Sip Trips #97: Baby on Board

Well, the cat’s finally out of the bag (that is such a weird saying… I mean, who puts a cat in a bag anyway): Mrs. Sip is pregnant! That has meant some great changes at the Sip Advisor offices, which I will delve into in future articles. Today’s post is about how we recently celebrated our big news, with the Great Cocktail Reveal party!

After taking a couple months to let our friends and family in on the secret, we were ready to reveal the gender of our little one in grand fashion. There was only one fitting way the Sip Advisor should learn of this detail and that was through either a pink or blue cocktail being poured by Mrs. Sip, who learned of the sex a couple weeks earlier.

Gender Reveal T-Shirt

Along with the cocktail being prepared for me, we also put together two pink and two blue recipes for our guests and let them make their wager through their beverage of choice. Each serving was garnished with either a pink or blue tuft of cotton candy, completing the presentation. Here are the tasty, yet simple cocktails I created for the event:

Blue Bubbles

  • Vodka
  • Bubble Gum Soda
  • Club Soda

Brilliant Blue

  • Tequila
  • Berry Blue Blast Juice
  • Lemon-Lime Soda

Pretty in Pink

  • Vodka
  • Pink Grapefruit Juice
  • Club Soda

Pink Danger

  • Tequila
  • Watermelon Juice
  • Lemon-Lime Soda

So, now that I’ve got your attention, I bet you’re wondering what the results were. Well, come late September (due date is estimated to be September 27th), Mrs. Sip and I will be the proud parents of a baby girl! While I’m still adjusting to writing lines like that, we are ecstatic with this development in our lives and can’t wait to meet the new addition to our family!

Sip Trips #96: Much to Celebrate

The week that was started with Ma and Pa Sip joining me for dinner at Dunn’s Restaurant in Vancouver. This deli-style restaurant has been a favourite of the family for some time and this visit was no different. I paired my Classic Club with a pint of R&B Brewing’s Raven’s Cream Ale, which made for a solid combination. Ma Sip went with the tasty Fried Chicken Poutine, while Pa Sip enjoyed a Grilled Cheese with Onion Rings. All told, the meal was very good and we will return soon.

On Saturday, we had plans to celebrate Father-in-Law Sip’s birthday, but also met with a friend at the One20 Public House in Delta, for a drink. There, I ordered pints of Red Truck Blackberry Bourbon Ale and Four Winds Apparition West Coast White Ale. I was impressed with the pub’s extensive craft beer selection and look forward to future visits.

One20 Public House

Following that stop, we were off to the nearby Greek Village Restaurant, where souvlaki, saganaki and spanakopita were gorged on by our group. We have never had a bad experience at this eatery and it has become a regular destination for the Sip Advisor’s in-laws, as they renovate their home. The feast made Mrs. Sip and I really look forward to our cruise ports in Greece this May.

On Monday, Mrs. Sip and I hit the VIP Theatre at Marine Gateway, as we had passes that needed to be used. As we watched Logan (an awesome movie, by the way), I scarfed down a Chipotle Chicken Club Wrap and tried their Cherry Collins cocktail. While I’ll always argue that I make better Tom Collins drinks than most bars out there, this was a decent version and I liked the cherry infusion. The food was also very good. I’ve tried something different from the menu every time I’ve been to the VIP Theatre and I’ve never been disappointed yet.

For Tuesday night, Pa Sip was given a pair of Vancouver Canucks tickets and I was the lucky recipient of the extra pass. Prior to the game, we dined at Back Forty, located right across from BC Place’s Terry Fox Plaza. Accompanied by a couple beverages, I tried the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Po’Boy, which was very flavourful and spicy, thanks to the Sriracha and mustard. The service from staff was very quick and attentive, especially with drink orders.

