A little while ago, I won a draw for a dine-in experience at North Vancouver‘s local brewery, Wildeye. And today we were claiming our prize. This is my first time visiting their brewery/taproom/dining area, all rolled into one. The interior is spacious with plenty of seating across booths and share style tables. And on sunny days like today, the patio brings in the crowds.
We decided to enjoy our experience indoors, spotting the game wall at the far back. I am fond of the board game, Scrabble, having grown up playing it with both my mother and my aunt. I have fond memories, and whenever I see it get an inkling to play again. Thankfully, my partner indulges me and we had around today.
We did so, with a couple of flights, the best way to taste their range of beers. My partner is fond of lagers and more lighter style brews, so got a fleet of their easy drinking, light, canned cocktail options. These are poured from cans, out into smaller individual size goblets for a flight of four.
The following descriptions of each are taken from their website.
Easy Lager -Lime Wedge – Lime Lager
A refreshing and zesty flavour profile, were the crisp and light characteristics of a classic lager intertwine seamlessly with the bright, citrusy notes of freshly squeezed lime and a touch of sea salt. 4.0% ABV
Easy Lager – Tropical Lager
A fusion of exotic fruit flavours, marrying the smooth and crisp notes of classic lager featuring hints of pineapple and passionfruit
4.0% ABV
Easy Lager – Orange Slice
Orange Slice Lager delivers a harmonious blend of a traditional lager’s smooth and crisp base with a burst of citrusy brightness. it features the lively and refreshing essence of sun-ripened oranges that add a citrusy twist to each sip. 4.0% ABV
Easy Lager – Lite
The Easy Lite is the base beer for all of our Easy Lager iterations. This beer is as classic as they come, a crisp mouthfeel and a low ABV make this brew a perfectly crushable one. 4.0% ABV
I, on the other hand am already familiar with their beers, having sampled a good assortment of them during the experience in which I won this dine-in opportunity from. Therefore knew I already liked their Czech Pilsner, so got that. Their pineapple radler caught my eye, which found a great citrusy start to our day. Similarly the kiwi mango sour sounded tantalizing, as something you don’t see often. Although, truthfully, I am not a fan of the tart nuance of a sour. However, I must say this wasn’t as puckering as I thought it would be. And because I have yet to see it anywhere else, I also got a taster of their beer slush option. This is one of their lagers topped with either a lemon or orange slush. I got the latter and found it a treat, similar in tone to the radler, but with a nice refreshing icy, cool.
Czech Pilsner
2022 BC Craft Beer Awards – 1st place
The Czech-style Pilsner is a journey back in time, an homage to the original high quality, crisp and mouthwatering style. 4.8% ABV
Pineapple Radler
Juicy & delicious. 1/3 pineapple juice and 2/3 beer for a low abv, ultra fruity beer; perfect for a day in the sun. 3.0% ABV
Orange Beer Slush
Orange Lager mixed with orange slushy 3.0% ABV
Kiwi Mango Salted Sour
Kiwis are fun and tangy, but why not make it special with a little sweet mango as well? Add a bit of acidity and a sprinkle of salt, and you’ll have the time of your life! 5.3% ABV
As we sipped and played, we decided to grab an appetizer to snack on.
The Mexican street corn dip is a creamy corn dip with feta and pickled jalapeno, served with tortilla chips. We liked the crispy chips, but felt the watery dip could have used more spice and seasonings, and the corn a thorough grilling to match. Simply put, the chips needed a bolder dip, and in retrospect the mango salsa might have been a better choice.
Then, towards the end of her game, we decided to order lunch for something more substantial. Their menu consists of easy, café options the likes of sandwiches and pizza.
The Italian sandwich was served on the same focaccia bread that is available as an appetizer. It comes with either a side of chips or salad upgrade. We chose the former, and was slightly disappointed that they were chips from the grocery store, and not sliced and fried up to order from the kitchen, considering how good its fresh made sandwich pairing was. However, their lightly salted and neutral regular flavour was a nice balancing accompaniment for the salty meat sandwich. The sandwich was generously stacked with cured meat, lettuce, and tomatoes for what ate like a BLT. mortadella, cervelat salami, basil pesto, lemon garlic aioli, smoked gouda, mozzarella, onion, olives, spinach, and tomato, and a focaccia bun. Layers of salted cured meat alongside fresh vegetables and saucy condiments. The bread was the perfect base, offering herbed bits and a good chew. No complaints.
To match, we had the Sicilian pizza, which was a meat lovers style of pie. Built with yet more cured meat, accompanied by more briny olive slices, chunks of tomato, and fresh red onions. It was a tasty red sauce assembly and full of flavor, but the star of this show was definitely the crust. Thick and bubbly it way underneath the pressure of your teeth with an excellent crispy crunch. I wish we had the stomach capacity to finish it all in one sitting, because it was best fresh out of the oven. Marinara, mozzarella, cervelat salami, olives, onion, tomato, basil pesto, and a balsamic glaze.
After our match, which I ended up winning, we wrapped up our meal. We both agreed that this was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. The staff were courteous, the setting was comfortable, and the beers hit the spot. The next time we visit we will take a seat on the patio.
Wildeye Brewing
1385 Main St, North Vancouver, BC V7J 1C4
(604) 988-1900
wildeyebrewing.ca
