Tag Archives: Tofino Brewing

Sip Trips #260: March Mania (Part 2)

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We continue the Sip Family’s Vancouver Island odyssey, leaving Victoria to go ‘up island’. Let’s see what we got up to for the second half of our vacation, as well as finishing the month back at home:

Our next port of call was in the Nanaimo/Ladysmith area. After returning from an afternoon at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, we had dinner at Nanaimo’s Longwood Brewpub. I selected the Scottish Ale to go with my Brewmaster Salad (smoked salmon, chicken, baby shrimp, mixed greens, carrot, cucumber, tomato, feta). I loved the smoked salmon in this dish and would suggest taking the chicken out, in favour of more salmon.

Prior to our journey to Tofino the next day, we quickly stopped at the Old Town Bakery in Ladysmith for Mini Egg Nanaimo Bars and a Peanut Butter Cinnamon Bun. Before reaching Tofino, we also visited Alberni Brewing in Port Alberni. I took advantage of their Beer & Burger for $20 on Tuesdays, choosing the amazing Crispy Chicken Burger to go with my Alberni Blanc pint. The Sip Family also shared a Pretzel Pull Apart.

Reaching Tofino late, we didn’t venture into the tiny town until the next morning. With the Siplings hungry for some breakfast and Mrs. Sip and I wanting something in our stomachs before drinking, we went to the Rhino Bakery, where Triple Chocolate Donuts were eaten by the kids – and some for the Sip Advisor too. I also had the café’s California Chicken Club, which was the perfect meal for a guy who doesn’t love traditional breakfasts.

Up next, was Tofino Brewing, which was already filling up at their noon opening. I opted for the Ethereal IPA, while Mrs. Sip went with the Cosmic Wave Double IPA after sampling a couple brew options.

Unsure of how to spend our three days in that area, we made our way to Ucluelet, drawn the local aquarium, brewery and family restaurant. At Ucluelet Brewing, Mrs. Sip and I shared happy hour pints of In the Mist Marzen and Resurrection Red Irish Red Ale.

We finished our day in Ucluelet with dinner at Howler’s Restaurant, which offers arcade games, billiards and other activities in a family-friendly setting. Being the driver, I merely had a sip of Mrs. Sip’s Dark N’ Stormy, which was the perfect drink for a day filled with constantly changing weather. To eat, we shared a pound of Sesame Daebak Wings ($10 for Wing Wednesday) and two-piece Howler’s Wild Cod Fish & Chips. I also finished off Boy Sip’s order of Chainsaw Popcorn Chicken.

Our final full day began with checking out the Tofino Distillery, where we ordered the Cheeky Tiki (Gin, Beach Fire Cinnamon Liqueur, pineapple, mango, coconut, lime) and Strawberry Whiskey Sour (lemon, strawberry syrup, egg white, bitters), while finishing with a Mini Cocktail Flight: Gin Strawberry Lemonade, Astro (Limoncello, cranberry, lime), Demon Dog (Psychedelic Jellyfish Absinthe, San Pellegrino Blood Orange, lime, bitters).

Following that, Mrs. Sip had to do some work, so I took the kids out for a late lunch/happy hour at Browns Socialhouse. My meal of Social Ale and Steakhouse Sliders was good and the waterfront setting of this restaurant offered much to look at when I wasn’t on dad duty. My only complaint was this Browns didn’t have my usual Sesame Ginger Gyoza, but that offered the opportunity to try something different and I was not disappointed.

For our last dinner, we ate at Roar, inside our Hotel Zed accommodation. My feast started with The Last Wave (Tequila, Maraschino Liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse, Cointreau, lime, habanero chili, pineapple shrub), followed by a serving of Good Night Out/Hotel Zed Quad Hopped Hazy IPA, brewed by Small Gods Brewing. For food, Mrs. Sip and I split the Cedar Planked Salmon, with a side of Seared Scallops.

After checking out of the hotel, we began our return journey to the Duke Point ferry terminal, stopping at two breweries along the way. First, at Twin City Brewing in Port Alberni, I had the Poindexter Hop Swap Pale Ale, while sharing a P.A. Pepperoni Pizza with Mrs. Sip and fighting the Siplings for a scrap of their Biergarten Pretzel. We also had a quick drink at Wolf Brewing in Nanaimo, drawn to the location as Girl Sip is a wolf lover. Here, we downed the Black & Tan (Golden Honey Ale/Dark Malt Porter), with an order of Pretzel Sticks with Beer Cheese. For the road, Mrs. Sip bought a tall can four-pack of their Smoked Doppelbock, which was the feature beer of the week, meaning she got a second four-pack free. Eight beers for $18 seemed like a very good deal to us!

Back home and returning to the regular routine always sucks, so Mrs. Sip and I made sure to take advantage of it being our 24th dating anniversary. We started with early dinner at El Santo, which offers all night happy hour on Mondays and Tuesdays. I munched on Quesabirria, while also sampling Mrs. Sip’s Chili Relleno. To drink, I had a Main Street IPA… not sure which one, but it was good.