Back Forty

To wrap up the week, Mrs. Sip and I celebrated our 15th dating anniversary. I still can’t believe we’ve been together so long and how far we’ve come from the 18-year-olds we were when our journey first started. For the occasion, we picked up a Groupon for Blue Martini Jazz Café, which provided us each with a three-course meal and live entertainment from the Ray Ayotte Impromptu band.

Our meals consisted of meatballs, jambalaya and cheesecake for me, while Mrs. Sip went with a prosciutto and bocconcini bruschetta, salmon topped with shrimp and crab, and crème brulee. For drinks, I tried their Moscow Mule happy hour special and downed a pint of 33 Acres of Ocean with dinner.

I’m was very happy with where we ended up, but we were both amazed at how little there was to do around Vancouver on this Thursday night. While the rest of the week was littered with various events, there didn’t seem to be much going on this particular evening. That did push us to try this new experience, though, so it was all for the best!

Sip Trips #95: Long-Haul Trucking

Last weekend, the Sip Advisor did more driving over Friday, Saturday and Sunday than I have comparatively done for the rest of 2017. This included trips across the border to Bellingham, out east to Mission and Maple Ridge, and stops in between. Of course, beverages were also part of the weekend considerations.

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we ended up in a Mexican restaurant of all places. Travelling to Bellingham, Washington to enjoy comedian Lewis Black perform at the Mount Baker Theatre, we decided to dine at the nearby Taco Lobo eatery. There, I paired a massive Al Pastor Burrito with a refreshing Boundary Bay Bellingham Blonde (no green beer for the Sip Advisor this year), while Mrs. Sip tried a trio of tacos and a serving of Horchata. I guess when Cinco de Mayo rolls around, we’ll have to visit an Irish pub, in exchange.

4-20 for Alcoholics

Dinner was very tasty and the show that followed was a lot of fun. The Mount Baker Theatre is a beautiful venue, reminding me of Vancouver Orpheum Theatre. We had planned to do some grocery shopping or pop into a craft brewery before heading home, but the daylight savings time hour change really affected us this year and we were pretty exhausted after the long work week, so unfortunately had to ditch those plans.

Later in the weekend, we were in Maple Ridge to visit a friend. She suggested having lunch at the Billy Miner Pub, which is located in a prime position along the water. Here, I ordered their Teriyaki Fries (pulled pork, smothered in teriyaki sauce and covered in cheese, crispy onions and diced green pepper), which were absolutely delicious. For my beverage, I had a tough choice to make, selecting from the pub’s extensive beer menu, but settled on a pint of the delightful Pfriem Family Citrus IPA.

Somewhere in all that indulgence, we also managed to have pizza dinners, breakfasts and coffee stops with various family members. How I will ever get into swimsuit shape for upcoming vacations to Las Vegas and our cruise from Rome to Dubai, I don’t know… but I’m willing to give it my best shot!

Sip Trips #94: Hard-Hitting Action

This past weekend, Mrs. Sip and I joined some friends at the World Rugby Sevens Series tour at BC Place, which is basically one non-stop party with some intense rugby action as a side attraction. We were lucky to get tickets, having to wait for when organizers released a second batch, but given we missed last year’s inaugural run of the event, we were just happy to be in attendance.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, teams have seven members on each side and play two seven-minute halves, with a very brief one-minute break in between. Once one contest is done, the next immediately begins and the day is full of boozing, costumes and other shenanigans.

The Thirsty Pigeon at BC Place

I was impressed with BC Place stepping up their craft beer game, but stadium pricing for drinks is completely out of whack. When the best deal is $16-plus for a 24-ounce pour, something needs to be changed. Although, judging by the inebriation of my fellow spectators, the pricing scheme was tolerable, if not ignorable.

I also have to commend the staff at BC Place, who had to turn this event around and clean up the stadium between day one and two of the event. You should have seen the accumulation of food and drink waste in each aisle, which builds a lot more given the event’s near 12-hour runtime, compared to your standard sporting occasion, which might last for a third of that time.

