Tag Archives: Brewers Row

Sip Trips #202: October Ovations

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Well, the Halloween month has come and gone and it wasn’t actually as active as I thought it would be, at least when it comes to boozy activities. Perhaps, that’s because much of the latter half of the month was spent doing family activities at community centers and the like and sadly, liquor doesn’t flow on these occasions. Here’s what the Sip Family got up to:

October began with my first trip to Rogers Arena since March 2020, to watch a pre-season NHL contest between the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. To celebrate the return – and also to not have to wear a mask for the entire game – me and Pa Sip took turns paying for rounds of Captain Morgan and Coke beverages. I went with Spiced Rum, while Pa Sip selected the Dark Rum. The Canucks won the game too, so it all made for a pretty good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Later that week, Mrs. Sip and I met up with a friend on Port Moody’s Brewers Row. On this visit, we achieved a new feat, by doing the entire Row (which I had only done twice before), including the distillery for the first time ever. We began our adventure at Yellow Dog Brewing, where I had the Flora & Fauna Gin Botanical IPA, while Mrs. Sip chose the Octoberish Festbier (a Neighbourhood Brewing guest tap).

Walk

Next up, was Twin Sails Brewing, where Mrs. Sip and I shared a flight comprised of the Blue Crush Blueberry Wheat Ale, Would Crush Raspberry Wheat Ale, Cookie Jar Oatmeal Fudge Stout and Low Life Festbier. Our following stop was Rocky Point Spirits. I elected to have a Moscow Mule and we each imbibed in one of their Vaccine shots, celebrating another pandemic era gathering.

From there, we moved on to Parkside Brewing for pints of their Dreamboat Hazy IPA for me and Pleasantside Mixed Berry Ale for Mrs. Sip. With time running out, we quickly moved on to The Bakery, where I enjoyed their Fresh Hop Amber Ale. The night ended with a last minute stop into the about-to-close Moody Ales, completing the Brewers Row circuit. Here, I enjoyed a celebratory London Red (Cask) Red Ale.

For the Thanksgiving long weekend, the extended Sip Family travelled to Oliver/Osoyoos for a getaway that included a number of winery stops. Our first sojourn of the vacation was Covert Farms, which offered an animal tour and other options geared towards kids. I did manage to have a glass of their Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, as the ladies in our group enjoyed an extended tasting experience.

thanksgiving

Following the winery, where I largely chased the Sipplings around, I was owed a little brewery time, so we popped into Firehall Brewing. The visit wasn’t as relaxed as I would have wanted, but the kids were understandably done with sitting patiently, following a long drive and getting to play at Covert Farms. I did enjoy my Stoked Ember ESB and also got to try Mrs. Sip’s White Hat Witbier.

The next morning was spent hitting a few more wineries in the Oliver area, including Gehringer Brothers, Hester Creek and Castoro de Oro. Again, I was mostly on child care duty and only had a few sips of vino along the way.

For lunch, we went to the District Wine Village, which will be a really neat destination once they work out a few kinks. There’s basically a large central courtyard, surrounded by various winey tasting rooms. One of the issues is a lack of food options. We ordered a couple pizzas from the Trading Post Brewing location there (along with an Amber Ale), but a few other eating choices would be great, such as a burger place. It was also weird to not be able to take your drink with you to your table and have to be escorted by an employee, but it must have something to do with their liquor license.

pizza

En route back to our hotel, I picked up a tall can four-pack of Highway 97 Mountain Man Cranberry & Orange Witbier, which I enjoyed quite a bit during our nightly happy hours. The next morning, we started at Intersection Vineyards. I was stuck in car with a napping Boy Sip, so also enjoyed a little snooze myself.

Sadly, the one brewery we wanted to visit in Osoyoos, North Basin Brewing, was unexpectedly closed when we tried to hit it. We knew they would be shutdown on the holiday Monday, but when we tried to go there on the Sunday, there was a closed notice on the door. Had we known it would work out that way, we would have made more of an effort to get there on the Friday or Saturday.

After some hotel pool time for the kids, we got an adult afternoon out and went to the nearby Tumbleweed Spirits. While they weren’t serving cocktails during our visit, we did try a series of their libations. My set included the Fireweed Whiskey as well as Blueberry, Cherry, Raspberry and Maple Moonshines. Following the tasting, we bought bottles of the Raspberry and Maple Moonshines, which I look forward to experimenting with soon.

moonshine

Not content to return to our little monsters just yet, we also did a tasting at Lakeside Cellars. This sitting was comprised of their 2020 Bubbles, 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, 2019 Portage White, 2020 Rose, 2017 Portage Red, and 2016 Provenir.

In the middle of October, we began binging Squid Game on Netflix. To fully embrace the Korean spirit of the show, I picked up a couple bottles of Soju (Strawberry and Mango), a bag of Korean BBQ potato chips and we picked up dinner from Chicko Chicken. We enjoyed the chicken so much, we ordered it again following trick-or-treating on Halloween night.

