Sip Trips #186: Summer Sizzle

It’s been a while since I did an update on our adventures and we now have Baby Sip up to 13 brewery visits, so there’s lots to talk about. Without further adieu, let’s get right to it:

Our recent activity began in late June, with a visit to Langley’s Five Roads Brewing. There, Mrs. Sip and I split a flight of beers, consisting of their Double Whammy Passionfruit Mango Sour, Harry Porter, Worlds Collide Sour IPA and Do You Even Sk8 Bro? Sour Saison. I also tried a sip of the Jordy Mac’s Work Hard Play Hard ESB off of Cousin Sip’s flight. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy some nice weather after a fairly dreary month.

Following the beers, we were off for dinner at Annora, to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I ordered the three-course set menu, choosing prawns with chorizo and risotto as my appetizer; duck with mashed potatoes and vegetables as my main and a chocolate brownie for dessert. The meal was fantastic, all paired with a serving of Red Truck Round Trip Amber Ale and we look forward to going back and trying some other options soon. Their happy hour offerings look particularly good.

happy-hour

For a nightcap, we popped into Farm Country Brewing, sharing another flight. This set was made up of their Whippersnapper Kellerbier, Hootenanny DDH Pale Ale, Slam Dunkel and Countryside Apricot Peach Kettle Sour. I liked the space at this brewery and enjoyed their flight coming out in a bucket. We also took home a tall can four-pack of their Strawberry Rhubarb Kettle Sour, which I really enjoyed.

For Canada Day, en route to Ma and Pa Sip’s place, we stopped at Central City Brewing for a drink. While Mrs. Sip ordered The Mangolorian Ale, I had a glass of the Hazy Dreamer Hazy Pale Ale. For Canada Day celebrations, I went through a pack from Red Truck Brewing, highlighted by the Seas the Day Pineapple Hefeweizen.

A couple weeks back, we visited ABC Brewing and lucked out with both kids sleeping through our drinks. Mrs. Sip and I shared servings of their Priorities DDH Hazy Double IPA and Just a Phase Saison. Afterwards, we put together a tall can four-pack to go, including the two we just drank and also The Hardest Part West Coast Pale Ale and Dazed and Cocofuzed Dark Pilsner. This company keeps pumping out neat beers, just as quickly as I can try them all.

Empty Beer

Last Friday, I took a day off work to take Baby Sip to his four-month doctor’s appointment and since we’d be in Vancouver for that, Mrs. Sip and I figured we might as well hit a few breweries. We started at the R&B Ale & Pizza House, where I had an amazing Pulled Pork Pizza, paired with a very good Out Fer A Ripa Rye IPA. Mrs. Sip had a Caprese Salad and flight (Stay In Your Vancouver Special IPA, Raven Cream Ale, Hipster Haze IPA and Sour Patch Dudes) for her meal. We also had a taster of their Camouflage Is Not A Colour and a charity beer they had just tapped for serving. Afterwards, we ventured down the street for a quick sleeve at Electric Bicycle Brewing, selecting the It’s No Game Hazy IPA.

Yesterday, a drive to Mrs. Sip’s office turned into beers at Steel & Oak Brewing, enjoying their newly-constructed patio, set up to continue serving up suds during this pandemic. I really enjoyed my Surefire Raspberry Tangerine Pale Ale (taking a tall can four-pack home as well), while Mrs. Sip was really into her Smoked Honey Dopplebock. We also grabbed a bottle of the recently-released Otago Saison to go.

Looks like we’re well stocked to beat this heat we’ve been experience lately. If August shapes up anything like July ended up being, I greatly look forward to the next set of adventures!

Sip Trips #181: Tidings of Joy

The last few weeks of December have been filled with a bunch of events, usually geared around Christmas and family time together. Here’s what we’ve been up to during the marathon holiday season:

Earlier this month, Mrs. Sip and I attended the Vancouver Canucks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs contest, which may be the closest I ever come to a playoff atmosphere live. I had also circled this game on the calendar, as the perfect opportunity to use my member gift card, of which I used nearly all of the $50 total on two tasty 24oz Postmark Juicy Pale Ales and a BLT from the Bacon food stand, which really hit the spot. Sadly, this is the first time we’ve attended this rivalry meeting where the Canucks lost, but the night was still fun.

TML

A couple nights later, we were out at Glow: Abbotsford, which had the same food menu as the Vancouver location, but a better selection of beers. I went with a Parallel 49 Filthy Dirty IPA to pair with my Buffalo Chicken Fries and half Philly Cheesesteak (split with Ma Sip). The fries were a little too spicy for my liking, but the meal overall was good. We finished off with a bucket of Mini Donuts to compliment everything. My Fried Chicken Burger, enjoyed when we revisited Glow: Vancouver later in the month was tremendous.

That weekend, while in the area to do the Vancouver Aquarium and Stanley Park Christmas Train, Mrs. Sip and I visited Stanley Park Brewing. My Fried Chicken and Waffles was perhaps the best serving I’ve ever had of this favoured dish. Meanwhile, my Big Jan IPA paired very well with the meal. Following the train, we enjoyed our annual family dinner at White Spot, where I enjoyed a few glasses of Granville Island Lions Winter Ale from a pitcher ordered for the table.

Christmas Day brought a number of liquor-themed gifts, including Cocktail Balls, Orgeat Syrup, a bomber of Steamworks Salted Chocolate Porter and mini bottle of Ole Smokey Moonshine Butter Pecan from Mrs. Sip. From the Sip-in-Laws, I also received a $50 gift card to Liquor Depot, which I can’t wait to use and look forward to a different selection than that of BC Liquor Stores, which I’ve become accustomed to.

TP.jpg

For our family’s Christmas dinner, I concocted a handful of cocktails to serve. These included the Jingle Juice (Gin, Club Soda, Cranberry-Lemonade Juice, Lemon Juice); Mele Kalikimaka (Captain Morgan Gingerbread Spiced Rum, Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice); Yule Mule (Candy Cane Vodka, Ginger Beer, Lime Juice); Snowflake (Tarantula Azul Tequila, Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry, Coconut Flakes); and Winter Comfort Shooter (Jack Daniel’s Winter Jack and Southern Comfort Gingerbread). Once again, the cocktails went over really well with the crew.

On Boxing Day, we met up with friends for a beer at the newly-opened Five Roads Brewing. I ordered the Christmas Staycation Red IPA (collab with Farm Country and Camp), to go along with a Margherita Pizza shared with Mrs. Sip. This was Baby Sip’s 80th brewery visited, a stat which I’m very proud of!

What a way to end the year and the decade, as well. Our New Year’s Eve will be spent with a quiet night in and we greatly look forward to what 2020 has to offer including a calendar that is quickly filling up and a baby boy on the way!