Tag Archives: Craft Beer

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 #286 – Phillips Toothless Pumpkin Sour 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.

This fall, the folks at Phillips Brewing have unleashed onto the craft beer world, not one, not two, but three different pumpkin releases. Picking one to review wasn’t easy, but this variation seemed to be the most unique.

The Toothless Pumpkin Sour Ale features an interesting blend of pumpkin and spices and a tart finish. At only 4.7% ABV, the beer is light on everything, including malts, hops, and colour. The Sip Advisor isn’t a big sour beer guy, but this was fun to sample.

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Along with the Sour Ale, Phillips also has the Crooked Tooth Pumpkin Ale and Crookeder Tooth Barrel-Aged Pumpkin Ale products available for the season. Each beer can be found in bomber-sized bottles at various vendors, throughout the province.

Not content to just have three brews perfect for Halloween drinking, the brewery has also produced the Green Reaper Fresh Hop IPA. As is the norm, label designs for each piece of merchandise is top notch and eye-catching.

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BC Beer Baron #285 – Spinnakers Spiced Pumpkin 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.

Given I’ve always been impressed by beers from Spinnakers Brewing, I was curious to see how they’d fare in the pumpkin ale world. As usual, I was left pleased with the results from Canada’s oldest brewpub.

The Spiced Pumpkin Ale utilizes locally grown Kabocha squash and the typical seasonings related to pumpkin treats. The 5% ABV, 15 IBUs beverage is on the lighter end of the spectrum, but that allows the varying flavours to enjoy the spotlight.

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The product is available for a limited time in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores, as well as private establishments. Drinkers can also go directly to the source and enjoy a serving at the Spinnakers Brewpub in Victoria.

Spinnakers has also produced a Spiced Pumpkin Porter in the past, but that doesn’t seem to be part of their lineup this fall. As the brewery writes: “For some, the beginning of September means back to school. For us, it means Spiced Pumpkin Ale!”

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #284 – Russell Happy Jack Pumpkin 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.

The days are getting shorter and waking up to darkness is getting all too familiar. It’s that time of the year and the pumpkin beers continue to take over the Sip Advisor’s fridge with this fall release from Russell Brewing.

The Happy Jack Pumpkin Ale is brewed in a single batch with spices and then aged with oak. At 5.5% ABV and 25 IBUs, this beverage is stronger and hoppier than many of the other pumpkin-flavoured offerings out there, which is refreshing.

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Available in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores, as well as private locations, this seasonal release is well-balanced, allowing the flavours to tackle the tongue, but not pin it down. Then again, spices can hold me down anytime.

Also fit for the season, Russell has a Marzen Oktoberfest Lager, which will have drinkers strapping into lederhosen and filling steins to the brim with the elixir. There aren’t many Oktoberfest brews on the BC landscape, so check this one out.

For more BC Beer Baron articles, please visit our main page…

BC Beer Baron #283 – Prohibition Harvest Pumpkin Spiced 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.

I came across this beer from Prohibition Brewing a few months back, while stocking up on products for a weekend in Kelowna. After all, one has to cleanse the palate after days spent visiting Okanagan Valley wineries!

The beer has a decent amount of pumpkin flavour, but I was hoping for more notes of spice, expecting a pumpkin pie tasting experience. At 5.5% ABV and 9 IBUs, the brewery hoped to make a “refreshing fall brew that delivers the perfect blend of warmth and fall flavour without making every session feel like Halloween.”

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The fall seasonal is available in bomber-sized bottles, if you can find it. Given the company hasn’t updated their website or Facebook and Twitter accounts since late 2014/early 2015, who knows how this brew came into my possession.

Prohibition used to have a tasting room located mere blocks away from the Sip Advisor headquarters, but unfortunately it was a slightly hidden spot and it closed a few years back. Mrs. Sip and I did visit on a couple occasions and enjoyed our tasting flights.

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BC Beer Baron #282 – Dead Frog Weeping Reaper Blood Orange Helles Bock

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When the Sip Alliance recently visited Dead Frog Brewing’s Aldergrove tasting room, Mrs. Sip allowed me to take one souvenir home with me, for a later treat. After all, she knew the tantrum I would throw if not otherwise placated.

