Half Pints Brewing Company

S'up?

2008-07-24T16:19:00.004-06:00

What's up indeed...

The brewery is obviously busy, as many of you who have been calling for kegs can attest to. So, while we do have beer on hand at all times, sometimes the keg choices can be lacking given that we may not have "your beer" in stock. Today, for example, we're out of Bulldog Amber till next Monday(ish).

Oh well, more Phil's Pils for us.

Nicole was kind enough to buy us some wings for the BBQ at the brewery today, so after ripping off a ton of beer (IPA and Pils) off the bottling line, we had a bit of a Frank's Red Hot fiesta with wings. Zach was kind enough to show the brewery guys his one bite, completely clean wing sucking technique (affectionately known as The One Suck Wing Shuck technique). I guess we all aspire to greatness in one way or another ;)

The news for right now is that we've got our big 2nd anniversary coming up and have brewed a strong Scotch ale called Grewsome for the occasion. Many of you have heard me reference the beer in relation to an off-color joke regarding kilts, scottsmen and what's missing under said kilts. Anyhoo - it's gonna be a tasty one. It's basically the polar opposite of the Humulus Ludicrous in that it's a malt barley sandwich with an extra side of malt.

It'll be released on August 9th at the brewery and will only be for sale from the brewery until it's gone. So, if you're a fan, come represent in all your glory on the morning of the 9th. We thank you for your ongoing support and have some big plans in the coming month that will amaze you.

Cheers,
Brewmaster Dave :)

Daft draught (draft if you're 'merican)

2008-05-13T15:16:00.003-06:00

$31.03 for the 5 liter Heineken mini keg

non-recyclable
needs at least 10 hours to cool before opening
it's Heineken. nuff' said.

$45.31 for the 11.3 liter Phil's Pils freshKEG

recyclable
cold when you buy it
available in other tasty flavours
doesn't taste like fizzy corn water

So, using Molson's Math 101, we should be charging $70 plus for an 11.3 liter keg of our Phil's Pils.

Ha ha, what a bunch of maroons...

Responsible Brewing

2008-04-16T10:34:00.004-06:00

Hey all,
This past weekend, I spent Sunday and Monday sampling out our beer to the folks who came to Centrex. We had a portion of a booth sponsored by the Manitoba Food Processors Association. It was neat to see all of the different locally produced foods we can get, and surprising to see how many of those we already use.

Nicole and I were having a discussion this morning over bagels and coffee about the brewery, the 100 mile diet, organics and our carbon footprint.

Now, I'll be the first to say, I'm not terribly educated when it comes to some of the issues. I do know we get requests from time to time regarding organic beer. But, the discussion this morning lead me to wonder about the carbon footprint of breweries using organic malt.

See, there's really only two options open to me as a Canadian brewer. Gambrinus Malting Company of Armstrong, BC makes an organic 2 row barley. Some of you have heard me lament of my past dealings with Gambrinus (service is not their strong point, nor is sending the right colour of malt). The guys at Nelson Brewery in BC seem to be happy - they switched a while back to all of their beers being brewed organically - and I think they're getting a good percentage of their grain from Gambrinus.

Our other option would be to use the Biomalt (it's organic) from Weyermann Malting in Bamberg, Germany. Great malt, steep price, European grown.

So, if we were to switch to using these guys for the sake of organics alone, then we'd be cancelling out any good with the diesel fuel it takes to get malt from Germany or BC, rather than simply using the locally made 2 row we currently use.

Here also we're presented with the problem of the local malt being grown across western Canada, then being blended for consistency's sake. So, the 100 mile dieters get thrust out into the cold, too. I have a feeling some people out there think that malting your own grain is pretty simple (technically it can be), but when you're talking about the volumes of grain we go through, hooking up with a local organic farmer to grow grain for us just isn't feasible.

So, where does that leave us?

I figure a few of you out there may have some ideas. The idea here is to open the discussion and maybe find a way to make it work. The hop situation (or lack thereof) isn't going to work itself anytime soon, much less allow me to be picky and demand organics, but I think if we start leaning on our suppliers and come up with some homegrown ideas, we might be able to make it happen.

Thoughts?

Pothole Porter

2008-04-01T14:02:00.002-06:00

Hey all,
Thanks to Colin for the reminder re: what new brew was coming out today. We were so busy bottling, I almost forgot!

HALF PINTS BREWING COMPANY
CELEBRATES EXPANSION AND SPRING
WITH POTHOLE PORTER

March 26, 2008 – Half Pints Brewing Company has a lot to celebrate this spring.

In the past year and a half, the staff hand labeled and bottled over 210,000 660ml bottles. Recently, the brewery purchased and installed a new bottling machine for 341ml. bottles. This new machine allows the three beers brewed throughout the year (Bulldog Amber Ale, Little Scrapper IPA, and Stir Stick Stout) to be packaged in 6 packs. While most other breweries are raising prices with the increase in costs (malt, hops, water, gas, and wages) we have reduced the prices to reflect our new efficiencies.

While based in Winnipeg, Half Pints Brewing Company is getting noticed and celebrated all over the world. Demand from outside Manitoba is high with unsolicited orders coming in from BC, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Here’s what Stephen Beaumont, beer writer and drinks expert, had to say, “the new standard-bearer for good beer in Manitoba, Half Pints Brewing of Winnipeg``.

