You have likely heard the news. Co-founder of Village Brewing in Calgary, Jim Button, passed away on January 19. He was 59. His life and contributions to community deserve to be recognized. Others who knew him better than I may… Continue Reading →
Alberta’s first homegrown big beer brand was not Trad, or Drummond, or Uncle Ben’s, or even Lethbridge Pils or Bohemian Maid. It was Calgary Beer, formally known as Calgary Export Lager, which was first brewed in 1892. Alas Calgary Beer… Continue Reading →
The latest Unity Brew is out! And due to COVID-19 it is quite different this year. No, I don’t mean the choice of style or anything like that. Because of COVID there are actually FIVE Unity Brews now roaming our… Continue Reading →
Beer fans have long understood the world of the Pale Ale. On one hand there is British Pale Ale – sometimes known as Strong Bitter (or Extra Special Bitter, a name the BJCP has done away with) – which offers… Continue Reading →
Vue Weekly’s annual Beer Issue is out, available at racks around town and online. The venerable alt-weekly in Edmonton has offered a corner of its magazine to my beer column for over a decade now, but I always get excited… 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 →
It has been a while since I have gotten to a Random Acts of Beerness (now with a hip acronym – RAOB!). Not that there hasn’t been beer news that has caught my attention. It is more that I have… 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 →
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 →
Time for some prairie beer news. I find these days things move so fast that my semi-regular posts to offer a round-up aren’t really keeping up – however here is yet another just to get things back up-to-date. The biggest… Continue Reading →