Near the end of the month, we finally got to enjoy a portion or Mrs. Sip’s January birthday gift, which was unfortunately originally cancelled due to pandemic restrictions. Prior to our fun magic show at the Hidden Wonders Speakeasy, we had a small meal at El Santo, sharing orders of the Enchiladas Suizas and Al Pastor Tacos. My beverage of choice was the Batanga (tequila, Ancho Reyes verde, lime, cola, salt rim), which I liked. As for the show, my only complaint was not being able to have a speakeasy cocktail, but perhaps these are offered when outside of pandemic restrictions.

speakeasy

Our last event of October was attending the Vancouver Canucks vs. Philadelphia Flyers. This would be Boy Sip’s first live hockey game, given he was born right as the pandemic was sweeping the world. After a mix up regarding us bringing in Boy Sip’s diaper bag, Mrs. Sip calmed her frustration by grabbing us some brews, which for me consisted of the Stanley Park 1897 Amber Ale.

The calendar for November is already filling up, with two trips to Whistler (including a much-needed vacay sans kids) and a friend’s 40th birthday. All of which should be a ton of fun as we also gear up for another crazy Christmas!

Sip Trips #179: November Rain

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Now that we’ve truly entered the chaos of the Christmas season, I thought it best to wrap up the end of November for the Sip Family. Here what we got up to upon returning from our Hawaiian getaway:

We spent a fair portion of November staying at Ma and Pa Sip’s place, so treated them to dinner at White Spot one evening. I ordered my usual Legendary Burger and paired it with a pint of Granville Island Lions Winter Ale, my first winter ale of the season. Hopefully, there will be many more in December.

snowman beer

A couple weekends back, a friend and I converged on Port Moody’s Brewers Row for an afternoon of drinking. We hit all five breweries (Moody Ales, The Bakery, Parkside, Yellow Dog and Twin Sails) along Murray Street, the first time I’ve done the entire strip since a fifth location was added earlier this year. The highlights for me was a neat flight at The Bakery (Marzen Kellerbier, Irish Whiskey Barrel Stout, South African IPA, Raspberry Stout) and the Lights Out Imperial Stout with Coconut at Twin Sails, which came in at a whopping 15.1% ABV. I can attest, it did actually knock my lights out!

Following Mrs. Sip’s most recent midwife appointment, and prior to taking Toddler Sip to her first Disney on Ice spectacle, we ate dinner at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. The place had a great $5 beer special, so I selected the Strange Fellows Talisman West Coast Pale Ale. The brew paired nicely with our Bacon & Potato Pizza and Cheesy Flatbread, as well as our Irish Crème Cheesecake for dessert.

Mrs. Sip’s office Christmas party was held this past Friday at El Santo in New West. The set menu included tortilla chips and trio of salsas and guacamole, ceviche, grilled salad, a soft tacos dish with mushrooms and almond mole, and main courses of salmon and steak. There were also churros for dessert. As for drinks, I began with a serving of Strange Fellows Krampus Belgian Abbey Dubbel, before moving onto their expansive cocktail menu. I had servings of the El Campechano (Mezcal, Green Chartreuse, watermelon, mint, lime, soda) and Suenos de Coco (Mount Gay Eclipse Rum, Mezcal, pineapple, toasted coconut syrup, nutmeg), while also trying sip of other people’s beverages. It was a good night out with the work crew.

aftermath-office-christmas-party

To finish the weekend, we attended Glow: Vancouver, which we found to be a great place for Toddler Sip. While Glow: Langley had more drink options, I did have a Spiced Rum and Coke on this occasion, but will probably not order drinks on future visits with our “year pass”. There was only one beer to choose from and it wasn’t even on tap. We did have a nice slice of Peanut Butter Cream Pie at the food area, another drastic change from the convoy of food trucks that served their wares in Langley. The Glow team is doing a good job with their available space in Vancouver, but I still curse whoever made an issue of the event being in Langley.

This weekend, we’re off to celebrate Ma Sip’s birthday in Leavenworth, Washington. I can’t wait to return to this winter wonderland and watch Toddler Sip experience it (and snow) for the very first time!

Sip Trips #171: Taking it to the Streets

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The summer finally heated up the past couple weeks and with that came a bevvy of functions to attend, places to explore and activities to indulge in. Here’s what the Sip Family has been up to lately:

A couple weeks back we returned with friends to Port Moody’s Brewer’s Row. Stop number one was Yellow Dog Brewing, a preferred stop for the Sip Advisor thanks to their massive backyard area. I enjoyed a pint of their Squirrel Chaser Hazy Pale Ale, as Baby Sip napped in the shade nearby. When you get those precious breaks, you have to make the most of them.

naptime

Up next, was The Bakery Brewing, whose menu featured quite a bit of turnover from my inaugural visit. Here, I had a serving of the Oaked Hefe, which I liked very much. Sours still dominated The Bakery’s tap list, but there seemed to be more variance this time around.

