Tag Archives: BC Craft Beer

BC Beer Baron #134 – Dockside Railspur IPA

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On a recent quiet Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Sip and I ventured to Granville Island’s Dockside Restaurant, which houses their own brewery amongst one of Vancouver’s finest locations for patio enjoyment.

There, I ordered the Railspur IPA, which was a decent hop-forward brew with a nice amber colour to it. The 5.7% ABV, 55 IBUs beer is available on tap year round at the restaurant. Drinkers can even fill a growler with the beverage.

Dockside Railspur IPA

Railspur refers to a district of Granville Island that features a cobblestone street and is a hub for local artisans, whether they be creating alcohols at Liberty Distillery, jewellery at Hammered and Pickled, or even brooms at the Granville Island Broom Company. It is also home to the Arts Club Theatre Company.

My, how things have changed. Every time Mrs. Sip and I return to the Dockside Restaurant, we always reminisce about our very first visit there when we were still in our teens. Back then, we were money-conscientious students whose food preferences didn’t extend far beyond chicken strips and fries. A mutual friend of a visiting guest suggested the restaurant and upon our arrival promptly ordered appies for the entire table, without giving us a chance to decline. Nowadays, we sit back and laugh at our younger selves… over drinks and fine dining.

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BC Beer Baron #133 – Russell Angry Scotch Ale

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Out for dinner with Ma and Pa Sip the other night, we took our appetites to The Flying Pig in Vancouver’s Yaletown district. Amongst a meal of pulled pork poutine and Caesar salad, the Sip Advisor enjoyed this award-winning offering from Russell Brewing.

The Angry Scotch Ale (why do brewery’s always assume us Scots are so angry!?) is a dark and strong Scottish-style ale with a hint of smokiness, thanks to being made with Scottish peated malts. At 6.5% ABV and 30 IBUs, the beer will lift your kilt in no time.

Russell Angry Scotch Ale

From Russell’s ‘Brewmaster Series’ (small batch releases for the “unconventional beer drinker”), the beer has received numerous accolades, with 2010 being a very successful year for the brew. That year, it took home a bronze medal at both the World Beer Cup and BC Beer Awards and silver finish at the Canadian Brewing Awards. Not content to settle for silver, four years later, the Angry Scotch Ale grabbed the elusive gold at the Canadian Brewing Awards.

Available in bomber-sized bottles, as well as six-packs of regular bottles, the beer can be found at BC Liquor Stores and private retailers.

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BC Beer Baron #132 – Driftwood Entangled Hopfenweise

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One of my taster selections on our recent trip to St. Augustine’s Craft Brew House and Kitchen was this beauty of a beer from Driftwood Brewing – a company which seems to move up my list of top breweries with each release I try.

I’ve seen the Entangled Hopfenweise described as a merging of hefeweizens and IPAs (my two favourite styles) and Belgian and Northwest brewing styles. That sounds about right to me and it works really well with this beer. The Hopfenweise comes in at 7% ABV and can be found in bomber-sized bottles. I couldn’t find any IBU info for the ale, so never you worry about that.

Driftwood Entangled Hopfenweise

Drinkers can expect a number of different fruit flavours, such as banana, guava, passionfruit and mango. Aside from the great taste, I think Driftwood has some of funkiest artwork for its labels and this product is no different. Packaging isn’t everything, but when you start strong and deliver in the end, the entire experience is that much better.

The beer is part of Driftwood’s Special Release lineup, which means the brew is on no set schedule, but could pop up at any time and should be taken advantage of before it disappears again. Might I suggest enjoying the beer while watching Tangled? Sorry, that was the Disney geek in me peeking out for a brief moment!

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BC Beer Baron #131 – Tofino Hoppin’ Cretin IPA

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The Sip Advisor loves getting gifts from Mrs. Sip and Ma and Pa Sip, whenever they return from travelling… especially, when they’re of the booze variety. Therefore, when Ma and Pa Sip recently gifted me with a four-pack of Tofino Brewing bombers from their trip to Vancouver Island, I was thrilled.

