Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 10 – Le Grimoire Shamans

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Post number two of today! I am trying to catch-up on missed beers having been sick this past week. I posted earlier today about the Alien Klaw Belgian IPA from Day 5, and now I’ll be doing Day 10. I’ve been happy with the beers for the most part from this calendar. I hope that they continue to be awesome and bring some more unique one-offs.

The beer from day 10 comes to us from a Quebec microbrewery called “Le Grimoire”. It is a Witbier that has been flavoured with Apple and Cinnamon.

Situated in Granby, Le Grimoire has been operating since 2004, they try to make quality beers that take a step outside the normal. Bringing unique and wonderful beers to their patrons. They brew and serve onsite and strive to make both old and new. The story of Le Grimoire begins in 1996 with a trio of friend; Sébastien Dancause, Steve Dancause and Mario Lapointe. This trio were passionate about beer and decided to start brewing at home. In March of 2004, Sébastien learned that a microbrewery was selling it’s old equipment. The trio decided to buy this equipment and open a brewery. Not really knowing how to start, they added a fourth, Dancause’s uncle Michel Thibodeau. He brought a knowledge about business and construction that helped them get things moving.

They continued to grow, eventually buying the location they had originally been renting at 223 Rue Principale in Granby. In 2013 they were struck with a blow as Michel passed away. This didn’t stop them from brewing beer and their passion only grew. In 2015 they expanded buying a different location at 1546 Rue Principale in Granby and this is now the heart of their production. Here they sell their beers, promotional items, and homebrewing supplies. Eventually they hope to have a taproom open at this location as well.  While Le Grimoire does have a number of beers that they brew, and awards that they’ve won, we are trying “Shaman” a Witbier flavoured with apple and cinnamon.

A Witbier is a 500-year-old Belgian style of beer that had originally died out in the 1950s. Revived by Pierre Celis at Hoegaarden, it has grown in popularity and has become quite the popular summer beer. Many of the new breweries here in Winnipeg have a Witbier as a staple beer and have even competed to see who’s got the best wit. This style is an overall refreshing, elegant and tasty wheat-based ale that can bring a variety of subtle spicing. Not overpowering, the spicing in these beers is typically coriander and orange peel. As this one uses apple and cinnamon we can expect it to have the same subtle spice character (not overpowering the beer) but bringing these notes rather then what we’d tradition expect. So, let’s get to it.

Appearance:  Pours a slightly hazy pale straw colour with a nice 2” foamy head.
Smell: Definitely get some of that cinnamon right on the nose as well as a little bit of a vanilla character to it. There is a nice apple character to it right at the finish.
Taste:  Subtle spice notes from the cinnamon and maybe a little bit of apple from it. The vanilla is there as well. Some soft yeast notes and an overall refreshing character to it.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied, good carbonation, refreshing.
Overall: Subtle spice notes from the apple and cinnamon bring a different character to this decent witbier.
Do I like it: I found this to be a simple beer. It brought what I expected and was a little different from many of the other witbiers I’ve had given the spice variation. I didn’t really like it at the end of the day as I found the combination of spices and beer to be not to my liking. This doesn’t mean it was bad, It just wasn’t my cup of tea (or beer in this case).

 

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017, General Post

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 5 – Naparbier Alien Klaw

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Here comes the first of my “catch-up” posts. Now that I’m feeling 100% it’s time to get down to business and get these write-ups done. I’ll be doing two today. The first is Day 5’s beer followed by Day 10’s. I’ll continue this pattern until I’ve completely caught up. So, let’s get to it.

Today’s beer comes to us from Napabier, a microbrewery located in Noain, Spain. The beer, Alien Klaw IPA, is an IPA brewed with a Belgian yeast. One thing I will say right off the top about this brewery is that they have fantastic artwork. Check the awesomeness of the art here.

