Souvenirs from Winnipeg

Traveling is part of Teena's job and gives her the opportunity see much of Canada. When she comes home, she likes to bring along a piece of Canada for me. The souvenirs that she brings to me are in the form of beer, the kind I can't buy in Ontario.

Here is what she brought home from Winnipeg:

• 1 Mississippi Mud Black and Tan from the Mississippi Brewing Co.
• 2 Dead Frog Fearless IPAs
• 2 Farmery Premium Lagers
• 1 Quiet Rye 'T' Rye IPA from Fernie Brewing
• 1 Sternwheeler Scotch Ale from Bakerville Brewing.

A great variety of beer styles, breweries and geographic locations. I have some fun sampling ahead of me for sure!

Beer of the Week - Half Pint Brewery -IPA and Stout

A couple of weeks ago, Teena was in Winnipeg and came home with lots of new beers for me to try.

Among them were two from Half Pint Brewery, 6 of their Little Scrapper IPA and 2 Stir Stick Stouts.

She is so good to me!

I could not find too much information on Half Pint Brewery except that they opened in August of 2006 and have had to expand their capacity twice in the past four years in order to keep up with demand. Located in downtown Winnipeg, it claims to be Manitoba's only remaining Manitoban-owned brewery. Fort Garry is brewed in Winnipeg but is co-owned by Russell Brewing in BC.

In October of this year, Half Pints installed a pair of 40-barrel tanks, which will increase its capacity by nearly 50%. The new tanks boost the brewery's capacity to 8,000 hectolitres a year, or nearly 100,000 two-fours. That's up from 1,500 hectolitres or about 18,000 two-fours when Half Pints started up nearly four years ago.

The website lists all the places that serve their beer on tap. Quite a few places in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan carry Half Pints on Tap.

And the beer? I decided to start with the Little Scrapper IPA as I had more of them to hopefully enjoy.

It pours a slightly dark amber in colour with a nice head that does last. This ale is cloudy which suggests it is unfiltered. The website does say it is, "unfiltered, unpasteurized and unadulterated."

There is that familiar aroma of hops when I had a smell. When I sip, immediately the hops are in the foreground of the taste. Surprisingly the hops diminish in the finish. Usually when hops are at the front of the taste, they last all the way through the finish but not here. Instead the hops level off and there is more malt in the finish than hops.

It is a very nice, enjoyable IPA. Not sensational but very nice. Sure won't be hard making the other 5 bottles disappear.

It's now a day later and I am trying the Stir Stick Stout. It comes in a regular size 341 ML bottle but is unusual in that the bottle is not only capped, but the bottom of the cap is also sealed in wax. The website does not say why but it definitely forces the drinker to use a glass, which you should for a stout or porter ... really any beer.

The beer is unfiltered, dark brown, almost black in colour and very lively when poured. It instantly had a huge head, which took a little while to settle before topping up for the picture. I could smell the roasted malt and some coffee in the aroma. No surprise as they use an Ethiopian coffee in their brew.

The coffee is the first thing tasted when sipped and last through to the finish. There is a creaminess to this stout which I enjoyed. Many other brewers I find can't get this creaminess in their stouts. I enjoy a bitter beer but found the coffee adds a harshness to the beer which takes away from some of the total enjoyment.

This is a beer I could have only one or two of before switching to something else. A good stout, but not a great stout.

Over all I would say that Half Pints Brewery makes very decent beer. I would not hesitate to have any other of their brews. In fact, Bar Volo in Toronto carries Half Pints on Tap. I'll be trying one next time I'm there.

Thanks again, Teena, for picking these up for me!

Beer of the Week - Fort Garry Brewing Pale Ale and Dark Ale

Recently Teena was in Winnipeg and brought me back a lot of local beer to try. I think she likes me.

Included were 4 cans from Fort Garry Brewing located in downtown Winnipeg. 2 Pale Ales and 2 Dark Ales.

In doing some research, I found that Fort Garry Brewing does have an interesting story that goes back 80 years.

Fort Garry Brewery was originally opened in Winnipeg in 1930 by B.W. Hoeschen selling two brands of beer. Frontier Beer won "Best in Class" in a beer competition in England against other Commonwealth breweries. In 1960, Fort Gary was sold to Molson's and in June, the name was incorporated as Molson's Fort Garry Brewing. That did not last long as Molson merged with Carling O'Keefe in 1990 and closed the facility.

In 1994, another Hoeschen came on the scene. Richard is the great-great grandson of B.W. and "resurrected" the brewery under the Fort Garry name. In fact, the brewery claims that their Frontier Pilsner, which they brew now, is from the original recipe for the Frontier Pilsner brewed back when the brewery first opened in 1930. The demand was good and he had to move the brewery to a large 25,000 square foot facility to keep up with present demand, and future expectations.

Richard passed away in 2002 but the brewery lived on and was quite popular in Manitoba. In 2006, the President of Russell Brewing in BC, Andrew Harris, saw a similarity in his brewery and Fort Garry and in 2007, Fort Garry amalgamated with Russell Brewing, which still brews under the Fort Garry name.

Teena brought me home 2 of their brands, the Fort Garry dark, which was the first beer Andrew Harris tried which peaked his interest, and Fort Garry Pale Ale.

I decided to try the Pale Ale first as from the website tasting notes the Dark seems a more fuller tasting beer and would likely overpower the Pale Ale if I had it first.

The Pale ale poured with nice white head and is amber in colour. As I sipped, there were traces of lacings down the side of the glass. It is a little watery and weak in taste and slightly sour in the finish. This seems to beer a beer brewed more for the beer drinker who enjoys more of the big brewery style beer and is really not what I look for in a craft beer.

The Dark Ale poured with a much better head which seemed to linger. It is very dark brown in colour with a mild aroma. It too is a little watery but tasty. There is a coffee flavour in the taste, not strong but is there. The flavours all seem to finish quickly. Nothing is overpowering but it is an OK beer. I was hoping for something a little more substantial but it is a nice drinkable beer.

There is nothing bad with either beer but, as I said before, they are not really what I look for in a craft brewery beer.

Souvenirs for Gord from Manitoba

Teena was in Winnipeg for a day and a half on business and promised to bring me back a couple of local beers.

When she arrived home, her "carry on bag" was bulging and had to spend i's time with the regular luggage, due to it's weight.

What made it bulge?


2 tallboys of Fort Garry Dark Ale, 2 tallboys of Fort Garry Pale Ale, 2 bottles of Half Pints Stir Stick Stout, 1 tallboy of Thirsty Beaver Amber (from BC) and 6 bottles of Half Pints Little Scrapper IPA.

All that and two tee-shirts.

Now I know what my next three beers of the week will be.

I also know that I have a great and thoughtful wife! Thanks Teena!