Tag Archives: Victoria

BC Beer Baron #144 – Vancouver Island Sea Dog Amber Ale

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As a last-minute addition/replacement to Mrs. Sip’s work outing to The Price is Right Live at the Abbotsford Centre, I spent an hour and a half in traffic, trying to make the show on time. My reward was a beer from the Vancouver Island Brewing booth at the arena.

How Vancouver Island became the beverage of choice all the way out in Abbotsford is a bit of a mystery, but I’m very glad that was the case. While my original choice was unfortunately already tapped out, that was for the best, as it provided an opportunity to order the Sea Dog Amber Ale. Mrs. Sip and I agreed that this was a great beer to enjoy as we watched classic games like Plinko, Cliffhanger, Any Number, and Punch-A-Bunch played out live.

Vancouver Island Sea Dog Amber Ale

Available in six-packs and some versions of Vancouver Island’s Pod Pack variety case, this 5.2% ABV brew is a tribute to Victoria’s naval heritage and the centennial anniversary of the Canadian Navy. The beer is a little sweet with light hops, making for a well-balanced drink.

While in line for the beers, it was funny to note that Abbotsford locals were a little taken aback by the $6.50 price for beers. Meanwhile, Mrs. Sip and I were thrilled with that price, being used to paying double that when at Vancouver entertainment venues. To each their own, I suppose!

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BC Beer Baron #132 – Driftwood Entangled Hopfenweise

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One of my taster selections on our recent trip to St. Augustine’s Craft Brew House and Kitchen was this beauty of a beer from Driftwood Brewing – a company which seems to move up my list of top breweries with each release I try.

I’ve seen the Entangled Hopfenweise described as a merging of hefeweizens and IPAs (my two favourite styles) and Belgian and Northwest brewing styles. That sounds about right to me and it works really well with this beer. The Hopfenweise comes in at 7% ABV and can be found in bomber-sized bottles. I couldn’t find any IBU info for the ale, so never you worry about that.

Driftwood Entangled Hopfenweise

Drinkers can expect a number of different fruit flavours, such as banana, guava, passionfruit and mango. Aside from the great taste, I think Driftwood has some of funkiest artwork for its labels and this product is no different. Packaging isn’t everything, but when you start strong and deliver in the end, the entire experience is that much better.

The beer is part of Driftwood’s Special Release lineup, which means the brew is on no set schedule, but could pop up at any time and should be taken advantage of before it disappears again. Might I suggest enjoying the beer while watching Tangled? Sorry, that was the Disney geek in me peeking out for a brief moment!

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BC Beer Baron #107 – Moon Under Water Tranquility IPA

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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. 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 #105 – Hoyne Devil’s Dream IPA

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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. 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.

As we continue IPA Week, we travel to Victoria’s Hoyne Brewing for this devilish treat.

The Devil’s Dream IPA is a perfect example of a fine BC IPA. The 6% ABV offering is made with three different types of hops and is a bold, flavourful drinking ecperience.

Hoyne Devil's Dream IPA

I absolutely love the name of this beer, which includes a label that features a faceless (possibly horned) entity darkly playing a violin. The beer’s description completes the chilling experience: “Here’s to Daniel Lapp, Oliver Schroer, ELH, and all great fiddlers. Libation and music, like the tumultuous marriage of malt and hops, stand waiting with us at the crossroads. And look: here comes the Devil, whistling past the graveyard, singing in the midnight choir, bottle in one hand, a fiddle in the other, and that crazy smile…”. That statement gives me goosebumps and makes me want to down that beer even more… if only to calm the nerves!

I first had this brew at The Flying Beaver in Richmond. I figured I’d give it a try since I was so enamoured with Hoyne’s Dark Matter release. I’m very glad I gave it a shot and I looked quite the drinker with my 650ml bomber bottle, while others had mere sleeves in front of them!

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BC Beer Baron #101 – Driftwood Fat Tug IPA

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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. 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.

This Driftwood Brewing beverage has to be one of the most popular IPA’s in the province and is a beer that has introduced many drinkers to the variety, holding them there as fans for life.

The Fat Tug IPA is a northwest style IPA, full of tropical flavours to go along with its 7% ABV and 80-plus IBUs. It’s so hoppy, they can’t get a definitive reading on the beer… or so the Sip Advisor assumes!

Driftwood Fat Tug IPA

Not surprisingly, the beer won a gold medal at the 2013 BC Beer Awards for top India Pale Ale. This has largely led to the IPA’s popularity with the public and it can be easily located throughout the province.

Suggested pairings include spicy Asian and Mexican cuisine; shellfish or sashimi; or strong cheeses, such as Roquefort, Romano, cheddar, or washed-rind varieties. Driftwood even suggests drinking Fat Tug as an aperitif to help fuel your appetite and aid in digestion.

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BC Beer Baron #92 – Spinnakers Chocoholic Chocolate Milk Stout

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Taking me back to the good ol’ days of grocery shopping with Ma Sip and being allowed to select a treat for my good behaviour, Mrs. Sip gave me the same opportunity on a recent trip to a BC Liquor Store location. My choice was from Victoria’s Spinnakers Brew Pub.

With the store getting ready to close up for the night and with a friend’s place to be, I hurriedly selected the Chocoholic Chocolate Milk Stout. I’ve really come to like Spinnakers line-up and wanted to dip once again into their work.

