Tag Archives: Craft Beer

BC Beer Baron #246 – Townsite Zwarte Wheat

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Part of the Sip Advisor’s extensive collection of beverages for a recent camping weekend was this selection from Powell River’s Townsite Brewing.

The Zwarte Wheat is a Belgian Dark Witbier, made with midnight wheat. The beer’s appearance can be a little deceptive, as you don’t expect citrus and spice from the brew’s hue, but that’s exactly what you get. Apparently, the creation of this 5.2% ABV, 20 IBUs release was somewhat accidental, as a request for more sour-style brews was met with a completely different outcome.

Townsite Zwarte Wheat

This witbier was inspired by an earlier collaboration between Townsite and Parallel 49, which resulted in a black saison. Townsite brewmaster Cédric Dauchot says, “I really got a kick out of adding midnight wheat to the mash. It just gives the beer an amazing colour without affecting too much the flavour profile. It’s perfect for giving a bit of depth to a summer beer.”

Part of Townsite’s Legacy collection (year-round products), the brew is available in bomber-sized bottles at BC Liquor Stores and other fine purveyors of libations. The brewery also has a Westview Wheat Witbier and Blackberry Festivale Blackberry Wheat, as part of their Seasonals lineup.

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BC Beer Baron #245 – Four Mile Cactus Grapefruit IPA

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While out for a walk recently, Mrs. Sip and I came upon a BC Liquor Stores location. Wanting to check out what was available, but not really looking to buy anything (I had some stock to go through already in the fridge), I told Mrs. Sip I was 90% sure this would only be an informational visit. That was, until I found this new release from Four Mile Brewing.

To be fair, Mrs. Sip insisted I purchase the Cactus Grapefruit IPA – she’s such an amazing wife! The 6% ABV, 70 IBUs beverage is light on alcohol (for an IPA), but strong on hops. Four Mile describes the beer as “a swig of California sunshine”!

Four Mile Cactus Grapefruit IPA

The limited edition brew is available in bomber-sized bottles exclusively at BC Liquor Stores. The IPA is, of course, highlighted by flavours of grapefruit, giving the drink a sweet and sour mix.

Suggested food pairings include seafood dishes, such as grilled squid and fish and chips. I’m not sure what the ‘Cactus’ refers to in the beer’s name, but Four Mile also has a Prickly Pear Cactus Wheat Ale that I’ve been hoping to try.

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BC Beer Baron #244 – Sherwood Mountain Skeena West Pale Ale

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When Ma and Pa Sip were in Terrace, BC a few months back, they made sure to pick up a couple Sherwood Mountain Brewing bombers for their number one son.

Among those, was the company’s Skeena West Pale Ale, which was a very good drink. The 5.5% ABV brew features flavours of caramel and biscuit with a nice hop balance.

Sherwood Mountain Skeena West Pale Ale

The beer is named after the Skeena River, which is the second longest river to exist entirely in the province and is home to a number of wildlife species, including various salmon and bears. Particularly notable is that the rare Kermode Bear (aka Spirit Bear) inhabits the Skeena Valley, which surrounds the body of water.

Sherwood Mountain’s brewmaster learned this recipe from Lake of Bays Brewing in Baysville, Ontario. The beer was a solid beverage, so it’s no surprise the brewery expects it to become a flagship offering, as time goes by.

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BC Beer Baron #243 – Main Street/Doan’s Roggenweizen

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On a recent craft beer crawl through the Brewery Creek region of Vancouver, we made our final stop at Main Street Brewing, where I was able to order a pint of this collaborative effort with Doan’s Brewing.

The Roggenweizen (which basically translates to Rye Hefeweizen) combines two of the Sip Advisor’s favourite things in rye/whiskey and hef beers. The 5% ABV, 15 IBUs beverage is a limited edition beer, so drinkers may want to track it down sooner than later.

Main Street & Doan’s Roggenweizen

Doan’s seems to like experimenting with Rye, as earlier this year the Sip Advisor enjoyed a serving of their Rye Stout. They have also concocted a Rye IPA and Rye Pilsner (in collaboration with Bomber Brewing).

As for Main Street, I’ve always been a fan of their beer label work, which is featured on banners that hang at their location. It also remains one of my favourite breweries to pop into while touring out-of-town visitors around Vancouver.

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BC Beer Baron #242 – Phillips Solaris White Peach Ale

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One of my final drinks of last month’s Tip N’ Taste in Langley was this summer pleaser from Phillips Brewing… and to think, I almost passed up the opportunity.

The Solaris White Peach Ale is light in almost every way imaginable: colour, alcohol (4.3% ABV), hops and malts. That makes the unfiltered beer very friendly to all drinkers with a refreshing peach flavour. For a comparison, Cousin Sip equated the beverage to being like Stanley Park’s SunSetter Summer Ale. As the brewery states: “Life’s a peach, drink it up!”

Phillips Solaris White Peach Ale

Featuring a pyramid as part of its label design, Phillips dares customers to “crack the code of the summer heat and unlock the secrets of the Beeramid”. Part of the Phillips seasonal lineup, the beer is perfect for summer drinking (available in 473ml tall cans) and was released alongside the Electric Unicorn White IPA.

Phillips recently ran a great media campaign (even getting attention from the New York Daily News), involving the delivery of beer by a bald eagle. Unfortunately, this got them into some hot water with the BC government, but they figured out a creative way to finish the promotion.

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BC Beer Baron #241 – Off the Rail Beez Kneez Honey Ginger Ale

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Always on the lookout for new and interesting beers, I recently came across this Off the Rail Brewing release while popping into a private liquor store in Kelowna, as the Sip Syndicate loaded up on suds for the long weekend ahead.

