Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale from Parallel 49 Brewing

Well the slick labels and cool bottles continue to impress and stimulate my curiosity. I like this beer’s attitude. It reminds me of Kevin Bieksa’s during his first season. It looks the part, it has an edge, and some attitude, but it’s better days are ahead.

This beer is dark and rich with a nice head. It has a spicy taste I moderate intensity and a sugary finish.

I don’t think this beer is quite as bad as Kevin was his first year (my nickname for him was “biexcrement”)…. Hahaha, it’s funny now because he is so awesome!!!

Now, if only I had a cup to put this in… Let’s see… Nope no cups here. Tastes better out of a glass anyway:)

Score 3.5/5 G1

Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale from Parallel 49 Brewing

Phillips Amnesiac Double IPA

Today I am drinking the Phillips Amnesiac Double IPA.

If you are a Vancouver Canucks fan this is a day to forget.  I don’t mean that it is this day which must be forgotten, but it is a day during which we may strive to forget the past.  Forget last year’s playoffs.  Forget this season.  Forget games 1-3.

Did you say “What season?”  Good!

Starting with game four tomorrow, the Canucks begin the nearly insurmountable task of recovering from a 3-0 series deficit versus a (very good) LA Kings team.  The “reverse sweep” has only occurred a few times in history.

Forget history.

If we remember history, we will remember that the Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup.  Seeing as our primary goal is achieving something that has never happened, winning four straight seems like a fitting start to the remainder of this campaign.   Besides, if the players resign, the will lose for sure, an old thing called a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Forget the anger.

You just have to look at Ryan Kesler’s face to understand the frustration he must feel.  Perhaps it is this anger that makes every one of his wrist shots end with the loud “pack” sound of his puck hitting the glass behind the net.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at somebody else.  You are the one who gets burned.

–Siddhartha Buddha

This team is in the process of questioning its identity.  Just because they lost game seven last year and felt out-muscled by the Bruins, they now feel that they have to play a tougher brand.  Meanwhile, the rest of the league envies their talent.  Vancouverites don’t want to see the Sedins hit people, we want to see them get hit, get up, and score.

Forget the Hodgson Trade.

Play Schneider and forget about the implications.

Forget that this is an article about a beer with a nice fresh bite that fades steadily after drinking..

Did you say “what beer article?”  Good!

Rating 4.8/5

Stanley Park Brewery Belgian Amber Ale

Alright, alright… oh no, wait a sec…

Ok, now I am back.  Today I am having a bottle of Stanley Park Belgian Amber Ale before watching game three against the LA Kings.  Why is this so fitting?

Stanley Park:  In 1915 the Vancouver Millionaires won the Stanley Cup a stone’s throw from Stanley Park in the Denman Arena.  The arena stood on the Northwest corner of Denman and Georgia.  It was leveled by a coal fire in 1936.  There is no memorial (that I know of), no trace of it, and hardly a memory.

Belgian:  The Canucks are like a certain mythical being from Belgium:  The Smurfs.  (I have watched this movie every day for a week with my two year old).  They don’t rely on their size, but their ingenuity, and have a lot of different characters.  The Canucks, like the Smurfs, are well loved, but also have haters who, like the evil and ugly wizard Gargamel, spend every waking minute of every day despising their blue (and green) butts.

Amber Ale: Being two (three now) games down, Vancouver is running up to an amber light in this series.  We will see if they can gun it and beat the red.

As for this beer, it is just awesome.  It has really gotten better over the last couple of years, and is one of my favourites.

If you have tried this as well, and have your own opinion, I would be interested in hearing it.  Please use the comment section below.

5/5, G1-3