Saturday, February 24, 2007

They're talking about us...

Yep, it official - people actually do talk about us when we're not around. Follow the links below for further reading about the hilarious misadventures of our fans.

RobCML details the pain and agony of forgetting the Holy Spirit at work... again. Seems he enjoyed the Holy Trinity in general - thanks Rob - maybe a little too much. No, that's impossible. Rob's the first person I've heard of to actually tackle the entire trinity in one night in the right order. Now if Rob and the illustrious Mr. Ian (from Chazwood MLCC) were to get together for a beer tasting - I'd pay to see it.

Greg Clow waxes poetic about beer in general. My favourite quote regards our Bulldog Amber Ale: "if the LCBO carried this (hint hint)" Ha ha, funny guy. No soup for you. We're too busy proving where the real center of Canada is, Greg. ;P

The local weekly paper came by to do this story. Funny how life comes full circle. My first job was delivering this very weekly back when you had to go door to door begging for donations for the "free paper". Suffice to say, at 8 years old I was highly unsuccessful. I eventually made it to the "big time" though, delivering both the Sun & the Press.

Some goofball is trying to sell our coasters on e-bay. Psst! You get 'em for nothing at the brewery. For those collectors reading, these coasters were from our first run. The new ones are nicer and they have our address on them.

The Great Tastes of Manitoba show has been using our brews to pair or cook with. Check out one of the recipes here. I'm just waiting to see Jim I

Rory Burnett enjoys a Stir Stick Stout. Hey Rory, next time try it a-la-mode.

Ben McPhee-Sigurdson chills with a glass of vino from time to time, but we won't hold it against him. Plus, he's a new dad, so we'll cut him some slack given he probably hasn't got much sleep recently. He was kind enough to recognize us as "Rookie of the Year for 2006" in his year end wrap up article for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Labels: Ramblings

Thursday, February 22, 2007

A Call For Submissions

The coaster image above is taken by staff at the Regina Festiv-Ale back in November. The cheeky slogan is courtesy of my lovely wife, Nicole.

We'd like your imput on some future coasters for the brewery. We thought it'd be neat to ask for submissions (thanks to Dave Craig for the idea!) and then we'll choose four different ones for our summer run of coasters. If you've tried our beer, you get what our brewery is about.

Funny, cheeky, locally slanted, what ever - we don't want to influence your artistic side too much. When you're done, just e-mail them to the brewery - info@halfpintsbrewing.com. Enter as often as you please. We may even post up a few here to guage the response.

We'll choose the best four from the bunch, and the winners will get a rack of their coasters (50+), a Half Pints t-shirt, and the eternal gratitude of the brewery.

We look forward to reading your entries - thanks!

Labels: Coaster Submissions

Opinions & Introductions

We’ve always known that the best “sales team” a brewer can have is a hoard of happy customers lined up at the bar. This is something the big brewers lost sight of years ago. It’s the idea that someone may just be persistent enough to not accept the same five beers that every other bar has on tap, and order an iced tea instead.

Life’s too short to drink bad beer!

The veritable sameness of big box stores and associated establishments that spring up on their lots means that some accountant in T.O. or Vancouver is choosing what brew you should drink based on how many patio umbrellas they can score from a brewery. Does this make sense to anyone but the type of person that thinks Rotten Ronnie’s is a gourmet burger joint?

Then, there’s the seemingly endless number of high end restaurants who spend thousands of dollars developing a wine list second to none, yet decide that the best they can muster regarding the world’s most popular beverage is a skunked bottle of Euro-Pils. If they really looked at numbers they’d understand that real craft brewed beer is considered to be an affordable luxury.

If you had a chance to order a properly cellared bottle of Burly Wine with four beer clean glasses for less than $15, would you? If the chef offered it paired with a gorgeous Traditional English Plum Pudding, would that get your mojo running? I don’t know about you, but in that case, I may ask the manager if I could go into the kitchen and group hug the staff.

Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to ask for Half Pints at your favorite pub or restaurant. If they don’t have us on tap ask why! You deserve better than pseudo IPA and stale dated “premium imports”.