Half Pints was also a huge hit at the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria this past fall. See what North America’s longest running beer magazine, Celebrator had to say http://www.celebrator.com/archives/2007/12/gh_victoria.html . Based on the beer rating websites, ratebeer.com and beeradvocate.com, Half Pints is clearly the brewery of choice for real beer lovers in Manitoba and is certainly making its mark all over the beer world with its seasonal offerings.

Half Pints Brewing Company is celebrating spring with a brand new beer – Pothole Porter. This beer is a strong, dark ale brewed using pale, crystal, chocolate and melanoidin malts. It is finished with UK Fuggles hops, aged with French Oak, and cool fermented for a sweet, toasty malt finish.Pothole Porter will be available Tuesday, April 1st, 2008, so prepare for a total front end alignment of your senses. The beer will be available for sale in single 341 ml. bottles fresh from the brewery on Keewatin St. as well as Winnipeg’s Liquor Marts and select vendors.

Prepare thyself...

2008-03-17T19:32:00.004-06:00

It's been a while since my last update, though we've not been idle. You'd think that since today is St. Patrick's Day, I'd be out getting likker'd. Nope, sorry to disappoint you, not really my scene.

I really like the King's Head's stance regarding NO GREEN BEER. When the Free Press was reporting on all the fun stuff to do tonight, they made a point of mentioning the anti-green stance at the Head. For god's sake, who in the world thought this travesty would make you Irish for the night? Now, St. Brigid, there's a saint I can get behind. But, you never hear mention of the lady's fine deeds - turning bathwater into an endless supply of beer - I'd vote for that!

Last year, we released the Weizenbock on this day. This year, we've got the Weizenbock already out there in our snazzy new 341 ml. bottles. Apart from a few minor guffaws at the start of the week, we've got the bottling line pushing out the beer well, and tomorrow we'll give it the first full day of running, and see what it can really do.

We're down to about 12 cases of empty 660ml. bottles right now, and that means that by the end of this week, we'll be clean out of the beer in that format. For those of you (MIKE!) who will lament the passing of the large bottles... feel free to open two small ones, I won't judge you. The rest of you know that these small bottles will mean you'll be able to have a Half Pint at your favourite local watering hole, restaurant, etc. - thanks for understanding.

When the prices for every raw ingredient in beer have gone up, we could have passed along a price increase and kept bottling in the large bottles. Instead, we decided to become more efficient, and slightly more nimble on our toes, so to say. All the other breweries have been passing along increases, and for us, it just seemed to make more sense to intelligently work with what we have, and trim the area that represented the most frustrating part of our days - hand bottling.

So, how do we celebrate this vast leap forward in technology? We brew a new beer, of course.

In the tanks right now, we have a malty mouthful so black and so devastatingly delicious, it could only have been brewed in Winnipeg. The soft, roasty sweet liquid unexpectedly pulls you down into layer upon layer of flavour.

On April 1st, 2008 prepare yourself for a total front end alignment of your senses.

Regina Festiv Ale

2008-02-05T14:06:00.000-06:00

Yowza! Do the folks in Regina know how to party or what?

We had a great time at the Festiv Ale this year. Organizers Margret M. and Adele L. are a couple of classy ladies who really know how to make the participants and sponsors feel welcome. We appreciated the new venue (Connexus Arts Center) immensely, with it's brightly lit wide open spaces, tons of free parking for the DD's and easy loading/unloading space for us. I sound like a festival ad, but hey - we had fun!

Our neighbour's from Nature's Own Sausage & Meats (the booth next door) kept us filled with tasty treats while we gave the locals a taste of Winnipeg with our Bulldog Amber Ale, Stir Stick Stout, The Father and The Holy Spirit.

We found the crowd to be a knowlegeable bunch with plenty of questions for Chris and I about the beer. I have the distinct feeling that some of them were trying to test us, but unlike booths from the major brewers, we don't send tarts to do the pouring. When you see Half Pints at your local fest, you can bet someone who had their hand on your beer will be there to answer even the smallest question.

I think the relaxed atmosphere from the crowd is part of what makes this festival so fun. Yes, there were the odd comments about the Blue Bombers from the die hard watermelon heads, but they were taken in stride. It was interesting to note (and tough to miss) the giant billboard by Rawlco Radio's all talk station above Mr. Breakfast that reads: "More issues than a Bomber fan at Grey Cup." That's fine by us... every twenty years or so, the green and white go from all talk to action, so it's really fitting. We'll let them eat their cake for now.

It was good to see the brewers from Picaroon's in town as well as the crews from Paddockwood and the 'shwakk. Our assistant brewer, Chris was introduced to the craziness of a First Firkin Friday with the associated hutzpah of the mighty Firkin Wakker/Bagpipe ceremony just before we hit the festival to pour beers.

On Saturday night, we started blowing through the kegs in record time and the night was really a blur until we snapped the photo here and had a round of cheers from the crowd. We went through so much beer, we'll have to make sure we bring more next year.

Thanks to our host's, the Falkenstein family for being so welcoming - we promise to bring more coffee from Black Pearl when we're back in April for the judging of the A.L.E.S. Club National Homebrew Competition.

Toot, toot

2008-01-23T14:59:00.000-06:00

The worldwide results are in for another fine year in craft brewing and the membership at Ratebeer.com have recognized some of the hard work by Half Pints.

Click here for the skinny on the Ratebeer Best Awards 2008.

Click here for the lowdown on the Best Beers in Canada.

You'll notice that two of the award winners from Half Pints - Humulus Ludicrous and Burlywine - are not available year round. They're bigger beers (both hop and malt wise) and that's what the beer knurds tend to go for when recognizing better beers. But, we're the only western Canadian brewery with two beers on the gold medal side. Huzzah!

