Tag Archives: Barnside Brewing

Sip Trips #254: Avengers Assemble

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Despite the Sip Advisor’s return to drinking, November was a fairly tame month. Here’s what we got up to as my fans chanted “Welcome back, welcome back!”:

Early in the month, we had friends from Oklahoma stay with us, as they looked into whether our neck of the woods was a good spot for relocation. As a thanks for putting them up, they gifted us a selection of beers from Oklahoma, all of which have been very good.

While they visited, we took them to a few local restaurants, including Ki Sushi, where I enjoyed a feast including Miso Soup, Goma-ae, California Roll, Dynamite Roll, Golden Roll (deep fried Cali roll), and New West Roll. Another stop that we take all out-of-town visitors to is White Spot, an iconic B.C. eatery, where I had my usual combo of Legendary Burger with Caesar Salad, along with a Granville Island Lions Winter Ale.

When I learned our guests were both gin fans and that a new product had hit BC Liquor Stores shelves, I picked up the Beefeater Peach & Raspberry Gin, using a gift card I received for my birthday. That card had been burning a hole in my pocket for some time, thanks to the fine folks that keep those stores running going on strike. It’s fantastic to have them back at work.

The middle of the month had us out in Richmond for one of Girl Sip’s ringette games. En route, we popped into Barnside Brewing for a quick meal. I tried and enjoyed their Smoked Hot Chicken Sandwich, pairing it with a pint of Five for Fighting Hazy Pale Ale, a brew meant to inspire men to work on their mental health.

Later that week, I got around to sampling McDonald’s new Triple Pickle McCrispy. The burger was good, but was lacking in the crispy pickles department. Yes, I could have used even more pickles than what was being offered.

We wrapped up the month with our long-awaited Avengers/Marvel weekend, which the Sipplings earned by gaining points through successful school days, participation in sports practices and games, as well as general good behaviour around the homestead. Any weekend that starts with video games at The Rec Room and ends with laser tag has to be a good one.

In between, we watched a number of Marvel movies, while I made a selection of cocktails based on the characters. My recipes included: I am Iron Man for Iron Man (Arrack, Goldschlager, Lemon-Lime Soda, Maraschino Cherry); Hulk Smash for The Hulk (Whiskey, Pisang Ambon, Egg Whites, Mint Leaves); The First Avenger for Captain America (Jack Daniel’s Apple Whiskey Punch, Blue Curacao, Club Soda, Apple Slices); The Hammer for Thor (Spiced Honey Liqueur, Cloudberry Liqueur, Lager); Agent of SHIELD for Black Widow (Black Tea Vodka, Milk, Chocolate Syrup); Queen of Chaos for Scarlet Witch (Vodka, Raspberry-Pomegranate-Hibiscus Juice, Lime Juice, Raspberries); and Wakanada Forever for Black Panther (Chocolate Whiskey, Amarula Gold, Vanilla Coke). I thought the menu was pretty good and will likely serve these bevvies up again.

December is upon us and that begins with our family vacation in Disneyland to celebrate Ma Sip’s birthday and check out all the Christmas stuff going on at the resort!

Sip Trips #238: Birthday Bashing

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September was busy, filled with birthdays and other activities – a fair portion of the month spent out and about, as open houses were run on our condo. Let’s see what the Sip Family got up to over the course of the month:

Our first outing took us to Locality Brewing in Langley. There, I had the Strawberry Milkshake Ale, which I’ve enjoyed before, but was a substitute when my original choice was no longer available on tap. Mrs. Sip and I also shared an order of the food truck’s Bison Poutine, as we did on our inaugural expedition to the brewery.

To celebrate the Sipplings return to school, we took them out to Red Robin for dinner. It had been some time since I’d visited the restaurant and I really enjoyed my Bacon Cheeseburger with Yukon Chips (a bottomless side dish, which I had to get another round of). To wash it all down, I went with the Stanley Park 1897 Amber Ale, another secondary choice when my first selection was tapped out.

back-to-school

Over the course of the month, I picked up a couple different vodka soda cases, including the Truly Hard Seltzer Berry Mix Pack (Black Cherry, Field Berry, Blueberry & Acai, Raspberry Lime) and White Claw Variety 30 Pack, which features five different flavours (Lemon, Lime, Blackberry, Tangerine, and Black Cherry).

