Tag Archives: Canadian Brewing Awards

Beer of the Week #22 – Mt. Begbie Powerhouse Pale Ale

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With a theatre show to attend, Mrs. Sip and I decided to turn it into a full date night, stopping for dinner at Burgoo. There, I inquired about their Burgoo Brew and learned it was the Mt. Begbie Powerhouse Pale Ale.

As soon as I heard the brewery’s name, I was in for a pint, as the company has long been a favourite of mine. The 4.7% ABV, 22 IBUs beverage was just right for our night out, with nice flavouring and a moderate level of hops.

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The Powerhouse Pale Ale has been around for some time, winning a gold medal at the 2004 Canadian Brewing Awards. In fact, Mt. Begbie Brewing took home the Brewery of the Year prize at the 2017 version of the event.

While the ale is described as pairing best with spicy food, it also worked with my Chunky Chicken Salad. The brew can be found in bomber-sized bottles, as well as being a hidden gem of the Burgoo drink menu.

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Beer of the Week #6 – Howe Sound Devil’s Elbow IPA

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On the way home from the Sip Syndicate’s recent weekend away in Pemberton, BC, we stopped into the Howe Sound Brew Pub in Squamish for a meal. There, I was able to enjoy a pint of this favourite beer, which was the drink feature of the day.

The Devil’s Elbow IPA is an easy to find brew, with strong hop flavours and bitterness. The 6% ABV, 68 IBUs beverage is available in Howe Sound’s patented one-litre re-sealable swing top bottles, as well as on tap at a number of locations around the province.

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Named for the grade four rapid on the Elaho River, near Squamish, the beer isn’t nearly as treacherous. The moniker has also been used for Howe Sound’s Vancouver tasting room and restaurant, which is a preferred stop for the Sip Advisor.

It was great to finally visit the Squamish brew pub, after a couple years of wanting to check it out. The IPA has earned the brewery silver and bronze medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards, as well as a silver at the North American Brewing Awards.

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Beer of the Week #5 – Four Winds Featherweight IPA

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Looking for a beverage to enjoy while watching last weekend’s WWE Royal Rumble show, I grabbed the perfect product from Four Winds Brewing, conjuring images of a sleek high flyer getting tossed around by wrestling giants.

The Featherweight IPA was very refreshing and provided an interesting combination of its whopping 60 IBUs with such a low alcohol content of only 4.5% ABV. The mix was very enjoyable with tastes of tropical fruit and hops dominating the brew’s taste.

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The brewery has a few really good IPAs, including the Juxtapose Wild IPA, Phaedra Belgian Rye IPA, and Vexillum Imperial IPA. You can certainly add the Featherweight to that list, as a lighter option should drinkers desire a bold taste with less booze.

The IPA (part of Four Winds’ Notus Series) can periodically be found in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores. The drink received a well-deserved silver medal at the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Session IPA category.

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BC Beer Baron #354 – Persephone Wee Heavy

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With the Christmas party season in full swing, the Sip Advisor has had ample opportunity to share beverages with friends and family. That has introduced me to some very good drinks, such as this Persephone Brewing release.

The Wee Heavy is of the Scotch Ale variety, featuring flavours of rich malts, sweet caramel and dark fruit. At 7.5% ABV, the drink will warm the soul through the winter and its 20 IBUs gives it a nice mild hop content.

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First brewed in 2013, the product can be found in bomber-sized bottles at private liquor stores. The beer took home a well-deserved silver medal at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Scotch Ale category.

Among currently available Persephone selections I have recently come across that I would like to try is the Hop Yard Red Ale. This hoppy red ale sounds tasty, with a balance of pine, caramel and toasted notes comprising its recipe.

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BC Beer Baron #326 – Granville Island False Creek Raspberry Ale

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For the benefit of guests (and in particular, the Sip Advisor), Ma and Pa Sip recently grabbed a case of beer for those visiting their amazing home. That pack was from Granville Island Brewing, a long-time favourite among the Sip Alliance.

Among that pack – the company’s Summer Mingler – is the False Creek Raspberry Ale. A refreshing and tart brew, perfect for outdoor summer drinking, the beer is made with Fraser Valley raspberries. Part of the brewery’s seasonal line-up, the 4.5% ABV, 11 IBUs product received a silver medal at the 2013 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Fruit Beer category.

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The ale is available in six-packs and the aforementioned Summer Mingler, in both canned and bottled formats. Both mixed cases also include the Two Tides ISA, with the bottled version being completed by the Hey Day Hefeweizen and English Bay Pale Ale, while the canned release is rounded out by the Cypress Honey Lager and Island Lager.

The beer, named for the waterway that separates Granville Island from Vancouver’s downtown core, is best paired with salads featuring chicken and light dressings. It also combines well with certain desserts, such as raspberry mousse.