Looking deeper into the top 50, it's interesting to note the diversity of styles, showing that Canadian micro's aren't just one trick ponies. The range runs from something as soft as the Grand River Mill Race Mild (at 3.5% alc./vol.) all the way up to the Charlevoix Tomahawk Triple IPA (@ 11.0%). There's a big world of beer between those two beer styles.

The real shining star for us is that our Stir Stick Stout was recognized at all. Unlike the other coffee beers on the list such as the #1 rated Dieu Du Ciel Peche Mortel or even the #50 rated Yukon Brewing Midnight Sun Espresso Stout, the Stir Stick tends to lean on the softer, drier side of stout country. Maybe it's got something to do with the coffee we use! Given that it's one of our year round beers, we welcome the recognition.

Regardless, we're honoured to be even considered to be among the best in Canadian craft beer and appreciate the time the folks at ratebeer have dedicated to searching out small breweries like us and championing the cause.

My "if there was a ceremony" acceptance speech:
I'd like to thank my loving wife Nicole for her unwavering support, my boys Ethan and Conor, the crew here at Half Pints (Chris, Zach, and Jarrod), our shareholders for believing in the dream, and last but not least, the fans in Winnipeg for accepting nothing less than the best we can give them. Now, where'd I leave my beer?

Cheers, Brewmaster David Rudge

What's new?

2008-01-03T11:17:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to one and all.

We had a great time this holiday season and were thankful to even get some time to relax at home and hang out with the family. It's kind of odd when we get a few days in a row off and you're not really sure what to do with yourself. So I baked some tasty sourdough baguettes which actually had the rank sourness I was looking for - it's taken my culture 2 months to develop right.

On the brewery front, the "Beer Olympics" were held and my lovely assistant brewer Chris took home the 12 year old bottle of Rum. Trash talking the athletes and placing hexes on the beer are strictly encouraged during this event. To achieve this greatness, Chris bottled a case of beer in less than 4 minutes and 33 seconds. However, I believe the hexing worked, as the first bottle I tried to fill blew up all over the place. I think it was rigged, but I'll try to outdo the guys next year in some equally idiotic task like keg hurling or bottle juggling.

This will be the last year we'll be able to have the Case bottling event for our Brewlympics. The guys have been mighty patient and in early December, we bought a used bottle filler for them. We're just in the process of getting the labels, boxes and logistics worked out so we can get down to the real business and start filling bottles automatically. By the time we're finished with the hand bottler, I estimate we'll have filled 210, 000 bottles one at a time by hand. We've had enough 14 hour days, and hope you appreciate the carpal tunnel syndrome we've acquired by keeping you stocked with real craft beer.

Our Burlywine is now sold out at the brewery. You may still find the odd bottle at your local Liquor Mart but I'd suggest you mark December 6, 2008 on your brand new calender right now. That's the day that we will release the new vintage of Burlywine at the brewery. I do think we need to provide some flapjacks and coffee for those in line so we'll try to plan that party well in advance.

Speaking of providing, our fine customers managed to raise a total of $424 for Winnipeg Harvest through the Leg Lamp Draw. The winner, Mike Harris was happy to have the lamp and celebrate the arrival of a new baby girl on the same day. Congratulations Mike!

Chris and I will be heading out to Regina for the Festiv Ale on February 1 & 2nd. We'll be bringing a couple of beers from the upcoming Holy Trinity Series of Belgian inspired ales, plus a couple of our regulars.

The Father is to be release this weekend (January 5th) with the Son following on January 19th, and the Holy Spirit on February 2nd.

FYI for everyone: this year's version of the Father has a slightly revised malt bill for it. Rather than going for a totally Vienna Malt based brew, we mixed it up and used some pale malt, with a larger percentage of Munich malt for the grain. This brings the Father more in line with the traditional flavour of a true Belgian style Dubbel and will let the fruit/spice character of the yeast shine through the glass a bit better. While I was happy with last years version, I do think we needed more balance between the toasted malt character and the alcohol. It looks like some of the online raters agreed so I'll encourage them to give the new version a re-rate, too.

New Year's Resolution:
I hate em' with a passion, but I think I need to lay down the gauntlet for myself by professing in print that I plan on putting out three new beers this year. The first of which, you'll all be seeing in early spring. No hints yet, but suffice to say we'll all get to have a good chuckle and a mighty tasty brew too...

First in line for Burlywine!

2007-12-13T14:32:00.000-06:00

Special thanks to the brave souls who came and froze their keesters off for a case o' the Burlywine. I think Ian (first in line) needs a Half Pints touque.

It really is quite heartwarming to see how prepared some of you were - there was coffee, conversation, and conviviality all around. Maybe next year we can cook up a batch of Grandpa Farley's Flapjacks (the ones with Stout in the mix) for the lineup. Good times.

If you're not busy this Saturday, we'll be hitting the Yellow Dog for pints around 8ish. See ya there!

Dave :)

I'm wasn't gonna say it but...

2007-12-06T15:27:00.000-06:00

... I told you so. That's really the last time I'll say it.

Shortly after last years Burly Wine sold out, there was a rumbling amongst Half Pints fans that we had given beer lovers in Winnipeg something to be proud of. "Please hold onto a bottle or two for next year," we urged. Some beer lovers listened, and others still itched to crack open the tasty goodness.