The Beez Kneez Honey Ginger Ale is sweet with a ginger bite on the finish. There’s a nice balance between the two here, but the Sip Advisor is learning that I’m not the biggest fan of beers with honey as part of the recipe. However, I know the sweetness is exactly what others are looking for in their brews. If that’s the case, this might be the beverage for you.

Off the Rail Beez Kneez Honey Ginger Ale

The seasonal release, which comes with stats of 5% ABV and 34 IBUs, is available in bomber-sized bottles at various liquor stores, as well as being on tap at Off the Rail’s East Vancouver tasting room. It would likely make for a good drink to have on hand while enjoying the great outdoors and imbibing in summer fun.

Sampling this beer reminds me that Mrs. Sip and I are way overdue for our annual self-guided bike tour through the ‘Yeast Van’ breweries. There are a few new additions to the region – along with the classics – so that should make for a great journey.

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BC Beer Baron #240 – Tin Whistle Scorpion Double IPA

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Looking for beers to cleanse the palate during a wine weekend in Kelowna last month, I eagerly grabbed this Tin Whistle Brewing product. Although it survived the trip and came home with me, it wasn’t long before its luck ran out.

The Scorpion Double IPA is packed with citrus flavour thanks to its high dosage of hops. At 8% ABV and 85 IBUs, the beer is sure to sting drinkers and that’s just the way the Sip Advisor likes ‘em.

Tin Whistle Scorpion Double IPA

The Imperial IPA is available in bomber-sized bottles from various liquor stores. The brewery seems to have a thing for naming their beers after deadly creatures, also having the Rattlesnake ESB, Black Widow Mild Ale and Killer Bee Porter, among their arsenal.

I first had this beer a couple years back at the Penticton Farmer’s Market, where Tin Whistle routinely sets up shop. I still have yet to visit their brewery, which will have to wait for a future expedition.

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BC Beer Baron #239 – 33 Acres of Egress

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On a recent visit to 33 Acres Brewing, the Sip Alliance filled up a few growlers (of varying sizes) for later enjoyment. One of those was of this newer menu item.

The 33 Acres of Egress is a Belgian Grisette, featuring flavours of malt and pepper to go along with aromas of apricots and blackberries. The 4.2% ABV beer is apparently inspired by the tradition of miners enjoying similar beverages after a hard day’s work within dark, humid tunnels. Today, we continue this tradition with drinks after long days at the office or other places of work.

33 Acres of Egress.jpg

33 Acres, ever the storytellers, write of the beer: “Cradled by earth’s core, a worthy sweat drips from the air, chipping away inside the passage. Pausing to lean against the cool bedrock, clammy palms flatten against the rough stony contours. Coursing blood circulates while fondly glancing back to where the shift began. A familiar whistle sounds signalling work’s timely end and the usual chorus of hurrahs ensue. Twinkling grins adorn the corridor as fingertips glide along the sculpted tunnel edges stepping into an ever-growing portal home.”

Mrs. Sip once remarked that the tasting room needed a little more colour to go along with its white walls and furniture. Not that I realize they call it ‘the quarry’, I get the design and also this brew’s backstory.

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BC Beer Baron #238 – Chaos & Solace Five Corners IPA

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Mrs. Sip and I feel we’re fairly entrenched in the craft beer scene and know what’s going on with new operations opening up and such. Imagine our surprise then, when we were planning what to do upon leaving our Cultus Lake campsite recently and discovered that Chaos & Solace Brewing had opened and we had absolutely no clue.

When we popped into the brewery, we shared a flight of the beers they had on tap, which for the Sip Advisor was highlighted by the Five Corners IPA. The beer has a typical alcohol content at 6% ABV, but is hoppy as heck at 85 IBUs. The beverage uses “a shwack” of local hops from Chilliwack Hop Farms in the recipe, thus jacking up its bitterness and flavours and aromas of citrus and fruit.

Chaos & Solace Brewing

Not content to stop at just the Chilliwack hops, Cascade, Centennial and other west coast variations are also added to the concoction. As the company writes: “Love hops?  This is the beer for you!” The drink’s name, Five Corners, refers to the city’s downtown core, which received the name when established in the late 1800’s.

Chaos & Solace just opened a couple months back, but already have a solid lineup of beers available at their downtown Chilliwack tasting room. Unfortunately, a few of those items were already tapped out when Mrs. Sip and I visited, but that’s understandable for a new operation. We look forward to future developments.

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BC Beer Baron #237 – Brassneck Hibiscus Wit

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While recently showing off BC’s craft beer scene to a friend visiting from the U.S., we popped into the wildly popular Brassneck Brewing for a couple drinks.

Among our selections, Mrs. Sip ordered their Hibiscus Wit, which was a neat and unique beer. Made using Brassneck’s Belgian Wheat recipe, the addition of hibiscus provides a tart finish to the 5% ABV beverage. Coriander and orange peel are also among the ingredients, so the beer is spicy and tangy.

Brassneck Hibiscus Wit

First brewed in November 2013 (the Belgian Wheat, that is), Brassneck sometimes replaces the hibiscus with chamomile for a different result. The beer is only available from Brassneck’s tasting room, but the company has more fillable container options than I’ve seen anywhere else in the province.

When Mrs. Sip and I were touring Egypt in 2008 – you know, before all hell broke loose there – we fell in love with fresh hibiscus juice, which could be had at many locations. We even brought home some hibiscus flowers to make some of our own concoctions.

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