“This is an industry dominated by large corporations pretending to be small and local. We are a tiny little brewery pretending to be a large corporation.” You gotta love that kind of irreverent attitude. Those are the words of Kelsey… Continue Reading →
The prairie beer scene is changing rapidly, of that there is no question. Plenty of new breweries opening. But also new craft beer bars, improving beer selection in restaurants and just generally a higher profile happening. Me being me, I… Continue Reading →
And Great Western makes three. There are now three lawsuits (okay, two lawsuits and a trade complaint) against the Alberta government’s new beer mark-up policy. Saskatoon’s Great Western Brewing officially launched a lawsuit yesterday (read one of a few possible… Continue Reading →
Most people don’t know that Alberta’s first brewery opened in the southern city of Medicine Hat. Thomas Ireland opened Saskatchewan Brewery in 1882 on 2nd Street downtown. Ireland’s brewery lasted 5 years before closing. Another 26 years passed before a… Continue Reading →
The big thing that has caught my eye in the last few weeks is the growing list of new breweries opening or soon to be open on the prairies. The recent run of start-ups does not seem to be abating…. Continue Reading →
So over the weekend it became official. Global giant ABInbev has purchased another global giant, SABMiller, for $100 billion (US). The joint company will hold about 28% of the global beer market, far outstripping its next largest competitor, Heineken, who… Continue Reading →
I have mentioned briefly at times that over the summer I made a commitment to visit as many of the new breweries that have opened in Alberta in recent months. On a series of trips I worked my way around… Continue Reading →
I spend a lot of time in pubs. Not a surprise. But while I find myself in a wide range of places at times, I gravitate to pubs that have the right atmosphere and a great (or at least intelligent)… Continue Reading →
Calgary is about to have a new brewpub, even if they don’t know it yet. Prairie Dog Brewing Company is working on building a destination brewpub near the downtown core. It is the creature of four partners, Gerad Coles, Tyler… Continue Reading →
On Wednesday I got a couple of media calls asking me about the problem of “soggy barley”. (You can watch the CBC-Edmonton interview here – it starts at 18:59). At first I wasn’t sure what they were referring to, but… Continue Reading →