Tag Archives: BC Craft Beer

BC Beer Baron #293 – Andina Monita Blonde IPA

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Andina Brewing has intrigued the Sip Advisor for some time, thanks to its Colombian theming. Despite the company’s tasting room not being open yet, I was able to try their wares at the recent BC Beer Awards and was impressed with the early yields.

The Monita Blonde IPA was flavourful and refreshing and made me think of how perfect it would be for summer drinking. In fact, the Sip Advisor tried a couple Blonde IPAs at the BC Beer Awards, so it must be a popular style this fall.

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Unfortunately, the 6.5% ABV, 60 IBUs brew isn’t really readily available yet, but it has my full endorsement when that time comes. I can see the beverage filling my growler on a regular basis, in the not-too-distant future!

Andina hopes to open their East Vancouver tasting room in December and it shouldn’t be hard to find, given its yellow façade. Founded by brothers Andrés and Nicolás Amaya, the brewery promises to add some South American flair to the craft beer scene.

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BC Beer Baron #292 – Twa Dogs Mistress of My Soul Saison

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My game plan for the recent BC Beer Awards was to hit as many new breweries (at least to the Sip Advisor) as possible. With that in mind, my last ticket of the evening went to Twa Dogs Brewing… and I’m so glad I spent it there!

The Mistress of My Soul Saison was a delicious choice, which helped in not regretting gifting a couple of my tickets to friends, as the night wound down. The 6% ABV, 32 IBUs Farmhouse Ale, dubbed The Mistress, is fruit and spice and everything nice. The hop content is also just right in the mid-range.

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Inspired by the Robbie Burns poem ‘Verses to Clarinda’ (which the brewery says is “equivalent of today’s sexting”), the beer can be found on tap at the Twa Dogs tasting room, as well as at various pubs on Vancouver Island. This was the first I’ve seen of the brand in the Lower Mainland area.

Speaking of Robbie Burns, the Twa Dogs Brewery gets its name from one of the poet’s famous works. The brewing company is part of a larger conglomerate, Victoria Caledonian Brewery & Distillery, which also manufactures whiskey products.

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BC Beer Baron #291 – Red Arrow Midnite Umber Ale

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Over the weekend, Mrs. Sip and I attended the BC Beer Awards, where copious new beers were tried, including many from breweries I had never had the chance of experiencing before. Among them, was this gem of a beer from Red Arrow Brewing.

The Midnight Umber Ale was among my favourite samples from the entire evening. The 5.1% ABV, 33 IBUs beverage was nice and roasty, featuring flavours of toffee, brown sugar and stone fruit, with just the right level of carbonation. Speaking of awards, the drink took home a silver medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards in the North American Style Amber Lager category.

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The ale is meant to honour Red Arrow’s guardian gargoyle, Christopher. Christopher has been watching over and protecting the brewery for some time and Red Arrow believes that every brewing operation needs a similar caretaker.

Located in Duncan, BC, it’s become abundantly clear to the Sip Advisor that Vancouver Island has one hell of a craft beer scene developing and a circle tour of the region should be planned post haste. Add Red Arrow to the list of must stop attractions.

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BC Beer Baron #290 – Howe Sound Pumpkineater Smoked Imperial Pumpkin Ale

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Pumpkin Week may be over, but why not include one bonus pumpkin brew, sampled at last night’s BC Beer Awards. This tasty treat comes from Howe Sound Brewing and was among the best drinks we tried at the event.

The Pumpkineater Smoked Imperial Pumpkin Ale takes the brewery’s Pumpkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale and adds smoked malts to the recipe.  The 8% ABV, 19 IBUs beverage is a nice hybrid between tastes of roasted pumpkin spice and smoke on the backend.

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The smoked version is only available on tap, but the original Pumpkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale is available in one-litre bottles at BC Liquor Stores and other private location. Both varieties first debuted in 2015.

Make sure to pick a bottle or pint from the patch as soon as possible. It will only be available throughout the fall and is perfect for the season, thanks to its roasted flavours and warming high alcohol content.

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BC Beer Baron #289 – Central City Patrick O’ Pumpkin

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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. The season of pumpkin-spiced everything is upon us… and things are no different in the craft beer world. Let’s see what BC has to offer for fans of the flavour.

A few months back, the Sip Advisor was lucky to come across a fire sale of sorts at Central City Brewing’s Surrey facility, featuring drastically marked down prices on some products. I’m assuming they were clearing some stock to make way for their spring line-up, but I didn’t really question my good fortune.

One of the beers I picked up for cheap was the Patrick O’ Pumpkin. This Barrel Aged Imperial Pumpkin Ale is light on pumpkin, but strong on booze (8% ABV). Aged in bourbon barrels, it’s a fall seasonal that acts as a winter warmer.

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The Sip Advisor is not the biggest fan of pumpkin-spiced products, but because this was a light feature to the recipe (or so my taste buds told me) I enjoyed the beer. The strength from the bourbon barrel aging is what did the trick for me and the experience was well worth my low investment.

This beer is chapter three of the Central City Story series, which has introduced characters similar to those found in the Sin City comics franchise to the brewing world. Patrick O’ Pumpkin is “a seasoned and embittered ex-cop, fallen to the dark side. With a fiery temper and ruthless attitude, Patrick O’ Pumpkin is Central City’s local trouble for hire!” Earlier chapters included Detective Saison and Mayor Kolsch.