Labels: Introductions, Ramblings

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

The Holy Sprit

Last but certainly not least in the Holy Trinity series is the Holy Spirit.

I love brewing wit beers. There's something about coming into the brewery in the morning and knowing that on that day, you'll be creating something akin to history in your mash tun.

Given that the style was all but dead little more than 50 years ago, it's a testament to the will of micro brewers, beer lovers, and the concept of flavour over technology.

Having brewed a spicier version of wit in the past at the Bushwakker, I decided that our wit should have a citrus forward flavour. The traditional spices are curacao orange peel and coriander (which the Spirit has in spades) but our little twist is Kaffir Lime Leaves, which are normally used in Thai cooking. They give the beer a distinctly cheeky citrus note that's hard to nail down if you weren't told the "secret ingredient".

We used a mash of flaked wheat, pale malt, and oats - which would normally be very problematic, but for some reason ran like a dream that day. The mix of grains gives the beer a complex fruity/grainy and dry body, making this the perfect appetizer beer. It's also great with fish (try poaching a citrus stuffed rainbow trout in it).

The beer is holding it's haze well - which is traditional for a brew with this much raw, unmalted wheat. The proteins in suspension help give the beer great head retention, too. The real trick with wit bier is to get it in your glass ASAP after fermentation, because that's when it tastes best. Most, if not all the wits we have available to us in Canada have gone through considerable abuse before they hit your glass. They are best when fresh, not after a three week boat ride on a container ship.

Above all else, this is the first brew where I actually had a "helper" of sorts. Many of you may know Chris as our delivery driver and all around nice guy at Half Pints. Turns out he's got some interest in brewing, and over the next year, we'll be training him as such. Chris got to grind up the coriander on brew day, and see the entire process start to finish. He also got first taste from the tank.

I guess working in the brewery can have it's advantages.

