Sip Trips #246: Wine and Recreation

May wasn’t crazy compared to our usual levels of activity. Sure, we still got out and about, but it wasn’t the type of month where you can’t keep track of everything you did. Let’s see what the Sip Family got up to:

Offered a date night early in May by the visiting Ma and Pa Sip, Mrs. Sip and I decided to finally use the Rec Room gift card I got her for Mother’s Day 2023. Prior to our game playing, we had dinner at The Amazing Brentwood Tap & Barrel location, requesting a table on their rooftop patio. My meal was comprised of the Russell Angry Scotch Ale and Korean Fried Chicken Bowl, which provided a great start to the evening.

We quickly used up the Rec Room gift card on one of their gaming packages and our first round of beverages. My drink choices while we played were the Twin Sails Dat Juice Pale Ale and Parallel 49 Trash Panda IPA. I enjoyed Rec Room and am glad we have something similar to Dave & Busters in the area, but felt there was something lacking compared to our many visits to D&B locations. We’ll have to return to use the rest of our gaming credits and perhaps also eat at the location. Mrs. Sip really wanted to take advantage of the date night and catch the recently released Thunderbolts at the adjacent VIP theatre. There, I enjoyed a Double Spiced Rum & Coke with the film.

Our major outing of the month, was going to Osoyoos over the May long weekend. On our way to the town, we stopped at the Bear’s Den Pub in Manning Park for lunch. Here, I ordered the Grilled Chicken Clubhouse, along with a pint of Old Yale Amber Ale.

Once we arrived at the Spirit Ridge resort, we had to rush to our dinner reservation at The Bear, The Fish, The Root & The Berry. This restaurant features a menu of Indigenous cuisine. Our group shared a number of items, including Bannock (along with various spreads), Cornbread, Empanadas, Roasted Bone Marrow, and my contribution to the meal, Five Spice Maple Brazed Pork Belly. To drink with our feast, I had a pair of Firehall Stop, Hop & Roll IPAs.

Full disclosure, I’m not into wine much nowadays and don’t love winery weekends. This is largely because the girls get to drink and the fellas have to drive and look after the kids throughout the unnecessarily long days. Well, wineries is pretty much all the Osoyoos region has going on, so I found myself on an all-day wine tour. We paid about $150 per person for the full day, which included a combo of sites we picked and ones the tour suggested.

Our stops included Over the Fence, Night Bird, Kismet and Rust, with a stop for lunch at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards’ Miradoro restaurant. There, I had the Beef & Pork Meatball Sandwich and a serving of Cannery Muse Pale Ale, to cleanse the palette, of course. Throughout the tour, I was really digging rosés and syrahs. By the end of the afternoon out, though, I was definitely done with wine and ready to switch back to my traditional loves of spirits, beer and vodka sodas.

On our return home, we stopped at Rocko’s Diner, as Mrs. Sip was craving breakfast items and a milkshake, so decided a diner setting was best to accomplish both. I went with a really tasty Eh-1 Burger, which featured crispy chicken, bacon, poutine, maple mayo, lettuce, and tomato. The maple mayo was the star of the burger.

Later that week, prior to checking out the new live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, we dined at Browns Socialhouse. I drank a glass of Social IPA, while trying the Teriyaki Salmon Bowl. The bowl was good, but doesn’t top my Red Lobster favourite, which gets the nod thanks to the inclusion of Brussels sprouts.

To wrap the month, we visited Boston Pizza for dinner, a treat earned by the Sipplings for taking a round of vaccinations so well. At the eatery, I tried the Wing-Man Pizza, featuring chicken bites in your choice of sauce (I went with Sweet Thai Honey Garlic), from their limited time menu. I also downed a Boston Pint of Molson Canadian, as it was on special during NHL playoff games.

While May was lighter than usual, things look to be building up again in June, as the weather improves and we move into the summer season. Mrs. Sip will be away for a couple weeks, so we’ll have to see what trouble the ol’ Sip Advisor can get up to!

