Tag Archives: Craft Beer

BC Beer Baron #130 – Red Collar Tripel

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The Sip Advisor is working hard to be all-inclusive and try to incorporate as many BC breweries into this 366-day project as possible. With that in mind, on a recent visit to Legacy Liquor Store, I was looking to highlight another first timer and Mrs. Sip’s selection of this Red Collar Brewing product satisfied that.

The Tripel (of the Belgian variety, of course) is a ‘Special Edition’ release and comes in at 9% ABV and only 12 IBUs. Therefore, it has all those characteristics Belgian Tripel lovers (Mrs. Sip included) expect from their beers, such as the scent and taste of bananas and spice.

Red Collar Tripel

I like Red Collar’s warning with this beer: “It is deceivingly smooth and should be consumed with care and respect as the alcohol content can sneak up on you.” That’s pretty good advice no matter what you’re drinking!

The rest of Red Collar’s line-up is highlighted by many Belgian and German-inspired brews, such as a Dubbel, Marzen, Doppelbock, Dunkelweizen, Patersbier, Witbier, and Hefeweizen. I hope to stop by when Mrs. Sip and I are in the Okanagan region this summer.

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BC Beer Baron #129 – Tree Knox Mountain Brown Ale

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It could have simply been the beautiful weather… or the buzz we’d already built enjoying drinks at a nearby location. Either way, when the Sip Advisor recently sat down to a flight of beers at Tap & Barrel in the Olympic Village, it seemed as if everything was going right and that included this Tree Brewing beverage.

The Knox Mountain Brown Ale was very good with a sweet, nutty taste and slight hoppy finish. It’s called a strong beer, but at 5.6% ABV, it’s not something that will knock you on your ass or anything.

Tree Knox Mountain Brown Ale

Part of Tree’s Raw Series of limited releases which are unfiltered and dry hopped, it sounds like I was lucky to get a taste of this brew, as while it can often be found in six-packs and bombers, according to Tree’s website, the product is currently sold out.

Mrs. Sip and I will be in the Kelowna area sometime this summer and I have designs on hitting as many of the breweries out that way as possible. That desire should make for some interesting travels!

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BC Beer Baron #128 – Red Truck Midnight Run Dark Lager

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When the sun vanquishes the winter darkness (even briefly), you can expect every single Vancouverite to declare that patio season has arrived. Mrs. Sip and I are among those fine folks and so we recently found ourselves at Tap & Barrel in the Olympic Village, enjoying the first glimpses of spring. There, I enjoyed a flight of beers that was highlighted by this Red Truck Brewing release.

The Midnight Run Dark Lager is a limited release of the brewery with stats of 4.9% ABV and 23 IBUs. There was a nice smoky finish, on top of this solid beer, which is available in bomber-sized bottles. I’ve become a big fan of dark lagers (sometimes called schwarzbiers), as they provide a welcome change to your typical brew.

Red Truck Midnight Run Dark Lager

Sticking with Red Truck’s theme of naming beers after vehicles and driving, this may be one of their best brandings and there’s even a story to go with it: “The stakes were high but the risk was even greater, and it went well, very well! We smuggled it out of the brewery right under our brewers’ watchful eyes and noses as they were saving this exceptional Dark Lager for their own personal stash… A Midnight Run was the only way to get it out without being apprehended. We took extremely high risks so you could enjoy our Dark Lager!”

The next time I’m able to visit Red Truck’s very cool facility in the Brewery Creek region of the city, I hope that this selection is on their menu, as I’d love to sit back and enjoy a full serving.

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BC Beer Baron #127 – Brassneck Cherubesque

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Trips to Brassneck Brewing are often met with disappointment. To be clear, that’s not the beer’s fault. It’s just so difficult at peak times to get into their uber popular tasting room. Sometimes you get lucky, though, as Mrs. Sip and I did on a recent tour through the Brewery Creek region of Vancouver.

During that visit, we tried the Cherubesque. This Belgian Strong Ale was first brewed in November 2013. At 8% ABV, it’s nice and strong and right up Mrs. Sip’s alley. For the record, I enjoyed it too.

Brassneck Cherubesque

In their description of the beer, Brassneck takes some shots at “beer nerds” everywhere, including themselves: “Beer nerds think they can get away with throwing a pair of e’s at the end of their adjectives to describe beers so why the heck can’t we. (After all, we are beer nerds!!). Bubblegum-ee, Stone Fruit-ee, Raisin-ee, Booze-ee, Chew-ee. We’d describe it as an Abbey Style Ale. We ferment with a mysterious blend of yeast strains to maximize the Belgian-ee-ness, then we hurl in some dark candy sugar to twist up the ‘je-ne-sais-quoi’ knob. Tastes good. Drink some.”

That last little bit sounds like a motto the brewery should be printing on their merchandise… so long as that doesn’t make getting into their tasting room even more challenging!

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BC Beer Baron #126 – Odds N’ Sods IPA

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A couple months back, the Sip Syndicate wound up at Main Street Brewing’s quaint location on a chilly Friday night, where the work week that was had to be drunk away and beer was the answer.