Labels: The Holy Trinity

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	Home What’s Brewing Brewing Process On Tap Keg Order Recipes Merchandise Brewer’s Blog Links Contact Info Saturday, February 24, 2007 They're talking about us... Yep, it official - people actually do talk about us when we're not around. Follow the links below for further reading about the hilarious misadventures of our fans. RobCML details the pain and agony of forgetting the Holy Spirit at work... again. Seems he enjoyed the Holy Trinity in general - thanks Rob - maybe a little too much. No, that's impossible. Rob's the first person I've heard of to actually tackle the entire trinity in one night in the right order. Now if Rob and the illustrious Mr. Ian (from Chazwood MLCC) were to get together for a beer tasting - I'd pay to see it. Greg Clow waxes poetic about beer in general. My favourite quote regards our Bulldog Amber Ale: "if the LCBO carried this (hint hint)" Ha ha, funny guy. No soup for you. We're too busy proving where the real center of Canada is, Greg. ;P The local weekly paper came by to do this story. Funny how life comes full circle. My first job was delivering this very weekly back when you had to go door to door begging for donations for the "free paper". Suffice to say, at 8 years old I was highly unsuccessful. I eventually made it to the "big time" though, delivering both the Sun & the Press. Some goofball is trying to sell our coasters on e-bay. Psst! You get 'em for nothing at the brewery. For those collectors reading, these coasters were from our first run. The new ones are nicer and they have our address on them. The Great Tastes of Manitoba show has been using our brews to pair or cook with. Check out one of the recipes here. I'm just waiting to see Jim I Rory Burnett enjoys a Stir Stick Stout. Hey Rory, next time try it a-la-mode. Ben McPhee-Sigurdson chills with a glass of vino from time to time, but we won't hold it against him. Plus, he's a new dad, so we'll cut him some slack given he probably hasn't got much sleep recently. He was kind enough to recognize us as "Rookie of the Year for 2006" in his year end wrap up article for the Winnipeg Free Press. Labels: Ramblings posted by Brewmaster Dave @ 12:42 PM ( 5 Comments ) Thursday, February 22, 2007 A Call For Submissions The coaster image above is taken by staff at the Regina Festiv-Ale back in November. The cheeky slogan is courtesy of my lovely wife, Nicole. We'd like your imput on some future coasters for the brewery. We thought it'd be neat to ask for submissions (thanks to Dave Craig for the idea!) and then we'll choose four different ones for our summer run of coasters. If you've tried our beer, you get what our brewery is about. Funny, cheeky, locally slanted, what ever - we don't want to influence your artistic side too much. When you're done, just e-mail them to the brewery - info@halfpintsbrewing.com. Enter as often as you please. We may even post up a few here to guage the response. We'll choose the best four from the bunch, and the winners will get a rack of their coasters (50+), a Half Pints t-shirt, and the eternal gratitude of the brewery. We look forward to reading your entries - thanks! Labels: Coaster Submissions posted by Brewmaster Dave @ 2:28 PM ( 0 Comments ) Opinions & Introductions We’ve always known that the best “sales team” a brewer can have is a hoard of happy customers lined up at the bar. This is something the big brewers lost sight of years ago. It’s the idea that someone may just be persistent enough to not accept the same five beers that every other bar has on tap, and order an iced tea instead. Life’s too short to drink bad beer! The veritable sameness of big box stores and associated establishments that spring up on their lots means that some accountant in T.O. or Vancouver is choosing what brew you should drink based on how many patio umbrellas they can score from a brewery. Does this make sense to anyone but the type of person that thinks Rotten Ronnie’s is a gourmet burger joint? Then, there’s the seemingly endless number of high end restaurants who spend thousands of dollars developing a wine list second to none, yet decide that the best they can muster regarding the world’s most popular beverage is a skunked bottle of Euro-Pils. If they really looked at numbers they’d understand that real craft brewed beer is considered to be an affordable luxury. If you had a chance to order a properly cellared bottle of Burly Wine with four beer clean glasses for less than $15, would you? If the chef offered it paired with a gorgeous Traditional English Plum Pudding, would that get your mojo running? I don’t know about you, but in that case, I may ask the manager if I could go into the kitchen and group hug the staff. Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to ask for Half Pints at your favorite pub or restaurant. If they don’t have us on tap ask why! You deserve better than pseudo IPA and stale dated “premium imports”. Labels: Introductions, Ramblings posted by Brewmaster Dave @ 2:10 PM ( 1 Comments ) Wednesday, February 7, 2007 The Holy Sprit Last but certainly not least in the Holy Trinity series is the Holy Spirit. I love brewing wit beers. There's something about coming into the brewery in the morning and knowing that on that day, you'll be creating something akin to history in your mash tun. Given that the style was all but dead little more than 50 years ago, it's a testament to the will of micro brewers, beer lovers, and the concept of flavour over technology. Having brewed a spicier version of wit in the past at the Bushwakker, I decided that our wit should have a citrus forward flavour. The traditional spices are curacao orange peel and coriander (which the Spirit has in spades) but our little twist is Kaffir Lime Leaves, which are normally used in Thai cooking. They give the beer a distinctly cheeky citrus note that's hard to nail down if you weren't told the "secret ingredient". We used a mash of flaked wheat, pale malt, and oats - which would normally be very problematic, but for some reason ran like a dream that day. The mix of grains gives the beer a complex fruity/grainy and dry body, making this the perfect appetizer beer. It's also great with fish (try poaching a citrus stuffed rainbow trout in it). The beer is holding it's haze well - which is traditional for a brew with this much raw, unmalted wheat. The proteins in suspension help give the beer great head retention, too. The real trick with wit bier is to get it in your glass ASAP after fermentation, because that's when it tastes best. Most, if not all the wits we have available to us in Canada have gone through considerable abuse before they hit your glass. They are best when fresh, not after a three week boat ride on a container ship. Above all else, this is the first brew where I actually had a "helper" of sorts. Many of you may know Chris as our delivery driver and all around nice guy at Half Pints. Turns out he's got some interest in brewing, and over the next year, we'll be training him as such. Chris got to grind up the coriander on brew day, and see the entire process start to finish. He also got first taste from the tank. I guess working in the brewery can have it's advantages. Labels: The Holy Trinity posted by Brewmaster Dave @ 2:56 PM ( 1 Comments ) Archives: January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007
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