As for security, which one might expect would have been busy throughout the day, I didn’t see a single incident of fans having to be escorted out of the stadium or any issues between spectators. All in all, I think Vancouver put on a pretty good show for the weekend. Hopefully, that’s enough to earn a return engagement in 2018!

Sip Trips #93: Brews Brothers Volume 3

As the Sip Advisor has mentioned before, I’m not the biggest Twitter follower, but I seem to check my feed at just the right times… at the expense of Mrs. Sip’s hard-earned savings! That occurred again last weekend, as I learned of this new release and having enjoyed the last incarnation, I immediately made a trip to get my hands on the goods.

For the past two years, Parallel 49 Brewing has collaborated with 12 breweries throughout British Columbia to create their Brews Brothers cases. This year, they’re going international and working with some of the United States’ best beer companies for a four-bomber (650ml bottles) set. As in previous versions, the beers included feature a song-inspired name, with this year’s theme being old school West Coast hip hop. Each beverage is a limited edition entry, so let’s see what makes up the contents of the package:

Gettin’ It Farmhouse of the North (with 49th State Brewing from Anchorage, Alaska)

This farmhouse ale/saison is nicely spiced. Gettin’ It is a song by rapper Too $hort, which I had never heard before, showing my affinity for this musical genre.

Baby Got Back Hoppy Hefe (with Scuttlebutt Brewing from Everett Washington)

Using the classic Sir Mix-A-Lot track as their muse, this hopped-up hef has a little something on the back end and why not, given the tune was inspired by Jennifer Lopez’s booty.

Parallel 49 Brews Brothers Volume 3.JPG

Blazing Arrow Tawny IPA (with Gigantic Brewing from Portland, Oregon)

And we’re back to unfamiliar songs and artists with Blazing Arrow by Blackalicious. As for the brew, this was Cousin Sip’s pick of the litter from the case.

What’s Golden East Meets West IPA (with Green Flash Brewing from San Diego, California)

My favourite beer of the bunch and we finish with yet another ditty (What’s Golden) and group (Jurassic 5) I can’t say I know. I suppose I have to do some serious studying of the era.

Hitting store shelves late last month, the product can be found at BC Liquor Stores and private retailers, throughout the province. Coming in at about $30 after taxes and deposit, this release may seem a little pricy, but it’s comparatively equivalent to picking up four random bomber-sized bottles.

“As far apart as the breweries are from each other, it was neat to see how much we had in common,” said Graham With, Parallel 49’s head brewer. “The process of coming up with recipes with each brewery from the United States was surprisingly smooth. Collaborating with these breweries shed light on our similarities and allowed us to get ideas from other perspectives.”

The whole experience has the Sip Advisor already looking forward to Brews Brothers Volume 4. That arrival can’t come soon enough!

Sip Trips #92: On the Prowl

With Mrs. Sip out and having a girl’s sleepover, I took full advantage of the situation and put together a guy’s night out of my own:

The evening started with dinner at Chronic Tacos. I love this place, but don’t often get to eat there, as the location that was walking distance to me shutdown a couple years back. I paired my Al Pastor Burrito with a serving of Parallel 49 Jerkface 9000 IPA and it was a good base to start the evening’s festivities.

chronic-tacos-burritos

Moving on from our meal, we made our way to 33 Acres Brewing, where their 33 Acres of Resin Double Red Ale caught my attention, as I always lean towards trying whatever new release the brewery has available. 33 Acres is the only place I know of that offers 24 oz servings, which is quite the amount of beer to down when you’re drinking a 7% ABV, 70 IBUs concoction.

After encountering long lines to get into Faculty Brewing and the R&B Ale & Pizza House (not to mention the usual horde of folks trying to get into Brassneck Brewing), our next stop was Main Street Brewing, which has always been a reliable watering hole for the Sip Advisor. Here, we quickly got seats and I started the visit with their Harlot Red Rye Tart Saison, which was a little more sour than I prefer, but it did grow on me with each sip.