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BC Beer Baron #288 – Parallel 49 Schadenfreude Pumpkin Oktoberfest

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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. The season of pumpkin-spiced everything is upon us… and things are no different in the craft beer world. Let’s see what BC has to offer for fans of the flavour.

Blending two of the most popular styles of beer at this time of year (pumpkin-flavoured and Oktoberfest), this popular Parallel 49 Brewing release is sure to find an audience with a wide variety of drinkers.

The Schadenfreude Pumpkin Oktoberfest is light and refreshing, with clear tastes of pumpkin and spice. The brew starts off as an Oktoberfest Lager, before pumpkin is added the mash process of brewing and pumpkin pie spices join during the kittling portion.

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The 5% ABV, 27 IBUs beer (first released in 2012) is available in bottled six-packs at BC Liquor Stores. Parallel 49 is no stranger to the pumpkin-spiced beer, as they also have the Lost Souls Chocolate Pumpkin Porter in their menagerie.

Schadenfreude, for those who don’t know, is the concept of taking pleasure from another person’s pain and misery. Did you know the 1991 The Simpsons episode ‘When Flanders Failed’ is credited for bringing the term back into popularity?

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BC Beer Baron #287 – Fernie Pumpkin Head Brown 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. The season of pumpkin-spiced everything is upon us… and things are no different in the craft beer world. Let’s see what BC has to offer for fans of the flavour.

Fernie Brewing has become a pretty solid contributor to this BC Beer Baron project, a sort of revelation brewery for the Sip Advisor. That trend continues with this fall seasonal release.

The Pumpkin Head Brown Ale uses the brewery’s First Trax Brown Ale as its base, before adding organic pumpkin and spices to the mix. The 5% ABV, 13 IBUs beverage was first conceived back in 2010 and now returns each year to haunt drinkers… in a good way, that is.

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Available in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores, the product can also be found at Alberta booze retail locations. According to the brewery, suggested food pairing include fall favourite dishes, which I can only assume means heaps of candy from strangers and a full bowl of gravy.

The Pumpkin Head Brown Ale took home a silver medal at the 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Fruit Beer category. Pumpkins are technically a fruit, so well done by Fernie to sneak this drink into consideration for the class.

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BC Beer Baron #286 – Phillips Toothless Pumpkin Sour 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. The season of pumpkin-spiced everything is upon us… and things are no different in the craft beer world. Let’s see what BC has to offer for fans of the flavour.

This fall, the folks at Phillips Brewing have unleashed onto the craft beer world, not one, not two, but three different pumpkin releases. Picking one to review wasn’t easy, but this variation seemed to be the most unique.

The Toothless Pumpkin Sour Ale features an interesting blend of pumpkin and spices and a tart finish. At only 4.7% ABV, the beer is light on everything, including malts, hops, and colour. The Sip Advisor isn’t a big sour beer guy, but this was fun to sample.

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Along with the Sour Ale, Phillips also has the Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale and Crookeder Tooth Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale products available for the season. Each beer can be found in bomber-sized bottles at various vendors, throughout the province.

Not content to just have three brews perfect for Halloween drinking, the brewery has also produced the Green Reaper Fresh Hop IPA. As is the norm, label designs for each piece of merchandise is top notch and eye-catching.

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BC Beer Baron #285 – Spinnakers Spiced Pumpkin 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. The season of pumpkin-spiced everything is upon us… and things are no different in the craft beer world. Let’s see what BC has to offer for fans of the flavour.

Given I’ve always been impressed by beers from Spinnakers Brewing, I was curious to see how they’d fare in the pumpkin ale world. As usual, I was left pleased with the results from Canada’s oldest brewpub.

The Spiced Pumpkin Ale utilizes locally grown Kabocha squash and the typical seasonings related to pumpkin treats. The 5% ABV, 15 IBUs beverage is on the lighter end of the spectrum, but that allows the varying flavours to enjoy the spotlight.

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The product is available for a limited time in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores, as well as private establishments. Drinkers can also go directly to the source and enjoy a serving at the Spinnakers Brewpub in Victoria.

Spinnakers has also produced a Spiced Pumpkin Porter in the past, but that doesn’t seem to be part of their lineup this fall. As the brewery writes: “For some, the beginning of September means back to school. For us, it means Spiced Pumpkin Ale!”

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BC Beer Baron #284 – Russell Happy Jack Pumpkin 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. The season of pumpkin-spiced everything is upon us… and things are no different in the craft beer world. Let’s see what BC has to offer for fans of the flavour.

The days are getting shorter and waking up to darkness is getting all too familiar. It’s that time of the year and the pumpkin beers continue to take over the Sip Advisor’s fridge with this fall release from Russell Brewing.

The Happy Jack Pumpkin Ale is brewed in a single batch with spices and then aged with oak. At 5.5% ABV and 25 IBUs, this beverage is stronger and hoppier than many of the other pumpkin-flavoured offerings out there, which is refreshing.

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Available in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores, as well as private locations, this seasonal release is well-balanced, allowing the flavours to tackle the tongue, but not pin it down. Then again, spices can hold me down anytime.

Also fit for the season, Russell has a Marzen Oktoberfest Lager, which will have drinkers strapping into lederhosen and filling steins to the brim with the elixir. There aren’t many Oktoberfest brews on the BC landscape, so check this one out.

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