Red Truck Beer launches craft beer floats and new menu items at The Truck Stop Diner

Feb23 by Mike

I was recently invited out to Red Truck Beer in Vancouver with some other media members to check out some of their new menu Items.

I have a bad habit of always being early to events and this was no different so I sampled their new Dry Nibbed Stout. While I didn’t take any notes on this beer I did quite enjoy it and it was probably my favourite of the ones I sampled.

Once the small group was rounded up we were taken on a short tour of the brewery. I was less interested in the technical side of the brewery as I have both done the tour and also know more about the brewing process than the rest of the group. I took the chance to take more photos.

: This is the hood of the truck they dropped for their ground breaking

Once the tour was done we headed up to a private room that can be rented for events to taste some of their beer and their new food.

They started the tasting off with their 3 core beer and one winter seasonal. The beers were 1st the Lager, 3rd the Ale and 4th the IPA that rounded out their core lineup and 2nd their Pilsner their winter seasonal. Their mandate is to make flavourful but accessible beers. While I am not a big drinker of Lagers and Pilsners personally there is not doubt that they are making their mandate with well crafted easy drinking beers.

The new food includes their new Fish Sandwich that is battered and has fried tortilla’s making it almost a fish and chips sandwich. The next sample was a pulled pork sandwich that had nice ranch slaw on it. Next up was the pulled pork tacos a great tasting treat. The last thing we were able to sample was the bone out dry ribs. They were great with the spicy sauce they were served with. Even though I expected to like one of the pork dishes the best for me it was the Fish Sandwich that really hit the spot. It had everything you would want in a sandwich and more. Not to say anything bad about the other options as there were all really tasty and I would love to eat more of all of them.

Now they were not done with the great samples. The next thing they brought us was a sample of their brand new beer floats. This one used their Blackberry Bourbon Ale and some really tasty ice cream. They also gave us a sample of the Blackberry Bourbon Ale without ice cream to compare. Personally I cant wait to get back and try a full sized beer float! This little sample was to die for.

Now while we where up in a private room for this tasting the Truck Stop Diner got really busy and shows just how popular a spot this is to hang out. They also have a growler bar and off sales location at the front door. If you have not made it out to Red Truck Beer yet what are you waiting for?

YVR ISA – Steamworks Brewing

Apr5 by Mike

From Steamworks Brewing in Burnaby BC comes their latest release the “YVR ISA”. The beer pours an orange colour with a white head. The aroma consists of tropical fruits, passion fruit, orange and floral hops. The flavour is of tropical fruits, passion fruit, orange, hint of white wine with mild notes of resin, earth and bitterness in the finish. The alcohol content comes in at 4.4% with an IBU of 40. This is a mild flavoured ISA but would fit in well on any patio this summer.

Hands Up Red Ale – Tin Whistle Brewing

Mar28 by Mike

From Tin Whistle Brewing in Penticton comes their “Hands Up Red Ale” their newest seasonal release. The beer pours a deep red colour with a small brownish head. The aroma consists of raisins, fruit, molasses, malts and some rum. The flavour is of raisin, rum, fruits, molasses, oatmeal, mild roast, bitterness and a hint of earth. The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 20. This is a tasty red ale that sits on the sweeter side of the spectrum.

Commercial Description: A raisin oatmeal red ale to commemorate Bill Minor, the Gentleman robber.

Backstory: Bill Miner (1847-1913). Bill Miner, the first train robber in Canada was known as the “Gentleman Bandit” because of his good manners during a hold-up. He was also the originator of the phrase “Hands Up!”. On May 8, 1906, he held up the C.P.R near Kamloops making him a local folk hero. He was later arrested by the Royal North West Mounted Police and sentenced to 25 years in the New Westminster Penitentiary. The 1982 Canadian film The Grey Fox was based on Billy Miner’s life.

Knucklehead Pumpkin Ale – Cannery Brewing

Oct27 by Mike

From Cannery Brewing Company out of Penticton BC comes their seasonal “Knucklehead Pumpkin Ale”. The beer pours a deep reddish colour with an off whit head. The aroma consists of pumpkin, cinnamon, spices and a sweet finish. The flavour is of malts, caramel, earth, pumpkin, cinnamon, spices, sweetness and a roasty finish. The alcohol content comes in at 5% with an IBU of 20. If you are a fan of the pumpkin beer then make sure to grab a bottle or two of this as it is one of the better ones.

Commercial Description: The Knucklehead Pumpkins are grown locally for us by Harker’s Organics in Cawston, BC. We roast the pumpkins with brown sugar at the Kettle Valley Station Pub and brew them with traditional fall spices to make this gnarly brown ale. The roasted Knucklehead Pumpkins bring a rich mouth-feel and a touch of sweetness to this traditionally spiced brown ale.

Dead Frog Brewery Launches Winter Seasonals 2014 – Bitter Tasting Room

Nov13 by Mike

Dead Frog Brewery is excited about their new Winter Mixer pack and their two new Winter Seasonal beers.

The brewery held a small party at Bitter Tasting Room in Downtown Vancouver on November 10th, 2014 to help spread the word. The new Winter Mixer pack is comprised of the following 4 beers: Rocket Man Interstellar ESB, Winter Seasonal Amber Ale, The Bold Belgian Pale Ale and their The Classic Nub Brown Ale. The new Winter Seasonal Amber Ale has notes of caramel, vanilla, winter spices and citrus notes.

Much like the last few years they have changed up the recipe for one of their well known seasonal bomber releases the Winter Beeracle Winter Ale.

The Winter Beeracle pours a deep chestnut colour with a brown head and lots of lacing. The aroma consists of malts, vanilla, chestnuts and an overall sweetness. The flavour is of caramel malts, vanilla, chestnuts, dark chocolate, brown sugar and some hops bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 7.5% with an IBU of 24. Every year this beer seems to be getting better and this year is no different!

Coming later in the Winter will be the brand new seasonal the Nutty Uncle Peanut Butter Stout. This beer will be launched late in November and is a single batch beer. It is a peanut butter, chocolate milk stout.

The version on hand at the party was a cask from the very first batch. They have since added lactose to make it a milk stout and have added more peanut butter. I can attest to the fact that it was already really tasty and will only get better!

Thanks to Dead Frog Brewery and its whole crew that showed up for the party far away from the brewery! It was an amazing time and I look forward to having a few of these seasonals this winter!

Here are the full sized photos from the event.