Winnipeg’s brewing anchor, Half Pints Brewing, is having their annual Open House on December 4. This is a MUST GO-TO event for Winnipeg beeries, as it has samplings, food pairings, raffles of cool stuff, free access to the brewery and her staff PLUS it is the launch of Burly Wine each year. Well, for now. On a recent blog post, Half Pints Dave announced that Burly Wine is, for now, no more. This year they are releasing a limited quantity of the 2009 vintage aged on bourbon soaked oak spirals. And next year? They say they have something special in mind but we will have to wait to find out.

Dave says that Burly Wine may return someday, so don’t despair. However, kids, horde those remaining bottles you have in your cellar, as they may become very rare. I know I am holding on to mine.

In other Half Pints news, they are also launching their new look. All of their labels and boxes have been nattily re-designed. I got a sneak peak at the boxes when I was there in September, and I can assure they will be easily spotted on the shelf. The new labels are cleaner and more stylized, giving them a more nuanced look (as you can see). Of course I realize that labels are not the priority of beer geeks, but we need to appreciate that in the competition for the experimental newcomer, standing out on the shelf and offering an attractive label are key components in successful marketing.

The new look is almost enough to overcome my sadness at the temporary loss of Burly Wine. However, I am buoyed by the thought that what replaces it will have Half Pint’s trademark yumminess connected to it. Bring it on!