Naparbier was founded in 2009 and was originally located in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. Not necessarily as well known for beer as it is for Bull Fighting or Hemingway, Naparbier was looking to change that. The name is a combination of the Basque word for Navarra (Napar) and the German name for beer (bier, of course).

Originally, they started with just two beers — a pilsner and a dunkel — and now have a range of 14, five of which are year-round.

These guys are focused on freshness and creativity. Except for something like an imperial stout, their beers shouldn’t be aged. Head Brewer Juan Rodriguez is passionate and innovative, exploring both classic styles and more out-there endeavors. One such endeavor is the Pumpkin Tzar Russian Imperial Stout, brewed with pumpkin and habañero chile. They also recently launched a new range of “avant-garde” beers that the brewer calls “a little bit different” from what they usually brew, including a Belgian dubbel and a barley wine aged in whisky barrels. You can see all their beers here.

Naparbier has been growing in reputation over the years and some of their brews have included collaborations with the likes of Evil Twin Brewing. They’ve also made an impression on the folks at Brew Dogs who specially brought in these beers for a £30 a person dinner and beer tasting. Today’s beer is a twist on an IPA by using a non-typical yeast strain. Belgian yeasts tend to bring different esters and add quite a bit more yeast character to the style. IPAs are often brewed with a standard ale yeast that brews clean leaving the hops to be the star.  I’m excited to give this beer a try.

IPAs or India Pale Ale, have a storied history. The first known use of the term comes from the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser in 1829.  At this time, they were also referred to as a “pale ale as prepared for India”, “East India pale ale”, and “Export India Pale Ale”.  These types of IPAs were widely popular amongst the East India company and, while considered very hoppy, they were not much stronger than other beers brewed now. Hops are used as a preservative of sorts, to help keep the beer fresh. If you were preparing a beer for a long trip from England to India, you’d need to add a lot of hops. So, while the IPA if consumed in England before shipping would be quite hoppy, at the other end it likely would not. Today, the tradition of hopping beers continues, but we don’t have as far to send them, and the goal is to make a hoppy beer. If you’re curious about IPAs check out Wikipedia, the BJCP Guidelines (Page 37) or IPA Beer.

While these beers are part of the pale ale family, they are strongly hopped and often highlight the variety of flavours and complexities that can come from the simple ingredients used to brew beer.  Many will say the IPAs are an acquired taste, and they are rather unique, the bitterness brought using a large quantity of hops is not for everyone. On most IPAs you’ll see an IBU (international bitterness units) number that gives you an idea of how bitter it might be. For comparison, Torque’s American Pale Ale (Foundation) comes in at 30 IBUs, Half-Pints little Scrapper comes in at 50, and Barn Hammer’s Saturday Night Lumberjack at 75 IBUs.

As this one uses a Belgian yeast, we can expect it to much more yeast character. Hopefully they balance well against the hop notes.

Appearance:  Pours a hazy pale golden yellow with a frothy white head.
Smell: A bit of a yeasty nose along with some nice tropical fruit notes like passion fruit and pineapple. Some resinous, piney notes as well on the tail end.
Taste:  You can tell that this beer has been brewed with a Belgian yeast. I have a bit of a hard time describing it, but there is a yeast character that, some pepperiness and fruitiness, that come from the yeast. This is followed by some of those tropical fruit notes and a dry resinous bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light body, dry bitter finish.
Overall: The hops in this style of beer tend to overpower the notes from the Belgian yeast. I don’t find that quite the case in this beer. I get the notes of the Belgian yeast up front and they balance well with the tropical fruity notes and resinous bitterness from the finish.
Do I like it: I did like it. While I don’t drink a lot of IPAs anymore, I still enjoy them. I like the play on different hop notes along with different yeasts. I enjoyed the use of Belgian yeast in this beer and I’d be happy to drink it again.