And then, over the next year, we slowly saw the bottles with the tan beeswax caps come back home to the brewery through the vendors, or even the people who returned the bottles to the brewery wondering "do you have any more of this?" More recently, they've slowed to a trickle so that when we do get one, we immediately want to know what you thought of it.

In its youth, the Burly Wine exhibited a raw, biting hop flavor with a peppery alcohol burn down the middle. And now, those of you with patience have been rewarded as the 2006 vintage takes on the rum-raisin flavours and the slightly sweet caramel backing of a classic English Style Barleywine. How many of you can keep it up for another year to see if it starts to show its wisdom?

When we released the 2006 vintage of Burly Wine, it was many people's first experience of just how big we were willing to go with our beers. I think you've all seen that even that boundary can be challenged with a little imagination and insight.

And isn't that really what craft brewing is all about?

So, what can you expect from the 2007 vintage?

The description is the same but there are some differences in how this year's brew came together. The first being that on brew day, I fell asleep at the kettle and forgot a portion of the final hop addition (d'oh!). Being the hophead that I am, we simply decided to take that addition and add it to the final tank in the form of a dry hop addition. Seems simple enough, until you take into account what it did to the finish of the beer.

Oddly enough, it's smoother with less of an up front hop bite. Hooray! I can't say that's a bad thing.

This year's version was also bottled a little sooner at the brewery to help us deal with the initial crunch of orders that we will invariably see on Monday morning. So a little extra time in the bottle will help to smooth out some of the peppery alcohols a little earlier, too.

We also gave the new vintage some snazzy burgundy waxed tops, so that if you're one of the few who did manage to keep stock on hand, you can tell those from the previous year's bottling. And, as I said previously, the first 40 cases contain 1 bottle of the 2006 vintage for those of you who missed out, or prematurely enjoyed your stock.

I'd just like to say thank you to our fans. It's keeping up with your expectations that makes it fun for us at Half Pints Brewing Company.

If you find yourself in Winnipeg this Saturday December 8th, 2007 stop into the brewery for our open house, take the tour, and taste the 2007 Burly Wine with a slice of fruit cake.

See you there,

Brewmaster David Rudge

Enter to win a MAJOR AWARD!

2007-11-28T14:57:00.000-06:00

Hello all,

No kidding! We've got a fantastic MAJOR AWARD to give away at Half Pints Brewing Company.

This special lamp is featured in our favorite holiday movie "A Christmas Story". It lights three ways (leg only, shade only, or both) and has a lovely plaque engraved with Merry Christmas from Half Pints Brewing Company.

Best of all, this is all for charity. We're selling tickets at the brewery $2 each or 3 for $5 - and all proceeds will go to the fine people at Winnipeg Harvest. Draw date is December 21st and we'll deliver it personally in a box that's marked "Fragile".

Sweet Nikki Brown Delivers!

2007-10-17T13:44:00.001-06:00

Announcing the arrival of two new members of the Half Pints family. Conor John and Sweet Nikki Brown.

Those of you who have been following Nicole's progress during her pregnancy will be happy to hear that she delivered Conor John on October 4Th, 2007. The lil' scrapper came in at 7lbs. 10 oz. with a full head of dark hair. He's a real sweetie and he's even letting us get some sleep when he feels it's necessary.

And, even though his big brother Ethan was less than enthused about Conor's name at the start, he's warmed up nicely to the idea of having someone around who can eventually play trains with him.

For those of you who remember, Sweet Nikki Brown is my lovely wife's beer. A little sweet, and a little bitter, just like her. It's brewed and will be available starting this Saturday, October 20Th until the end of December. We figured we'd be kind and allow those of you who've been so patient the chance to enjoy this one for a little longer - especially since it's one of our most requested seasonal beers.

For those of you who've never tried it, the Sweet Nikki Brown is an American style brown ale. It's dark with hints of chocolate, honey, and fresh bread in the malt profile. The hops kick off the finish of this beer and are prominent in the aroma with citrus, too.

Its a great cold weather beer and goes fantastic with those typical fall dishes like roast turkey, smoked ham, etc.

In further brewery news:

We've got the Burly Wine brewed and it's currently aging in the cold room to smooth out the rough edges. That said, I'd like to give fair warning to fans of this beer that if they're not here in line on the morning of December 8Th at 9 a.m. it is entirely possible that you may not get the chance to have any of this year's batch. Due to the immense popularity of this beer, we have been letting our customers know this since February of last year, so bundle up, and you will be rewarded. By the way, our Burly Wine is currently rated #10 world wide in the English Barleywine category on Beeradvocate.com.

The guys from Beer for Breakfast on 92.9 Kick FM are holding their annual awards show soon. We're sponsoring the Brewno's at the King's Head Pub on November 3rd, and as part of that sponsorship, we'll be bringing along a cask of real ale for the event. Past gems include Mocha Stout, Vanilla Stout, Oktoberfest with Hallertau dry hops, and The Son (for which the brewery van got towed). What will we do for an encore? You'll just have to show up and see! Click on the link above to vote for your favorite local acts.

So... How are you REALLY doing?

2007-09-20T13:22:00.001-06:00

This seems to be the overly-concerned look from some customers lately regarding the state of affairs at Half Pints. Answer: We've been busy! That's a good thing. Our Phil's Pils is rated as one of the top Pilsners in the world by ratebeer.com users. And, our Burly Wine recently made the list of the top 10 English style Barleywines in the world over at beeradvocate.com. Yep, we brew world class beer, thanks for noticing.