The last stop for this crawl down Murray Street was Moody Ales, where we picked up some treats for the road. My collection included a crowler of Sublime Pineapple Hefeweizen, as well as tall cans of Boss Juice Hazy Double IPA and Affable IPA.

Between weekends (a fancy way of saying “during the week”), I purchased a bottle of Captain Morgan Watermelon Smash (the bottle even smells like watermelon), which I planned to debut at a family Mexican Fiesta over the long weekend. The cocktail I created combined tequila, this watermelon liqueur, watermelon-lemonade soda and lime juice. I called it the Watermelon Rocket and it seemed to go over well with my eager tasters.

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Going into the BC Day long weekend, Baby Sip and I joined Mrs. Sip for another edition of Fridays on Front in New West. We were drawn there by guest brewery Boombox Brewing, which was offering up their Arcade Glow Pale Ale. I quickly consumed two servings of this delicious beer, while watching Baby Sip get up to her usual brand of mischief at the play area for youngsters.

On Saturday, we met visiting friends from Toronto at The Royal Crown Castle pub in Sapperton. I really enjoyed their Cashew Chilli Chicken appetizer, paired with a pint of Parallel 49 Trash Panda IPA, which worked well to quell the heat from my meal. A really good combo, if I don’t say so myself. Our service here also deserves highlighting, as Baby Sip was given a bubble wand to play with and was taken very good care of.

cat bubbles

Following lunch, we popped into Another Brewing Co. (ABC) for half servings of “I’m a Vienna You Idiot” Vienna Lager and Dual Citizen Saison, both of which were new to us. I’m not much of a lager fan, but I thought this release was very good. Before leaving, I purchased a few tall cans, including the Poolside Hefe, Intolerant Milkshake IPA (which I was advised is a good dessert beer) and Dunder Beist Kviek Farmhouse IPA.

This weekend, I’ll be checking out Parallel 49’s Brawl at the Brewery, featuring professional wrestling and craft beer, an amalgamation of two worlds I’ve long been a follower of. Should make for an interesting afternoon!

Sip Trips #169: Summer of Sips

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We’re now in the thick of summer, which means ample opportunities to drink, whether they be in pools, on patios, at parks, or wherever else you might find yourself with a beverage in hand. Here’s what the Sip Advisor has been doing to start the season:

The Sip Family spent most of the Canada Day long weekend poolside at Ma and Pa Sip’s home. There, I enjoyed the Parallel 49 Brews Brothers Vol. 5 case, another one of my favourite annual collaborative beer packs. The eight tall can collection is always music themed, with this year’s brews named after boy band songs. I particularly enjoyed the Faded Habanero Peach Gose (brewed with Field House Brewing), among others in the set. Our group had a good time reminiscing about our younger years, as we played whatever song matched the beer I was drinking.

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Last weekend, we ventured to the recently opened The Bakery Brewing (the fifth brewery to operate along Port Moody’s Brewer’s Row). Mrs. Sip and I split two flights, allowing us to try each of The Bakery’s eight offerings. Their initial lineup is comprised of mostly sour beers, with my favourite of the bunch being the Carrot-Mango-Lime Sour. Wine and guest taps are also on the brewery’s menu, as well as some food items. At this time, The Bakery has three of their beers available to be purchased in bottles, including the aforementioned Carrot-Mango-Lime. I would have never thought of carrot being a good beer ingredient, but it works here.

En route home from The Bakery, we popped into ABC Brewing to use up more of my original patron gift card. Along with some of our previously enjoyed favourites, we picked up the newly canned Acronyms DIPA. We will be back shortly to also try the debuting Dual Citizen Saison.

acronyms

On Tuesday, we picked up Big Star Sandwich and enjoyed the meal in the Westminster Pier Park for New West’s Music by the River Festival, which sees twice-weekly concerts by various artists. The draw for us was that the park is licensed, serving one beer each from Steel & Oak and ABC, available for purchase at the concession. Sadly, rain put a damper on the concert, featuring sitarist Mohamed Assani.

Upcoming, we hope to check out Fridays on Front in New West, as well as having a number of kid’s birthdays to attend over the next two weekends. This will provide many more great opportunities to visit breweries around the Lower Mainland, as well as catch up with friends over libations!

Sip Trips #168: Alphabet Games

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The past couple weeks have been filled with events and adventures, so let’s get right to the thick of things. Here’s what the Sip Family has been up to, of late:

To celebrate a friend’s birthday, we gathered for dinner at Bauhaus Restaurant in Downtown Vancouver. My order of Weiner Schnitzel was very good and the massive serving (with cucumber potato salad) justified the $36 price tag. The Schnitzel was accompanied by cranberry sauce, which I never thought of using on veal, but complimented the dish very well. Over the course of the evening, I enjoyed a trio of Brassneck Passive Aggressive Pale Ale servings to accompany my meal.