 

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 9 – 8 Wired Palate Tour

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I know I’m skipping a few days here. I figured I’d post today’s beer and then work on posting a couple a day until I caught up. I’m glad to be feeling better. Sadly, my little girl and my wife are both feeling a little unwell still. Hopefully they’ll be back to normal before long. I’m glad to be back to writing.

Today we have quite the fun sounding beer. It’s called Palate Tour, it’s a Sour IPA and it comes to us from 8 Wired Brewing out of New Zealand.

The story of 8 wired begins in Western Australia in 2005 when the head brewer, Søren Eriksen was bestowed a coopers brewing kit by his to be wife, Monique. He failed horrible at brewing it, but this started him down the path that would eventually lead to the beer we are tasting today. He began his professional brewing career at Renaissance brewing in Blenheim, NZ. While only planning to stay for 3 months, they were in over their heads in their dream of opening a brewpub. Eventually, Renaissance let them rent their equipment and thus 8-wired was born as a contract brewery.

After 5 years of contract brewing at four different locations, they finally opened their own brewery in Warkworth (North of Auckland) where they brew and package everything. While they do have many beers, they are unique for having a large barrel-aging program. They believe that they have the largest barrel-aging program in the Southern Hemisphere which allows them to focus on a wide range of unique beers, including the Sour IPA we are tasting today.

They currently have about 225 barrels of beer and have recently acquired 7 large Foeders ranging from 1500-4000 litres each. Most of their barrels come from wineries which impart a funky note to their beers.

IPAs or India Pale Ale, have a storied history. The first known use of the term comes from the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser in 1829.  At this time, they were also referred to as a “pale ale as prepared for India”, “East India pale ale”, and “Export India Pale Ale”.  These types of IPAs were widely popular amongst the East India company and, while considered very hoppy, they were not much stronger than other beers brewed now. Hops are used as a preservative of sorts, to help keep the beer fresh. If you were preparing a beer for a long trip from England to India, you’d need to add a lot of hops. So, while the IPA if consumed in England before shipping would be quite hoppy, at the other end it likely would not. Today, the tradition of hopping beers continues, but we don’t have as far to send them, and the goal is to make a hoppy beer. If you’re curious about IPAs check out Wikipedia, the BJCP Guidelines (Page 37) or IPA Beer.

While these beers are part of the pale ale family, they are strongly hopped and often highlight the variety of flavours and complexities that can come from the simple ingredients used to brew beer.  Many will say the IPAs are an acquired taste, and they are rather unique, the bitterness brought using a large quantity of hops is not for everyone. On most IPAs you’ll see an IBU (international bitterness units) number that gives you an idea of how bitter it might be. For comparison, Torque’s American Pale Ale (Foundation) comes in at 30 IBUs, Half-Pints little Scrapper comes in at 50, and Barn Hammer’s Saturday Night Lumberjack at 75 IBUs.

What makes this beer unique is that it has a sour characteristic. They’ve twisted the story on the IPA and have almost replaced the bitterness one would expect with a fruity acidity. I’m excited to see what this ends up tasting like. I’ve had some Wild IPAs (IPAs fermented with wild yeasts) and they’ve been quite nice. So, let’s get to it.

Appearance:  Pours a hazy pale golden yellow with a good head that dissipates quickly.
Smell: Citrus and a sourness right on the nose. That acidity is noticeable. There is a bit of a funky note to it as well.
Taste:  Front is a sour bready note with some fruity acidity and sour citrus notes (lemon and grapefruit). The finish brings some of that piney and resinous bitterness to the mix.
Mouthfeel: Light body, dry bitter finish.
Overall: Super interesting. There are certainly some IPA characteristics here with the citrus notes and the resinous bitter finish. The addition of the fruity acidity brings a nice funky character to this beer. Elements of both an IPA and a sour ale are here for sure.
Do I like it: Nice tart and hoppy IPA. I’ve had a few of this style and I really enjoy them. I’m a big fan of sour beers and I think they bring a bit more depth to the IPA. I really enjoyed it.

