Manitoba breweries honoured at national awards

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This article was published 10/02/2024 (931 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pair of Manitoba breweries were among the winners at the 2023 Canadian Brewers Choice Awards, which were presented at the end of January at a ceremony in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

Good Neighbour Brewing Co. nabbed the New Brewery of the Year award; after starting out contract brewing beer in Winnipeg at Oxus Brewing Co. in 2021, the brewery, led by the team of brewer Morgan Wielgosz and marketing director Amber Sarraillon, opened its own bricks-and-mortar facility at 110 Sherbrook St. in May 2023.

One of two winners of this year’s Brewer of the Year award was Marcos Bardelli of new Dauphin-based Obsolete Brewing Co. Bardelli got his start making beer in Brazil before eventually making his way to Manitoba. Obsolete opened its doors in September 2023, and its beers have more recently landed on store shelves beyond Dauphin, including in Winnipeg (although they’re currently in short supply at beer vendors and are completely sold out at Liquor Marts).

There are still some tickets kicking around for Beer is Art, an event taking place on March 28 at WAG-Qaumajuq, which will feature nearly every Manitoba brewery, contract brewer and brew pub. Participating brewers are bringing new, exclusive and small-batch brews for people to sample as they wander the galleries and enjoy live music.

Tickets are $65 plus fees, and include access to all WAG galleries. Those looking to beat the crowds can shell out an extra $15 for early access to the event. To purchase tickets, visit wfp.to/jPf or pop into your favourite local brewery; most participating brewers are also selling tickets through their own websites as well.

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Beers of the week

Nonsuch Brewing Co. La Pils Craft Pilsner (Winnipeg — $4/473ml can, brewery, Liquor Marts, beer vendors)

The beer formerly known as La Molière, which won a gold award at the 2022 Canada Beer Cup, has undergone a rebrand. It’s medium straw in colour and mainly clear, and aromatically offers cracked malt and a subtle combination of bread dough, red apple, floral and herbal notes. It’s a light-plus-bodied and crisp pilsner, with malt and biscuit flavours front and centre, very subtle red apple skin and grassy notes, the smallest dash of hops and a clean, modest finish (it’s 4.8 per cent alcohol). Still a winner. 4/5

One Great City Brewing Co. Garbage Boy Golden Ale (Winnipeg — $4.15/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors)

Brewed in conjunction with the release of Michael McMullen’s self-published novel Garbage Boy: The High Bar of Low Expectations, this brew is medium gold in colour and clear, with up-front malty aromas that come with slightly earthy and bruised apple aromas. It’s light-plus-bodied and dry, with up-front and simple bread dough and malt flavours, a hint of almost-tinny bitterness and, at 4.5 per cent alcohol, a very modest finish. 2.5/5

Trans Canada Brewing Co. Mountaineer Cold IPA (Winnipeg — $4.24/473ml can, brewery, Liquor Marts, beer vendors)

Pale gold in appearance and clear, this cold IPA features Citra and Talus hops; aromatically there’s an earthy, funky note that comes through with the grassy, tropical and ripe grapefruit notes. On the medium-bodied, robust palate (it’s 6.8 per cent alcohol) those earthy and herbal notes are front and centre, dominating the malt and citrus flavours, while the slightly resinous finish is prolonged by the relatively high alcohol and moderate bitterness. 3/5

Section 6 Brewing Co. Duh. IPA (Brandon — $3/355ml can, brewery, Liquor Marts, beer vendors)

Pale gold in colour and hazy, this East Coast-style IPA features Centennial, Idaho 7 and other hop varieties. There’s a nice up-front tropical fruit component on the nose, backed by herbal and grapefruit rind notes and a hint of malt. It’s medium-bodied, with zippy citrus and grassy notes working well with the riper tropical flavours, all underlined by a balanced malt component. The bitterness is far from overwhelming; combined with the relatively modest 5.8 per cent alcohol, it’s a very approachable (and delicious) IPA. 4/5

Kilter Brewing Co. Caribbean Sunset Cocktail Sour (Winnipeg — $4.50/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors)

This cocktail sour is infused with pineapple, coconut, pomegranate and key lime; it’s medium gold and hazy in appearance, while aromatically it brings bright coconut, tropical fruit (particularly pineapple) and slightly sweet lime notes. It’s light-plus-bodied, modestly sweet and quite tart, with the lime and grapefruit flavours accentuated by racy acidity, the coconut and tropical notes adding richness and sweetness and a finish that’s modest alcohol-wise (it’s five per cent) but that persists thanks to the acidity and sweetness. Like summer in a can. 3.5/5

Good Neighbour Brewing Co. Chai Vanilla Cold Tea Rice Lager (Winnipeg — $4.25/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors)

After brewing, this rice lager is steeped with chai tea before being topped with Madagascar vanilla. It’s bright gold and slightly hazy, and aromatically brings clove, baking spice, vanilla and subtle malt notes. It’s light-bodied and slightly off-dry, with almost-sweet dessert spices showing well with vanilla and malt flavours and a modest finish at 4.2 per cent alcohol. 3.5/5