To celebrate my second Father’s Day, Mrs. Sip and I visited the newly-opened Another Beer Company (ABC Brewing), where we are original patron members. We were away on vacation while they hosted their special opening for members only, so it was great to finally get there and pick up my original patron package, which included a gift card and hoodie.

greatest dad

With plans to pick up a few beers to go when we were ready to leave, we concentrated on the options that were only available on tap for our time at the brewery. We ordered the Bright Temperament Belgian Saison, Salted Kviek Farmhouse Ale and Keep Your Pants On Indian Pale Kolsch, a style I have never seen before. The tall cans we bought prior to heading home included the Engine Head American Rye Ale, Poolside Hefe Bavarian Hefeweizen, You’ve Changed Pale Ale, Livin’ By The River Hazy IPA, and Young Wild & Hazy Hazy IPA.

We actually returned a few days later with Cousin Sip and her husband and picked the couple items (Good Alternative Altbier and Eli’s Stash Belgian Tripel) we had yet to try or purchase. I haven’t had a bad beer yet from the upstart brewery and I look forward to many more visits in the future. We like the loft seating area there, as well as the bucket of toys they had available for young children who are brought to the venue. With Father’s Day in mind, you may be asking how awesome of a father I am? Well, with our visit to ABC, Baby Sip has now been to 69 breweries across a handful of countries in her 20 months of existence. Father of the Year honours are surely on the way!

One final note about ABC, is they are operating with a different business plan than I’ve seen from other breweries. They aren’t offering growler fills, opting to sell tall cans which are packaged on a weekly basis and restocked daily. The cans are meant to be drank within two weeks of the packaging date. It will be interesting to see if this scheme evolves over time or not.

growler

Prior to our second visit to ABC, we had been attending the Vancouver Canucks Summer Summit with the Sedins. Upon entering, we were presented with vouchers for one entrée and two drinks, similar to the Summer Showcase prospects game last year. I used my food ticket on a Triple Os Bacon & Cheddar Burger, while my drink coupons once again went towards Budweisers (it always hurts to write that, but you can’t complain when they’re free!). There were many more drink stands available to attendees this year, so perhaps they listened to my suggestions following the previous event.

This past weekend, Mrs. Sip and I joined friends for a crawl along Port Moody’s Brewer’s Row. We began the day with Twin Sails Brewing, which was hosting a First Day of Summer Party. I enjoyed my El Cacto Tequila Farmhouse Ale with Lime Zest, as well as Mrs. Sip’s Two Straws Milkshake IPA with Blackberry.

Next up was Yellow Dog Brewing, where we snagged a seat in their backyard area, one of my favourite drinking spots amongst the Lower Mainland craft beer scene. I went with their Squirrel Chaser Hazy Pale Ale, as I had never tried the beer before, while I order the Hi Ten Double Hazy IPA for Mrs. Sip, as she has been getting into that style more and more recently.

spritual quest

Moody Ales was stop number three. I was able to try a taste of Bakery Brewing’s Dark Rye Saison (on guest tap), before getting a pint of the Moody Ales/Gibsons Collab Rauchbock, which was deliciously smoky. Mrs. Sip went with the Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Stout, another fine choice.

Backtracking, our last stop of the day was Parkside Brewing, where we decided to pick up some road beers, rather than fight for a seat and table at the very busy place (all the Row was hopping throughout the day). I grabbed a tall can four-pack of their Motel Pale Ale, which were enjoyed as we walked the nearby trails to a playground for Baby Sip to finally get some playtime.

Upcoming is the Canada Day long weekend, which always presents some fantastic drinking opportunities. All we need is for the weather to turn around, so we can relax poolside and fireside with beverages in hand!

Sip Trips #152: Scary Sipping

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Mrs. Sip and I have been pretty busy lately, thus why I haven’t been able to document our adventures in recent weeks. Here’s what we’ve been up to since the last time I checked in:

A couple weeks back, we celebrated a friend’s birthday in the Port Moody Brewers Row area. We started with dinner at the nearby Taps and Tacos, where Mrs. Sip and I enjoyed their Smoked Rosemary Clover Club (black moon smoked rosemary gin, raspberry, lemon, egg white) and Chibolero (pisco, ancho reyes, lemon, blood orange, clingstone peach bitters, egg white) cocktails, respectively. Our meal was comprised of the restaurant’s Queso Fundido, along with a variety of tacos. I really enjoyed the Korean Pork variation, while Mrs. Sip’s favourite was the Moroccan Chicken.

people tacos

Following dinner, our first stop along Brewers Row was Moody Ales, making good on our promise to hit the brewery first on our next visit, following two journeys where we neglected the place. Here, I ordered pints of their Daylight Savings White IPA and Who Turned Off The Lights Black IPA, both of which I liked. In a great marketing idea, the pair are sold together in four-pack tall can sets (two of each), for those looking to try the counter-balanced beers. Mrs. Sip drank the Rauchbock (a collaboration with Gibsons Tapworks), which had a nice smoke to it, as well as the Lusty Chocolate Oatmeal Stout.