 

 

 

Friday Beer News

Friday Beer News – December 8th

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Hey folks. For those who follow me on Twitter you know I’ve been dealing with a sick household. Both myself and my daughter have been sick preventing me from being able to do my advent calendar write-ups. I’m feeling better today so hope to catch-up this weekend.

I haven’t been able to keep up with the beer scene much this week either but there are few things I’ve mentioned that are still coming up.

  • Little Brown Jug will be celebrating 1 year of brewing on December 9th. They will have treats, beers, and brewery tours to enjoy at the brewery. For more details check here.
  • If you are looking for plans for New Years Eve there are a couple of options where beer is heavily involved. The 6th annual Resolution NYE Gala will be taking place at a new venue this year, the Delta downtown Winnipeg. It should be a fantastic event that includes both local breweries and Capital K spirits. For more info and to buy tickets check here.
  • As well, Peg Beer Co. will be having a Beer vs Wine New Years Eve dinner that should prove to be fantastic as well. Chef Aaron Epp will be cooking up some sweet foods to be paired along with both beer and wine. For details, menu, and tickets check here.
  • Barn Hammer is also releasing bottles of its 2016 Russian Imperial Stout today. They will be on sale at 1pm.
  • Finally, a ways into the future, January 29th, Barn Hammer and A Loaf and Honey will be hosting a 5 course beer dinner at Barn Hammer’s Taproom. The event sounds awesome and I hope everyone checks it out. More details and ticket info here.

That’s all I have for this week. I’d like to request your help. If you become aware of any cool beer news, events, or upcoming items that you think are worth sending out, please send them to me at beerwinnipeg@gmail.com

Thanks for following along

-Beer Winnipeg

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 4 – Evil Twin – The Quads are not what they seem

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evil_twin_logo

Day 4, still loads of beer to come. I’m excited for today’s beer, so I’m going to dive right into it. We’ve got a beer which comes to us from Evil Twin Brewing and it is “The Quads are not what they seem” Beligan Quadruple.

Founded by Jeppe Jarnit–Bjergsø in 2010, Evil Twin isn’t really a brewery.  Jeppe is known as the “gypsy brewer” in that he brews all over the place.  He develops recipe after recipe of unique styles and plays on styles that are brewed out of other breweries and exported around the world.  At the moment, he brews out of 10 different breweries in 6 different countries around the world.  This means that Evil Twin doesn’t really have any year round beers but rather a huge number of different and interesting one-off brews. To put it in perspective, Evil Twin launched more than 40 beers in 2012.

Jeppe was born in Denmark and began his adult life as a school teacher.  In 2012 he moved his family to Brooklyn, NY so that he could be closer to where it all happens and to grow his brand.  His goal is to make New York the beer capital of the world.  While many of the beers that he makes are experimental, they are also in many cases critically acclaimed.  Brewing in small batches, usually no more than 2500-3000 barrels (~3500 hectoliters), the beers tend to be a bit more on the expensive side and very difficult to find.

This beer that we are going to be trying today was brewed out Dorchester brewery in Massachusetts and is an evil twin brew of a Belgian staple.

The name Quadruple comes from the brewing process of this beer.  Essentially it means you are adding four times the malt as you would in a Belgian “simple”.   This increases the sugar content in the beer and results in a highly alcoholic beer.  The best Belgian quads hide this strong alcoholic flavor making them delicious but dangerous. Quads are highly adored due to their deep color, soft maltiness and unique yeast flavors.  Even with their high ABV (usually 8-12%) they are highly approachable when done right.

