Tag Archives: Vancouver

BC Beer Baron #83 – Yaletown Yaletown Ale

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After a game in which we didn’t fair so well on the ball hockey floor, our team needed some liquid therapy. For this, we visited The Distillery, a sister restaurant of the Yaletown Brewery.

There, I ordered the Yaletown Ale to drown my athletic sorrows. I really enjoyed the strong caramel flavour of this pale ale, which became more pronounced as the beer warmed up. It was a lighter beverage (4.8% ABV) and not as hoppy (only 21 IBUs) as I typically like with my pale ales, but it was a satisfying drink, nonetheless.

Yaletown Brewery

I’m a fan of Yaletown Brewery’s motto: “Dream big. Work hard. Have a beer.” That seems to be the definition of the true Canadian dream and they should really put that slogan on some merchandise.

The Distillery is a great place to go for weekend brunch ($10 breakfast menu and $10 bottomless mimosas), as well as for their Sunday pasta deal. Pa Sip is also a big fan of the restaurant’s unlimited lasagna special, which I believe runs on Tuesdays.

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BC Beer Baron #80 – Granville Island West Coast Pale Ale

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A couple weeks back, Mrs. Sip and I made a pilgrimage to one of BC’s craft beer meccas, Granville Island Brewing. Okay, so we only had to each take short bus rides to meet there, but it can’t be denied that Granville Island is one of the originators of the industry, in this part of the world.

While Mrs. Sip sampled their North German Pilsner, I chose one of their other small batch releases, the West Coast Pale Ale (not to be confused with GIB’s English Bay Pale Ale). While I’ve had better from Granville Island, this was a decent beer, with a fair amount of hops to add a little punch to the beverage.

Granville Island Brewing

I’m always happy (and prefer) to drink west coast products – it is the best coast, after all – and am proud to hail from this side of the content. Nothing against the east, which holds its own treasures, but the way of life out west just can’t be topped.

Popping into Granville Island’s tasting room has always been a good experience. It brings back memories of my earliest days of craft beer enjoyment, when a much younger Sip Advisor was just learning of the wonders the world holds and is capable of sharing with its inhabitants.

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BC Beer Baron #79 – Stag and Pheasant Imperial 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.

In late January, the Sip Syndicate descended upon Main Street Brewing for some drinks and before we knew it, each of us was a couple beers deep before Mrs. Sip even arrived. When she did, I insisted she order this brew and get caught up to the rest of us.

The Stag and Pheasant Imperial Stout is definitely of the winter warmer variety. You do feel the 9% ABV, but I was surprised to see it come in at 65 IBU’s, as the hoppiness is nicely hidden. Tastes of chocolate, coffee and what the brewery calls “a touch of pine” are present with a “hint of smoke” on the back end.

Main Street Stag & Pheasant Imperial Stout.png

The stout is named after the Stag & Pheasant saloon, which existed in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood in the late 1800’s. The establishment was owned by Charles Doering, who sold the business in 1888, in order to enter the brewing game. Doering would go on to co-found the Vancouver Brewery which all these years later has been converted into the home of Main Street’s Brewery Creek location.

Originally released in 2014, I look forward to future engagements with this beer, as well as returns to Main Street Brewing and its historical site.

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BC Beer Baron #59 – Up Your Sporran Scotch Ale

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Among the charter members of the Sip Syndicate are a few that really love scotch ales. So, it was no surprise to the Sip Advisor that when we visited Main Street Brewing and I saw that style on their menu, that a few servings were ordered without hesitation.

Using peated malt, the Up Your Sporran Scotch Ale has an element of smoke to it, but not a dramatic amount. The dark, roasty brew really reminded me of a beer-Scotch amalgamation, which went down smoothly, in spite of its 7.3% ABV. This winter seasonal will please many.