Electing to have one more brew before the place closed for the night, I went with an item that had caught my eye as we chatted. As a fan of the brewery’s Naked Fox IPA, I just had to try the Hyper Fox Double IPA, which was also available in cask form and was suggested by the server that I go that route.

main-street-brewing-logo

As we lost one of our group to the rigors of a night out following a work day, the remnants of our party stopped into Craft Beer Market for a nightcap. As soon as I saw the Boneyard RPM IPA on their menu, I promptly ordered a pint. Boneyard has quickly become one of my favourite breweries and I’m saddened it’s located in Oregon and not in my own backyard. Their Bone-A-Fide West Coast Pale Ale may be my favourite beer of 2017, thus far.

Deciding that the previously mentioned nightcap was going to turn into yet another drink, the bartender suggested pints of Vancouver Island’s Hermannator Ice Bock. My drinking partner wasn’t a fan of the beer, which meant I ended up with a pair of the 9.5% ABV beverages… because that’s what friends do for each other!

Our little bar crawl ended with a hazy cab ride home and the devouring of a Double Decker chocolate bar. The next day, I jokingly accused Mrs. Sip of finally eating the treat without sharing, only for her to point out that I was in fact the guilty party. Ah, good times!

Sip Trips #91: City of Sin (Part 2)

With so much crammed into our short getaway to Las Vegas, I split the happenings into two articles. Part one included a fair bit of action. Could we top our efforts on days three and four?

We began the second half of our Sin City experience by visiting the Yard House for their afternoon happy hour deals. We gorged ourselves on orders of their Fried Chicken Strips, California Roll, and Queso Dip, while I put back pints of Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA and Ballast Point Watermelon Dorado Double IPA.

Later, en route to the other end of the strip, we popped into the new Shake Shack, where I got a massive “Roadie” serving (32 oz. mug) of Big Dog Dirty Dog IPA. As we chatted with a server and told him we had never tried one of their burgers, he disappeared and returned with coupons to try a couple of their offerings, on the house.

shake-shack

We capped the evening with another favourite, enjoying the dueling pianos from outside the Bar at Times Square inside New York New York. Inside, the venue can usually get pretty packed, so we opt for seats outside, where we can still enjoy the tunes, high energy atmosphere, and best of all, drink our own beverages.

The next day, we journeyed to the Bellagio’s Hyde Lounge, where delicious, yet expensive cocktails can be enjoyed while watching the amazing fountain shows. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t rank this visit very high, as my Burning Mango cocktail completely lacked the advertised jalapeno flavour and the fountains weren’t running as regularly (every 15 minutes) as they should have been at that time of day. The one show we did get is Mrs. Sip’s least favourite, so the timing just wasn’t right.

Not to be deterred, and to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Mrs. Sip and I bought a ticket package that included a buffet dinner at The Wynn, as well as tickets to their Cirque du Soleil-inspired Le Reve show. The meal and entertainment were top notch, with copious crab legs and other dinner and dessert items enjoyed, followed by a spectacular performance of the water-based program.

le-reve

The evening was topped with a visit to another of the strip’s popular dueling pianos hotspots at Harrah’s The Piano Bar. By this point, we were kind of running on fumes, so decided to call the night somewhat short and finish the drinks we had remaining at our resort, enjoying the amazing view we had of the area.

And just to show that we’re well-rounded (not physically… yet) people and are capable of doing more than shuffle through life with a permanent buzz, Mrs. Sip and I also managed to visit both the Neon Museum and Mob Museum attractions. Using a combo ticket, with nice discount, we would highly recommend both to anyone visiting the city.