The boys have had a bit of a struggle to keep up with the bottling for the busy summer season. After all, we are still bottling one at a time by hand, and hand labeling each one. This has lead to the odd day at the most popular Liquor Marts here in Winnipeg where there may be a few scant bottles of our beer left on the shelf until the van shows up and loads in the beer. Note: we've always got beer at the brewery, AND you get the bonus of seeing our smiling faces. Why don't you come here and introduce yourselves?

Possibly some of the concerns come from people who are slightly confused as to the future of Half Pints. We've heard rumours about us being bought out by Fort Garry - which is totally incomprehensible from our point of view. In case you haven't heard, it's Fort Garry being bought out (amalgamated, if you will) by Russell Brewing Company. You can read about it here. Basically, the guys from Russell recently got the contract to supply the beer to BC Place Stadium. Congrats to them for working the deal, but they didn't have enough capacity in their draught only brewery to supply the deal, so they were looking in Canada for a brewery with excess capacity. Low and behold, here sits Fort Garry with tons of extra space, a fancy bottling line, and a new canning line to boot. As long as their shareholders accept the deal, we'll soon see Russell beers in Manitoba, and Fort Garry in BC. Back to the salt mines, boys.

Speaking of Russell, Half Pints was at the Great Canadian Beer Festival recently and we were tent mates with Heads Up, Dead Frog and Russell. All great guys and we had a fun time serving the thirsty throngs on what someone told me was the nicest weekend Victoria had seen all summer long. I didn't really get to taste much beer, as I was working in the booth for the whole weekend, but what I did have at Phillip's Brewing on the Friday night, was a chocolaty dry Longboat Porter, and the ever-tasty ESB. I even got to see some old friends - Dave Neilly, who's now the top beer dog at Wild Rose in Calgary.

My Saturday night was less adventurous, but I did end up at Canoe Brewpub by the harbour for a perfectly done steak and many glasses of ice tea to ward off the heat stroke from my newly acquired sunburn. Note to self: when in Victoria, prepare for everything - cold rain or burning heat. A simple note to brewpub owners in general. Canoe has it right, we could all learn a thing or two. Efficient, friendly, clean, reasonably priced, & a fantastic location. You can see why people rave about this place. It instantly felt like home.

While I was playing Canadian traveler Chris, Zach, and Nicole were serving many small glasses of brew to the crowds at the Flatlander's Beer Festival here in Winnipeg. Supposedly, the Vanilla Stout was a hit and we'll continue to offer up these specialty casks of real ale to keep our fans intrigued. It kind of makes the ticket worth while if you're guaranteed at least a few new beers to wet your whistle.

The Humulus Ludicrous has some of you puckering up with a hoppy face. We like it like that. In case you didn't know, it now holds the record as our fastest selling beer. We moved through the first tank in less than a four days. That's a heck of a lot of bottling for an 8% a/v beer with a ludicrous amount of hops. We're sold out at the brewery now for 660ml. bottles, but still have a few 2 liters here. Perhaps the naysayers will think twice next time they say that Manitobans aren't fans of beer with balls. If you fall into the latter camp, I'd suggest you look what Canada's premier beer writer had to say.

So to summarize: we're as passionate as ever about making world class beer in Winnipeg.

That's how we're REALLY doing.

Oktoberfest is Back!

2007-09-05T12:10:00.000-06:00

Yes kids, it's that time of year again. The weather turns cooler, the leaves change colours, construction workers put their shirts back on, and our Oktoberfest Lager makes its first appearance of the season.

Check out Oktoberfest History here.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Oktoberfest is one of our most requested seasonal beers. It's currently rated as the 18th best in the world by ratebeer.com. So this year, we decided to reward our loyal customers by giving you all a better shot at finding this sweet nectar. We'll be brewing it right until the middle of October!

In a week or so, you'll also find this brew on tap at The King's Head.

Humulus Ludicrous

2007-08-09T07:47:00.001-06:00

This Saturday, August 11Th at 9 a.m. Half Pints will celebrate its 1 year anniversary by unleashing our craziest beer yet.

Our Humulus Ludicrous is a Double IPA, loaded with over the top hop character and thick malts. This is the true hop head beer.

For those of you who don't know, Double IPA's are becoming increasingly popular in North America. Breweries across the continent are showing their flair for this diverse style. Some of the ones we've enjoyed have included Bell's Hopslam, Phillip's Amnesiac, and the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

So, what has Half Pints achieved in the last year? Glad you asked! Here's a list for your perusal.

We opened. A small victory for good beer was scored.

We've brewed 13 distinctly different beers. Actually, no small feat if you take into account that some breweries don't do that in their entire lifespan.

It's actually 15 beers if you count our cask of "Mocha Stout" at last years Flatlander's Beer Festival and our cask of Double Dry Hopped Oktoberfest at our Grand Opening Party.

We went from supplying a limited number (16) Liquor Mart to supplying all 24 in the city of Winnipeg plus a couple of vendors.

We went from 3 draught accounts to 17 and various restaurants serve our beer in bottles. You could help with this. Just make it known that you'd love to see our beer at your favorite place.

We've had 52 Saturday tours and 2 rocking open houses where we've demystified the process for hundreds of people (and had some tasty munchies to boot). Now that you know what goes into making your Half Pints, doesn't it feel great to support your local brewery?

We've bottled and labeled over 100,000 660 ml. bottles by hand.

We've created one part-time and four full-time jobs in our favorite city.

Our customers expect more from their beer now. Thanks to them, we exist.

We've made our parents proud.