Sip Trips #155: Beer Birthday

The past couple weekends have been loaded with commitments. Here’s what we’ve been up to, of late:

On a recent stop at Steel & Oak Brewing, we picked up a tall can four-pack of their recently released Blush Rosé Saison. The limited edition brew looks beautiful and is quite tasty, utilizing Merlot and Cab Franc grape skins from the brewery’s neighbour, Pacific Breeze Winery. Partial proceeds are going to the Camp Kerry Society and their efforts towards bereavement care. I’ve noticed more wine and bubbly concepts becoming intertwined with the beer industry lately, with Brut IPAs becoming a very popular variety.

bubbly orange

Last weekend, prior to our matinee Vancouver Canucks game, we visited the new Brewhall (formerly Steel Toad Brewing) in the Olympic Village area. I like what the Tap & Barrel folks have done with this place, with the video games and picnic bench seating. Their lineup of beers is also quite impressive, stocked with many of their own releases and collaborations with other BC breweries. While devouring my Crispy Chicken Burger with Dirty Cheesy Fries, Mrs. Sip and I enjoyed pints of the Hoyne & Brewhall German Amber Wheat Ale and Brewhall Polar Beer White Stout. Had we not had the game to attend, I could have drank a few more beers and enjoyed the afternoon there.

This past weekend was Mrs. Sip’s birthday, so a massive HAPPY BIRTHDAY needs to be shouted from all corners of the globe to my muse. Mrs. Sip shares her birthday with one of our good friends, who was celebrating the big 4-0. His wife decided to throw him a surprise party at Mariner Brewing, which was a great location for our large group. Over the course of the evening, I enjoyed pints of their Glow Holiday Spiced Ale and Horizon Winter Pale Ale, along with a taster glass of their Northeast IPA. While I didn’t have any food myself, dishes that came out, including pizzas, hotdogs and popcorn, all looked good.

Upcoming, we have a member’s only event at Township 7 Winery and some kind of vacation around the Family Day long weekend… so long as we can figure out a place to go!

Beer of the Week #40 –Doan’s Oktoberfest

While recently at Tap & Barrel in North Vancouver to meet with out-of-town friends, I ordered a pint of this Doan’s Brewing release. I’m so glad I did, as it was perfect for the type of grayish fall day we were experiencing.

The Oktoberfest had a nice blend of malt and hop flavours. At 6.5% ABV and 28 IBUs, the beverage falls right within the Sip Advisor’s preferred number ranges. This style has grown on lately, inspired by Cousin Sip’s husband’s love of the variety.

Doan's Oktoberfest.jpg

This beer is a Tap & Barrel exclusive and can also be found at the Doan’s tasting room in East Vancouver (aka Yeast Van). It’s been a while since I visited their location and with the new baby, I’m not sure when a crawl in the area will happen.

While I’ve never been able to get to Germany for the real Oktoberfest, I’m happy BC breweries can give me a little taste of the experience. Having been to German beer halls before, I can only imagine the party it would be.

For more Beer of the Week articles, please visit our main page…

Sip Trips #105: Went By in a Blur

This past week was incredibly busy for Mrs. Sip and I. So busy, that my head is still spinning… and that’s not from all the booze consumed! Let’s get right down to it…

On Friday, we wrapped up work and immediately hit the road to Tacoma, Washington to watch comedian Christopher Titus perform at the Tacoma Comedy Club. We made it just in time for the 10:30pm show and beers were desperately needed for us weary travellers. Cousin Sip’s husband and I split a couple pitchers of Manny’s Pale Ale from Georgetown Brewing out of Seattle. The show was amazing, as expected. As we waited in line to meet Mr. Titus afterwards, the bar was selling pints of Budweiser for $2 and we figured, “Ah, why the hell not!”

I had also picked up a bomber of Alaskan Brewing Icy Bay IPA at a gas station en route to Tacoma, so that acted as my nightcap before grabbing a few hours of sleep and returning to Vancouver Saturday morning. I wish we didn’t have to rush the stay across the border, but with friends visiting from London, we had to be back for more fun.

morning sunglasses

After meeting up with our guests, the ladies went their way, while the gents searched for craft beer. Our first stop was at Central City’s Vancouver location. There, I paired some Chicken Strips and Fries with the brewery’s Super Stellar IPA, which made for a great combo. For dessert I ordered their Hefeweizen, bringing to mind thoughts of summer, as we wait patiently for the weather to cooperate.

