Barrels and bashes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/11/2023 (700 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From new releases to medal-winning spirits to funky parties, there’s no sign of things slowing down on the local drinks news heading into the holiday season.

The folks at Low Life Barrel House (398 Daly St. N.) will be getting funky today starting at noon as they throw their first Brett Fest at the brewery.

No, brett isn’t the name of one of the brewers, but rather an abbreviated term used to describe brettanomyces, a genus of yeast that can produce a compelling, complex earthy and funky notes in beer (and wine).

The Low Life crew will be rolling out a number of new and returning brett beers aged in its big wooden foeders all day today, as well as other products, including Paradise Grove, a collaboration between Low Life and Next Friend Cider (which works out of the same facility) featuring beer wort and fermented apple juice co-fermented in a 1,000-litre foeder.

There’s no charge to pop by Brett Fest, which will feature food from Hoagie Boyz available as well as a DJ spinning some tunes.

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Over at Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155 Fort St.), a new venture also kicks off today that has generated a bit of buzz.

Brat Cat Mead Co. launches its line of carbonated, mainly dry meads at Devil May Care, where it makes its products using locally sourced honey. The launch kicks off at noon and runs all day, and will feature food from Loaf and Honey. Cans of Brat Cat’s mead will also be available to purchase.

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Next weekend (Dec. 1-3), the folks over at One Sixteen (116 Sherbrook St.) are throwing a European-style outdoor holiday market in their courtyard featuring beer from next-door pals Good Neighbour Brewing Co. (110 Sherbrook St.), as well as live music, a holiday sweater shop by Chip’s Vintage, photos with Santa, a Christmas tree lot, chili from Kosmos Food Cantina, holiday margaritas by the Beer Can and more. They’ll also be collecting items and money for donation to nearby Resource Assistance for Youth.

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Baltic Bros. Craft Spirits, a brand of Capital K Distillery, recently scored some serious hardware at the 2023 Warsaw Spirits Competition.

Both the Baltic Bros. Sour Cherry Bomba vodka and the Blueberry Lavender Lemonade vodka each picked up gold medals at the Polish competition; the Sour Cherry Bomba, made with Prairie cherries, also picked up a gold medal at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits competition.

Both products are available at Capital K (1680 Dublin Ave.); Liquor Marts also carries both in 375ml bottles, plus the Sour Cherry Bomba in 750ml bottles.

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On the local spirits front, Patent 5 Distillery (108 Alexander Ave.) will release the third edition of its whisky on Nov. 29.

While previous releases came from a single barrel, the latest version of Patent 5’s whisky was aged in three separate barrels and blended together for the finished product. As a result, there will be around 500 bottles available, an uptick from the first two bottlings (which sold out very quickly). A preview sample of the new release tasted far rounder and more spice-driven than the slightly leaner, more linear second bottling.

The distillery’s third whisky will be available at noon at the distillery on Nov. 29, as well as online at patent5.ca, and will retail for $82.95, roughly the same price as the previous whisky release.

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Beers of the week

One Great City Brewing Co. Home is Where the Heart Is Kentish ale (Winnipeg — $4.25/473ml cans, brewery and beer vendors)

The recipe for this ale came from homebrewer and Air Force veteran Mark Goldade; proceeds benefit the Home for Heroes Foundation, which helps veterans experiencing homelessness. It’s medium gold in colour and slightly hazy, with delicate floral and toffee notes showing well with deeper malt and subtle earthy aromas. Those components come with very modest bitterness on the medium-bodied palate, alongside hints of pear and dried apricot before the modest 4.5 per cent finish. Tasty stuff. 3.5/5

Little Brown Jug Chai Golden Ale (Winnipeg — $4.86/473ml cans, brewery, Liquor Marts, beer vendors)

Honey, ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cardamom and black pepper have all been added to this golden ale, which is pale gold in appearance and aromatically brings loads of spices, particularly clove and cinnamon, along with fresh malty notes. It’s medium-bodied and slightly creamy, with fine bubbles adding a rounder texture to the baking spice flavours before the peppery notes provide some bite before the 6.5 per cent finish. For those who like a good helping of spice in your brew, this is it; would certainly work with pumpkin pie or not-too-sweet desserts. 3/5

Brazen Brewing Co. Jól Mandarin Norse Farmhouse (Winnipeg — $4.69/473ml cans, brewery, Liquor Marts, beer vendors)

This Icelandic holiday-themed saison is infused with oranges, which come through big-time aromatically, along with fresh malt, spice and wheat notes. It’s light-plus-bodied and mainly dry, with the orange flavours bringing a hint of sweetness that works well with the fresh malt and wheat notes, a very modest citrusy hop note and an unobtrusive 5.9 per cent alcohol. Surprisingly refreshing. 4/5

Black Wheat Brewing Co. Twilight Bavarian dark lager (Brandon — $4.05/473ml cans, brewery, Liquor Marts, beer vendors)

Deep cola in colour, the dark malt and mocha notes on the nose are attractive, with an undercurrent of dried dark fruit that’s quite nice. It’s medium-plus-bodied and mainly dry, bringing those raisined/dried-fruit flavours without excess sweetness and balanced by dark malt and mocha flavours. There’s also slight tartness to this brew that keeps things lively, while the 4.5 per cent alcohol is quite modest. Well done. 3.5/5

Barn Hammer Brewing Co. Trippy Triple IPA (Winnipeg — $5.10/355ml cans, brewery, beer vendors)

Made in honour of Barn Hammer’s 1,000th brew since it opened its doors seven years ago, this high-octane ale is a ramped-up version of its double IPA. It’s medium-copper in colour with a big frothy head; aromatically, it’s not shy about delivering tropical fruit, deep dank hops, fresh malt and a herbal component. It’s big, full-bodied and rich, leading with loads of pineapple, tropical fruit and dried peach flavours, all manner of spicy, resinous hops that come with the slightly sweet malt notes, and a knock-you-on-your-butt 10.5 per cent alcohol that brings warmth on the long, slightly bitter finish. Not for the faint of heart, but a flavour adventure for those willing to give it a go. 4.5/5

Good Neighbour Brewing Co. Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout (Winnipeg — $4.60/473ml cans, brewery, beer vendors)

Brewed with cocoa nibs and conditioned with fresh cranberries, this stout’s deep cola-ish in colour and aromatically brings lovely, deep chocolate notes along with espresso and bright cranberry components. While it’s rich and full-bodied, it’s not as sweet as you might expect, with the cranberry flavours and some nice effervescence keeping things sharp and crisp, while the chocolate and dark malt flavours bring delicious depth. At 6.5 per cent alcohol it’s deceptively drinkable — a great cold-weather stout. 4.5/5

 

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