A collection of beer news has hit the wire in the last few days, so I thought I would put together a quick post outlining them all to get you caught up. In digest style here they are, in no particular order:
- Underground Tap and Grill in Edmonton (Jasper Avenue and 100 Street) finally opened its doors last week. Due to some technical difficulties with air conditioning, they wisely delayed their opening until the warm weather subsided (the a/c will be fixed in time for next year’s heat). October is a soft-launch for the craft-oriented pub, with the Official Grand Opening on November 1. However, they are open for business. More than 70 beer on tap (mostly craft), including 3 each from Paddock Wood and Alley Kat, 2 from Amber’s and Yukon, plus Yellowhead and one from Wild Rose. 12 taps are reserved for rotating seasonals of varying shapes and sizes. Early reviews are positive (including a very short stop-in by yours truly). I will evaluate it more closely in a few weeks after they have worked the kinks out (which is what soft launches are for).
- Village Brewing officially quadrupled its capacity this week with the installation of six 60-hectolitre conical fermenters and a new 150-bottles-per-minute line. No plans in the near future to sell outside Calgary, but the brewery states that it is a year ahead of projections in terms of sales.
- Hog’s Head Brewing is now officially listed in the Liquor Connect system and kegs should be appearing at accounts soon, with bottles to follow soon. They are starting with three beer – Hop Slayer IPA (reportedly the hoppiest IPA in Canada), Baby Back IPA and Death by Pumpkin. I haven’t yet been able to identify which locations will be first, but will let you know when I hear.
- The release of Alley Kat’s Orange Dragon somehow slipped by me last week. The latest in their Dragon Single-Hop Double IPA series features Summit hops this time out, and is in stores and select tap accounts now.
- Paddock Wood has found itself in the middle of a controversy over its new pub, The Woods Alehouse. Two of its anchor accounts in Saskatoon, Winston’s Pub and Yard and Flagon, pulled Paddock Wood beer off their taps in protest of the new pub, claiming that PW has now become competitor rather than supplier. Paddock Wood, for its part, says they have been consciously working to not poach or undermine other pubs are keeping the two ends of the business separate. I will have more to say on this in an upcoming Planet S column.
- Just today Big Rock announced what the first of their new Alchemist Edition beer will be. Ambrosia Wet Hop Ale uses fresh Cascade hops flown in from Washington and reportedly in the brew kettle less than 24 hours after harvesting. No word on what the base style is, or how much hops they put in. It is a keg-only product to be sold only in Calgary. So, no Ambrosia for me, apparently.
That is all the news that I am aware of for the moment. Updates as events warrant. We now return you to your regularly scheduled beer drinking.
October 10, 2012 at 3:26 PM
I know that there will be some nay-sayers here, but I went to Underground and I thought it was pretty awesome. I liked that they had some rotating beers as well as some offerings that cannot be found on tap anywhere else in edmonton (that I know of).
Best of all the one waitress I had was surprisingly knowledgeable (compared to other establishments) and could point out some offerings to my new-to-beer friends with some accuracy. I had a burger there and it was pretty good although I thought it was 2-3 dollars too expensive.
The interior wasn’t overly cluttered with pictures and nick-nacks and the main focal point was the bar with a long seating and seeminly endless taps.
The vibe was a miture of all age groups and styles, so I never felt out of place. There are both tables and booths for seating.
There were a few televisions and NO overpowering music so we could talk freely without losing our voices.
I understand that they had few beers that were not avail at the time but they haven’t had a grand opening yet.
October 11, 2012 at 10:48 AM
I’m quite pleased to hear that Underground has finally opened. I’ve been looking forward to seeing if they live up to the hype. I haven’t made it down yet, but I’ve heard a few good things so far.
Hopefully, all of the construction on their front door won’t hurt business too much before they really even get started.
October 23, 2012 at 11:55 AM
Have you tried the hogshead beers yet? I’m very curious. I see it in liquor connect but doesn’t seem to be available anywhere. Hopiest beer in Canada is a bold statment but that they are wiling to make that statement and the fact that two of their first three beers are IPA is a good sing to me.
October 23, 2012 at 4:18 PM
Packaged product hasn’t hit store shelves yet, but they tell me it will be coming soon. I am told you can get it the Wine and Beyond growler-filling stations. I haven’t been to that store yet, so not sure if it is true.
Also – supposed to be on tap at the Underground sometime in the next couple weeks.
October 24, 2012 at 9:58 AM
I learned true the pipes (twitter) that a keg of their baby back red IPA was tapped yesterday in the Cha Island Tea Co. (104 st and something).