The Neon Museum’s boneyard is home to 200 signs, each playing their own role in Las Vegas history. The guided one-hour tour takes you through many of these tales, such as that of the Moulin Rouge placard, which belonged to the first non-segregated casino on the strip.

neon-museum

As for the Mob Museum, we visited on an interesting day, as Valentine’s Day not only marked the exhibition’s 5th anniversary (and so it was open to locals for free), but it’s also the anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which is a featured attraction of the gallery. Our self-guided tour lasted three hours and we could have stayed even longer.

That wraps up a busy four days spent in Sin City. Did we enjoy ourselves? Well, we’re planning on returning over the Easter long weekend for even more debauchery!

Sip Trips #90: City of Sin (Part 1)

While Mrs. Sip has made countless girls trips to Las Vegas in recent years, this was a rare occasion (so rare in fact, that this is my first chance to do a Sip Trips article about Las Vegas, despite the posts being a site feature since 2015) where I was allowed to partake in the fun… and there was a lot of it to go around. Here’s what we got up to over our stay in Sin City:

Upon arriving and checking in at The Wynn, we hit the street in search of hookers and cocaine… er, beer and potato chips… yeah, that sounds more like us! Our first stop was at the nearby Walgreens (which would become a base of sorts over our vacation) to grab a couple road beverages.

Moving on, the PBR Rock Bar and Grill has long been a favourite eatery for Mrs. Sip and I, as we adore their Doritos Crusted Mac N Cheese and Bucking Bull Fries. While chowing on those menu items, I ordered the 8 Seconds cocktail, comprised of Bulleit Bourbon, ginger beer, bitters, orange juice, and basil.

doritos-crusted-mac-n-cheese

Following lunch, we made our way to Sin City Brewing, which is part of the Planet Hollywood resort’s Miracle Mile Shops. Here, I ordered a large serving of their seasonal Double IPA, which was enough to get me feeling pretty buzzed.

With a couple of friends also staying in the city, we met up at the Public House in the Venetian. My brew of choice at this stop was the Victory Hop Devil Nitro, which was paired with the bar’s Duck Confit Poutine.

Next up, we were off to XS Nightclub, where we had a spot on the guest list. This was my opportunity to experience some of the nightlife Mrs. Sip gets to revel in while away with the ladies, although we were only allowed to go so far before us guys were asked to cough up cash for further entry. Still, we managed to score a few free drink tickets, so that was a bonus. We largely used them on vodka sodas and procured one of the empty cabana areas to take in the scene.

XS Nightclub.png

The next morning, we were off to Downtown Las Vegas for a bar and craft beer crawl. Our first stop was Hop Nuts Brewing, where I started slowly with pints of their Belgian Wit and Snickerdoodle Brown. As we drank, we grabbed a two-for-one drinks Groupon for the nearby Velveteen Rabbit, a bar with very cool cocktails. I used my selections on the Love Potion No. 9 (lime peel-infused mezcal, house fig and pepper liqueur, grapefruit and mole bitters) and the Velvet Waltz (chai-infused dark rum, sherry, averna, vanilla and burnt sugar).

From there, we popped into Tenaya Creek Brewing, where they had a unique “spin the wheel, drink the beer” option. My spin resulted in a pint of their Pilsner GABF Gold, which I followed with an Imperial Stout. We then ventured to the Fremont Street Experience, beginning with Banger Brewing. While scarfing down some Korean Pork Fries, I tried pints of their Perfect 10 Pale Ale and Jalapeno Heffe with Pineapple.

Fremont Experience.jpg

Chicago Brewing at the 4 Queens was up next on the crawl, where they had a 8 beers for $8 flight deal. Our last stop of the tour was Triple 7 Brewery, inside the Main Street Station hotel and casino. Their late night happy hour included $2 beers and food deals. Although, by this point, I didn’t need any more to quench my thirst, I ordered their Brewmaster’s IPA and Bad Guys Wear Black Imperial Stout.

We’ll temporarily wrap things up there at the halfway point of our vacation. Come back tomorrow for the rest of our journey, including a few rare non-beverage-related experiences!

