For a number of years now, Alberta liquor stores have had a a good selection of craft beer from B.C. (Howe Sound, Central City, Cannery, Nelson and, recently, Phillips) and Quebec (Dieu Du Ciel, Charlevoix, Trois Mousquetaires). Of course there… Continue Reading →
Winters are supposed to be the slow season for beer. Sales are down due to the weather. It is a chance for craft brewers to catch their breath, do some maintenance and clear out the backlog of paper work. Apparently… Continue Reading →
A year or so ago, I was feeling rather hopeful about the state of craft beer in western Canada’s pub chains (as evidenced by this post). I was particularly bullish on Hudson’s Canadian Tap House, who had just initiated “Beer… Continue Reading →
My column in the current issue of Planet S Magazine revisits a longstanding beef of mine – date codes. I have never understood why breweries feel the need to mask the production/best before date in a jumble of letters and… Continue Reading →
You will all be forgiven – even you Edmontonians – for not knowing about the Edmonton Metropolis Winter Festival. This new six-week long event was designed to draw people downtown during the cold winter months. Its big draw is supposed… Continue Reading →
Last year, Alley Kat in a couple of moments of fancy, released two single hop Double IPAs, Red Dragon (with Simcoe) and Blue Dragon (with Columbus). They were surprising one-offs, not a part of any planned series or seasonals (which… Continue Reading →
So, this is a day late and a few dollars short, but this morning CBC posted my most recent column online. In honour of Super Bowl weekend, I humbly offered an alternative to the oceans of Bud and Bud Light… Continue Reading →
The current issue of Vue Weekly is running my review of Bruton Bianca (sorry, no link yet – you will have to go analog and pick up a paper copy). As I have mentioned earlier, it is a nice interpretation… Continue Reading →
The intrepid folks up at Yukon Brewing have for many years produced a variety of seasonal and one-off beer. Alas, they have always been reserved for their loyal local customers in the Territory. Which means those of us South of… Continue Reading →
I mentioned a while back that two of Alberta’s breweries in the same week each released a Belgian-inspired seasonal. I have had an opportunity to give them each a try, and am intrigued at how different they are. As a… Continue Reading →