Appearance:  Pours the colour of a rich mahogany with an effervescent tan head.
Smell: Has the slight tingle of alcohol on the nose along with dark fruit, earth, caramel, and brown sugar.
Taste:  Slightly metallic note right on the front with a follow of sweet malt, dark fruit like plum or fig, and caramel.
Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, soft mouthfeel and an alcohol warming on the sweet finish.
Overall: I didn’t really get anything from the use of Belgian yeast on this one. That said, it did a great job hiding the alcohol in taste. With only a slight alcohol warming on finish, this one could be dangerous. Also found it brought some great dark fruit notes and nice soft maltiness.
Do I like it: I did quite like it. I enjoy a beer that gives a bit of colour to the cheeks and brings some nice rich flavours. For a cold night, this one will do just fine.

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017, General Post

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 3 – Saugatuck – Cocanuck Stout

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I hope that people are enjoying reading these write-ups of the craft beer advent calendar. I know that there are certainly some beers in this calendar that are going to be beyond their prime. They put styles in here that really shouldn’t sit for the ~5 months they sit, and it really doesn’t do the beers or the breweries justice. Even so, I find that the beers I get to try are unique and make it worthwhile for me. I know, very well, that many of the beers I’m trying are beyond their prime, but, there will be some gems, and for me, I enjoy that.

Today’s beer comes to coming to us from Saugatuck Brewing Company in Douglas, Michigan.  Douglas is a city that is after our own hearts.  It’s been the “City of friendliness” since 1870. Well, Friendly Manitoba says hello Douglas. The beer we have from them today is a Cocanuck (punny) stout. This same brewery did send a 12 pack of different stouts here to Manitoba and one of them was a coconut stout called “Beam me up stouty”. I’m not sure if this one will differ from that, but I do enjoy the addition of coconut (something I typically hate) to a stout.

Developed as a three-phase brewery plan by founder and original brew master Barry Johnson, Saugatuck Brewing Company first opened its doors in 2005.  In its infancy it consisted of a 3.5 barrel “brew on premise” system in a leased industrial space.  3.5 barrels is about 300 litres of beer, not very much when you are providing interesting and tasty craft beers.  So, in 2008 they moved to a 25,000 sq/ft facility that was fully remodeled to include an Irish style pub providing not only tasty beers but also tasty snacks.  They continued to use the “Brew on premise” system allowing for patrons to come in and brew their own beers to be taken away in bomber bottles after fermentation and carbonation were complete.

Around this same time a 10-barrel system was installed in the brew house and production began en masse of and start planning for regional distribution of their beers. Starting with a meager 70 barrels of fermentation space and only a single 650ml bottle filler, their first year consisted on only 250 barrels.  In 2010 they purchased Meheen 6 head bottle filler and in-line labeler enabling them to produce 4 mainstay styles of beer to be sold in six-packs. This allowed them to distribute not only to the lower part of Michigan but also into Chicago and they managed to reach 2000 barrels of production in 2012.

Today, Saugatuck Brewing boasts a large 45-barrel system paired with 960 barrels of fermentation space.  With newly installed bottling system and a fleet of over 6,000 kegs they are able to produce on average 13,000 barrels per year with a large scale distribution.  They produce a number of mainstay beers as well as seasonal and specialty beers. Led by President Ric Gillette and head brewer Steve Scheerhorn the team at Saugatuck focus on producing a variety of different beers for their taproom and restaurant and for distribution.

s I’ve said many times on this blog, stouts are one of my favorite styles of beer. Stouts are a dark beer made using roasted malts (or roasted barley), hops, water and yeast. Traditionally the term stout was used to describe the strongest (most alcoholic) porters, typically around 7-8%, produced by a brewery. The name ‘stout’ referred to the often stouter bottles these brews were sold in, which eventually became the term used to describe the style of beer.

There are numerous sub-styles of stouts ranging from Dry Stouts, to Porters, and Oyster stouts and my favorite, Imperial Stouts. While they had lost popularity after the First World War, they’ve started to have a bit of an upswing due to the growing popularity in craft beer and breweries. Stouts are very versatile, allowing for a lot of creativity in adjuncts and flavouring. You can see a number of craft breweries playing with stouts regularly. Higher alcohol stouts also often age well, making them a wonderful cellaring beer.

