I am not really doing beer reviews on the site any more. But I loved the concept of Grain Bin Brewing’s Summer Chores mixed pack so much I am driven to write about it. Four beer named after dreaded yard… Continue Reading →
Parallel to the judging of the 2020 Alberta Beer Awards back in February, which seems like forever ago, Raft Beer Labs ran some analytical tests on a portion of the competition entries. While I was holidaying a couple weeks back,… Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago we were on our way to a socially-distanced visit in a friend’s backyard and my spouse needed some wine. So I dropped into a strip mall mom-and-pop liquor store on the way to pick up whatever… Continue Reading →
Starting up a small, local craft brewery is hard enough. Licensing and permit bureaucracies to navigate. Tons of technical issues to tackle. And then there is the money. It requires tonnes of work with a big question that hangs over… Continue Reading →
Releasing a book during COVID-19 must be an author’s nightmare. No real opportunities to promote the book, no in-store sales. Only word of mouth to work with. Not ideal. Such is the case for Scott Messenger, an Edmonton-based writer and… Continue Reading →
News came last week that brewery taprooms and brewpubs (along with other licensees except nighclubs) will be included in the first phase of the Alberta government COVID-19 re-opening strategy, with restrictions. This news came as a bit of a surprise… Continue Reading →
A couple weeks ago I sat down (virtually) with Dalen Landis of Grain Bin Brewing in Grande Prairie. During the COVID crisis, he has been doing a series of informal conversations with various local personalities (including the Mayor!), people with… Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago there were rumours flying around the Alberta beer industry that Calgary brewery Caravel Brewing had closed its taproom and the future of the brewery was in doubt. Then the COVID crisis hit and that story quickly… Continue Reading →
I have had a bit of time in the couple of days following the announcement of the 2020 Alberta Beer Award winners, which you can find here, to do something of an historical analysis of the first three years of… Continue Reading →
Tonight, via internet livestream, the winners of the 2020 Alberta Beer Awards were announced. The big winners were Cabin Brewing and Alley Kat Brewing, but there was plenty of celebration to go around. Forty-eight different breweries won medals, showing an… Continue Reading →