the universe than ever before. Mrs. Sip has ranked this as her top moment of 2015, and I can’t really blame her.

Timon and Pumbaa Real

#11: Birthday Bus Party

My 32nd birthday was spent in amazing fashion, waking up to the sounds of thirsty elephant, heading to the man-made watering hole at Elephant Sands in Botswana. The festive day ended in similar fashion, aboard our tour bus with bomber-sized beers. The only hiccup was receiving a room without a fridge (while many of our tour compatriots had one), so I couldn’t keep chilled the beer I wanted to enjoy that night, as well as the cake I was given that morning.

#12: Etosha Waterhole

Watching elephants, rhinos, and giraffes come in and out of the waterhole, while jackals ran around wildly and even a lion could be spotted surveying the scene from a distance, as we sipped beers, wine, and bubbly, is an experience Mrs. Sip and I will never, ever forget. We did the waterhole right, developing our own schedule over our visits. Beer and chips in the afternoon; wine, cheese and crackers for sunset; and bubbly paired with dessert through the twilight.

#13: Last Night in Cape Town

We chose to spend our last night in beautiful Cape Town, bouncing around the city and exploring its beer, wine, and food culture. Cape Town is renowned for two of those things, but we found their budding craft beer industry to also hold some gems. When your day starts with breweries and taphouses and finishes with wine in a crypt beneath a church (with an amazing three course wine pairing meal in between) you know you’re living the high life.

Fine Dining

#14: Bellingham Tap Trail

As a belated birthday gift, Ma and Pa Sip treated Mrs. Sip and me to a fun-filled weekend in Bellingham, Washington (just across the Canadian-U.S. border). Bellingham has a great craft beer community and we made sure to completely immerse ourselves in it. Over the weekend, we visited eight different breweries and taphouses along the town’s Tap Trail and have plans to return early in 2016 for another go round.

#15: Unibroue Dinner

Mrs. Sip and I have been to a number of great beer events this year, but this dinner, featuring the beers of Quebec’s Unibroue Brewery and the food of the Devil’s Elbow Ale and Smokehouse might go down as the best. Set during the Vancouver Hopscotch Festival week, the meal featured generous pours of Unibroue’s fantastic line-up and servings of some amazing food. The gifts didn’t stop coming, though, as upon leaving, we were given a souvenir glass as a memento.

I probably could have filled this entire list with experiences from our trip to Southern Africa (missing is dinner at Mama Africa and wine tasting through the famed Stellenbosch and Franschhoek regions). Even outside of Africa, this list is far from complete, as I am neglecting a number of amazing days, nights and entire weekends. For those out there that played a role in my enjoyment, I humbly thank you and hope we can do it again in 2016!

BC Beer Baron #7 – Howe Sound Gathering Storm Dark Ale

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With a recent visit to The Devil’s Elbow Ale and Smokehouse, Mrs. Sip and I (along with some friends) were able to try some beers from Howe Sound Brewing’s extensive menu. The restaurant and pub acts as a tasting room for Howe Sound, while also carrying some other craft beer products.

My choice of beverage for the occasion was the Gathering Storm Dark Ale, which is a limited release brown ale, bursting with flavour, thanks to six types of barley malts and three different Pacific Northwest hops varieties.

Howe Sound Gathering Storm Dark Ale

While my serving was merely a pint, if you track down a bottle of this brew, you will be rewarded with three full glasses, thanks to Howe Sound’s distinctive one-litre bottle offerings.

I have still yet to visit Howe Sound’s actual brewery or brew pub in Squamish, B.C., but would love to make the journey there sooner, rather than later. You can even stay at the Howe Sound Inn and really make a trip out of it!

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

BC Beer Baron #6 – Powell Street Old Jalopy Pale Ale

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The Central City Brew Pub on Beatty Street has a very unique item on their tap menu: a mystery pour. Always game for trying something adventurous, Mrs. Sip ordered it and waited anxiously for the results.

When the beverage arrived, we got to play the guessing game of “What’s in my Glass” and the answer was Powell Street’s Old Jalopy Pale Ale. The beer is quite good, having been named the Canadian Beer of the Year at the 2013 Canadian Brewing Awards.

powell street old jalopy

On our last visit to Powell Street Brewing, during the summer, I ranked it as one my favourite stops of our day, which included popping into eight different locations around Vancouver. We will certainly be back again soon.

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

It may not have been our favourite brew of the night, but you can’t beat paying $3 for a full serving of an award-winning beer at a restaurant. Much thanks to the server who encouraged us to give it a shot.

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

BC Beer Baron #5: Four Winds Tiger Style Ale

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Another beer Mrs. Sip and I enjoyed on our recent trip to Central City’s downtown brew pub was the Four Winds Tiger Style Ale. The brew is designed to replicate Tiger Stripe ice cream, with flavours of dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, licorice, and orange.

four-winds-brewing

I’m not sure how close the beer actually comes to the ice cream, having not had a serving of the dessert for many years (do they even still make it?), but I can vouch for the beer being delicious. I like Four Winds penchant for experimenting with different ingredients and combinations and this was another success, in the Sip Advisor’s book.

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

Mrs. Sip really enjoyed this beer, but wasn’t overly familiar with its ice cream inspiration. I think we should both try and track down a scoop before trying the beer again and see just how close it actually comes.

The Tiger Style Ale was originally only available in Four Winds Delta-based tasting room, so I think Mrs. Sip and I were particularly lucky to come across it on the Central City Brew Pub seasonal beer menu. More on the another brew pub selection with tomorrow’s article!

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