Among that mixed pack was the Hoppin’ Cretin IPA, which was a very good India Pale Ale with very pleasing stats of a 7.5% ABV and 60 IBUs. This is the type of IPA that drinkers should try before they completely give up on this variety of beverage. They may come away pleasantly surprised.

Tofino Hoppin' Cretin IPA

I’m not entirely sure what’s behind the name of this beer, but one description I found for the brew states: “There’s no stoppin’ the cretins from hoppin’”. A cretin, of course is an idiot, so I guess the ol’ Sip Advisor would fall under that category!

I would love to visit Tofino Brewing at some point (as well as other Vancouver Island spots) and just have to find the time to get over there. One day, a bridge will unite the mainland and island, all in the name of fine beer!

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BC Beer Baron #130 – Red Collar Tripel

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The Sip Advisor is working hard to be all-inclusive and try to incorporate as many BC breweries into this 366-day project as possible. With that in mind, on a recent visit to Legacy Liquor Store, I was looking to highlight another first timer and Mrs. Sip’s selection of this Red Collar Brewing product satisfied that.

The Tripel (of the Belgian variety, of course) is a ‘Special Edition’ release and comes in at 9% ABV and only 12 IBUs. Therefore, it has all those characteristics Belgian Tripel lovers (Mrs. Sip included) expect from their beers, such as the scent and taste of bananas and spice.

Red Collar Tripel

I like Red Collar’s warning with this beer: “It is deceivingly smooth and should be consumed with care and respect as the alcohol content can sneak up on you.” That’s pretty good advice no matter what you’re drinking!

The rest of Red Collar’s line-up is highlighted by many Belgian and German-inspired brews, such as a Dubbel, Marzen, Doppelbock, Dunkelweizen, Patersbier, Witbier, and Hefeweizen. I hope to stop by when Mrs. Sip and I are in the Okanagan region this summer.

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BC Beer Baron #129 – Tree Knox Mountain Brown Ale

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It could have simply been the beautiful weather… or the buzz we’d already built enjoying drinks at a nearby location. Either way, when the Sip Advisor recently sat down to a flight of beers at Tap & Barrel in the Olympic Village, it seemed as if everything was going right and that included this Tree Brewing beverage.

The Knox Mountain Brown Ale was very good with a sweet, nutty taste and slight hoppy finish. It’s called a strong beer, but at 5.6% ABV, it’s not something that will knock you on your ass or anything.

Tree Knox Mountain Brown Ale

Part of Tree’s Raw Series of limited releases which are unfiltered and dry hopped, it sounds like I was lucky to get a taste of this brew, as while it can often be found in six-packs and bombers, according to Tree’s website, the product is currently sold out.

Mrs. Sip and I will be in the Kelowna area sometime this summer and I have designs on hitting as many of the breweries out that way as possible. That desire should make for some interesting travels!

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BC Beer Baron #128 – Red Truck Midnight Run Dark Lager

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When the sun vanquishes the winter darkness (even briefly), you can expect every single Vancouverite to declare that patio season has arrived. Mrs. Sip and I are among those fine folks and so we recently found ourselves at Tap & Barrel in the Olympic Village, enjoying the first glimpses of spring. There, I enjoyed a flight of beers that was highlighted by this Red Truck Brewing release.

The Midnight Run Dark Lager is a limited release of the brewery with stats of 4.9% ABV and 23 IBUs. There was a nice smoky finish, on top of this solid beer, which is available in bomber-sized bottles. I’ve become a big fan of dark lagers (sometimes called schwarzbiers), as they provide a welcome change to your typical brew.

Red Truck Midnight Run Dark Lager

Sticking with Red Truck’s theme of naming beers after vehicles and driving, this may be one of their best brandings and there’s even a story to go with it: “The stakes were high but the risk was even greater, and it went well, very well! We smuggled it out of the brewery right under our brewers’ watchful eyes and noses as they were saving this exceptional Dark Lager for their own personal stash… A Midnight Run was the only way to get it out without being apprehended. We took extremely high risks so you could enjoy our Dark Lager!”