Sip Trips #89: Birthday Bonanza

Mrs. Sip’s birthday weekend was full of events, including an Irish pub dinner, beer tasting, whiskey tasting and all-you-can-eat sushi lunch. By the end of it all, I was totally ready for a day-long water tasting festival!

On Thursday, Mrs. Sip turned 33. We had the opening game of our Urban Rec season to attend, so we gathered with our team members at the Dublin Crossing Irish Pub for dinner and drinks. There, I enjoyed their Spicy Chicken Burger (available on the eatery’s daily specials menu), along with pints of Bomber Pale Ale, Granville Island Lions Winter Ale, and Hearthstone Hazelnut Porter. The meal was a lot of fun and much better than playing the ridiculous sport of handball… or as I like to call it ‘can’t do anything ball’.

irish-pub-kegs

The next night, I surprised Mrs. Sip with tickets to the Tapped Vancouver event at the Yaletown Roundhouse. The Groupon deal put the price of two tickets at $40 – an improvement on the original cost of $25 per person – making the festival much more palatable. While we definitely enjoyed ourselves, the 15 advertised vendors was far from that, as by my count, there was six breweries, one cidery and one wine vendor, carrying three different wineries products. Even the most generous mathematician could only credit the event with a maximum of 10 vendors attending.

Of those who were there, I was most impressed with Howe Sound and Fuggles & Warlock, who each brought with them a varied collection of beverages. Driftwood also arrived with multiple options, but very quickly were reduced to only having their Fat Tug IPA left to serve. Other breweries in attendance were Goose Island, Whistler, and Steamworks, as well as Lone Tree Cider.

Hard Cider Morning Apple Juice.jpg

The next night, I was invited to a private whiskey tasting, with the theme being that the products couldn’t be aged more than 10 years. While accompanied by pints of Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale to cleanse the palate, I really enjoyed the Lagavulin 8 Year, followed by the Ledaig 10 Year. I’ve always been a fan of smoky, peaty whiskeys, and these two hit the mark. The evening also provided my first opportunity to eat haggis and I have to say it wasn’t bad.

The rest of the week has been spent resting up from our warrior weekend, but we’ll be right back at it soon enough!

Sip Trips #88: Taste Test

On Saturday, Mrs. Sip and I hosted the Sip Syndicate at our place. Earlier that day, I had ventured out to grab some beers for the evening and lucked upon some individual bottles from broken up from the Central CityParallel 49 Seasons Greetings advent calendar. I think this is a great idea, as it gives people who didn’t buy the advent calendar a chance to see how diverse the lineup is, as well as try some of the products for themselves.

I grabbed six bottles, comprised of: Central City’s Southern Cross Kiwi Kettle Sour and Three Peaks Belgian Tripel, along with Parallel 49’s Anger Management Angry IPA, Gong Show Belgian Spiced Quad, Salty Scot Maple Scotch Ale, and Beerserker Scandinavian Strong Ale. We then presented the six in a tasting-style event with our friends. My favourite from the bunch was probably the Gong Show.

drink-every-night

After our mini tasting, we were off to the VIP theatre at Marine Gateway to catch the new Star Wars: Rogue One. I’m not a Star Wars or sci-fi devotee, but I thought the movie was good. My meal of a pulled pork sandwich and fries was even better, which was a nice surprise, given some of the theatre food is only okay. Add a pitcher of Shocktop, split between Mrs. Sip and I, and the evening was well-rounded.

Following the film, we popped into the Dublin Crossing Irish Pub, below the theatre for another beverage. Here, I ordered a pint of Hearthstone McCools Hazelnut Porter, which was profiled in my Beer of the Week feature yesterday. It looks like we’ll be dining there again tonight, to celebrate Mrs. Sip’s birthday with a group of friends from our sports team.

The results of that meal, as well as the other festivities currently planned for Mrs. Sip’s big day will all be brought to you next week in another edition of Sip Trips!