Afforded some time to myself, I ended up at a Browns Socialhouse, electing to have their Tiki Tuna Poke Bowl, paired with a Social IPA. I’m not very good with free time on my own, so I ate at a decent pace, settled my tab and returned to my life of misery! 😊

The next weekend, Mrs. Sip and I were in Vancouver to watch the musical Come From Away. Prior to our show, we had another meal at Browns Socialhouse, where I had the Sesame Ginger Gyoza this time, along with another Social IPA. As for the fantastic performance, which is about the many travellers who ended up in Newfoundland, Canada, following the grounding of all planes on 9/11, I tried the Dillon’s Tangerine, Lemon and Mint Gin Cocktail.

Alone

For a guy’s night out, in recognition of my birthday, us lads had an epic dinner and drinks session at The Barley Merchant in Langley. Over the course of six hours spent at the eatery, I consumed the Beva Goombah Milkshake IPA, Barley Merchant x Slackwater Chinwag IPA, two Four Winds Monocle IPAs, a pair of Black Bear Spiced Honey Rum & Cokes, as well as three Pickleback shots.

The birthday festivities continued that weekend with a party for Girl Sip and a side serving of the Sip Advisor. At that gathering, a friend gifted me a one-liter bottle of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, which we worked our way completely through, mixing it mostly with our preferred Dr. Pepper, but also with the limited edition Coca-Cola: Oreo.

The next day, my actual birthday, we ventured out to Barnside Brewing for some family time. There, I had their Home Field Hazy IPA, while the Sip Family shared a couple Beer Baked Pretzels. We also visited Kelly O’Bryans for my free birthday dinner. This promotion allowed me to get an entrée, up to $30, on the house. I went with the O’Bryans Bowl, which is basically a tuna poke bowl, while also picking at Mrs. Sip’s Chicken Lips N’ Lattice Fries. I washed it all down with a pair of Whistler Grapefruit Ales and for dessert, we all shared the decadent King O’ Mud Pie.

Birthday Coupons

Other boozy birthday gifts I received for my birthday, included six 750ml crowlers (Krisp Dry Hopped Lager, Bright El Dorado Pale Ale, Idabro IPA, Heff Hefeweizen, Strawberry Heff Strawberry Hefeweizen, and Key Lime Pie Tart Ale w/ Lime and Vanilla) from Bright Eye Brewing, courtesy of Ma and Pa Sip, as well as a $50 gift card to BC Liquor Stores via Mrs. Sip and the Sipplings.

For Girl Sip’s actual birthday, the day after mine, we had dinner at Boston Pizza. Here, I went with a glass of Blue Moon, while trying their Appy Hour Burger with Caesar Salad. I really liked the burger and will likely order it again in the future. Mrs. Sip and I also used the free birthday dessert I received in the BP app to share the Chocolate Explosion.

For the Reconciliation Day long weekend, I travelled to Tobiano with the Sipplings in tow. This is the location of Ma and Pa Sip’s new abode, located 15 minutes outside of Kamloops. This new off-site headquarters will allow me to explore the Kamloops beer and bar scene over future visits. On this trip, we managed to check out Bright Eye Brewing for their Hoppy Hour. I tried the Smedium Tank Top Hazy IPA and Throwback Burger with Fries, which were both nicely discounted for happy hour.

New House

We also stopped at Iron Road Brewing, where I ordered the Red Bridge Pale Ale. One last local journey we made was to Privato Vineyard. While the kids enjoyed the chance to play and check out the place’s pumpkin patch, I was reminded of how much I HATE WINERIES.

That puts a bow on September. October has already filled up with activities, largely focused on Halloween celebrations. It’ll be interesting to see how we survive the ghoulish month!