That wraps our very busy March. It was enough to make one go mad, but we had so much fun exploring Vancouver Island and even with our time at home before and after the vacation. April will certainly be lighter, but there’s still some fun stuff on the horizon!

BC Beer Baron #179 – Tofino Dark Lager

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Sadly, I finally worked my way through the set of four bombers Ma and Pa Sip picked up for me from Tofino Brewing, while they were visiting Vancouver Island earlier this year. And what a set those two non-beer drinkers selected for yours truly.

The Dark Lager is unfiltered and all natural. At 4.5% ABV, it is lighter than one would expect, but the roasted malts provide a strong flavour to the beverage. As the folks at Tofino put it, the results in a “delicate balance of dark and light.”

Tofino Dark Lager

This winter seasonal is available in bomber-sized bottles, as well as on tap at the brewery for growler fills and other servings. Tofino also has a more traditional lager, as part of their lineup.

Having now tried a fair bit of Tofino Brewing’s releases, I would still love to get my hands on their Hunt & Gather Kettle Sour, Cosmic Wave Double IPA, and Spruce Tree Ale, to name a few. I have been greatly impressed with the brewery, thanks to my bomber set experience.

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

BC Beer Baron #131 – Tofino Hoppin’ Cretin IPA

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The Sip Advisor loves getting gifts from Mrs. Sip and Ma and Pa Sip, whenever they return from travelling… especially, when they’re of the booze variety. Therefore, when Ma and Pa Sip recently gifted me with a four-pack of Tofino Brewing bombers from their trip to Vancouver Island, I was thrilled.

Among that mixed pack was the Hoppin’ Cretin IPA, which was a very good India Pale Ale with very pleasing stats of a 7.5% ABV and 60 IBUs. This is the type of IPA that drinkers should try before they completely give up on this variety of beverage. They may come away pleasantly surprised.

Tofino Hoppin' Cretin IPA

I’m not entirely sure what’s behind the name of this beer, but one description I found for the brew states: “There’s no stoppin’ the cretins from hoppin’”. A cretin, of course is an idiot, so I guess the ol’ Sip Advisor would fall under that category!

I would love to visit Tofino Brewing at some point (as well as other Vancouver Island spots) and just have to find the time to get over there. One day, a bridge will unite the mainland and island, all in the name of fine beer!

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

BC Beer Baron #73 – Tofino Kelp Stout

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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. 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.

Having just gone through Chocolate Week last month, as part of this 366-day BC craft beer project, I vowed that my Stout Week would stray from any chocolate-based versions of the feature beer and instead focus on unique ingredients to the mix. The fine folks at Tofino Brewing helped greatly with that decision.

For some perverse reason, I’ve been looking forward to trying the Kelp Stout, ever since I heard of it. Kelp? In a beer? You’re damn right! Even the Tofino brewers are having fun with this odd addition, writing: “If there’s one sentiment that’s constantly repeated among craft beer drinkers it is, ‘This beer is good but it needs more seaweed!’ If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times. Well folks, message received.”

Tofino Kelp Stout

The beer is quite complex, with a roasted malty smokiness, which I absolutely loved. All natural and unfiltered, the beverage is brewed with locally harvested kelp. The 6% ABV brew is available year round and can be located in BC Liquor Stores. I would assume this stout pairs well with sushi, but I didn’t test that hypothesis.

A special thanks goes out to Ma and Pa Sip who picked up a set of beers for me when they were on the island, visiting Ucluelet and Tofino last month. They visited the brewery, which they said was a lot of fun, despite the fact that neither of them are beer drinkers. They did it all for little ol’ me!

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

BC Beer Baron #14 – Tofino Tuff Session Ale

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I could be wrong, but this may be my first experience drinking a Tofino Brewing offering. I feel as if I sampled something from the company at a beer festival before, but can’t confirm that.

If this is, in fact, my first impression, it’s a good one. The Tuff Session Ale is a very drinkable beer that I think would be a good starting point for those new to craft brewing and beer in general. Available year round, this pale ale is unfiltered and all natural. I’d expect nothing less from the small community.

Tofino Tuff Session Ale

The name of the beer comes from Tofino’s nickname as Tuff (or Tough) City. While it’s hard to peg down exactly why Tofino adopted this nickname – stories range from its history as a logging and fishing community to it being a shortened slang term (ie. “I’m going to Tof,” but pronounced Tuf) – it has been adopted by many local businesses, such as Tough City Clothing and Tough City Sushi.

Mrs. Sips Take:

Despite a bitter finish, I enjoyed the sweetness of this beer. My first sip was while the beer was a little warmer, so I wondered if that made my experience different. My second sip was fresh from the fridge and I thought the Sip Advisor had poured a different beer. It was still very easy to drink.

The brewery has some neat things going on, that will hopefully eventually be included in this project, such as the Kelp Stout, Spruce Tree Ale, and Hunt & Gather Kettle Sour. Mrs. Sip and I have both never been to Tofino, a prime spot for surfing and storm watching. I feel as if we’ve failed as British Columbians, although the revelation of this brewery existing is another drawing point.

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