- Home
- What’s Brewing
- Brewing Process
- On Tap
- Keg Order
- Recipes
- Merchandise
- Brewer’s Blog
- Links
- Contact Info
Monday, August 10, 2009
Humulus Ludicrous Day
The past week has gone by like a blur as we've been busy with the guys from the CCBA 30th Annual National convention. The brewerianist guys were a great bunch and seemed to enjoy the beer and our brewery quite a bit. I could tell because Friday night for me ended on a high (slightly sour) note with my rendition of "Cover of The Rolling Stone" at the hotel bar during karaoke. They didn't even boo me, but I think it's because I wasn't nearly as whacked out as Dr. Hook was... ever. Huzzah!
This Saturday (August 15th, 2009) we'll be celebrating the re-release of our Humulus Ludicrous Double IPA. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Humulus is a hugely hoppy, bitter beer with intense citrus flavours from the ridiculous amount of hops we add to it.
It has been showered with critical acclaim since we first brewed it way back in 2007 for our first anniversary. A few months back, we received word that the Humulus was chosen as one of the Canadian representatives for authour Ben McFarland's new book, "World's Best Beers". Not so coincidentally, they chose our Burlywine too, but that's a story for December.
So, we've ordered up a few hundred soft pretzels from Lange's Pastry on Ellice, which we'll be serving out with some spicy hot mustard (preferably Elman's) on Saturday for all to enjoy. Come down to the brewery early and we'll make sure you get a quick tour, a small sample and a pretzel for your troubles. We're expecting a large crowd, given that the Humulus was so well received last time and we've been pestered incessantly since then as to when the next batch would be up.
Other News:
Phil's Pils fans (including Phil) will be happy to know that the yeast is scheduled to arrive later this week, and we'll be starting it up for brewing right away. We'll be blanketing the city with enough Phil's so you can all get your fix and then the Oktoberfest will arrive in mid-late September. Expect the Phil's to start showing up in late August at the stores.
Our special mystery beer is aging in the casks as we speak. The area around the casks is starting to smell like a distillery. Yum!
Labels: Beer Release, Books, Humulus Ludicrous, Phil's Pils, The Beers
Monday, March 17, 2008
Prepare thyself...
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Oktoberfest is Back!
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.
Labels: The Beers
Monday, July 23, 2007
What's that, over the horizon...
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!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Phil's Pils is ready!
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!
Labels: The Beers
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Weizen Heimer
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!
Labels: The Beers
Friday, March 16, 2007
Special Day & New Brew to Celebrate
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.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Bulldog Amber Ale
People always seem curious as to how we come up with the recipes for the beers. The Bulldog is a bit of a mutt in that regard; part well known homebrew recipe, part brewing science, part brewing art.
I used to brew a simple ale at home, using pale, munich and some crystal malts. From batch to batch, I'd keep the malt the same, but twiddle with the hops depending on my mood. It usually ran about 4.5% a/v, with a snappy hop aroma - usually from German hops.
When it came time to decide on a "training wheel" beer for Half Pints, Nicole and I discussed at length the options and possibilities. I wanted to do a full bodied ale, rather than the traditional wishy washy light lager for our mainstay beer. We both enjoyed that regular home brew I did, but it needed a bit more body, with less of the smack in the face hop finish. I did some math, and came up with a good enough recipe but it was missing something.
Everything clicked when we finally decided on the name. I really enjoy a good, English style pale ale, with a light touch of sweetness and a grassy hop aroma. I figured it would be wise to use British ingredients to go with it. Hence the use of Crisp Malting's crystal malt and U.K. Goldings hops.
When we finally tapped the first tank of this beer, we rejoiced. Many Half Pints were "tested" that day, all in the name of science.
Labels: The Beers