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 beerme@manitobabeercast.com.  The web site is manitobabeercast.com ..read more

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 ..read more

…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 be ..read more

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 beerme@manitobabeercast.com.  The web site is manitobabeercast.com.   ..read more

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 emai ..read more

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 ge ..read more

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 getti ..read more

Explore Manitoba’s growing brewing industry with the Beercast. Each week, we’ll talk to brewers, distributors, and others in the industry. We explore the wide variety of beers from craft and consumer breweries, and tell you how to get your hands on great locally brewed beer. Pods will drop weekly, at all the leading platforms, and at manitobabeercast.com. Get in on the conversation on twitter (@mbbeercast) or reach out to us at beerme@manitobabeercast.com ..read more