Tag Archives: Craft Beer

BC Beer Baron #333 – Brassneck Fantasmagoria Horchata Milk Stout

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For whatever reason, on a recent visit to Brassneck Brewing, this beverage option caught my eye. I’m glad I left my comfort zone with this one, as it ended up being my favourite beer of the evening out.

Although the name is a bit of a tongue twister, the Fantasmagoria Horchata Milk Stout was a very good brew. I wasn’t sure I would like the stout, given the use of Horchata in its recipe, but I appreciated the cinnamon spice that resulted.

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First brewed in October 2016, the 7% ABV drink features a nice blend of the cinnamon spice and roasted malts a stout is typically known for. The inspiration for this product came from Brassneck’s brewers trying a Horchata Cold Brew Coffee.

Horchata, of course, is a milky beverage that is popular in Latin American countries. The drink is often made with ground almonds or rice and cinnamon and sometimes also contains vanilla and other spices.

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BC Beer Baron #332 – Spinnakers Lion’s Head Cascadia Dark Ale

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In search of new beers to get me through the Remembrance Day long weekend (saluting the troops and our freedom in my own way), I ended up with a couple Spinnakers Brewing selections. That included this gem.

The Lion’s Head Cascadia Dark Ale uses English pale and roasted malts, as well as northwest hops to achieve its look and taste. The 6.5% ABV, 55 IBUs beverage is right in my wheelhouse and I enjoyed its chocolate and coffee notes.

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First released in 2009, the brew is available in bomber-sized bottles, as well as regular cans. I found my bottle at a BC Liquor Store location and the chain seems to routinely stock Spinnaker’s products, at very decent prices.

The beer is named in honour of the Lion’s Head Pub in Robson, BC, which was the Kootenay region’s first craft beer-focused watering hole. The place also offers a number of smokehouse meal options on its diverse menu.

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BC Beer Baron #331 – Fuggles & Warlock The Last Mango Wit

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On a recent liquor store visit, this Fuggles & Warlock Brewing product caught my eye. When I realized it was the last bottle available (fitting, given the beer’s name), I quickly nabbed it like Gollum with the One Ring.

The Last Mango Wit is a tasty and refreshing drink, which uses the same base as the brewery’s The Last Strawberry Wit. I found the brew to be a little sweeter than its strawberry counterpart, but it also had some coriander spice to it, which cut the sweetness.

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The 4.9% ABV, 8 IBUs beverage is available in bomber-sized bottles for a limited time. Fuggles & Warlock called the release a one-off beer, but I hope its popularity sees the Mango Wit make a summer return for poolside and patio consumption.

Featuring a pixie on its label, the selection is well within the company’s motto of ‘Keeping Beer Weird’. Mrs. Sip and I need to stop by their Richmond tasting room again, as our last trip was fun, relaxing and delicious.

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BC Beer Baron #330 – Deep Cove Shaketown Spruce Tip Black IPA

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With the recent Remembrance Day long weekend on the horizon, the Sip Advisor was off to do some serious liquor shopping. One of the products I picked up was this yummy release from North Vancouver’s Deep Cove Brewing.

The Shaketown Spruce Tip Black IPA tasted like a hybrid of the stout and IPA families, with a pale ale level hops. Speaking of hops, the 6.4% ABV drink includes three different Pacific Northwest varieties (Cascade, Chinook and Willamette) in its recipe.

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Released just last month, the beverage is available in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores and other private locations. It can also be found at Deep Cove’s tasting room, which the Sip Alliance should revisit when the opportunity comes up.

The beer’s name is a reference to Lynn Valley in North Vancouver. Long ago, when it was merely a logging camp, the area was known as Shaketown. Rumour has it the moniker comes from the shake-sided homes the area was known for.

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BC Beer Baron #329 – Steel & Oak Steinbier

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At last month’s BC Beer Awards, Mrs. Sip and I made sure to stop by Steel & Oak’s booth, as it’s among our favourite companies. There, we were able to try this very unique limited edition release that surely won’t be around long.

The Steinbier is a collaborative brew combining the talents of Steel & Oak and Sebastian Sauer from Germany’s Freigeist Bierkultur. Jorden of Steel & Oak posted a blog about the collaborative process that bred this delicious beverage.

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What is a steinbier, you might be asking? Well, it’s more than simply a beer fit for a stein. In fact, it’s a brew that is mashed in wooden tubs, using hot stones. This typically results in flavours of caramel and soot… mmm, soot!

The 6% ABV, 30 IBUs lager can be found in bomber-sized bottles. As for Freigeist Bierkultur, they “strive to break the creative chains of industrial brewing by reviving and updating Germany’s unique, historical beer styles.”

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BC Beer Baron #328 – Yellow Dog Chase My Tail Pale Ale

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Recently, while hanging out and having drinks at the TAPshack in Coal Harbour for a friend’s birthday, the Sip Advisor enjoyed a serving of this Yellow Dog Brewing product. This was in a glass directly from the brewery, a small detail which I love seeing while out and about.

The Chase My Tail Pale Ale continues the company’s celebrated history of great-named and better tasting brews (the Play Dead IPA and Shake a Paw Porter quickly come to mind, as examples). With mixed flavours of fruit and pine, the 5.2% ABV, 50 IBUs beverage is tasty and refreshing.

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The pale ale is available in 473ml tall can four-packs on-site at the brewery and at private liquor stores. It paired well with my Maui Wowie Hawaiian pizza and I would love to see other ideas for the drink, but the brewery’s website has been “Coming Soon” since 2014.

Yellow Dog used to be a dog friendly place with water dishes and treat bowls for puppies that were brought to the tasting room. I recently heard a rumour this is no longer the case, thanks to one complaint. If that’s true, it’s disappointing – but not surprising – that one person can ruin a good thing… and this is coming from someone who’s prefers the company of cats.

