I woke up this morning to the annual Edmonton Journal Readers’ Choice Awards choking up the space in my Monday paper. (Yes, I still subscribe to the hard copy edition – call me old because, well, I’m old.) Normally I… Continue Reading →
On Saturday afternoon Alberta witnessed the creation of something that I am pretty sure almost none of us coming a few years ago. I had the privilege to attend the launch of the Alberta Hop Producers Association. The group has… Continue Reading →
Having completed my post-Edmonton Folk Festival recovery 2017 edition, I have had some time to contemplate the state of beer at one of Canada’s largest and most successful folk festivals. I appreciate the Folk Fest is mostly about the music,… Continue Reading →
Over the weekend the results of the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards were announced (see the full winners’ list here). I can honestly say they were full of surprises. Lots of new names on the list and a fascinating equality between… Continue Reading →
Big Rock has quietly launched a barrel-aged beer series with currently two releases under its belt. The second and most recent release is a rum-barrel Barley Wine. Their barley wine was aged an impressive 8 months in rum casks from… Continue Reading →
My CBC beer column last week centred around the news of the resignation of Big Rock CEO Bob Sartor. It was somewhat surprising news and it got me wondering what might this mean for Alberta’s oldest and largest craft brewery…. Continue Reading →
The results of the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards were announced Saturday night in Vancouver (see the full results here). As usual, B.C. breweries won an disproportionate number of medals, with Ontario falling second. However, perusing the list I was pleasantly… Continue Reading →
A couple of interesting news bits this week.Thought I would offer a quick rundown on both and what they might mean in the region. B.C. Lowers Mark-Ups Last Friday the B.C. government moved to reduce the mark-ups on craft beer… Continue Reading →
Someone really should tell prairie breweries to chill their heels and stop being so darned busy and productive. Just kidding. But I am constantly amazed these days at just how much stuff is going on with craft beer in the… Continue Reading →
Within hours of the news that Fort McMurray was being evacuated, Mark Zemlak of Boiling Oar was on the phones and email talking to other Calgary breweries trying to work out ideas of how they could help. They had talked… Continue Reading →