This particular stout is an American Stout that has been flavoured with coconut. American stouts tend to be more hop forward then your traditional stout (think Diesel Fitter). They have a dry slightly bitter finish but are very subtle on the hop aroma and flavour. While this beer is an American stout, the fact that it is flavoured with coconut means that there will likely be some sweetness. Let’s get to the beer.

Appearance – Pours black with a finger width of a tan head.
Smell – Bursting with toasted coconut notes and sweet chocolate.
Taste – Sweet malt-forward front with a strong coconut flavor that finishes surpassingly dry given the sweetness on the front. Alcohol warming is present, but it goes down smooth.
Mouth feel – Full bodied, sweet front and middle with a dry finish.
Overall – This beer plays a lot more like a Sweet Stout then it does anything else. It has a character to it that gives the impression of unfermented residual sugars from lactose, but they aren’t listed as an ingredient. I must guess that the coconut flavor comes from a syrup of some kind that adds that sweetness and body.
Do I like it? – I did enjoy it. While I found it to be quite sweet, I also liked the interplay of coconut with malt sweetness and that slightly bitter dry finish. I think this is a pretty strong third day entry, but it’s not going to be winning my top pick.

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 2 – Nønge Ø Dubbel Advent

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What a day. Burlywine is released at Half-Pints and Surly Darkness 2017. It was a good day for a lover of big beers. I am super excited that Burlywine is back. It’s been on hiatus since 2014 and I only recently drank my last bottle. I’ve also got a 2015, 16, and 17 Surly Darkness now and I’m excited about doing a three-year vertical (with friends of course, I’m not crazy). All this and it’s also day 2 of the Craft Beer Advent Calendar.

The beer we have today is a special beer brewed just for the calendar. Dubbel Advent is a Belgian Dubbel brewed by a brewery I really enjoy, Nønge Ø.

This brewery, located in Grimstad on the southern coast of Norway about 232km from Oslo, is the largest supplier of craft beer in Norway and the first brewer of sake in Europe.  The name, Nønge Ø, means “naked island”, a term used to describe the barren rocky outcroppings visible in the sea.  In 2013 it was acquired by Hansa Borg Bryggerier who own a family of regional breweries in Norway: Hansa, Borg and Christanssand Bryggeri.

While the founder and head brewer, Kjetil Jikiun, who started Nønge Ø in 2003 mainted his position initially, he decided to part ways left Nøgne Ø on July 31. 2015. He still hold shares at Nøgne Ø. It was under his passionate drive and uncompromising mind for quality that allowed this brewery to grow from 300 HL up to 3500 HL in only 7 years.  A dedicated team of 24 employees are carrying on and further developing the initiative made possible by the two founders Gunnar and Kjetil. Today, they produce over 20 different styles of beer and have a brilliant mind for flavor.

The style of beer we are drinking today is a Beligan Dubbel. The name Dubbel comes from the brewing process of this beer.  Essentially it means you are adding twice the malt as you would in a Beligan “simple”.   This increases the sugar content in the beer and results in a more alcoholic beer. They have a dark amber to copper colour and bring complex aromas from rich-sweet malt, to caramel, to chocolate. This style originated in the middle-ages and was revived in the mid-1800s after the Napoleonic era. Most commercial styles are between 6%-7.5%. The one we will be trying today comes in at a whopping 8%. Let’s get to the beer.

Appearance – Pours dark brown with a nice tan head.
Smell – Lots of raisin and dark fruit along with notes of caramel and chocolate.
Taste – Those malt notes come through bringing with them caramel, raisin and dark fruit notes. The Demarra sugar comes through as well bringing a nice sweetness that lingers. It’s a bit on the boozy side.
Mouth feel – Medium full body with medium carbonation and lingering sweet finish.
Overall – Overall, not completely authentic dubbel, it hits on some of the high notes. It has that complex malt, but finishes a bit sweet compared to a drier finish. The boozy/sweet finish on this is a bit uncharacteristic.
Do I like it? – I did enjoy it. I found it to be more to my liking, style wise, then yesterday’s beer and I felt it was a solid showing for day 2.