By the numbers (if that kind of thing matters to you):

According to BeerAdvocate.com, we hold the highest average score (3.87/5) for our beers across the three prairie provinces (AB, SK, and MB).

Our Weizenbock is rated 8Th in the world (out of 147 listings) by that same website.

According to Ratebeer.com our beer is the best in the province, but you already knew that.

Over the past year, three of our beers have made it into the top 25 in the world (by style) on Ratebeer.com - Phil's Pils, Oktoberfest, and The Holy Spirit (which was recently bumped from 19th - oh well, can't win em' all).

Overall, it had been a trying experience getting the place up and running. However, the rewards of waking up and wanting to be in the brewery, creating new brews and introducing Winnipeg to our world of beer have been well worth it.

Soldier on...

Brewmaster David Rudge

Half Pints On Tap In Candahar

2007-07-25T07:35:00.000-06:00

Yep, you read that correctly.

We always knew that Half Pints was art in a glass, we just wondered how long it would take others to figure it out.

Half Pints Brewing Company is now supplying beer to The Candahar Pub, an art installation at the Plug In Gallery (286 McDermot Avenue). You'll find our Bulldog Amber Ale and Phil's Pils on tap inside the pub.

Read On:

www.plugin.org

286 McDermot Ave. Winnipeg Manitoba R3B 0T2 t. (204) 942 – 1043 f. (204) 944 – 8663

Plug In ICA premieres renowned performance-based work to
coincide with the Fringe Festival

Pretend: Theatre & Video
Exhibition runs July 20 – August 18, 2007
Open LATE every night of the Fringe Festival 10AM – 10PM

** A New Opening Reception every Thursday Night from July 26 – August 16: 7–10PM **
· July 20 (Friday): Tellervo Kalleinen (Finland)
· July 26: Theo Sims (UK/Canada) [Artist in Attendance]
· August 2: Nathalie Djurberg (Sweden/Germany)
· August 9: Omer Fast (Israel/Germany)
· August 16: Coco Fusco (USA)

In conjunction with the 2007 Winnipeg Fringe Festival, the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art will present performance-inspired works by a group of renowned international artists working in the fields of video and installation. Combining elements of theatre, animation, and journalism with collage, melodrama, and confession, Pretend will extend many of the themes inspiring the performers of the Fringe. And in keeping with the rigorous schedule of “fringing,” each of these artists will present their work for a single week over a four-week period, next to an in-gallery pub that turns audience members into the actors of an imaginary place.

From July 20-29, Tellervo Kalleinen will present In the Middle of a Movie: her cinematic entry into the lives of individuals around the world. From Tallinn, Estonia and Seydisfjördur, Iceland to St. Petersburg, Russia and Los Angeles, USA, this intimate sociological survey began when the artist posted ads asking people to: “Plan a movie scene that takes place in your own home and write a part in it for a Finnish woman.” The ensuing series of 61 short films (filmed in six cities) delve into the eclectic, and sometimes disturbing cinematic fantasies of everyday people.

From July 31-August 4, Nathalie Djurberg will present animated shorts that use plasticine characters and handmade sets to illustrate the untamed impulses of humanity. Through a crude, yet compelling form of claymation, she creates vignettes that revel mischievously in everything from the forbidden romance between a fox and a girl (There Ain’t No Pill), to the demeaning parade of New Movements in Fashion, to the politically incorrect disintegration of a Victorian home – and its community – In Our Own Neighbourhood.

From August 7-11, Omer Fast blurs the borders between acting and living in the dual-channel video installation Godville. In this disorienting portrait of a community straddling historical periods, Fast interviews people living, and playing the role of characters, in Colonial Williamsburg (Virginia, USA). In this seemingly documentary context, Fast cuts and re-cuts his footage to create unsettling collages of people whose words reflect a time better left to the past.

From August 14-18, videos by Coco Fusco turn shadowy political operations into the raw material for real-life screenplays. Based on disturbingly true stories of government surveillance, interrogation, and intimidation, she casts people in the lives of fugitives and prisoners. The resulting mix of re-enactment and role playing casts a disturbing light on the backstage activity of politics.

All of this work will play out next to Theo Sims’ The Candahar, which is simultaneously an artwork, a theatre, a prop, and an intersection between art and life. On the outside, a simple wood frame reveals a surprising reconstruction of a pub based loosely on a now defunct Belfast bar called The Blackthorn. The Blackthorn was remodelled in the 1980s to look like a Georgian bar (and has since become a chic martini bar), but its memory is resurrected in Sims’ contemporary recreation.

Plug In ICA gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Manitoba Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Winnipeg Arts Council.

EQ3, Imperial Flooring and Buckwold-Western have provided generous assistance in making this exhibition possible.

For more information please contact Steven Matijcio or Anthony Kiendl at (204) 942-1043
steven@plugin.org or anthony@plugin.org

High resolution images available on request.

What's that, over the horizon...

2007-07-23T14:19:00.000-06:00

Egad's! It's a monstrously hoppy Double IPA we're calling Humulus Ludicrous. We'll be releasing this beer at the brewery on August 11, 2007. So be there, or be disappointed when your buddy grabs the last bottle from the shelf.

We've brewed this one specially for the hop heads and there's no doubting from our initial sample from the tank that this will be a swift kick in the teeth from our beloved hop. We'll also be serving this at the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria, BC.

In other news:

For those savvy Fringe Fest'ers who want to avoid the lager louts in the beer tent:

the King's Head Pub has been serving our Phil's Pils on the patio

The Royal Albert has Bulldog on tap.