Moving on, we next popped into Parkside Brewing where I sipped on their Motel Pale Ale, which is actually classified as an IPA. With Baby Sip getting tired and a bit of a trip ahead of us to get home, we packed things in after this stop and ventured back to New West.

We were back at it the next day, visiting the newly-opened Dark Manor Inn, touted as Vancouver’s haunted whiskey bar. The cocktail joint comes from the minds behind The Shameful Tiki Room, so there is a good pedigree behind the concept. Our group was sat at the master table and went through much of the cocktail menu during our stay. Among my selections were the Pills, Potions & Quack Nostrums (house malt whiskey blend, cinnamon, ginger, lime); Visions of Apparitions (house made whiskey cream and cola, cherry, dash of soda); and Don’t Go In The Attic (butter-washed cognac, calvados, sherry, lemon, spices). Mrs. Sip selected other beverages than me, so we got to sample a large portion of their cocktail list – or Libations and Palliatives, as they call them. We also each tried their Beef Pie and were impressed with the meal, especially given its $12 price tag.

can't sleep

With cocktails ranging from $11-$14, the night was not cheap, but the experience was worth the cost. The Dark Manor Inn is really done up well, with great theming, decorations, lighting effects and music. Reservations are a must and on busy nights, you may be restricted to a two-hour sitting. There’s not a ton of food on their menu, so picky eaters may want to dine prior to their session. We all agreed Vancouver needs more themed drinking locales. Best of luck to them as they get this new expedition off the ground and we will be back to try one of their bowls, which we unavailable on this occasion.

The following weekend, Mrs. Sip and I hosted a small gathering, where each guest was tasked with collecting beers to share, which were honoured with 2018 BC Beer Awards medals. We ended up amassing quite the collection and the night was filled with sampling as much as we could from the assortment. We even had a brew slipped in from the World Beer Awards and it was quite welcomed by the Sip Advisor.

Later that week, we dropped into the Sapperton District Taphouse for their weekly trivia. The theme was Netflix programming and I’m not ashamed to say our crew does a fair bit of binge watching, so once again, we finished in first place. Our reward was a pitcher of beer, which Mrs. Sip and I ended up drinking together, abandoned by our teammates. Our selection of the Vancouver Island Hermannator Ice Bock may not have been the best choice, given its strong 9.5% alcohol content and no one to help us with the serving. This was on top of my pint of Russell Angry Scotch Ale and Great Sapper sandwich, which was very good, but would have been better on a bun, instead of Texas toast.

Netflix

The most recent weekend began with Mrs. Sip and I visiting Storm Brewing, as we both took last Friday off from work. We were a little sad to see samples are no longer available by donation and now cost $7 for six tasters, but we understand the need to make money from the operation. We tried the brewery’s Vanilla Whiskey Stout, Gingerbread Ale, Jalapeno-Lime Pilsner, Mango Lassi Pilsner, Lavender Vanilla Ale, and Raspberry Orange Blossom Pilsner. Mrs. Sip also surprised me with the fact she signed us up for their 12 Fills of Christmas, where over the month of December, we will get 12 one-litre Boston fills of unique small-batch brews, not made available to the public. Should make for an interesting holiday season!

The weekend wrapped with a visit to Dead Frog Brewing in Langley. We just had to try their recently concocted Party Paddle, which provides at least two drinkers with a flight of 16 taster glasses, comprised of everything on tap at the brewery. Among my favourites were the Moscow Mule Lime Ginger White Ale, Blueberry Blast Kettle Sour, Nutty Uncle Peanut Butter Stout and Winter Beeracle Winter Ale.

Another series of Sip Trips adventures are in the books and the Christmas push is just beginning. The next update will feature Christmas parties, a look at my first fills from Storm Brewing and likely a couple outings that weren’t even on our radar. Stay tuned!

Sip Trips #133: Beer and Pizza

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Another busy week is in the books. It all started on the weekend, as the Sip Family explored Brewer’s Row in Port Moody, stopping at three out of the four breweries located along Murray Street. We began our travels at Yellow Dog Brewing, where I ordered a pint of their Sit and Stay India Session Belgian Ale. The beer was good, albeit light at 4% ABV. Yellow Dog was down to a handful of options, from their usual bevvy of varieties, as they were between production cycles at the time. I went with the Sit and Stay because it was the only brew I hadn’t previously tried.

Next up, was Twin Sails Brewing, which was hosting an event to mark the release of their new collaboration beer, brewed in partnership by all four of the Brewer’s Row occupants. Proceeds from the occasion went to Good Night Out Vancouver, which educates nightlife staff and patrons about “how to recognize, interrupt and prevent sexual harassment and assault on nights out.” Mrs. Sip and I split a flight of beers, highlighted by the Good Night Out Collab and also including the Back to Basics Lager, Dat Juice Pale Ale and On Three Triple IPA. It was nice to see Twin Sails’ new patio, completed in November, which I look forward to enjoying a drink on this summer.