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BC Beer Baron #327 – Vancouver Island Black Betty Blackberry Saison

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With the Sip Advisor’s annual beer pong tournament being contested, some good beers were needed for my red solo cups. I chose to fill some of them up with this Vancouver Island Brewing release and had a party!

The Black Betty Blackberry Saison is brewed using freshly hand-picked blackberries from the island and combined with Northern Brewer hops for notes of spice and pine flavour. The 5.5% ABV beverage has a tart finish, making for a refreshing summer beer. According to the brewery: “We brewed this Blackberry Saison and the damn thing went wild!”

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The summer seasonal is available in canned six-packs at BC Liquor Stores. I also recently came across the beer being part of Vancouver Island’s Pod Pack winter edition, as the feature brew, joined by three other VIB selections.

An homage to the classic rock song of the 1970s, Black Betty by Ram Jam, the tune’s lineage traces back to being an African-American work song. This has caused some controversy when various artists have recorded and released the track.

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BC Beer Baron #325 – Parallel 49 Jerkface 9000

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On a recent visit to EXP Restaurant + Bar, I indulged their expansive video game-themed menu (featuring so many tempting meals) with a serving of this Parallel 49 Brewing year round release.

The Jerkface 9000 is classified as a Northwest Wheat Ale, but I like to think of it as an IPA/wheat beer hybrid. That’s because it is dry hopped and gives all the impressions of being an IPA, with the added bonus of a wheat taste up front. Despite the telltale marks of an IPA, the beer comes in at a moderate 5% ABV and 37 IBUs, so it’s probably classed exactly as it should be.

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Knowing that some of Parallel 49’s products are named after members of their staff, I have to wonder who might be the inspiration for Jerkface 9000… and also hope I never have a run-in with said employee. Especially if he looks anything like the logo for this product.

The last time the Sip Advisor tried to get into Parallel 49’s tasting room, there was a line-up well outside their front door and so we quickly moved on to another stop. I’ve been meaning to get back since, but the stars have yet to align on that. Luckily, P49 beverages are pretty easy to come across all around Vancouver.

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BC Beer Baron #324 – 33 Acres of Darkness

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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!

While visiting the Salt Tasting Room in Gastown for the very first time, the Sip Advisor selected this 33 Acres Brewing product to accompany my charcuterie plate. I must say the drink paired well with my meat and condiment platter (no cheese for this guy!).

The 33 Acres of Darkness is a Schwarzbier, meaning black beer, and is a term often used for dark lagers. While lagers in general seem to have been forgotten by many craft brewers, this 5% ABV, 30 IBUs beverage is a fantastic example of what can be achieved if the style is utilized. Flavours of chocolate and coffee highlight this refreshing creation.

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One of the brewery’s flagship releases, the beer is available in bottled six-packs at the brewery, as well as at BC Liquor Stores and private retailers. If you want to try the brew before purchasing a larger quantity, check out 33 Acres ‘quarry’ tasting room and get yourself a rare 24-ounce serving.

The Schwarzbier style comes to us from Germany, where it was first conceived in the Middle Ages. In fact, the oldest known black beer, the Braunschweiger Mumme, dates back to 1390. The variety is similar to stout beers in that they get their colour from dark and roasted malts.

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Sip Trips #82: Chowder Chowing

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While the Sip Advisor managed to make it to four Vancouver breweries over the Remembrance Day long weekend, those exploits will largely be covered in BC Beer Baron articles. So, let’s get right onto the main event of the week: the Chowder Chowdown at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Presented by Ocean Wise, the occasion offered participants 14 seafood chowders to try, each paired with a BC craft beer (save for the Steam Whistle Brewing partnership). While I love the concept, I’m not sure massive servings of chowder should be paired with carbonated beverages. There definitely came a point where I reached my chowder max, although it quickly subsided.

One other issue was that it wasn’t easy to juggle a cup of beer and piping hot serving of chowder, as you moved through the venue. At least there were a fair number of tables to stand or sit at, which helped with the risky maneuvering.

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My favourite chowder of the evening came from The White Whale Restaurant, which also took home the people’s and judge’s choice awards. My MVP pick for best beer/brewery definitely went to the guys from Big Rock Urban Brewery, who brought with them their Winter Spice Ale. Some honourable mentions should go to Hoyne Brewing, whose Appleton ESB was paired with The White Whale Restaurant entry and The Vancouver Fish Company for their chowder poutine spin on the competition.

After the awards were announced, the event seemed to die quickly. By this point, a number of the chowder stations had run out of their wares and many of the breweries that attended had packed up their contributions. This left folks scrambling for final servings wherever they could be found.

This event probably wouldn’t have gone over too well for those who don’t like beer. There was a Caesar station, Gin & Tonic table and one wine vendor available, but that probably wouldn’t have been enough for people needing options to the breweries.

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Ticket were $60 (plus tax) and we felt the event was more than worth it. We paid more than double that for last year’s Toast to the Coast (also at the Aquarium) and the Chowder Chowdown provided a far better bang-for-your-buck experience.

After being dropped off back downtown by the Vancouver Trolley Company, we finished the evening with a visit to Steamworks Brew Pub. Here, I finally got my hands on a beverage that has eluded me for much of the year: their Salty Caramel Ale. I first heard about the beer last February on Twitter, but when I arrived at the brew pub, there was none to be had. Most recently, when Mrs. Sip and I stopped in on Halloween night, it was on their menu, but again wasn’t yet being poured. All I can say is the wait was worth it!

Mrs. Sip returns from India this weekend and that will likely signify the start of the Christmas rush. Join us for all the fun and adventure that’s sure to occur over the holidays!