Manitoba Beercast

Summer!  Sweet, elusive Summer!  Maddeningly short Summer!

Summer is here, and you want to sit in the sun and neutralize your winter palour.  Get on the patios with this fast and furious list of “places to be” this summer.

The Beercast will generate weekly content going forward.  If there’s not a full episode read to go, the Beercast Minute will fill the void.

BTW, more full episodes coming, with discussions on Beerfests, Wasagaming’s Gem for Beerheads, Section 6 Brewing, and more.

Follow us on twitter/X at @mbbeercast.  Touch base via email: [email protected].  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.

Stone Angel Brewing closes with a St. Paddy’s Day send-off.  The Manitoba brewing industry may lose more players, as sales plateau and some drinkers shift their tastes downwards.  Bob and Doug McKenzie sell out to national lobby group Beer Canada, to help fight the smallest tax increase in decades.  Cody Lobreau, the Beercrank, drops by to discuss saisons in a somewhat messy tasting session.

Follow us on twitter at @mbbeercast.  Our email is [email protected].  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.

Around 4:30 pm on September 1, 2023, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba sent out one torpedo of an email to every taproom in the Brewery industry in this province:  You’re all classified as age restricted.  In two weeks time, you can’t have kids in your establishments.

The timing was funky, the rule changes essentially an act of passive aggression.  Those breweries who had built reputations as family-friendly establishments now have two weeks to plead their case to be rated with general licence, like your neighborhood eatery.

In any case, Brad rants and moves the cast into “Explicit” territory with a few well placed profanities.

Read the Free Press story:

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/food/2023/09/01/liquor-licence-changes-prioritize-reducing-risk-of-selling-serving-to-minors

…and we’re back!

Today the Beercast finds that the beer choices at certain sports venue aren’t what they could be…but one team as gone “all in” on local brews.  Andrew Collier of the Winnipeg Goldeyes (www.goldeyes.com) talks about how the club decided to feature nothing but draft and cans brewed in Manitoba.  He talks about their Craft Beer Corner, Craft Beer Voucher program (5 beer, 5 ticket vouchers for 95 bucks) and their upcoming Ballpark Brewfest at the park, July 22.  Plus thoughts on the current state of relations between other local sports teams and local brewers, on beer festivals, and the baseball cap gets doffed to Manitoba brewers who took home national awards this past month. All this in the time it takes to ride the bus back from the game.

BTW, this summer I’m looking for a Manitoba beer that can replace that Big Corporate Beer in your in-laws’ cooler.  To be honest, the Beercast wants to debate whether local producers should even try.  Touch base at @mbbeercast on twitter (before it dissolves), or send your thoughts to [email protected].  No prizes on this one…just hoping to fan the flames on this question.

Scott Shupeniuk of Fort Garry Brewing joins the Beercast for a primer on the company’s past, present, and post-COVID plans.  Manitoba Liquor Mart’s website search function gets the nod in this episode’s “Beer in the Wild” survival tools edition.

Follow us on twitter at @mbbeercast.  Our email is [email protected].  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.

Spring 2021 sees the return of Manitoba brewery taprooms, as the Liquor, Gaming & Cannabis Authority will allow them to re-open.  However they have to play by the same rules as restaurants and beverage rooms.

We quickly rip through the rules (prepare to have dinner at the taproom).

Also, hats off to Devil May Care for their blog post, where they apologize for dissing pilsners all this time, and launch Brightwater New Zealand Pilsner.

Follow us on twitter at @mbbeercast.  Our email is [email protected].  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.

Episode 3 of the Beercast features an interview with Cody Lobreau of beercrank.ca.

Cody started reviewing the beers at his local Liquor Mart in the golden age of blogging, and the Beercrank continues to be a great resource for Beerheads.  (It also features the best section on the web for non-alcoholic brews).

The episode also features a quick squint at the re-opening of two breweries in Winnipeg under the Manitoba government’s restaurant regulations.  Also, Brad sings the praises of Half Pints’ classic coffee beer, Stir Stick Stout.

Follow us on twitter at @mbbeercast.  Our email is [email protected].  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.

Episode 2 of the Beercast answers the long-standing question: When the heck is Brandon getting a craft brewery?

The answer is soon, as Black Wheat Brewing (www.blackwheatbrewing.ca) is starting to ship product into the Brandon market, and is putting the finishing touches on their 10th Street home.

We talk to Ted Birch, part of the group spearheading the project, about the challenges of putting a brewery into a pre-existing building, and the importance of having a “lawn mower beer” in the product mix.  Also, a discussion on how post-COVID industry changes have made it a little easier to get your hands on your favorite craft beer, and another edition of “Beer in the Wild”.

Follow us on twitter at @mbbeercast.  Our email is [email protected].  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.

Welcome to the first episode of the Beercast.  In the weeks to come, we hope to talk to folks in the industry about their passion, and talk about how to get your hands on the locally brewed beer that you love.

After a wee bit of throat clearing, we kick off the Beercast with a reading for a blog post of mine over at beercrank.ca from 2020, called “Be that Guy. Ask for Local Beer“. It’s the closest this podcast will come to a manifesto. Think of it as a way of setting the table for the coming weeks.

Also debuting this week is the first episode of “Beer in the Wild”.  In hopes of getting more Manitoba beer to folks outside Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway, this feature will highlight vendors, stores, and bars featuring Manitoba brewed beers, as a way of building availability of the good stuff to the legion of Rural Beerheads.

Follow us on twitter at @mbbeercast.  Post your sightings of “Beer in the Wild” and tag us in.

Our email is [email protected].  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.