Beer Snob.jpg

Our final stop was Parkside Brewing. Here, I enjoyed a pint of their Simcoe SMASH IPA, which we started drinking on their patio, before rain returned and forced us inside. We also grabbed a Pork Gringa Taco from the Tacofina food truck that had taken up residence outside the brewery. The taco was very good and I’d like to try some of their other menu items in the future.

For my second straight trip to Brewer’s Row, I missed out on visiting Moody Ales. I must apologize to the brewery, as once again we simply ran out of time. When we return, I vow to start our crawl there and make amends for our past neglect.

The weekend also featured a dinner with friends, where I was able to try both the Postmark Belgian Red and Steel & Oak Pembroke Belgian-Style Table Beer. Both were quite tasty and much thanks goes to our host for sharing his wares with me.

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The week wrapped up with dinner at Pizzeria Ludica in New West, famous for their blend of pizza and board games. We have previously been to their Vancouver location and were invited to join friends at the restaurant’s new site. Mrs. Sip and I split the Pesto Chicken & Prosciutto pizza, which is absolutely delicious. I particularly like the addition of the underrated sun-dried tomatoes, which complete the meal. To drink, I picked the Phillips Scarfface Orange Cranberry Wit.

The next week features many more adventures, highlighted by attending Science World After Dark and a visit to Andina Brewing to redeem the Groupon Mrs. Sip picked up for me at Christmas. Rest? Ha, who needs it!

Best of 2017

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With Mrs. Sip pregnant and nursing a baby throughout this year, many of the usual suspects to pop up on my annual “Best Of” list were not attended in 2017. Yes, the Sip Advisor had to suffer through missing out on the Portland Beer and Wine Fest, Tip N’ Taste, Made with Love and many others. Not one to give up, I soldiered on and found other events to take the place of those occasions. Here are my top 17 nights of 2017:

Rooting for the Home Team

The fuzzy memory nights got off to an early start when I joined a Sip Syndicate member for the Vancouver Canucks-Arizona Coyotes contest on January 4. The tickets were a Secret Santa gift for the Sip Advisor and provided perhaps the closest seats to the ice I’ve ever enjoyed. To mark the occasion, copious beers were consumed, including during a pre-game meal at Devil’s Elbow Ale & Smoke House. Best of all, the Canucks picked up a rare 3-0 win on this evening, including a penalty shot goal.

Surprise, Surprise

One of Mrs. Sip’s last hurrahs before learning she was pregnant was this surprise birthday outing I arranged for her at the Tapped Vancouver beer and wine tasting event. Without her knowledge, I was able to get a number of our friends to also attend and it was fun to have them arrive throughout the evening, as continuous revelations.

Surprise Party Sick

Ode to Scotch

The night after Tapped Vancouver, I was back at it, attending a friend’s annual Whiskey Tasting event. The theme for this year was Scotch’s aged eight years or less, proving that many gems can be found. Going into the evening, I was a little hesitant, as I was going solo, with the one person I knew likely to be very busy throughout the night with hosting duties. Luckily, I got a seat at a great table of strangers, who made the event quite memorable. I was even included in the Robbie Burns addressing of the haggis!

Getting Away

Over the Family Day long weekend, the Sip Syndicate journeyed to Pemberton, BC, for a secluded getaway. The retreat also provided an opportunity to tell some of our closest friends that Mrs. Sip was expecting. With that business out of the way, the rest of the weekend was spent eating, drinking and relaxing. One of the Sip Advisor’s all-time favourite pastimes is hanging out in a hot tub with good beers and that was certainly achieved here.

Viva Las Vegas

The first of two jaunts we took to Las Vegas in 2017 took a bit of a twist when we discovered Mrs. Sip was pregnant after we had already booked our escape to the party capital. Still, we intended to live it up and that was helped by some friends also being in Sin City at the same time. Each day/night featured a different route for fun, from a club experience at XS, to exploring the off-strip craft beer scene into the wee hours of the morning, to relaxing and listening to dueling pianos (a Sip Advisor favourite activity).

Rough and Tumble

Missing out on the Rugby Sevens event in 2016 was something I would regret. I had hoped to make amends in 2017, but missed out on the original batch of tickets released. Thankfully, organizers put another batch out and when a friend informed me of the great news, I acted immediately. The frenetic action of the rugby, along with an eclectic and festive crowd made for an amazing (albeit long) day at BC Place Stadium. My favourite photo from the day shows how much junk piled up throughout the affair.

Rugby Violence

Great Cocktail Reveal

Learning the gender of our little one was a moment I’ll never forget. To do it in style, I suggested Mrs. Sip – who had learned the gender a couple weeks prior – reveal it to me by pouring either a pink or blue cocktail. When the beverage came out pink, we were both thrilled. Having a bulk of our family and friends on hand to share the memory with us made it extra special. For the gathering, I concocted two blue and two pink cocktail recipes, so others could share in the anticipation.