Mondragon carries our beer in bottles (mostly for the vegan's) but they'd never turn away a thirsty fringer

just a stone's throw away, the Yellow Dog has the IPA and Amber on all the time. Tell Greg we sent you!

The East India Company is now serving our Stir Stick Stout and Little Scrapper IPA.

Thanks to the tenacity of some of our loyal customers (Q!, Bill, and Derek) The University Club now has our Stout and IPA ready to serve on tap - they've just got to finish off some other brewery's beer first. If ever there was a use for light beer, I'd suggest it now - go water the ficus with a pitcher or two!

Did you catch us on the Big Breakfast last week? Bill did and he sent this screen shot for us. Thanks Bill!

That's it for now, keep cool, and we'll see you at the campground this weekend!

Photos From Open House

2007-07-03T12:26:00.001-06:00

Brewer Dave Gives The More Hops = Better Beer Speach.

Photo Credit - Chris Young - Assistant Brewer At Half Pints

Open House

2007-06-13T12:03:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody,
Thanks to all who attended our second open house. We had a great time showing everyone what makes Half Pints so cool.

A special thanks to everyone who brought donations for Winnipeg Harvest. There was a total of one heaping keg bin full of food donated. You rock!

Stay tunes for updated photos from the event here on the blog.

Cheers!
Brewmaster Dave

Open House

2007-06-04T14:31:00.000-06:00

Yep, that's right - it's time for another fantastic open house at Half Pints. Bring your friends and family for a frolic amongst the tanks - much like you see Chris doing here.

Saturday, June 9th, 2007 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Bring a tin for the bin in support of Winnipeg Harvest, and we'll fork over one of our cool bottle opener keychains.

See you there!

Phil's Pils is ready!

2007-05-14T15:03:00.000-06:00

The photo above is from the Festiv-Ale in Regina way back in November. You may recognize me on the left, but the main thing here (and the whole point of this new beer) is the guy on the right. More specifically, it's what our good buddy Phil is holding - HOPS!

We met Phil shortly before we opened the brewery here in Winnipeg. He's a great guy and he loves the hop. I have been known to partake in the hoppy stuff, too - and it's no coincidence that Phil's favourite Half Pints beer is the Little Scrapper IPA. He's a member of the Great White North Brewerianists Club and has a collection of classic breweriana to rival the best of them. He specifically searches out good beer & good beer breweries - so naturally he found us before we found him.

So being a man of infinite good taste, when I decided I would make a hoppy Pilsner for the duration of the summer, I thought to myself:

"Self! Why don't we make this beer for Phil because doesn't he deserve it as much as anyone?"

I answered: "Of course we can, 'cause that's how we roll at Half Pints, and we can call it Phil's Pils!"

Anyhoo, check out the label description:

Our buddy Phil is a friend of good beer, so Phil’s Pils must be impressive ode to good taste. Thankfully (Phil would say) it’s the polar opposite of most Pilsners available today. Brewed using two-row pale, melanoidin, and crystal malts, this lager is chock full of malty goodness on top of German Hallertau and Czech Saaz hops. This brew is also dry hopped with a blend of Mount Hood and more Saaz. Our Pils actually tastes like malt & hops – what a novel idea! Try it with a slow smoked rack of ribs or a wedge of Pepper Jack cheese. Serve at 6 C. in a Pilsner glass. 5.2% a/v 30 IBU

Now, I wasn't kidding when I said this is summer beer - but rather than foisting another wishy washy Pilsner on the world, I thought it more prudent to put the Half Pints seal of approval on this much maligned and often bungled style. Pilsner should be drinkable yes, but the most refreshing part of its flavour profile is a snappy hop flavour. It dries out the tongue and gets you longing for the next sip. Unfortunately, this is something that large scale breweries omit.

Instead, they choose to focus on maximizing profits, appealing to the dumbed down market of beer drinkers who think a wedge of lime shoved down the neck of a bottle constitutes a higher form of "taste". Often their brews reek of corn and skunk. Or worse, taste distinctly of table sugar and chemicals.

Then, they throw millions of dollars at their marketing department to spin the beer in a positive light - playing on national pride, vacation memories, and best of all, dressing up low grade swill as a "premium beer".

Obviously, this isn't our goal when producing beer. We brew for flavour first, price the beer fairly, and accept that we're never going to be able to afford the mansion on Wellington Crescent. We're just not that kind of brewery.

So, stick it to the man, and try Phil's Pils, and if you happen to meet him in a darkened alley, you better be ready to wax poetic about the hops!

The T-Shirt Trade Results

2007-05-10T13:06:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well. I think we touched a bit of a nerve with our April T-Shirt Trade In. The response was cool - some of you just giggled at the idea, and others took us up on it. Either way, we had some fun (even if it was at the expense of the big guys).

The first thing I noticed is the percentage of Molson t's. We got two shirts from them that hadn't even been unwrapped from the plastic they originally came in and two that had clearly never been worn before.

Thanks go out to all of you who wear their favorite local beer-T with pride. Spread the word!

Weizen Heimer

2007-04-11T14:18:00.000-06:00

Well, we've received a ton of fantastic complements on our Weizenbock - to which we all say thanks!

It seems that Peg City beer lovers are ready for beers with more flavour and are starting to expect it. Great, we're doing our jobs then.

I'll be heading to Regina this weekend with a few members of the Winnipeg Brew Bombers to judge in the A.L.E.S. Club's National Homebrew Competition. So this announcement for our next seasonal beer is a little early.

