Overview Kvass is a lightly soured beer made from rye bread, sometimes flavoured with fruits or mint. Kvass is required to be less than 1.2% alcohol, and is sold as a non-alcoholic beverage akin to soda. American versions sometimes ferment closer to 4% to remain competitive. Kvass is often compared to Kombucha and other pro-biotic beverages in naturally fermented versions.  Beer Specs ABV: 0.5% - 1.2% Colour: Light to Amber to Dark Brown IBU: 0-1 Recipe 1 gal water / loaf rye bread 33 g / gal base malt 1 IBU boiling hops Nottingham Yeast (traditionally bread yeast or sourdough starter) Proces ..read more

Country of Origin History White IPA is what happens when an IPA and a witbier get friendly with each other. Unlike IPA and witbier which both have rich histories, the White IPA is a recently discovered style. This "accidental" beer came from a brainstorming session in 2010 between two brewmasters, Larry Sidor of Deschutes Brewery in Oregon, and Steven Pauwels, of Boulevard Brewing. Sidor was known for his hoppy brews at Deschutes, while Pauwels enjoyed brewing wheat beers at Boulevard. When the two decided to combine their favourite styles, the result was a crisp, hazy, moderately hoppy and ..read more

Country of Origin   History Kriek is a lambic beer originating from Belgium. Lambics are sour and dry beers native to Brussels which are fermented with airborne yeast. Kriek was traditionally made in breweries in and near Brussles using Schaarbeekse krieken, a rare Belgian Morello cherry variety. Whole cherries, including the pits, were added to the beer to create a signature sour and dry beer. While the beer was initially popular in Brussels and surrounding areas, Kriek became more well known after the style was on display at the 1897 World’s Fair in Brussels.  During and shortly after WWI, s ..read more

In the 18th Century when hoppy, higher alcohol ales were gaining popularity in England, some brewers began experimenting with darker brews. The original English Porter grew out of the English Brown style, but was heavier and slightly sweeter. Soon the export of this new style of beer began to increase in areas including Ireland, South Africa and the newly colonized North America. English Porter eventually arrived in the Baltic States and people in these countries were very receptive to this dark beer as it provided a nice warming characteristic for these chilly regions. In the early 1800's Eng ..read more

Country of Origin History Gose (pronounced "goes-uh") is a German beer that some believe dates back to the 11th Century. While the date of origin is often debated, gose is one of German's most historic beers. Gose was first brewed in the German town of Goslar where the ground was found to have copper, zinc and salt deposits. It is believed these minerals were also in the ground water and contributed to gose's salty taste. Gose was originally spontaneously fermented, and it wasn't until the late 1800s when yeast began being used. This beer style differs from other traditional German beers as ..read more

We're ringing in the new year with a pint and good food, two things that have gone together for many years. Cooking with beer and pairing food with beer is not as difficult as you may think it is. While there are some basic "rules", beer lends itself to creativity and freedom in the kitchen.  We sat down with two Chefs, Markus Mueller and Janie Borgadus, to get a better understanding of the power of beer in the kitchen and how you can easily incorporate your homebrew into your culinary adventures. Guests Markus Mueller - Chef & Blogger, Earth Food & Fire (Charlottetown, PE) Janie Borga ..read more

Country of Origin   History Kentucky Common is one of the few original beer styles to originate in America. Once a very popular style in Kentucky (most notably Louisville), it is often referred to as a "dark cream ale". Like many American beer styles, the Kentucky Common was born in the 1800's from immigrants who wanted to recreate beers from their homelands, but were restricted to American ingredients.  Irish and German immigrants began brewing what would be known as the Kentucky Common with protein-rich 6-row malt due to its availability. Corn, which was plentiful and inexpensive, was added ..read more

The Art of Brewing Hazy Beers There is no doubt that hazy IPAs are currently one of the most popular beers. At first, brewing a beer that was not clear seemed just lazy. But hazy brewing has now turned into a delicate art. It is not just as simple as packaging your beer with yeast still in suspension, there are many different methods of adding haze to a beer.  Use lots of adjuncts Most brewers know that malted grains produce sugars for the yeast to munch on, but they also add proteins to the mix. Protein molecules are much larger than anything else in beer, so having a lot of protein leads to ..read more

When you think about coffee in beer, the first thing that usually comes to mind is a coffee stout or coffee porter. Dark beer and dark coffee seems to be the most common combination. However, coffee in beer is not restricted to dark, malty beers. Recently brewers have been experimenting with adding coffee to IPAs, cream ales, and even Kolsch.  Adding coffee to your beer may sound easy - just put some in the secondary or when you bottle. However, like malts and hops, coffee beans vary drastically by how they are roasted, ground and brewed.  Not All Coffee Is Created Equal Roasted coffee is usua ..read more

In Part 2 of our homebrew competition series we flip the previous perspective and talk to a few seasoned beer judges about their travels into brew culture.  Angeline MacLennan shares her story about the balancing act between partner, mom, nurse and Atlantic Canada's first female Cicerone.  We also welcomed Stefan Gagliardi, master brewer for the revitalized and historic ‘Original’ Alexander Keiths Brewery.  He takes us deeper into the sensory experience and evaluation of a particular beer. Guests Angeline MacLennan - Cicerone Stefan Gagliardi - Brewmaster, Alexander Keith’s Halifax brewery ..read more