Obviously the big news in the beer scene on the prairies this month has been the change to Alberta’s mark up regime. But I have said enough about that (in case, somehow, you missed it, you can read here and here), so allow me to return to a standard news roundup to get you all caught up on the latest beer happenings in the region. No particular order, as usual (you all know the drill):

• October saw the launch of both Bench Creek Brewing and Blindman Brewing. Bench Creek starts with three beer: Naked Woodsman Pale Ale, White Raven IPA and Black Spruce Porter. Blindman is beginning with their Blindman River Session Ale and Longshadows IPA. Expect to see their beer slowly work their way to a tap line near you.

• Alley Kat’s latest seasonal is the return of their Coffee Porter, made with freshly roasted Transcend coffee. This beer was last out a couple years ago and makes its return in 650ml bombers.

• Down Highway 2, Wild Rose has two new beer out. The annual release of Cherry Porter occurred earlier this week. This year they have released the popular beer in a gift package including a 1-litre bottle of the beer with two stemless glasses. Get it while you can. Also this past weekend they released the second in their new Barrel Aged Series, Flanders Ave Sour Red which, as the name implies is a Flanders Red. It is being released in small quantities to get it while you can.

• Hopping over to Saskatchewan. Rebellion Brewing has transformed their Belgian Wheat into Midnight Wheat, a black witbier, so to speak. Available at the tap room only while supplies last.

• Finally jumping to Manitoba, Half Pints is hard at work, as usual. Their latest releases include Dead Ringer, a Belgian IPA, the latest release of Hoppenheimer and the most recent version of Heiðrún’s Sweet Mead. All are relatively limited quantities, so hit by Winnipeg to pick some up.

That is what I got for the moment, but I can give you a tantalizing tease to keep you coming back. Over the next couple weeks I will be profiled a number of new breweries in the works on the prairies as the craft beer scene continues to expand on the flatlands. So stay tuned!