Main Street Up Your Sporran Scotch Ale

So, what is a sporran, some of you might be asking? Look no further, as the Sip Advisor has done that research for you. A sporran is the pouch that is worn as part of a man’s Scottish Highland dress, to go along with their kilt. It’s like an ancient fanny pack, which can definitely come in handy when donning otherwise pocketless garments. I have to wonder why the beer wasn’t called Up Your Kilt Scotch Ale, but then again, I’m not the one making decisions at the brewery.

That about wraps up our most recent visit to Main Street Brewing. Given our last jovial experience there, we will be back soon, with hopefully a whole new set of brews to enjoy.

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BC Beer Baron #25 – Red Truck Ale

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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. For the opening month of this project, I wanted to look at some of the flagship and original offerings from breweries around the province.

Red Truck Brewing has been a Vancouver fixture since it was founded in 2005. Originally located in North Vancouver, the company recently moved their operations to the Brewery Creek region of the Downtown Vancouver core. They stress brewing honest beers by hardworking people.

I first enjoyed the Red Truck Ale at my local watering hole: Jimmy’s Taphouse. It quickly became a go-to pitcher beverage for me, while out with friends. Therefore, many nights ended with an order of Red Truck.

Red Truck Ale

The brewery is recognizable for their line of delivery trucks, including Old Weird Harold, Flying High Frank, and the Young and Old Frankensteins. Red Truck has recently ventured into more adventurous waters with their limited edition releases, including the Ridin’ Shotgun Belgian Blonde Ale and Double Clutch Unfiltered Double Pale Ale. These are largely only available in their tasting room.

Mrs. Sip and I have yet to visit Red Truck’s new facility, although we’ve heard that it is a hopping place and we’re not just talking about their IPA recipe. Even former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, stopped by the joint, although this gained the brewery more flack than good press from the liberal Vancouver crowd.

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BC Beer Baron #6 – Powell Street Old Jalopy Pale Ale

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The Central City Brew Pub on Beatty Street has a very unique item on their tap menu: a mystery pour. Always game for trying something adventurous, Mrs. Sip ordered it and waited anxiously for the results.

When the beverage arrived, we got to play the guessing game of “What’s in my Glass” and the answer was Powell Street’s Old Jalopy Pale Ale. The beer is quite good, having been named the Canadian Beer of the Year at the 2013 Canadian Brewing Awards.

powell street old jalopy

On our last visit to Powell Street Brewing, during the summer, I ranked it as one my favourite stops of our day, which included popping into eight different locations around Vancouver. We will certainly be back again soon.

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

It may not have been our favourite brew of the night, but you can’t beat paying $3 for a full serving of an award-winning beer at a restaurant. Much thanks to the server who encouraged us to give it a shot.

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BC Beer Baron #1: Steamworks Winter White Stout

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As the Sip Syndicate sat around late New Year’s Eve, the discussion turned to this wonderful site and what my plans were for 2016. Admittedly, I had thought of many projects, but hadn’t settled on anything. Then, almost as if being dared, a friend suggested doing 365 days of BC beer. Well, my little sippers, I’m more than happy to oblige and I’ll even do 366 to cover the leap year!

Steamworks Winter White Stout

Today’s beer, from Steamworks Brewing, is a unique brew that I have never had before or seen anywhere, for that matter. Stout beers are characteristically dark and heavy, but that is obviously not the case here. The beer does share the traditional stout flavour of coffee/chocolate, but it pours a caramel yellow colour. The colour change is due to the removal of roasted malts from the recipe, with the flavours coming from the beer being aged with whole espresso beans, followed by whole cacao beans.

Mrs. Sip’s Take:

I’ve asked Mrs. Sip to add her opinion of each beer reviewed for this project, to offer the female perspective. She found the beer to be disconcerting because of the expected taste versus appearance. Neither of us are coffee drinkers, so stouts and porters – while enjoyable – have always been a bit of a mystery to us and I think this beer was a little too strong in coffee taste for both of us.

