Regular readers will remember that I was in Winnipeg last month and spent some time hanging out out with Dave from Half Pints. Well, one of the burdens of being a beer writer is that you actually have to write… Continue Reading →
My latest Vue Weekly column is a review of Creemore Spring’s Traditional Pilsner, recently available in Alberta in cans. I was nervous about trying this, the second permanent beer in Creemore’s line up. I enjoy their Premium Lager quite a… Continue Reading →
Last weekend at SHABAM, Big Rock served up a new edition of its long-gone Magpie Rye Ale. It still maintained a subtle touch of rye sharpness, and, if my memory serves me, is a lighter in body than the original… Continue Reading →
I have been around beer for a long time. I have judged it, sampled it, quaffed it, paired it, compared it, even dumped it occasionally. I have definitely been brewing it for 20 years. But this week I learned something.I… Continue Reading →
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Unity Brew – the beer designed collaboratively by all of Alberta’s brewers with the proceeds going to charity (mostly the Kidney Foundation). The brew day was a blast, and the cause… Continue Reading →
The first annual SHABAM beer and art festival wrapped up on Saturday evening. I did my CBC column live from SHABAM on Friday afternoon. It gives a good run-down of how it was set up and its potential as an… Continue Reading →
It is not often when a pioneer of the American craft brewing industry comes to Alberta. And it is even rarer that a person gets a chance to have a specially designed dinner with said pioneer. But that is what… Continue Reading →
A quick note to do two things: FIRST, the next Sugar Bowl / Alley Kat Cask Night is going to be Thursday October 21. 5:00 as usual. Not sure on the beer, but I was lobbying Neil to try to… Continue Reading →
Edmonton’s elder microbrewery, Alley Kat, has quietly been releasing some new seasonal offerings over the past couple weeks, so I have sampled them all recently andthought I should offer a quick run down for you. Pumpkin Pi is out for… Continue Reading →
Okay, it is not a bug, it’s a fungus, but you can’t have beer without it. I am talking about yeast – the single celled miracle creature that turns boring barley juice into an elixir worthy of the Gods. My… Continue Reading →