Heady news for craft brews in province

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/04/2021 (1998 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In 2014, the provincial government scaled back the amount of red tape involved in opening a brewery in the province. Not suprisingly, the subsequent months saw so many new breweries and brew pubs take shape that it was hard to keep up.

Since then growth in the industry has gone in fits and spurts, but between the change in regulations and today we’ve seen the number of craft breweries, brew pubs and contract brewers in the province go from two to nearly two dozen.

Most of the recent developments have been outside the Winnipeg’s city limits — Rendezvous Brewery & Taproom opened its doors in Morden last year, Black Wheat Brewing is putting the finishing touches on its Brandon brewery and tap room (while brewing at Barn Hammer’s Wall St. location in Winnipeg), and Whiteshell Brewpub is nearly ready to scale up operations in Falcon Lake.

But the action in Winnipeg is starting to heat up again — this year is looking to bring a bumper crop of fun new developments for craft beer lovers in the city. Here are some of the developments coming in the brew news department:

● Good Neighbour Brewing Co. is a new player that’s currently making beer at Oxus Brewing Co.’s Sanford St. facility until it can find a home of its own. Among the Good Neighbour brain trust is Morgan Wielgosz, who got her start in Manitoba as head of brewery operation at Trans Canada Brewing Co. Watch for its first beers in the coming weeks.

● After brewing at Barn Hammer’s Wall Street facilities for nearly two years, Low Life Barrel House is setting up a brewery and tap room of its own, to be located at 398 Daly St. N. near Pembina Highway. The brewing capacity for their funky beer and piquette will be around the same size as Barn Hammer’s, with plans for a barrel-adorned tap room and patio. If all goes well, things should be fully operational in September; until then it’s carrying on brewing at Barn Hammer.

● A new beer garden is brewing for West End/Wolseley folks to enjoy this summer. The Garden at 955 Portage Ave. is hoping to be open by May of this year, according to its Instagram page. Located in the empty lot between Banning Street and Lipton Street, it joins returning favourites such as the Cargo Bar at Assiniboine Park, the Beer Can (which has moved into the parking lot of the Granite Curling Club for 2021) and Bijou Patio, which returns to the Exchange District.

● After starting out at Torque Brewing on King Edward St., contract brewer Winnipeg Brew Werks has now hopped over to Oxus to make beer at their facility as well.

● Torque, meanwhile, has a full summer slate of rotating food trucks coming; Diversity Foods will be there today (April 10), Urban Prairie Cuisine will be cooking April 14-17, and Kyu Grill will be in the house April 21-22. For the full schedule check its social media pages.

● There’s just a placeholder website and an Instagram page, but something by the name of Bookstore Brewing Co. looks to be coming in June of this year.

● While there won’t be an in-person Flatlander’s Beer Festival this year, organizers are hoping to take the event online, and are working on setting up virtual events to take place in July. The fest is presented by Manitoba Liquor Marts, and has typically taken place in June at Bell MTS Place in support of the True North Youth Foundation.

Stay tuned — there’s plenty brewing on the local craft beer scene…

uncorked@mts.net

Twitter: @bensigurdson

 

Beers of the week

Stone Angel Brewing Co. Blue Note Session Ale (Winnipeg – $3.99/473ml can, brewery, select beer vendors)

Named after the famed local café/venue formerly on Main Street and then Portage Avenue, this session ale is pale gold in colour and slightly hazy, bringing a nice combination of bread dough, citrus and fresh malt notes on the nose that are attractive. It’s dry and light-bodied, and the Amarillo and Hollertau Blanc hops don’t bring overly bitter notes, but rather add citrus and herbal flavours to the malt-driven profile. The very modest 3.75 per cent ABV makes this a nice session ale to crush on a patio. ★★★★ out of five

Low Life Barrel House Majik Concord Grape Saison (Winnipeg – $5.50/473ml can, brewery, select beer vendors)

A saison aged with concord grapes, Low Life’s Majik is pale plum colour and hazy in appearance. The brewery’s modus operandi is beers with some funk to them, and there’s indeed a funky note on the nose thanks to the brettanomyces yeast strain used that works well with the plum, grape candy and malty notes. On the light-bodied, slightly off-dry palate there’s some racy acidity that ramps up the tart fruit and grape candy notes, while that yeast note lingers on the finish with the six per cent alcohol. For the more adventurous palate. ★★★1/2

Torque Brewing Radiant Blood Orange Saison (Winnipeg – $4.26/473ml can, brewery, Liquor Marts and select beer vendors)

Medium straw in colour and hazy, with a white head, this smaller-batch saison from Torque is brewed with fresh blood oranges. That citrus component is subtle on the nose, with plenty of compelling spice and malt aromas in there as well. The peppery note on the medium-bodied, mainly dry palate works well with the fresh malt, bread dough, banana candy and citrus note on the palate, and the result is complex yet refreshing. Bitterness is relatively low and the 6.7 per cent ABV offers some kick on the back end. Very good; fingers crossed this becomes a semi-regular brew. ★★★★1/2

Fort Garry Brewing Co. Hoeschen’s Eleven Double IPA (Winnipeg – $3.99/473ml can, brewery, Liquor Marts, beer vendors)

Named after the late Richard Hoeschen, who helped resurrect the Fort Garry brand in the 1990s, this double IPA is dark cola-ish colour in appearance with an off-white head. There’s a pleasant biscuit note on the nose that works well with the malt, dried fruit and subtle herbal aromas. It’s mainly dry, medium-bodied and robust, with caramel, malt, toffee and modest raisin notes that are interesting, albeit a touch atypical, especially when taken with the fact it’s not overly bitter like most double IPAs. The 7.5 per cent alcohol is robust yet manageable; whether true to style or not, it’s a tasty brew for cooler nights. ★★★1/2

Sookram’s Brewing Co. Occult Classic Dark Lager (Winnipeg – $3.99/473ml can, brewery and select beer vendors)

This riff on Sookram’s Cult Classic pilsner is deep chestnut brown in colour, with an off-white head. Aromatically the dark roast malt notes lead the charge, with mocha, Tootsie Roll and subtle spice aromas that indeed conjure dark thoughts. It brings the slightest hint of sweetness on the medium-bodied palate, and the Barbe Rouge hops work well with the roasted malts to deliver robust flavours of mocha and caramel, with little bitterness and a modest five per cent alcohol keeping things accessible. Fun stuff for dark beer lovers who don’t want anything too bitter or boozy. ★★★★

Nonsuch Brewing Co. Dubbel IPA (Winnipeg – $4.20/473ml can, brewery, Liquor Marts, select beer vendors)

Medium copper in colour and hazy with a tan head, Nonsuch’s latest is a riff on combining a Belgian dubbel with an IPA. It’s tough to pin down aromatically; there’s a lovely pear note on the nose as well as dried apricot, lemon candy and herbal notes. On the medium-plus bodied, slightly off-dry palate the richer, robust nature of the Belgian dubbel style comes through, with dried fruit and roasted malt notes, and yet there’s a balanced IPA-ish bitterness from three strains of hops that comes with the lingering finish (thanks to the 6.5 per cent ABV). It shouldn’t seem to work but it does, and it’s delicious. ★★★★1/2