Next up was a short walk to Devil’s Elbow Ale & Smoke House. Here, I was able to try the Britannia Brewing Sirens Chai Saison, which was available as a guest tap. Following that, I had the Howe Sound Jam Session Raspberry Cream Ale, another successful selection. Then, the night took a turn for the extreme with a round of tequila shots.

Feeling suitably buzzed, we rejoined the ladies for dinner at The Keg in Yaletown. Sitting on the restaurant’s rooftop patio, I enjoyed a pair of Caesar Diablo servings, made even better given their $5 daily special pricing.

Drinking Problem

On Monday, Ma Sip met me for lunch at Tap & Barrel in North Vancouver. Unfortunately, I was working, so was not able to imbibe as I usually would when visiting a T&B location. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my PB&J Burger, which made for a nice substitute to my traditional meal of a PB&J Sandwich during the work week. The burger was messy, but totally worth the experience.

Tuesday, we finally had a meal at the Homer Street Cafe, which is located kitty-corner to my and Mrs. Sip’s humble abode. There to celebrate a friend’s birthday, I ordered their rotisserie quarter chicken meal, which was highlighted by their chicken jus for dipping. To wash it all down, I had a trio of brews, including the Howe Sound Summer Saison, Powell Street Old Jalopy Pale Ale and Storm Black Plague Stout. For a small beer menu, they sure packed some quality selections in.

It should be noted that this week’s wrap up doesn’t even include two games of baseball, Father’s Day celebrations, a trip to the theatre and another meal with our visitors from London. Busy times, for sure.

Sip Trips #42

Nuttin’ Doin’

Mrs. Sip and I didn’t get up to too much adventure this last week, so this won’t be a long Sip Trips article. That said, we do have another vacation upcoming and there is certainly some mischief ahead. Let’s get on with things:

On Friday, I attended to retirement party of one of my coworkers at the new Tap & Barrel in North Vancouver. Here, I ordered the Steel & Oak Roggen Weizen, as well as the Hearthstone Hazelnut Porter. Both beers were good, with the Roggen Weizen being the better of the two. While I enjoyed the Porter, the hazelnut flavour wasn’t as strong as I would have liked. In fact, I couldn’t really taste it at all. The staff at the restaurant did a good job of taking care of our large group and paid me a terrific compliment as I settled my tab. The server remembered exactly what I had order because, as she put it, I ordered good beers!

retirement-plan

For Halloween, we celebrated with friends at a house party. My pre-drinking included the Steel & Oak Barrel Aged Smoked Hefeweizen, which Mrs. Sip picked up for me a while back. The brew was definitely boozy and at 7% was a good base for the night ahead.

The next day, we visited Ma and Pa Sip to help eat their leftover Halloween candy… after all, what else are parents for!? While there, Ma Sip cracked open her bottle of Viniq Shimmery Liqueur (the purple one) and created a drink using lemon, pomegranate, and lemon-lime sodas. The concoction was quite good and now I have a better sense of where my natural cocktail mixing abilities come from!

quit drinking

Prior to attending Cirque du Soleil: Kooza, Mrs. Sip and I had dinner at the Hurricane Grill in Yaletown. The food here was delicious – we shared the chicken quesadilla and pulled pork poutine – and the service very good. I ordered the Blood Alley cocktail (vodka, scotch, and blood orange soda), which was good, but if I’d made it myself, I would have used more scotch to enhance the smoky flavour. Mrs. Sip had their feature drink, the Hurricane (three different rums mixed with strawberry and mango puree), which was a little disappointing in that it was not made clear the drink was frozen and given we’re moving into winter, an iced drink was not what Mrs. Sip was looking for.

To sum up, this is what a quiet week looks like for Mrs. Sip and me. Next week, there will be no Sip Trips, as we will be enjoying a cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles, followed by a weekend of relaxing in Escondido, California. Nearby, San Diego will be celebrating their annual Craft Beer Week (how fortuitous), so you can bet there will be some Canadian content on hand for the festivities!