Get through deep freeze with hearty local brews

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This article was published 18/01/2025 (324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With a fresh blanket of snow in Manitoba and a deep freeze looking to be taking hold for the next few days, it’s as good a time as ever to pop by your favourite local brewery, beer vendor or Liquor Mart and stock up on some new and hearty local brews to help take the edge off that winter chill.

Hunker down, throw on a soup or stew and crack open one of these robust beers to help weather the storm.

The Kilter Brewing Co. Jucci Luxurious IPA (Winnipeg — $4.85/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors) is back once again, a double dry-hopped IPA made with Vic Secret and Cashmere hops. It’s pale gold and hazy in appearance with a frothy white head, bringing big ripe tropical aromas along with citrus, herbal hoppy and resinous notes. It’s medium-bodied and mainly dry, offering a wallop of tropical fruit flavours along with rich malt, resinous and grassy components, modest bitterness and, at 7 per cent alcohol, a long, lingering finish. Decadent, tasty stuff. 4.5/5

The Devil May Care Brewing Co. Farmstuff New World Saison (Winnipeg — $4.25/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts) was a happy accident — a batch of the Starstuff pale ale went awry, taking on funkier notes, and the brewers decided to lean into it, making an old world-style saison with a new world, hop-forward take. It’s medium gold in appearance and clear, with clove, wheat, banana candy and malty notes with a hint of hops. The dry and light-plus bodied saison combines earthy, spicy notes with yeasty, banana candy and hops components, a solid underlying malty note and, at 6.3 per cent alcohol, a deceptively smooth finish. Here’s to happy accidents. 4/5

A sour ale conditioned with fresh blackberries and steeped with spruce tips before release, the Good Neighbour Brewing Co. Blackberry Spruce Tip Sour Ale (Winnipeg — $4.60/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts) is plum-jam purple in colour and hazy. Aromatically, it offers tart blackberries, a hint of vanilla, bright pine notes and a saline/raspberry candy combo that’s quite attractive. On the medium-bodied palate there’s a hint of sweetness that comes with the dark berry, vanilla, fresh malt and candied raspberry flavours, while the sour component isn’t overpowering, coming with that zippy saline note before the modest 4.5 per cent alcohol finish. 3.5/5

The latest in Fort Garry Brewing Co.’s longstanding brewmaster series, the Bawk Bock Dark Lager (Winnipeg — $3.99/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts) is a German-style dark lager brewed with German malts and lagered for two months before release. It’s iced tea brown in colour and offers pronounced raisin/dried fig aromas that come with almost-sweet dark malt and brown sugar notes. It’s medium-bodied, delivering those brown sugar, dried fruit and malty notes with moderate sweetness and, at 6.8 per cent alcohol, a warming, lengthy finish. At 22 IBU there’s only modest bitterness. Drink with or for dessert. It’s on sale until the end of January (regular $4.49). 3.5/5

The Brazen Brewing Co. Axe Berry Raspberry Brown Ale (Winnipeg — $4.69/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts) is deep cola in appearance and sports an off-white head, with raspberry aromas coming with rich dark malts and hints of hops and dried fruit. It’s mainly dry and medium bodied, with the roasted malt notes offering hints of chocolatey sweetness along with slightly tart raspberry, secondary orange peel and vanilla notes. At 5.2 per cent alcohol it has a relatively modest finish. The subtle sweet and tart notes work well together here. 3/5

Cola brown in colour and mainly clear, the Torque Brewing Co. Deadfall Cascadian Dark (Winnipeg — $4.75/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts) brings a robust toffee/Tootsie Roll component on the nose that comes with dark roasted malt, dried fruit and slightly bitter hoppy notes. It’s medium-bodied and brings tasty mocha, Tootsie Roll, dark malt, caramel and spice flavours, all without any overt sweetness. The bitter hoppy notes are pronounced but not overpowering (it’s 50 IBU), while the 6 per cent alcohol provides some warmth. A very nice winter brew indeed. 4/5

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