A few things have snuck past me (well, not snuck past me so much as I chose not to write a post about them yet) in the past month, so I thought I should put together a quick news update post. Most of the news right now seems to be from northern Alberta, as the other breweries seem to be inbetween releases. Here is the scoop:

• First up is last week’s re-release of Red Dragon from Alley Kat. The kids at the Kat have returned to the first version of their Dragon series, hopped with Simcoe hops. At the time of its release, Red Dragon was just a fanciful one-off, but due to its popularity led to the creation of a new line of big bottle beer – the Dragon series. They have worked through many colours, but have decided to take a return trip to red. Haven’t tried it yet, so can’t say if they tweaked it or not, but know it is out there and won’t be out there for long.
• In the copper colour range is the impending release of Great Western’s Original 16 Copper – the second of their Original 16 brand and makes me hopeful that it might become a series. Said to be a bit darker and richer, it is currently – or soon will be – available on tap at select locations in Edmonton, including Pour House,  O’Bryne’s and Underground.
• Ribstone Creek‘s news is rather double-barreled. Not only did they finally open their brewery in Edgerton back in December, the increased capacity it affords has allowed them to launch their signature lager in cans, which are or soon will be available in select liquor stores around Alberta.
• In related packaging news, in follow-up to my news item that Hog’s Head Brewing’s Hop Slayer is finally available, they quickly announced that it is available in six-packs. As it works out the entire first order was snapped up by the Liquor Depot chain, which is a bit of a shame, but it does mean a fairly wide distribution quickly.

There are also a couple of Tap Take-Overs happening in Alberta in the coming weeks. Tap take-overs are the new rage across North America. This is when a single brewery brings in a number of kegs, including special, not-available-elsewhere beer for a day or two. The number of “take-over” beer can range from 3 to 12 or more and can be quite fun if you like a particular brewery and want to try some rarer or never-before-seen beer from them. I missed reporting on at Craft Beer Market in Calgary last week, who had a BrewDog takeover to mark the release of BrewDog products on tap in Alberta. However, there are a couple of others coming in the coming couple weeks that might keep you happy:

• March 15-16 at Edmonton’s Underground Tap and Grill is featuring a Dieu Du Ciel takeover. with 11 kegs coming on over the couple of days, including barrel-aged Peche Mortel and Solstice D’Hiver, Grand Noirceur, Deese Nocturne and a few other surprises.
• March 21 at Calgary’s National Beer Hall, Half Pints will be offering 5 beer, including some original samplings, for thirsty Calgary patrons.

So that is the latest, as far as I know. I am but a lowly scribe dependent upon others (in particular brewery marketing people) letting me know what they are up to. So any omissions are not intentional.