With all the young, flirtatious upstarts popping up around Alberta, gathering the attentions of the wandering-eye beer consumer, one wonders what the established craft breweries need to do to re-capture some of the attention that used to go their way…. Continue Reading →
Who in heaven’s name would give up a successful career in film to open a brewery? Hanging out with the likes of Ang Lee, Anne Hathaway and (my favourite in the list) Allan Hawco of Republic of Doyle fame. Twin… Continue Reading →
A complaint under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) – a trade deal signed between provinces and the federal government in 1994 – against the Alberta government’s new mark-up policies has been forwarded to a formal hearing, according to a… Continue Reading →
I visited Grande Prairie a couple of weeks ago to attend a music festival (first ever Bear Creek Folk Festival – great time!). Being who I am I took some time out to visit the two new breweries in town,… Continue Reading →
When I started this website over 6 years ago (!!) it was with two explicit functions. First,it was an outlet for writing, observations and ramblings that couldn’t fit into my regular columns. Second, and most importantly, it was going to… Continue Reading →
It takes serious commitment to be a homebrewer in Moldova, a former Soviet Republic sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. But Vlad Covali was up to the challenge. “There was no brewery supplier,” he reflects. “We had to go to farmers… Continue Reading →
The list of small town Alberta breweries continues to grow. The latest is Dog Island Brewing (link is to their Facebook page – no website yet) in the northern town of Slave Lake (about 2 hours north of Edmonton; population… Continue Reading →
In a brewery, sometimes stuff (use whichever synonym for that you wish) happens. The question is what you do with it. In the case of Lacombe’s Blindman Brewing had to answer that very question a little while ago. When brewing… Continue Reading →
I have quickly gotten used to being surprised when I hear the location of a new brewery on the prairies. It seems it doesn’t matter how small or large the town, there is an opportunity to brew beer for the… Continue Reading →
As I feared/suspected, the Alberta government announced the details of its brewery grant program last week while I was being completely, joyously unproductive. But you wouldn’t know it from reading the media coverage last week, which was woefully short on… Continue Reading →