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BC Beer Baron #321 – Howe Sound Howe Sound Lager

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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. With all the crazy brewing options out there, lagers sometimes get lost in the shuffle. That’s why the Sip Advisor is giving them their own feature week. After all, we should support and give thanks to the beers that brought many of us to this craft beer dance!

A couple months back, at the Tip N’ Taste event in Langley, the Sip Alliance had a good long chat with the representatives from Howe Sound Brewing. As the evening ended, they gifted us with a few cans of this beer, which came in handy for the planned after party.

The Howe Sound Lager is a solid, refreshing beer. You know, the kind that even the pickiest of drinkers can enjoy. We all have them in our life, so pay it forward and give them a good option. With the word ‘BRILLIANT’ incorporated in the beer’s label design, the beverage has a lot to live up to, but will leave most more than satisfied.

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This Dortmund-style lager comes with stats of 5.5% ABV and 18 IBUs. It’s available in canned six-packs, including at BC Liquor Stores for the low, low price of $10.99 (before taxes and deposit). The beer was recognized with bronze medals at the 2011 and 2013 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Kellerbier category.

The Sip Advisor finds it funny that many of us likely had our first beer in the form of a lager, but this style of brew is largely absent from the craft beer scene. Some have gone so far as to call the variety “endangered”, but hopefully that will change with time and experimentation.

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BC Beer Baron #320 – Coal Harbour 311 Helles Lager

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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. With all the crazy brewing options out there, lagers sometimes get lost in the shuffle. That’s why the Sip Advisor is giving them their own feature week. After all, we should support and give thanks to the beers that brought many of us to this craft beer dance!

The Sip Advisor has enjoyed this Munich-style release from Coal Harbour Brewing on a number of occasions, making it a perfect selection for Lager Week. Most anything coming from German heritage is pretty good… such as Mr. Sip, himself!

The 311 Helles Lager – 311 stands for 11/11/11, which was the date of the company’s first creation – is brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot (also known as the German Beer Purity Law) which outlines which ingredients should be used in beer production. The 5% ABV, 19 IBUs beverage is available in a unique eight-pack of cans for the rockin’ price of $12.49, plus taxes and deposit, at BC Liquor Stores.

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The product has earned Coal Harbour some accolades, such as a gold medal at the 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards in the North American Style Premium Lager category and a third place finish at the 2013 BC Beer Awards in the Session Lager class.

I really wish Coal Harbour would open a tasting room at their East Vancouver location. I enjoy a bunch of their wares (their Smoke & Mirrors being among my favourite brews) and they could ease the Parallel 49 Brewing congestion.

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BC Beer Baron #304 – Main Street Red Back Amber Ale

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Perfect for the Halloween season and with today being Devil’s Night, why not review this Main Street Brewing product, which features a red-backed spider as part of its logo? After all, the red back arachnid is both poisonous and into sexual cannibalism.

The Red Back Amber Ale comes from the American Amber/Red Ale family and features four different hop varieties, which deliver a punch of tropical fruit flavours and bitterness. Like a spider’s web, Main Street warns that the brew “is easy to get ensnared in” and that’s one trap I’d be happy to have in my face.

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This 7% ABV, 60 IBUs seasonal release is available in bomber-sized bottles at private liquor stores, as well as on tap at Main Street, through the winter months. It first debuted in cask form in October 2014, before moving to bottles in January 2015.

The Red Back Amber Ale took home a silver medal from the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Best American Style Amber/Red Ale category. I can’t think of a better beverage (aside from absinthe) to pair with my and Mrs. Sip’s feast, honouring James Patrick March from American Horror Story: Hotel.

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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 #281 – Bad Tattoo Los Muertos Cerveza Negra

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While hunting for beers to use during the Sip Advisor’s annual beer pong tournament, I decided to pick up Bad Tattoo Brewing’s Flash Pack case. The set includes this great beer, which I remember enjoying a couple years back on my very first visit to Bad Tattoo’s Penticton tasting room.

The Los Muertos Cerveza Negra is a crisp and refreshing dark lager. The 5% ABV, 25 IBUs beverage uses three different malts (Pilsner, Crystal, and Munich) to achieve their desired results. As the company writes: “It is reminiscent of a light German Bock, but with a Mexican twist.” I love the label work on this beer, as well as Bad Tattoo’s entire lineup.

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The Cerveza Negra is available in bomber-sized bottles, as well as the aforementioned Flash Pack. The case also includes the brewery’s Tramp Stamp Pale Ale, West Coast IPA, and True Love Kolsch (seasonal). I thought the collection was pretty diverse and enjoyed the variety of different products.

The brew received of a silver medal at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards in the North American Style Amber Lager category. Following up on that success, Bad Tattoo also released the Dia De Los Muertos Cerveza Fuerte (a Belgian-style Abbey Ale) to go along with the Day of the Dead theme.

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