Sip Trips #196: April Assortments

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April was nowhere near as hectic as March for the Sip Family, but we still got around quite a bit, trying new places and revisiting old favourites. I also bought several new and interesting products while out and about. Here’s what we got up to as spring arrived in these parts:

We began the month with a trip to the weekly New West Farmer’s Market, where I picked up a few liquor items throughout the month, along with tasty treats and delicious meals. My purchases at the market included bottles of Odd Society Spirits Crème de Cassis and Mainland Time Machine Whiskey, along with some cans from Humblebee Meadery (Champion of the Sun Saffron and Orange, The Bee’s Knees Green Tea and Kaffir Lime and Monkberry Moon Delight Lingonberry and Elderberry).

On our next excursion out, I popped into the 8th Street Liquor Store with a $15 gift we won through a River Market scavenger hunt burning a hole in my pocket. I put together a set of tall-can beers, compiled of Bomber Dyed in the Wool Fresh Hop Red Ale, Sundown/Boombox Mystical Machine Double Hoppy Hefe, Phillips Zonkey Barrel Aged Ginger & Lime Brown Ale (inspired by the Kentucky Mule cocktail) and Duclaw Sour Me Unicorn Farts Glittered Sour Ale (brewed with fruity cereal and edible glitter). I like the Duclaw – from Baltimore, Maryland – motto of “Craft be cherished. Rules be damned.”

Unicorn Farts

Next up, was a visit to a BC Liquor Store, where I continued my supply drive with cases of Bomber Mixpack (Outspoken IPA, All The Things Amber, Pixie Cut Pale Ale) and Hey Y’all Hard Iced Tea Porch Pack (Original, Iced Tea and Lemonade, Georgia Peach, Kentucky Blueberry). I particularly liked the Bomber Amber Ale and enjoyed my first foray into hard iced teas, as I’m dubbing this summer ‘The Summer of Pre-Mixed Drinks’ (hard seltzers, sodas, iced teas and more).

In the middle of the month, Mrs. Sip’s job took us out to Port Coquitlam and Patina Brewing for an afternoon on their patio. I ordered the Gin Saison, while Mrs. Sip went with the Black Lager and we shared an order of Pulled Pork with a side of Southern Cornbread.

My next shopping trip took me to Jak’s Liquor Store, where I grabbed a case of the new Stanley Park Fruit Stand. This set is neat, as they took the popular SunSetter Peach Wheat Ale and also made Melon and Mango versions of the brew. The Mango is particularly good, while I’m still unsure how I feel about the Melon variation. While at the store, I checked to see if they had the Bombay Bramble Gin (made with blackberries and raspberries) I had recently learned about and sure enough, they did, making me one happy Sip Advisor. I returned to Jak’s at the end of the month to pick up the Nude Vodka Soda V2 pack, featuring Classic Lime, Mandarin, Cran Raspberry and Watermelon flavours. Both the beer and vodka soda cases were under monthly special pricing.

Vodka Soda

On one of Mrs. Sip’s days off this month, while Toddler Sip was at playschool, we had lunch at the Paddlewheeler Pub. My meal consisted of a pint of Hop Valley Bubble Stash IPA, paired with a scrumptious Spicy Southern Fried Burger with Fries. The pub had amazing food and great service, with both Mrs. Sip and I hoping to return soon.

That weekend, with Ma and Pa Sip taking the kids for an evening, I had hoped to finally do my long-awaited Columbia Street crawl, but alas, weather did not cooperate. We did drop into Piva Modern Italian for happy hour, enjoying a meal of their Arancini Balls, Polenta Fries and Duck & Fig Pizza, along with beverages including The Garden cocktail and wine for Mrs. Sip and Steel & Oak’s Royal City Ale and Red Pilsner for me. This was another stop with very good service from staff.

Not quite ready to round up the Siplings the next day, we had brunch at the 120 Pub in Delta. I ordered the 120 Wheat Ale (on Sunday all-day happy hour pricing), along with the Chicken Kung Pao bowl. Unfortunately, the weather remained inclement and with only having patio seating available to us, due to the current pandemic restrictions, we rushed through our meal pretty quickly.

