Tag Archives: Fat Tug IPA

BC Beer Baron #101 – Driftwood Fat Tug IPA

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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. It may have taken some time, but IPA’s now rank among my favourite styles of beer. Let’s take a look at some of the best BC has to offer, among this acquired taste.

This Driftwood Brewing beverage has to be one of the most popular IPA’s in the province and is a beer that has introduced many drinkers to the variety, holding them there as fans for life.

The Fat Tug IPA is a northwest style IPA, full of tropical flavours to go along with its 7% ABV and 80-plus IBUs. It’s so hoppy, they can’t get a definitive reading on the beer… or so the Sip Advisor assumes!

Driftwood Fat Tug IPA

Not surprisingly, the beer won a gold medal at the 2013 BC Beer Awards for top India Pale Ale. This has largely led to the IPA’s popularity with the public and it can be easily located throughout the province.

Suggested pairings include spicy Asian and Mexican cuisine; shellfish or sashimi; or strong cheeses, such as Roquefort, Romano, cheddar, or washed-rind varieties. Driftwood even suggests drinking Fat Tug as an aperitif to help fuel your appetite and aid in digestion.

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

BC Beer Baron #12 – Driftwood Crooked Coast Altbier

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I have previously enjoyed Driftwood Brewing beers, such as their White Bark Witbier and Fat Tug IPA, so giving this beverage a shot wasn’t a difficult choice. For those unfamiliar, the alt style of beer comes from Dusseldorf, Germany and means “old beer”.

The Crooked Coast Altbier was good. While the brewery suggests pairings, including vegetables (celery, fennel and parsnips) and bratwurst and other pork products, I enjoyed it with a spaghetti dinner (complete with garlic bread and Caesar salad) prepared by Ma Sip, as we listened to some David Bowie tunes, in honour of his life.

Driftwood Crooked Coast Altbier

This Driftwood beer seems to have a story or legend attached to it: “On a misshapen island away from the eyes of the world, the inhabitants have twisted together German noble hops and Munich malt, an unholy Amber Ale brewed to trick the tongue. Do not speak its name. A crooked gesture will suffice.”

The saga depicted above had me intrigued and got me thinking that perhaps this was the perfect beer to toast Mr. Bowie, a master of creativity, innovation and character construction. Sometimes things just line up like this.

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

The beer had a bitter finish that I couldn’t get over, so the drink was better left in the hands of the Sip Advisor. I did love the artwork on the bottle, though, and wish credit to the artist had been available.

The lovely and adventurous Mrs. Sip and I have tossed around the idea of heading to Victoria on the upcoming Family Day long weekend to visit friends and make new ones at the many breweries located on Vancouver Island. Driftwood’s tasting room would definitely be on our route, if the mini vacation goes ahead.

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