The next time I’m able to visit Red Truck’s very cool facility in the Brewery Creek region of the city, I hope that this selection is on their menu, as I’d love to sit back and enjoy a full serving.

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BC Beer Baron #127 – Brassneck Cherubesque

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Trips to Brassneck Brewing are often met with disappointment. To be clear, that’s not the beer’s fault. It’s just so difficult at peak times to get into their uber popular tasting room. Sometimes you get lucky, though, as Mrs. Sip and I did on a recent tour through the Brewery Creek region of Vancouver.

During that visit, we tried the Cherubesque. This Belgian Strong Ale was first brewed in November 2013. At 8% ABV, it’s nice and strong and right up Mrs. Sip’s alley. For the record, I enjoyed it too.

Brassneck Cherubesque

In their description of the beer, Brassneck takes some shots at “beer nerds” everywhere, including themselves: “Beer nerds think they can get away with throwing a pair of e’s at the end of their adjectives to describe beers so why the heck can’t we. (After all, we are beer nerds!!). Bubblegum-ee, Stone Fruit-ee, Raisin-ee, Booze-ee, Chew-ee. We’d describe it as an Abbey Style Ale. We ferment with a mysterious blend of yeast strains to maximize the Belgian-ee-ness, then we hurl in some dark candy sugar to twist up the ‘je-ne-sais-quoi’ knob. Tastes good. Drink some.”

That last little bit sounds like a motto the brewery should be printing on their merchandise… so long as that doesn’t make getting into their tasting room even more challenging!

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BC Beer Baron #126 – Odds N’ Sods IPA

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A couple months back, the Sip Syndicate wound up at Main Street Brewing’s quaint location on a chilly Friday night, where the work week that was had to be drunk away and beer was the answer.

The Odds N’ Sods IPA was my first choice of the night and while we waited for some seats to open up (apparently we weren’t the only ones that needed some liquid relief), this 6.8% ABV, 55 IBU beverage welcomed me to the weekend with open arms and I embraced it back.

Just released in January, there’s a ton going on with the Odds N’ Sods IPA, including six different malts and another six hop variations, which sees the beer hopped a total of six times during the brewing process. Flavours and aromas in the brew include pine, resin, lychee, spice, passionfruit, peach, grapefruit, melon, lime, and gooseberry.

Main Street Odd N' Sods IPA

A search on UrbanDictionary.com revealed the following about the beer’s name:

  1. 1. A variation on the ubiquitous expression “bits and pieces” in the U.K. A miscellany of objects, tasks, or issues.
  2. A reference to a group of unnamed individuals who are related in some general way.

Well, I’m not sure if that’s a reference to the various ingredients that comprise this beer or to the random assortment of folks who may drink it, but what I am sure about is the IPA was fantastic and it would soon be joined by other options, as the night progressed.

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BC Beer Baron #125 – 33 Acres of Sunshine

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Mrs. Sip and I first visited 33 Acres Brewing on their first anniversary and ever since have enjoyed returning to the brewery, being very impressed with our most recent stopover while touring the Brewery Creek region of Vancouver.

The 33 Acres of Sunshine always seems to be among our favourites when we get tasters or bottles. This 5% ABV French Blanche has flavours of fruit (particularly orange), spices and even black licorice, making for an easy drinking experience.

33 Acres of Sunshine

The brewery describes the beer as: “Born of the sun, this unfiltered white ale has long been praised by the Belgians and revered by the French. Our dreamy Blanche beer is silky smooth and subspiced with orange peel, coriander and anise seed to pair perfectly with the golden days of summer.”

One of my favourite 33 Acres memories stems from planning a bike brewery crawl for a friend’s birthday last year. There was no way we were going to be able to get our large group into their popular tasting room, so we bought a few six-packs (33 Acres of Sunshine among them) and took them to a nearby park to enjoy some drinking in the great outdoors.

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