Among stiff competition, I grabbed the Weeping Reaper Blood Orange Helles Bock, which although technically out of season, was a selection I really wanted to try. The strong ale (7% ABV) had a light orange taste on the finish, which made for a decent lager-style beverage. The blood orange addition was selected to provide an option to all the pumpkin-flavoured beers currently on the market.

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Released every September, the beer was inspired by German bock brews and designed to transition drinkers from summer to winter… sometimes viewed as the death of a year’s seasonal cycle. The logo for this product features great artwork of Death, himself, and challenges customers to: “Prepare for the bittersweet embrace of the reaper.”

Food pairings include duck à l’orange, lechon, marmalade-glazed ham, and caramel flan. I’m not sure any of those really appeal to me, but not wanting to make the Grim Reaper cry, I’ll just drink the beer and make peace with the Deadman!

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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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BC Beer Baron #280 – Category 12 Zombie Repellant Ale

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What do you get when you combine a brewery run by a mad scientist, a dislike of pumpkin-flavoured everything and the Halloween season? This clever release from Category 12 Brewing, which gives drinkers a different fall seasonal option.

The Zombie Repellant Ale is the world’s first ZRA (go ahead, prove me wrong), although it’s more in line with being classified as a Belgian Red Ale. At 6.9% ABV and 49 IBUs, the beverage is highlighted by notes of licorice and sweet orange.

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Category 12 also boasts that this release is the first anti-pumpkin brew, referring to fans of pumpkin-spiced treats (particularly beers) as zombies that need to be snapped out of their gourd-loving trance. The brewery warns: “Be vigilant, be prepared.”

If you are concerned about yourself or loved ones, as the pumpkin season continues, you can track down this product in bomber-sized bottles at private liquor stores. I know I’ll be keeping a couple on hand… just in case.

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BC Beer Baron #279 – Big Rock Citradelic Single Hop IPA

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When Mrs. Sip and I recently enjoyed a Vancouver Canadians baseball game, I took great advantage of their Craft Beer Corner, which serves up brews from five different BC breweries. There, I downed a few servings of this Big Rock Brewing mainstay.

The Citradelic Single Hop IPA uses Citra hops, of course, to deliver a citrus and tropical fruit-flavoured experience. The 6% ABV, 67 IBUs beverage was the first to be brewed exclusively at the Vancouver-based Big Rock Urban Eatery and proved so successful that it has been rolled out to Alberta and Saskatchewan drinkers.

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Suggested food pairings include game birds, spicy Thai and India curries, and fried foods including fries, corn dogs, potato chips and mixed nuts. Urban Eatery executive chef Alex ‘Beer Belly’ Newton has also created a Crunchy IPA Kimchi recipe, using the brew.

Big Rock staff suggestions for movie and music accompaniments to the Citradelic IPA include Dazed and Confused on the screen and House of the Rising Sun by The Animals on the record player. Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing also has a Citradelic IPA, but I suppose both companies are cool with that.

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BC Beer Baron #278 – Trading Post Captain Cooper’s Cranberry Ale

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A couple weeks back, Mrs. Sip and I learned of the TAPshack, which has two chains in downtown Vancouver. For a friend’s birthday, we visited the Coal Harbour location, where the Sip Advisor enjoyed this Trading Post Brewing product, among my drink selections.

The Captain Cooper’s Cranberry Ale is tart, but leaves a nice, slightly bitter cranberry taste on the palate with each sip. At 5.9% ABV, the beer has a stronger alcohol content than many sour beverages I’ve come across, while being very light on hops, with an IBU count of only seven.

Trading Post Brewing

I had previously tried a sample of this brew when Mrs. Sip and I first visited Trading Post on its second day of existence. Having a full serving reminded me of how good and unique the drink is. The American-style wheat ale is constructed with local cranberries.

The beer’s namesake, Captain James Cooper, was an employee of the Hudson’s Bay Company, a former fur trading operation and current day Canadian department store. Cooper was a wheeler and dealer in the cranberry market of early BC.

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