BC Beer Baron #107 – Moon Under Water Tranquility IPA

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.

Blending European tradition and west coast creativity, the Moon Under Water Brew Pub is a preferred stopping point for Mrs. Sip and I whenever we are over on the island.

Their Tranquility IPA takes its roots from California IPAs brewed during craft beer’s infancy in the early 1990’s, rather than from its original ancestry line from England. Sadly, the 6.5% ABV and 70 IBUs beverage is now apparently retired, so I’m glad I was able to enjoy a final serving recently.

Moon Under Water Tranquility IPA

With a hippie-themed label re-design, the brewery advocates “Peace, love, and hoppiness” with this offering and that’s a message the Sip Advisor is happy to get behind.

For those wondering, the brewery’s name is a reference to a George Orwell (writer of the dystopian classic 1984) essay, in which the author describes his perfect bar, fictitiously named Moon Under Water. Among Orwell’s 10 must-haves for a pub: quiet enough to talk, with no radio or piano; sells tobacco, cigarettes, aspirins and stamps; uses appropriate of glassware; and features a garden so the whole family can enjoy the visit. Not surprisingly, the name has been adopted by the Wetherspoon chain for 15 of its locations throughout the United Kingdom.

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BC Beer Baron #74 – Dead Frog Nutty Uncle Peanut Butter Stout

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. Since March features St. Patrick’s Day and many of us largely associate the celebration with Guinness beer, the Sip Advisor thought it would be a prime month to highlight some of B.C.’s best stout beers.

On our recent beer adventures in the Fraser Valley, we popped into Aldergrove’s Dead Frog Brewing for a flight of tasters.

Among the beers we sampled was the Nutty Uncle Peanut Butter Stout, which I had also gifted to Mrs. Sip last year as part of her annual advent calendar. We liked it then and we still do. The stout has a nice nutty finish to go with flavours of chocolate and coffee that we’re accustomed to experiencing from this style. I could have enjoyed even more of a peanut butter flavour, as I am a PB junkie!

Dead Frog Nutty Uncle Peanut Butter Stout

Originally released in late 2014, the Nutty Uncle won a gold medal at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards in the Experimental Beer category. The brew is available in bomber format at liquor stores around the province.

I can’t help but notice a troubling trend amongst BC breweries to take shots at all the uncles out there in the world. On top of this beer, you also have the Creepy Uncle Dunkel from Moon Under Water (a beer which will certainly be covered as part of this project at a later date). While Dead Frog claims the beer is an homage to ‘nutty uncles’ everywhere, I have my suspicions!

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Sip Trips #19: On the Hunt

As Mrs. Sip and I continue to recover from the sink flood that forced us from our apartment last week, our schedule has remained busy with various commitments. While we didn’t visit any new locations, products were discovered, items were purchased, and libations were enjoyed. So, let’s get on with it, shall we?

liquor store cart

First, came a commercial for the new Mott’s Clamato Lime mixer, which has had me and other members of Caesar Nation salivating. It makes a good drink, with a citrus punch, but is lacking the spices of most of the Clamato line. My suggestion is to add what you desire into each drink, so you can tinker and find the recipe.

On Saturday, Ma and Pa Sip were hosting a party to welcome in the pool and swimming season. This necessitated a liquor store shopping trip, of course. There, we tasted Bacardi’s new Fuego Red Spice Rum – the first of its kind… or so we were told. I liked the spirit and was in need of some rum, with my collection currently packed away, so I grabbed a bottle. It goes real well with cola (no surprise there) and can also be enjoyed straight with a couple dashes of Tabasco sauce.

Also, while perusing the store’s beer section, one of the employees told me about the shipment of Central City Brewing’s Maple Bacon Breakfast Ale that had recently arrived. I loved this beer last summer, after sampling it at the company’s tasting room and was hoping it would return. The bottles weren’t even on the shelf yet and one case had already been emptied by the time I got my grubby little paws on them. The employee expected the shipment to be gone fast, so be vigilant my little sippers. It’s certainly worth picking up.

bacon-loving-dog

Other items we grabbed, included Fernie Brewing Company’s Kickstand Honey Kolsch, Moon Under Water’s This Is Hefeweizen (another favourite of mine and Mrs. Sip’s from summer gone by), and a host of German brews, as the event we were going to was themed as such.

One recent news item that deserves some discussion is the story of a man who recently sued MillerCoors for labelling their Blue Moon products as “craft beer.” I have to admit, that I do enjoy Blue Moon from time to time and have never really paid attention to how it’s labelled. That said, I know enough that it isn’t a craft product, like many other options across the U.S. But others aren’t so cognizant. I applaud this man for making an attempt to get full disclosure and honest labelling on beer, so that the educated and boorish (what Word gave as the antonym to “educated”) alike known what they’re pouring down their gullet.

In wrapping up this shorter-than-usual Sip Trip, I hope all the mothers out there had a great weekend and that all you little sippers spoiled them. I gifted Ma Sip a bottle of Aperol and a couple mini bottles of bubbly, so she can enjoy all the Aperol Spritzes she wants. Thanks for everything, Ma!