 

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017, General Post

2017 Advent Calendar – Day 1 – Shipyard Export

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Image result for shipyard export

Welcome to the first of 24 posts about the beers from the Craft Beer Advent Calendar. This year I am excited because it’s an “all-star” edition. This means I’ll be trying some of the best beers from the previous advent calendars. While it means I might get some repeats, I hope they are the ones I really enjoyed. I’m always happy to have a beer I’ve liked more than once.

The first beer today comes to us from Portland, Maine. It’s is described by the brewery as an American Blonde Ale brewed by Shipyard Brewing.

The brewery is in Portland, Maine which is just north of Massachusetts. I’ve visited here numerous times and there are a number of excellent craft breweries in the vicinity and in the city itself. While Shipyard produces many interesting beers, Export is the beer that got them started. It is their flagship beer and the one to which they attribute their success. While I likely would have preferred to try something from their barrel aged series, I am looking forward to trying the beer that got them started.

Shipyard first began in 1992 at Federal Jack’s Restaurant and Brew Pub in Kennebunk. After being open for only two years they couldn’t keep up with the demand for their beer. In April 1994, businessman Fred Forsley and brewer Alan Pugsley opened the Shipyard Brewing Company in the heart of the waterfront in Portland, Maine on the site of the former Crosby Laughlin Foundry.

To say that Shipyard is a small microbrewery would be a lie. Shipyard is the largest brewer in Maine (owning the Shipyard, Sea Dog Brewing Company, and Casco Bay Brewing Company banners, and bottling under contract with Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company). Shipyard is the fourth largest microbrewery in New England after Boston Beer Company, Harpoon Brewery, and Magic Hat Brewing Company. In fact, in 2008, Shipyard Brewing Company brewed 81,641 barrels of ale and shipped 2,900 barrels of soda. Its products are available in 40 states. What I do like is that they make every effort to source their ingredients from local farmers. When local industry can support local industry to be successful, that’s good to see.

Brewed in a more British fashion for a blonde ale, this beer brings a bit of a darker colour than one might find in a typical American blonde ale. The style, in and of itself, is typically viewed as being an entry-level craft beer. It brings a soft malty sweetness combined with some possible biscuit notes. This along with the low-medium hop presence means that it is an overall tame and easy drinking beer.

Onto the beer.

Appearance – Pours golden blonde with a thin ½” white head that retains well.
Smell –  Sweet aroma, hints of floral and noble hops, and an odd metallic note.
Taste –  Sweet malt, subtle caramel, grassy and metallic notes. Not sure where metallic is coming from, but the malt and grassy hop notes are good.
Mouth feel – Good carbonation, not too overbearing, medium body with a semi-sweet finish.
Overall – A bit more malt forward then most blonde ales I’ve had. This likely due to the fact that this calendar has beers Bea consumed fresh that have been sitting for upwards of 6 months. Overall easy drinking with a semi-sweet finish and a bit more malt character then I would like.
Do I like it? – I think this was a decent beer. It was a safe start to the calendar and I would have preferred a bit more of a bang to begin with.

Friday Beer News

Friday Beer News – December 1st

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Here are some things that have happened or will be soon happening in beer