Bad Weather

To end the month, Mrs. Sip took another day off and we took the kids to Science World. Afterwards, we went to the R&B Brewing Pizza & Ale House for lunch, taking advantage of their Tuesday special of Pizza and Pint for $20. Our eats included the Pulled Pork and Prosciutto and Arugula Pizzas, along with pints of their Manganero Hazy IPA and Bouquet of Hummingbirds Belgian Tripel. I absolutely love R&B’s Pulled Pork Pizza, complete with jalapenos and garlic mayo drizzle. It paired very well with my spicy beer. Upon leaving, we also bought two bottles of their Rue de la Soif Belgian Tripel, one to drink whenever and the other to age, which the brewer suggests can be kept for up to three years.

My final purchase of April was done at hometown brewery Four Winds, which has collaborated with fellow Delta brewery Barnside to make the We Love Delta IPA. As someone who lived their entire young life in Delta, I just had to pick up a six-pack of this release, supporting both breweries.

May is my last full month on parental leave, so we’ll have to make the most of it. That should be easy to accomplish as the calendar is filling up quickly with events such as Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day and others.

Sip Trips #185: Back to the Breweries

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The last month or so, since the Sip Advisor last checked in, has been full of brewery visits and orders, as we look to celebrate the summer. Baby Sip is already up to six breweries visited and while I may not get him to his sister’s 54 different locations within her first year of life, we’ll try make a decent dent in that number. Here’s what we’ve been up to, of late:

We have put through a few orders with Granville Island Brewing, with our first one being the most noteworthy. We asked for a bottle each of the Amethyst Purple Sour with Guava, Hop Diffuser IPA and wanted Fumigator Smoked Doppelbock, but they accidentally sent us the Granvillator Doppelbock, which hadn’t even been released yet. To make up for it, they not only sent us the Smoked Doppelbock, but also a second bottle of the Granvillator Doppelbock. Doppelbocks are among Mrs. Sip’s favourite styles of beer, so she was very happy with how everything played out.

Bank Error

A couple weeks back, on a whim, we decided to visit Dageraad Brewing, in Burnaby. This was Toddler Sip’s very first brewery visit and with her sleeping over with Ma and Pa Sip, we decided to repeat the feat with Baby Sip. While there, we had glasses of their Rainshine for me and the Blonde for Mrs. Sip.

We arrived with time for only one drink, so when Dageraad closed, we noticed some of the Port Coquitlam breweries were opened an hour extra. Off we went to Taylight Brewing to share a sleeve of their Pina Colada Ale, followed by nearby Tinhouse Brewing, where we squeezed in a serving of their Hitchhikers Rye to the Galaxy Rye IPA. We hope to return to the area for a couple more first-time visits soon.

The next week, while recovering from my vasectomy (Cousin Sip now calls me the Snip Advisor!), we ventured out to the Delta breweries, stopping first at Four Winds Brewing. We really enjoyed their outdoor patio space and could only imagine what they would have done had their plans for an eatery been approved. Mrs. Sip had a can of their Velo Pale Ale, while I grabbed a four-pack of the Melange Tart Farmhouse Ale, opening one for the stay.

Beer Smiles

Next up, was our first time to Barnside Brewing, which has a wonderful outdoor area, perfect for these crazy coronavirus times. Mrs. Sip and I split two flights, allowing us to try almost the entire lineup offered by the brewery. The beers included: Honey Comb Pale Ale, Cranberry Tart Ale, Summer Days Farmhouse Saison, Ladner Clay IPA, Foggy Fields ISA, Crescent Island Brown, Oatmeal Stout (nitro), and Barrel Aged Oaked Brown.

This past weekend, we were out in Langley, so popped into Camp Brewing, again sharing two flights to try all they had available. The flights were comprised of: Lager, Pilsner, Copa Da Floresta Kiwi & Passionfruit Sour, Upstream Pale Ale, Mile Marker Foggy Pale Ale (loved this beer), Redwood Amber IPA, Dark Lager, and Mother Earth Oatmeal Brown Ale. To go, we also grabbed a four-pack of their Olde Camp Malt Liquor, which they tried to fashion after Olde English.

That wraps up a busy few weeks out and about. I hope all the dads out there had a fantastic Father’s Day. We celebrated by doing a beer tasting, with guests to Ma and Pa Sip’s place each bringing something to share with the group. It was a lot of fun and I was spoiled by Mrs. Sip and Ma and Pa Sip with treats to last quite some time!