Sweet Returns

Back in Las Vegas for the Easter long weekend, we made sure to blend our favourite spots along the strip, while mixing in some new locales. The highlights of this adventure included a couple shows (Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil: Mystère) and a few new bars and eateries. We also squeezed in some pool time, which helped wipe away the winter blues.

Journey on the Seas

In order to highlight as many experiences as possible on this list, I’m lumping our nearly three-week cruise getaway (from Rome to Dubai) together as one entry. Highlights included drinking cocktails in both Rome and Athens; a bucket of beers and other tasty beverages aboard the cruise; the always fun task of finishing all the bottles we accumulate on the last day of the itinerary (this time as a one-man wrecking crew); and enjoying a drink in a mostly dry country.

Comedy Capers

Driving six hours round trip for a comedy show may not be every person’s idea of a good night out, but the Sip Advisor isn’t every person. When I discovered Christopher Titus was performing at the Tacoma Comedy Club and I had a small window in my schedule to actually attend one of the shows, I got down on my knees and begged the Sip Alliance to placate my wishes… nay, my demands. In actuality, everyone was quick to come aboard and we had a fun night out in Tacoma before coming home the next morning.

Short Road Trip.png

Batting Practice

In the spring and summer of 2017, the Sip Advisor joined a baseball/softball team for the first time since I was a wee little sipper. While my skills were certainly lacking, I had a great time meeting new folks. After one set of early morning games, I hosted the team at Ma and Pa Sip’s place for some swimming and drinking. The weather was perfect for such an occasion and I think it helped the team bond even more than we previously had.

Runnin’ Down a Dream

From my earliest days, family road trips featured Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers providing the soundtrack. As a result, I grew up a fan of the band. Getting the opportunity to see them live was amazing and with Petty’s untimely passing just a month and a half later, the experience was all the more significant. I had already planned to see them the next time they rode into town… sadly, this will not be possible.

Baby Shower Beer Garden

When Mrs. Sip and I first conceived the idea of hosting a beer garden for our baby shower, we knew it would be a hit. After all, we wanted to include both our male and female friends and family and what better way to get everyone together than a beer garden. Mrs. Sip and I were taken aback with our guests incredible generosity with gifts. Our little one will be set up for some time to come.

Baseballs and Beers and Boxing

Unfortunately, I had missed our baseball team’s tournament earlier in the year, out of town for a family wedding. To make amends, I tied one on big time for the second competition, downing 10 beers over our five-hour break between games. Thankfully, those brews were of the 4.2% ABV variety. Once our day at the ballpark was finished, a few of us gathered for the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight to keep the fun going.

Softball Fun

Brewer’s Row Revisited

Much like last year, our return to Port Moody’s Brewer’s Row was a perfect summer day spent enjoying delicious beer and good company. For those that have never ventured that way, it’s a must. There are four breweries within a five-minute walking distance of each other and they each serve up fine products. This year, we also managed to visit the brand new Mariner Brewing in Coquitlam, as the first stop of our expedition.

Boys Will Be Boys

Bachelor parties/stags can be funny things. You’re often hanging out with a few friends and a number of strangers, perhaps doing a set of activities that normally wouldn’t be in your wheelhouse. But that’s also part of the fun. This day of debauchery included paintball and a Vancouver Whitecaps game, as well as the standard bar and strip club stops. The Sip Advisor drank quite well throughout and can’t wait for the January wedding and round two.

The Greatest Gift

My birthday was set to be an event-filled weekend, full of chicanery. Fate had other plans, however, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. On the morning of my birthday, I awoke to learn Mrs. Sip was experiencing early labour. The rest of the day was spent awaiting the arrival of Baby Sip, who entered the world at 1:33am the next morning. While I was happy to share my birthday, our little one decided she wanted her own spotlight, making for future birthday weekends to be that much more special!

There you have it folks, the Sip Advisor survived a year without my numero uno drinking buddy. As you can see, while Mrs. Sip was busy doing an awesome job of bringing our daughter into the world, I kept up with my usual antics!

Beer of the Week #35 – Yellow Dog High Five Hazy IPA

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I have now had this Yellow Dog Brewing selection a couple times, in two different formats. If a third opportunity presents itself, I won’t hesitate to drink it again no matter what form it comes in.

The first time I had the High Five Hazy IPA was as a mango-flavoured variation at Craft Beer Market’s Caskapalooza 2017. The next was from the brewery itself, as we recently visited Port Moody’s amazing Brewer’s Row.

Yellow Dog High Five Hazy IPA

Both times, I greatly enjoyed the 6.8%ABV, 50 IBUs beverage. It is available at many of the more notable craft beer establishments around Greater Vancouver and can also be found in tall can format at the brewery.