  • Today is the first day of the various Craft Beer Advent Calendars. I hope folks who got their hands on them are as excited to see what’s contained inside as I am. I will be blogging about the Craft Beer Advent Calendar from craft beer importers. Look for my post on the first beer later today.
  • Torque have (always) got a number of interesting small batch releases at their taproom and they have also released the names and specific beers for their winter survival pack which is coming out in December.Torque - Winter Survival Pack
  • Nonsuch has released their bottles. They’ve been sent to a distributor for distribution around town. Expect to see them at select liquor marts and beer vendors. For Liquor Marts you can watch store inventory here. Nonsuch is also starting to bottle their Old Ale which means we will hopefully be able to get our hands on that.
  • Barn Hammer has released their Fur Trader Winter Ale and it is available on tap and in bottles at the taproom. It should also be available in bottles at local Winnipeg liquor marts soon. Check the inventory for stores here. They also have a Strawberry Milkshake IPA on at their tap room right now.
  • You can still get Damien, Furious Black IPA, and the 2016 bottle of Darkness at Liquor Marts around the city. The 2017 bottle of Darkness will be released tomorrow (It’ll be a good day for big beer lovers).
  • Half Pints will be releasing it’s Barley Wine (Burlywine) for the first time since 2014. This will be tomorrow as well and if you like Barley Wines, put it in your calendar.
  • Kilter Brewing have collaborated with 2 crows brewing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on a Hawaiian Ivory Milkshake IPA. It is being released at 2 crows this weekend and we should see it making it’s way out here to Manitoba soon.
  • Little Brown Jug will be celebrating 1 year of brewing on December 9th. They will have treats, beers, and brewery tours to enjoy at the brewery. For more details check here.
  • If you are looking for plans for New Years Eve there are a couple of options where beer is heavily involved. The 6th annual Resolution NYE Gala will be taking place at a new venue this year, the Delta downtown Winnipeg. It should be a fantastic event that includes both local breweries and Capital K spirits. For more info and to buy tickets check here.
  • As well, Peg Beer Co. will be having a Beer vs Wine New Years Eve dinner that should prove to be fantastic as well. Chef Aaron Epp will be cooking up some sweet foods to be paired along with both beer and wine. For details, menu, and tickets check here.

That’s all I have for this week. I’d like to request your help. If you become aware of any cool beer news, events, or upcoming items that you think are worth sending out, please send them to me at beerwinnipeg@gmail.com

Thanks for following along

-Beer Winnipeg

Craft Beer Advent Calendar - 2017, General Post

Time for an Advent Calendar

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While I am sure that most of you are excited about the upcoming Friday Beer News, tomorrow is also the beginning of the Craft Beer Advent Calendar.

As I did last year, I plan to blog about these beers again.  Every day.  That means 24 posts, hopefully.  The goal of these posts is education. Mine and, hopefully, yours. It’s about learning more about the beer and the breweries who make them. Here is how the post will be organized:

  • Beer name, location, and style of beer.
  • Description of the style, origins and information about the brewery.
  • Rating of the beer based on the following:
    • The appearance of the beer
      • What’s the colour, the head and the retention of the foam?
    • The smell of the beer
      • What notes are present and are there any off notes that shouldn’t be there?
    • The big one
      • How do the smells come through in the taste, is it pleasant, are there any off-flavours or things that just aren’t quite right?
    • Mouth Feel
      • What’s the body of the beer, is it light, or heavy? Is there a good carbonation level for the style?
    • Overall thoughts on the beer in relation to the style
    • Whether I actually like the beer or not and why

I want to make a note on the reviewing system I use.  I’m not a beer judge. Those who have been trained to be able to smell and taste what is off in a beer are very good and I respect their opinions.  With that exception, I don’t always take stock in how people rate beers.  Perhaps someone doesn’t like a particular style, or they don’t think the beer is good.  It doesn’t mean I, or someone else, won’t like it.

So, while I will be reviewing these beers, it is more for my own personal education and to keep track of which ones I liked the best throughout the process.  You can take my reviews as you like, either listen or don’t.  Ultimately, I want people to try new beers and take chances.

These posts will be done in the evening so as not to spoil anything for those who have this calendar as well. I look forward to trying these “All-Star” beers and hope that you’ll enjoy following along. Check out the wrap-up post from my last two Advent Calendars here and here.

-Beer Winnipeg

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