edmontonbeergeeksBefore the e-ink was dry on my last news digest (found here), more beer news came rolling in, as usual. Here is the latest of which I am aware.

  • Tickets for Edmonton Beer Geeks Anonymous‘ third annual Real Ale Festival go on sale on Friday April 18. This annual event has grown in popularity since its inception, which means tickets sell out quickly so pay attention to that date. As the name implies it is a festival exclusively for real ales (also known as cask ales). the even itself will be Saturday September 6 at Ritchie Hall from 1 to 10 pm. Sales of half pint and pint glasses will be affordable ($3 and $6 respectively).  At the moment 11 breweries from Alberta and B.C. are slated to participate, with possibly more coming.
  • Over the summer months EBGA will be hosting a series of Street Car beer events in conjunction with the Edmonton Radial Railway Society. Five events are currently organized with Alley Kat, Hog’s Head, Yukon, Ribstone Creek with one still TBA. Each brewery will bring a special cask or seasonal beer to serve. For details go to the EBGA website.
  • In brewery news, on Saturday (April 19) Half Pints is releasing this year’s version of their popular annual release, Pothole Porter. This baltic porter is slightly different this year. Obviously hardy Winnipeggers will get first dibs, but I suspect some will also make its way out to Alberta.
  • RC rangelandSaskatoon’s Paddock Wood will be releasing in the next two or three weeks the latest version of its 1000 Monkeys Russian Imperial Stout, with two barreled version to come shortly. Barrel Full of Monkeys will be bourbon barreled, but they also have also put some in rum barrels, which will be called Monkeys of the Caribbean (get it?). Rumour also has it that a Black Rye IPA and a traditional German Roggenbier might be on the horizon.
  • Village Brewing has announced the re-start of growler sales (after a recall of defective bottles a few weeks ago) with a special charity fundraising campaign. 5000 new growlers have been produced and each new owner of a growler is encouraged to go to their Growlers For Good website where they can donate $1 to one of Calgary’s theatre companies.
  • Finally Ribstone Creek has designed a new label for their Rangeland Pale Ale. This is part of their gradual progression to expanding their line-up. Rangeland, along with Lone Bison IPA and Firepit Wit, will soon be available in canned six-packs. No timeline as yet, but that is the medium range plan.

We SHOULD get a bit of a pause on new releases until we get closer to summer, but you never know, do ya? Keeps giving me something to do on this website, anyway.