Tag Archives: BC Craft Beer

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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BC Beer Baron #237 – Brassneck Hibiscus Wit

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While recently showing off BC’s craft beer scene to a friend visiting from the U.S., we popped into the wildly popular Brassneck Brewing for a couple drinks.

Among our selections, Mrs. Sip ordered their Hibiscus Wit, which was a neat and unique beer. Made using Brassneck’s Belgian Wheat recipe, the addition of hibiscus provides a tart finish to the 5% ABV beverage. Coriander and orange peel are also among the ingredients, so the beer is spicy and tangy.

Brassneck Hibiscus Wit

First brewed in November 2013 (the Belgian Wheat, that is), Brassneck sometimes replaces the hibiscus with chamomile for a different result. The beer is only available from Brassneck’s tasting room, but the company has more fillable container options than I’ve seen anywhere else in the province.

When Mrs. Sip and I were touring Egypt in 2008 – you know, before all hell broke loose there – we fell in love with fresh hibiscus juice, which could be had at many locations. We even brought home some hibiscus flowers to make some of our own concoctions.

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BC Beer Baron #236 – Cannery Trellis IPA

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One of the things I like best about Langley’s annual Tip N’ Taste event is the lineup of companies they pull together, representing many outposts of the province. For example, joining the fray from Penticton was Cannery Brewing.

Among the products they brought with them, was the Trellis IPA. While I enjoyed the beverage, this IPA is very light on alcohol content at 5% ABV. That said, the hop level is just right at 65 IBUs, so there’s a flavour punch. As the brewery writes: “This drinkable IPA uses several varieties of hops to keep you wanting more but also keep you standing.”

Cannery Trellis IPA

The Trellis IPA replaces Cannery’s previous IPA (now retired), as part of the brewery’s Core Brands lineup. The company also has the limited release Wildfire IPA, among their arsenal. The Trellis IPA is currently available in bomber-sized bottles, with 355ml cans soon to come.

Some recipes the folks at Cannery suggest making, using the Trellis IPA, include beef stew and Thai chicken BBQ. Now the Sip Advisor just needs to find someone to cook some of these delicious sounding items up for me!

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BC Beer Baron #235 – R&B Kettle Sour Export Stout

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While on a recent craft beer crawl in the Brewery Creek neighbourhood, we stopped into R&B Brewing’s new Ale and Pizza House – a debut visit for the Sip Advisor. There, along with some fantastic pizzas, I ordered a flights of beers, which included this very unique selection.

The Kettle Sour Export Stout is something I have never seen on a brewery’s menu before. I liked the mix of roasted stout flavour combined with a tart finish. At 7% ABV and 50 IBUs, the beer is definitely strong and complex. With each sip, you’ll notice different elements and those components even evolve as the drink changes temperature.

R&B Kettle Sour Export Stout

Originally released at the beginning of 2016, the Kettle Sour Stout is part of the brewery’s Mount Pleasant Series. Suggested food pairings include desserts, such as Black Forest Cake and sea-salted or bitter chocolates. When launched, the beer was available in bomber-sized bottles, but I didn’t see any at R&B during this stopover.

The Sip Advisor was thrilled to see the Ale and Pizza House finally open. In February, Mrs. Sip and I were allowed to peek inside, as they were doing “final touches”. Then, the planned soft opening on St. Patrick’s Day came and went and the delays kept coming, due to BC Liquor Board holdups. Congrats to R&B!

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BC Beer Baron #234 – Faculty 710 Oaked Stout

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As the gents of the Sip Syndicate gathered for some beers while our ladies pampered themselves with massages (hey, we have our own way of relaxing), we discovered that Faculty Brewing had finally opened their doors to the public. That meant an addition to the itinerary.

Once there, the Sip Advisor tried their two beers on tap, which included the 710 Oaked Stout. The Sip Advisor loves his smoky beers and this was a good serving, thanks to the oak, which provided flavours of vanilla and roasted coffee. The beer comes with stats of 5.5% ABV and 35 IBUs, so everything was in the right ranges for me.

Faculty 710 Oaked Stout

Founded by a husband and wife team, each beer comes with a class number, borrowing from the head brewer’s experience as a professor. One member of the Syndicate thought that was the price of the beer, but thankfully, I was in the know and was able to explain. I find it neat that Faculty is sharing their complete recipes and processes for each beer, as they hope to educate and inform beer drinkers of all levels.

While the brewery only had two selections available, I look forward to more from Faculty in the future. Their 241 Minzeweizen (a hef brewed with peppermint tea) has me particularly intrigued, as I’ve never tried a brew like that.

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