I was happy to see that Yellow Dog finally got their website up and running since I last covered the brewery as part of the BC Beer Baron project. For far too long, the site was under construction.

For more Beer of the Week articles, please visit our main page…

Sip Trips #114: All the Hits

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Well, another busy week is in the books (I’m starting to sound like a broken record), with Mrs. Sip and I finding time to have as much fun as possible, while getting things as ready as possible for the arrival of our daughter, sometime in the next few weeks. Here’s what we got up to:

The week began with the Sip Alliance’s long-awaited return to Port Moody’s Brewer’s Row. Before arriving there, though, we had to first travel to Coquitlam’s Mariner Brewing, which had only opened days before and is the first of its kind in the city. With four beers on tap, I tried their Northeast IPA, which I found to be pretty tasty. The brewery promises much more to come in the future and their space and constellation theming are really good starts.

Brewery Water

Next up was Brewer’s Row, with stops at Yellow Dog, Twin Sails and Parkside breweries, where I had pints of their High Five Hazy IPA, Street Legal IPA and Motel Five-Hop Pale Ale, respectively. Sadly, we didn’t manage to get to Moody Ales before closing time, so we owe them a visit in the future. I love this area of four breweries packed within a five-minute walk of each other and the new Evergreen SkyTrain line makes heading out that way so much easier. We will be back again soon.

On Friday, we finally got around to hitting one of our favourite annual summer traditions: the Twilight Drive-In Theatre in Aldergrove. While no drinking was involved, it was a great start to the Labour Day long weekend, as the lineup included Cars 3, followed by Despicable Me 3. We only stayed for those first two movies, but in celebration of the drive-in’s 12th anniversary, they were playing four movies on both Friday and Saturday night. While we love our trips out there for movies outdoors and you can’t beat the price of $12.50 per person for the entire evening, this was the first line-up this summer that actually appealed to us. Perhaps bad movies in general are to blame.

The next day, we started with some relaxing pool time at Ma and Pa Sip’s place before returning to Vancouver to move some furniture. Following the move, we treated Ma and Pa Sip to dinner at The Parlour in Yaletown, which had come highly recommended to me. We were not disappointed, as the place has a good happy hour to go along with great service. Our pizzas (The Dirty and Roasted varieties) were very good and were enough for a group of four to be happily fed.

Fitness Whole Pizza

After dinner, Mrs. Sip and I attended the Rio Theatre for their presentation of Dysfunctional Disney Cabaret. The goal here, according to our host, was to completely f*ck up our childhood memories with Disney-themed burlesque acts. It was quite the entertaining show and I have to commend the Rio for having a jug of water available to patrons on this hot, hot day. One server even steered me away from buying bottled water, in favour of the cooler, which I did not know about.

Sunday began with another round of furniture buying and baby laundry loads, but the reward came with hitting Jimmy’s Taphouse for happy hour. This has always been one of my favourite happy hours in the city with a number of half priced menu items and cheap drink options. We enjoyed their poutine with chipotle drizzle and an order of hot wings, which really hit the spot. The spicy combo was washed down with the Phillips Solaris White Peach Ale and a shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey.

Why was I getting my shot game on? Because we had received complimentary ticket to the Lionel Richie-Mariah Carey All the Hits concert, as part of Mrs. Sip’s recent anniversary gift to me of Vancouver Canucks half-season tickets. This was the first time either of us had ever sat in the exclusive 500-level Club seats, which provided a bar and bathrooms to about 50 people. As for the show, Mariah Carey didn’t do Fantasy or Honey, which if I know them, must have been hits. That’s okay, though, as Lionel Richie was extremely entertaining. His Dancing on the Ceiling with all the lights and video effects was the highlight of the night.

Lionel Richie Hello

We wrapped the long weekend by celebrating Pa Sip’s birthday at The Keg. Sitting atop the restaurant’s rooftop patio was very relaxing and the service was top notch. I ordered their Keg Burger, which pales in comparison to their former Prime Rib Burger, which I mourn the loss of to this day. As for beverages, I imbibed with a Keg Size Watermelon Mojito and Keg Caesar, perfect accompaniments to my still decent entree. A slice of Billy Miner Pie to finish the meal was the perfect bow on an incredible weekend!

But the family celebrations weren’t done there. On Tuesday, after Pa Sip helped me move some more furniture, we had another dinner in his honour at the Old Spaghetti Factory in New West. I tried their Pot-Pourri Spaghetti with meat, mushroom and clam sauce options. Best of all, the meals come with bread, salad or soup and ice cream for dessert, so we left quite stuffed. My beverage of choice was the Cobblestone Lager, developed for the restaurant by Granville Island Brewing.

The coming week doesn’t have much on the schedule, so I may grasp the opportunity for some rest and relaxation. Following that, the Sip Advisor has a bachelor party, Vancouver Canucks pre-season opener, Sis-In-Law Sip’s birthday and much more on the docket… not to mention who knows when the baby will decide to arrive!