This Saturday (April 14th), we'll be releasing our new Weizen Heimer. This hefeweizen(hefe=yeast, weizen=wheat in German) is a traditionally styled brew native to Bavaria.

From the label:

Nothing beats kicking back on the deck at the cabin and taking in a classic Manitoba sunset. Our Hefeweizen captures that jovial atmosphere with a hazy golden body from a blend of wheat, two-row pale, and Munich malts. German grown Hallertau hops balance the fruity wheat malts with a light, spicy character. Finally, a burst of banana and clove aromas fill the air due the specially selected yeast culture. Try it with a light meal of grilled bratwurst, hot mustard, and potato salad. Serve at 6 C. in a tall Weizen glass. Bottle will contain sediment – which should be poured into the beer. 13 IBU 5.0% a/v

We'll be brewing a total of three batches of this beer, so there's no danger we'll run out of it that day. The MLCC stores will start receiving their shipments the week of the 16th.

Summer's almost here and we've got another tasty seasonal in the works after the Weizen Heimer, just in time for the may long weekend...

In other news: April is 20% off all Half Pints t-shirts - but there's a catch. You've got to bring me one of those cheap, barely passable for a shop rag t-shirts that the other breweries give away for nothing to get you to buy their barely passable as a cleaning fluid beer. You know the ones we're talking about. Trade it in for 20% off one of our t's and you can wear your local pride. We're hearing that people get stopped when wearing our t's out around town, so be prepared to spread the word!

Finer Dining with Beer

2007-03-30T13:46:00.000-06:00

Remember a few weeks ago when I ranted on about beer choices in some of Winnipeg's high end restaurants? Well, I think now I must eat crow and let you know that there's more than a few who have listened! If you look closely at this list, it really does read like the who's who in Winnipeg's "foodie" scene. I applaud these Chef's (and others) for choosing real craft beer with flavour over marketing hoopla.

Most of you know that we've had a few different beers (Oktoberfest, Bulldog, Sweet Nikki Brown to name a few) available at the Winnipeg Winter Club due to the incredible passion of Chef Craig Geunther from The Market 520. I really do love Chef Craig's willingness to try new things, and to constantly challenge himself to be creating. In the coming weeks, we'll be partnering with the Winter Club again to pair some of our beer with a special dinner they've been working on. I'll keep you posted on that one!

On Thursday morning, I dropped off the first shipment of Bulldog Amber Ale to Mise, just south of Osbourne Village. Sue & Terry Gereta own this little slice of heaven that my Mom and Dad have been talking about ever since they went for their anniversary. They've got the beer on tap, so when you're out with your sweeties, you can enjoy the fruits of their/our labour.

We've had a very excited call from the people at In Ferno's Bistro, too. Seems that Chef/Owner Fern Kirouac understands and appreciates our willingness to offer seasonal fare as well. They've been stocking bottles of our brew and the selection has been rotating with our various seasonal beers.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a nice couple come into the brewery from St. Paul, Minnesota. They had been at Bistro 7 1/4, where they were introduced to our Stir Stick Stout by Chef Alexander Svenne. I'm told he's very knowledgeable about the beer, but I've not yet had the chance to get there to eat - the couple said the food was amazing, though.

Over the last few month's, owner Scot McTaggart at Fusion Grill has been serving our beers from the bottle. Try the Paella with our Little Scrapper IPA.

And finally, near & dear to my heart - Gasthaus Gutenberger has previously stocked our various German offerings such as the Oktoberfest Lager. I can safely say that when I do brew certain German styles, I specifically pair that beer with food readily available from the Gasthaus. Bayriche Grillhaxe (Bavarian Pork Hock) is a fantastic example of this. Slow roasted and falling off the bone. Another great example is the Hazelnut Torte I suggest you try with our Weizenbock. To die for... tell Chef Kurt Wagner I sent you!

Special Day & New Brew to Celebrate

2007-03-16T08:49:00.000-06:00

Today is a special day in Half Pints history.

The photo on the left is my dad and Gary Dunlop (expert forklift operator) loading in our brew kettle, March 16th, 2006. It was cold that day, and with a little help from our friends (Mike, Chris, George, Gary, & Darryl) we got a truckload of equipment into the future brewery.

To celebrate this special occasion, we're releasing a new beer as of tomorrow - Weizenbock.

Why would we release a German style beer on St. Paddy's? Because unlike other breweries who poke their heads up for one day a year and encourage over consumption, we're busy making great beer year round. And Monday (March 19th) is St. Joseph's Day, which is the traditional day Bock beers are released in Germany.

From the label:

As spring approaches, a brewer’s thoughts turn to the German tradition: Bock beer. Our Weizenbock welcomes the warmer weather with no less than seven different malts from around the world. The addition of German Perle and Hallertau hops balance the thick malt flavours with pepper and herbal aromas. Specially selected wheat yeast cultures lend banana, vanilla, and clove-like aromas to the beer. Try it with a thick, buttered slice of Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company’s multi grain bread or a decadent Hazelnut Torte. Serve at 8 C. in a tall Weizen glass. 6.2% a/v 18 IBU

Those of you who are beer savvy will note that our Weizenbock is not incredibly strong like some of the commercially available Dopple Weizenbocks. I'd like to think this makes the beer entirely more drinkable, and enjoyable over an evening, not just as a nightcap. Also, being that our motto is "small brewery BIG FLAVOUR", we feel it shows our capabilities better to brew with flair rather than just brewing an extra high test beer that gets you plastered.