I hope all you little sippers had a wonderful New Year’s and that 2016 is an amazing year for you all!

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Sip Trips #51: Amazing Advent (Part 6)

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I have to keep saying how much fun this craft beer advent calendar has been and I implore anyone out there to do it for their significant other. Sure, it’s costly, but as I joked with Mrs. Sip, I probably would have spent the same amount throughout the month otherwise! Let’s look at days 19-22:

Day 19: Big Rock Rauchbier

When Big Rock opened their Urban Eatery location in Vancouver and Mrs. Sip and I were able to visit for the first time, I fell in love with this beer (or bier, if you will!). I have not been shy of the fact that I love smoky beers, spirits, and cocktails and this is a very good option for one of those categories. Having now tried a bottled version of this beer, I’m still hooked and love the caramel smoky campfire taste that finishes each sip.

Big Rock Rauchbier

Day 20: Wychwood Bah Humbug

In the past, I have at least once included this brew in the advent calendar I put together annually for Mrs. Sip, but this time I was the recipient. It doesn’t get much more Christmas-themed than calling your beer Bah Humbug and featuring Ebenezer Scrooge, himself, on the label. I wish more of Wychwood’s (based in Oxfordshire, U.K.) brews made their way to North American stores, as some look really neat. They even have a line of potato chips.

wychwood bah humbug

Day 21: Spinnakers Festive Saison

Having recently enjoyed their Oyster Stout (of all things!), I was happy to see a Spinnakers beer pop up in the advent calendar. The Victoria-based brew pub releases their Festive Saison – a blend of spiced saison and apple cider – annually. This beer was very good, one of my favourite from the entire month. The brewery suggests that the beer pairs well with a burger, but I can vouch for it working with bad Hallmark Christmas movies!

Spinnakers Festive Saison

Day 22: Granville Island Twisted Twin Dunkelweizen

Granville Island Brewing is Vancouver’s oldest micro-brewery and while some debate whether it still deserves a spot in this group, their small batch releases keep them in the conversation. I tried a sample of the Dunkelweizen at this year’s Hopscotch Festival and was impressed that GIB would bring such a unique offering and not just their flagship brews. I have still yet to try the brewery’s Cocoa Loco Chocolate Porter, but will remedy that before the season is done.

GIB-twisted-twin

The finish line of the craft beer advent calendar is now within sight, although I wish it would disappear amongst the inclement weather the season is typical of. Join us next time for the final two brews and the Sip Advisor’s final thoughts!

Sip Trips #37: Home Stretch

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You would think that with a big trip approaching for Mrs. Sip and myself that this week would be calm on the drinking front and more focused on last-minute errands and packing. But you don’t know Mrs. Sip and I. No, instead, we tried to balance both ideas, visiting with friends and family and celebrating a couple birthdays along the way.

The week began with a trip to Bin 941, which specializes in shared “tapatizers”. Cousin Sip had grabbed a Groupon for the meal, which included eight beers or two bottles of wine, with the selection of six different appetizers. We decided to go the beer route and I picked one round of Mad & Noisy IPA, followed by Granville Island ISA. I’d never heard of Mad & Noisy before, but apparently they are an offshoot of the Molson Brewery. Among our appies were their mountain of truffle fries, crab cakes, fried octopus, lamb skewers, and bread and dips. Some of the dishes were smaller than I would have hoped for, especially with sharing amongst a group of four, but everything tasted pretty damn good.

relationship with food

The next night, we were back at the Central City Brewpub on Beatty Street (wow, we’ve been there a lot lately). This time, it was to celebrate Sis-in-Law Sip’s birthday with the restaurant’s monthly feature Bacon Tasting Menu. This was comprised of a salad (with beer bacon lardon), main (double smoked deep fried bacon steak), and finished with dessert (maple bacon blondie). Each dish was paired with one of the brewery’s beers, while there was a choice for the salad between a Wheat Ale or Bacon Seraph Caesar. Mrs. Sip and I went with the Caesar, which was good, but should have gone with the beer. The main was combined with an IPA and dessert was joined by a Red Ale.