Spinnakers Chocoholic Chocolate Stout

The stout was not as chocolatey as I hoped it would be, but was still a good beer. At 7.75% ABV, it was just right for sitting back on the late Friday evening and letting a well-constructed brew bring me into the weekend. As I relaxed, Mrs. Sip and her girlfriends had to stress pack for a weekend away in Las Vegas.

I really like what Spinnakers have to say about this product, so I’m sharing it with all you little sippers: “There is more to the relationship between chocolate and beer than tastes and indulgences, both being prehistoric from an ancient past. It is impossible to know which came first but here we present these two fermented foods in a modern relationship, designed to last until the last drop.”

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BC Beer Baron #90 – Category 12 Critical Point Pale Ale

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Looking to get off our butts and go for a long walk (despite the dreary weather) a couple weeks back, Mrs. Sip and I made our way to Vancovuer’s Olympic Village, where Legacy Liquor Store was hosting a tasting of Category 12 Brewing products.

One of my favourites among the four samples provided was the Critical Point Pale Ale, which was very easy drinking with just the right amount of hops. This Northwest Pale Ale comes in at 5.6% ABV and 49 IBUs with flavours of caramel and citrus.

Category 12 Critical Point Pale Ale

In Category 12’s scientific fashion (their brewmaster earned a doctorate in microbiology and biochemistry, after all), this is how they describe the beer: “The pressure is on. It’s going to take cunning to blend science with instinct and the clock is ticking. But timing is everything and precision is the only thing that matters. Confidence, analysis and art collide to create a perfectly balanced beer. And, when it comes down to the wire, success tastes even more satisfying.”

It may not happen right away, but I would love to eventually visit Category 12 at their Victoria location. Hell, Mrs. Sip and I are in serious need of a return to the island and a tour around the town of all the amazing breweries over there. Now we just need to find some spare time.

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BC Beer Baron #81 – Phillips Blue Buck Ale

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Phillips Brewing is one of the bigger players in BC’s craft beer scene and so it comes as no surprise that many of their products are viewed in high regard by the general community.

With that in mind, it would not be a stretch to name Blue Buck Ale the most popular and accessible craft beer in BC. This English-style pale ale turns up all the time for the Sip Advisor and I have enjoyed the brew on countless occasions. Plain and simple, it’s just good drinking! No wonder then, that the beer has won a number of awards, most notably gold and silver medals at the 2007 and 2012 Canadian Brewing Awards, respectively, in the North American Style Amber category.

Phillips Blue Buck Ale

Originally known as Blue Truck Ale (in honour of the blue 1965 Chevy delivery truck employed by the company during their earlier years), the name change was forced upon Phillips through legal action from Red Truck Brewing, in 2007. Phillips ran with the new name (selected from an online contest), though, eliciting thoughts of a mythological character, which the company writes of: “The Blue Buck is a legendary beast known to grant those that see him good fortune and safe travels! Certainly seeing the Blue Buck on bottle grants the drinker a great experience!”

Food pairing suggestions include: chicken, burgers, and mild to medium cheeses. Some recipes Phillips has come up with, which incorporate the ale, include: Bucked Up Pulled Pork and Buckin’ Good Chili. Blue Buck is available in everything from six packs to tall boy cans and at countless restaurants and bars across the province. It’s popularity has resulted in the beer being available as far east as Ontario.

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BC Beer Baron #76 – Lighthouse Seaport Vanilla 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.

Although I first drank this Lighthouse Brewing beer back in January, it was so amazing that I felt inclined to save and share the experience during Stout Week.

I found a bomber-sized bottle of the Seaport Vanilla Stout when perusing a BC Liquor Store one night and grabbed it, having enjoyed Lighthouse products before. The next morning, I went over notes I’d made the night before and next to this beer was the short, yet apt opinion, “F’N AWESOME!” This means two things: 1) I was really fond of the beer and 2) while I’m not shy about swearing with real words, apparently I prefer to keep it clean on my phone.

Lighthouse Seaport Vanilla Stout

The brew is made with Madagascan vanilla beans, which work with the chocolate and coffee flavours one expects from a stout. Add a hint of sweetness and you have the total package in the palm of your hands.

I like Lighthouse’s theme of naming their beers after nautical references. These include Jackline, Shipwreck, Beacon, Bowline, and Tasman, among others. They also have a more traditional stout in their line-up, the Keepers Stout.

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BC Beer Baron #58 – Category 12 Disruption Black IPA

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My recent trip to Craft Beer Market for a friend’s birthday was capped off with a serving of this Category 12 Brewing release and it was a strong finish to an already solid visit to the restaurant.

The Disruption Black IPA is good. I mean really, really good. Great even. I’m not surprised it won a gold medal for Best American Black Ale at the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards. I do wonder why it wasn’t a contender in the IPA category, though. Some mysteries are better left to true detectives, I guess.

Category 12 Disruption Black IPA

Category 12 hopes to challenge drinker’s view of dark beer with the 6.7% ABV, 77 IBU IPA. Their description states: “This black IPA is a calculated anomaly. It looks big and scary like a stout, but it drinks like an IPA. Close your eyes, you’ll never guess how far into the dark you’re sinking. With its fresh hop aroma and roasted malt flavour, Disruption is a whole new beast.”

First impressions are everything and given this is the first beer I’ve ever had from Category 12, it’s a very good first impression. I look forward to more from the Victoria-based brewery, which has a great scientific formula that they live by: (Sound Science + Good Taste)4 × Art8 = (Great Beer)12… makes sense to the Sip Advisor!

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