The Odds N’ Sods IPA was my first choice of the night and while we waited for some seats to open up (apparently we weren’t the only ones that needed some liquid relief), this 6.8% ABV, 55 IBU beverage welcomed me to the weekend with open arms and I embraced it back.

Just released in January, there’s a ton going on with the Odds N’ Sods IPA, including six different malts and another six hop variations, which sees the beer hopped a total of six times during the brewing process. Flavours and aromas in the brew include pine, resin, lychee, spice, passionfruit, peach, grapefruit, melon, lime, and gooseberry.

Main Street Odd N' Sods IPA

A search on UrbanDictionary.com revealed the following about the beer’s name:

  1. 1. A variation on the ubiquitous expression “bits and pieces” in the U.K. A miscellany of objects, tasks, or issues.
  2. A reference to a group of unnamed individuals who are related in some general way.

Well, I’m not sure if that’s a reference to the various ingredients that comprise this beer or to the random assortment of folks who may drink it, but what I am sure about is the IPA was fantastic and it would soon be joined by other options, as the night progressed.

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BC Beer Baron #125 – 33 Acres of Sunshine

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Mrs. Sip and I first visited 33 Acres Brewing on their first anniversary and ever since have enjoyed returning to the brewery, being very impressed with our most recent stopover while touring the Brewery Creek region of Vancouver.

The 33 Acres of Sunshine always seems to be among our favourites when we get tasters or bottles. This 5% ABV French Blanche has flavours of fruit (particularly orange), spices and even black licorice, making for an easy drinking experience.

33 Acres of Sunshine

The brewery describes the beer as: “Born of the sun, this unfiltered white ale has long been praised by the Belgians and revered by the French. Our dreamy Blanche beer is silky smooth and subspiced with orange peel, coriander and anise seed to pair perfectly with the golden days of summer.”

One of my favourite 33 Acres memories stems from planning a bike brewery crawl for a friend’s birthday last year. There was no way we were going to be able to get our large group into their popular tasting room, so we bought a few six-packs (33 Acres of Sunshine among them) and took them to a nearby park to enjoy some drinking in the great outdoors.

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BC Beer Baron #124 – R&B Dark Star Oatmeal Stout

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On two separate visits to R&B Brewing’s Brewery Creek location, I’ve enjoyed samples of this beer and feel the need to share it with all you little sippers.

The Dark Star Oatmeal Stout has flavours or rich chocolate and roasted coffee. I don’t often find stouts with a reasonable amount of carbonation, so this was a nice surprise from the brew. The 4.6% ABV, 25 IBUs beverage is available in bomber bottles.

R&B Dark Star Oatmeal Stout

Brewed in memory of R&B employee Jamie Kelly, this fall/winter seasonal release won a gold medal at the 2010 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Stout category. That sounds like a great homage to the brewery’s fallen friend.

R&B was set to open their tasting room on or near St. Patrick’s Day, but BC Liquor Board snags held that up. The site finally launched in April and one thing is for sure: the wait for R&B beers is more rewarding than R&B music!

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BC Beer Baron #123 – Steel Toad Saison Sauvignon

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From my earliest visits to the Steel Toad Brew Pub (Mrs. Sip and I were there on their opening weekend), this beer has been part of the company’s flagship lineup.

The Saison Sauvignon is a farmhouse-styled saison that is brewed with New Zealand hops, which result in the taste of white wine (sauvignon blanc) grapes. The beer is boozier than most saisons, coming in at 6.5% ABV. I’m not sure if that’s due to the wine attributes or something else in the beverage’s construction.

Steel Toad Brew Pub

Mrs. Sip and I both remember this beer from our earlier visits to the brew pub and with a change to its recipe (according to our server), it is now much more enjoyable. Mrs. Sip even picked it as her favourite of our most recent jaunt that way.

Located in the very recognizable red building on East 2nd Ave, Steel Toad comprises a network of breweries that are part of The Hoppy Hop (similar to Bellingham’s Tap Trail), allowing enthusiasts to tour the Brewery Creek region and win prizes after collecting answers to trivia questions at each stop.

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BC Beer Baron #122 – Big Rock Rauchbier

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When Big Rock Brewing opened their Vancouver-based Urban Eatery in 2015, Mrs. Sip and I were quick to check out the new addition to BC’s craft beer landscape. On that inaugural visit, the Sip Advisor fell in love with this release and it has since become a highlight of my stopovers, if available.

Rauchbier is German for ‘Smoked Beer’ and anyone that has followed this site or this project knows my affinity for smoky cocktails and brews. This product uses both Beechwood Smoked Malt and Peated Malt to achieve its unique flavour and finish.

Big Rock Rauchbier

The 5.8% ABV, 25 IBUs beverage welcomes you in with the scent of campfire and bacon, which have to be two of the most manly aromas out there. According to the Urban Eatery website, this beer is only available in BC, so we should all take advantage of the west coast treat.

While I haven’t made it to the Urban Eatery since earlier this year, it is a place I try to take friends visiting from out of town. Their unique food dishes and beer lineup provide a bit of everything for everyone and live music is often in the cards, as well.

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