The Sip Advisor’s birthday is later this month, but we will be away for it and therefore, Mrs. Sip threw yours truly a little birthday bash with friends over the weekend. For this, we attended the BC Derby at Hastings Racecourse. The afternoon was highlighted by many beers (Parallel 49 Gypsy Tears and Granville Island Hefeweizen) gifted to me by friends, incredibly tight and exciting races, and some decent food cart snacks. Mrs. Sip and I broke even with our wagers and wins, although she did better than I did. My two big wins netted 40 and 90 cents, respectively!

horse racing drinking hats

For dinner, we went to Steamworks Brewpub in Gastown, where I ordered a flight consisting of Kanadische Kolsch, Sisu Salmiakki Gose, Smokey Scotch Ale, and Oatmeal Stout. Of the bunch, the Smokey Scotch Ale was my favourite. I also ordered a pint of the Empress IPA, following dinner. The restaurant does something with the IPA that I have never seen before, combining it with Bellini mix. Usually I see this done (if at all) with a lager or lighter brew. I tasted Cousin Sip’s serving of the drink and the two opposites work together, with tastes of bitter and sweet battling it out.

With Mrs. Sip and I heading to South Africa for the next month, Sip Trips will go on a brief hiatus, but we’ll be back with a vengeance upon our return. Keep sipping, my friends!

Sip Trips #26: Canadian Celebration

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While Mrs. Sip is away, the Sip Advisor mouse will play and that was certainly the case this past weekend. With Canada Day occurring mid-week, the partying stretched on… although, that’s not a lot different than if Mrs. Sip had been around the whole time. She is definitely missed around the offices here!

Canada Day

On my way out to Ma and Pa Sip’s place in Delta on Saturday, I stopped by Four Winds Brewing to see what was new at my hometown brewery. They have expanded since I last visited a couple years back and had a number of interesting beers on tap. I decided to sit down to a set of tasters, including their Saison, Grisette, Passionfruit Berlinerweisse, and Nectarous. The Nectarous was the reason for my trip out there, as I was informed of the limited release by a friend, and decided I wanted to add a bottle to my burgeoning brew collection.

The rest of the day was spent in gluttonous splendor, as the Sip Advisor ate and drank to his heart’s content. Cousin Sip brought over Granville Island Brewery’s summer mixed pack, while I tapped into a collection of ales, highlighted by my Russell Smokey the Beer, which was smoky and delicious. To be honest, I probably should have saved it for a time when I was more appreciative of what was going into my system, but it was the right beer at the right time.

As the next day left me kind of lonely and with the weather changing for the worse, I decided to run a couple errands and that always includes a stop at the liquor store. Here, I grabbed a six-pack of the Steamworks Killer Cucumber Ale, as well as bombers of Lighthouse Jackline Rhubarb Grisette and Elysian Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale Ale. I’ve gone through most of the Cucumber pack and think I prefer the brew on tap, but have yet to crack open either of the bombers.

errands to run

For dinner Monday night, Ma and Pa Sip accompanied me to the Yaletown Brewery, where I enjoyed their chicken schnitzel sandwich, along with a Shangri La Saison. The strong beer (6.8%) went well with my meal and was a good beverage choice, given the recent heatwave in B.C.

Back in April, I wrote about coming across the Viniq Shimmery Liqueur and how it was one of the most amazing spirit products I’ve ever seen. It’s so cool, that Mrs. Sip was once showing it off to a friend and he was so mesmerized that he forgot to stop pouring the beer he was emptying and it spilled all over the place. Well, the company has now added a Ruby version to their line-up and I noticed that they have a bunch of great recipes available for each variation. Now, we just have to stop admiring the bottle and open it up!