Movember: The Evidence & A Final Plea

As I promised in the comments on my previous Movember post, here’s a photo of me in my full mustachioed glory.

As you can see, the ‘stache does a good job catching beer foam. For that and many other reasons, I’m going to be glad to shave it off in just a couple of days.

In the meantime, it’s not to late to show your support for me and my Movember team in our efforts to raise awareness and money for the battle against prostate cancer. If you’re able to give anything, even just a few bucks, please click here and pitch in whatever you can. Thanks!

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Sherbrooke Liquor KGB Russian Imperial Stout

EDMONTON, AB – Sherbrooke Liquor, one of Canada’s best beer shops, has released the latest in a series of limited edition house brand beers, KGB Russian Imperial Stout, which has been brewed for them by Alley Kat Brewing.

In a post on his blog On Tap, Mark Suits of the Edmonton Journal quotes Jim Pettinger of Sherbrooke, who describes it as follows:

KGB (650ml $6.99) is our second anniversary beer (We just celebrated our sixth anniversary though). We decided to sponsor the winning home brewer each year at the Aurora Brewing Challenge. The winner gets to pick a recipe which we then have Alley Kat brew commercially. Last year was Heatseeker Coconut Curry Porter. This year, Bruce Sample chose KGB. Named also for his buddies Glen and Kevin, with whom he brewed in the past.

It’s also noted that this is the first Alley Kat beer to be offered in 650 ml “bomber” bottles, but future seasonals and one-offs may come in bombers should this one be successful.

Half Pints Burlywine Day 2009

WINNIPEG, MB – Half Pints Brewing will be holding this year’s edition of their annual Burlywine Day open house on Saturday, December 5th, 2009.

As the name suggests, the day marks the release of their annual winter seasonal, Half Pints Burlywine, and the 2009 vintage will be available for sale and sampling at the brewery. In addition, a limited number of bottles of the 2008 vintage will be available, along with the equally limited Bourbon Burlywine, which is the 2008 version aged on Bourbon soaked French oak chips.

Half Pints is also encouraging all attendees to “bring a tin for the bin” in support of Winnipeg Harvest food bank, and there will be tours and giveaways throughout the day.

Following the launch, Burlywine 2009 will be available at select liquor stores and bars in Manitoba, as well as a few out-of-province locations.

Mill Street Schleimhammer Roggenbier

TORONTO, ON – The latest seasonal beer from Mill Street Brewery was released this past week at a trade and media launch at the Victory Cafe in Toronto.

Mill Street Schleimhammer Roggenbier is a traditional German rye beer, a style that is rarely seen in North America. Brewmaster Joel Manning described it to the Great Canadian Pubs & Beer blog:

The Roggenbier has 30% rye malt, 20% wheat malt and 50% barley malt. Of the barley malt it has pale 2-row, caramel and chocolate malt. The hops are German Magnum variety and it is fermented with a German Hefeweizen yeast. What I like the best about the Roggenbier is that for a beer with as much complexity as this, it is still “table beer” and has a simplicity that makes it sessionable. Good 15th century peasant fare!

Schleimhammer Roggenbier is available now at the Mill Street Brewpub in Toronto’s Distillery District and in other select bars and pubs in Toronto.

Molson M Launched in Quebec

MONTREAL, QC – The third new beer launch in as many months from Molson Coors Canada took place this past week with the release of Molson M.

An article in Marketing Magazine describes the brand:

Molson M is brewed using a “micro-carbonization process” which involves injecting the beer with CO2 through “smaller, finer bubbles.”

“The injection of smaller CO2 bubbles makes it possible to preserve not only the taste of the hops but also the delicate flavours generated by the yeast during fermentation,” explained Karine Brunelle, brewer with Molson Coors.

Molson M is currently available only in Quebec.

Movember

Since Canadian Beer News is intended to be a news blog first and foremost, I generally take a fairly impersonal approach to the posts here, and save my personal opinions and thoughts for my other blog, Beer Beats & Bites. In this case, however, I think the importance of the topic justifies getting rid of my editorial anonymity for just a moment to make a personal plea.

This month, I’m participating in Movember, a campaign to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer, a disease that affects millions of men worldwide. Along with my many “Mo Bros”, I’m growing a moustache on my usually clean-shaven face, and trying to drum up donations for the cause.

This issue is especially important to me as my full-time job is in the data warehouse department at a cancer agency, where I deal with a frightening volume of cancer data and statistics on a daily basis. It’s estimated that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and while a straight-up cure may not be within reach yet, there’s a lot we can do to help us get there, and to assist those men who are diagnosed in the meantime.

Wanna help? Click here to donate. At the very least, you’ll make me feel a little better about this ridiculous thing I have growing on my face.

Halifax Microbrew Fest & Conference 2010

[Press Release]

HALIFAX, NS – East Coast Event Management announced today that it will launch the Halifax Microbrew Fest & Conference on October 22 through 23, 2010 at Halifax’s World Trade & convention Centre. The show will bring together craft breweries, home brewers, industry experts, and beer lovers who tilt their mug in support of the Canadian craft brewery industry!

The Halifax Microbrew Fest & Craft Brewery Conference will take place on October 22 through 23, 2010, at the Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre. The Halifax Microbrew Fest and Craft Brewery Conference is the first to celebrate, and showcase the craft breweries and brewpubs of Canada. This two-day event includes a showcase of different beers brought in from around the country. Attendees are encouraged to sample, learn, and participate in seminars led by key figures in the beer industry. Events taking place during the show include local bands, the chance to win prizes through beer games, contests and interactive ways to learn about the brewing process and craft brewery industry.

Garrison Imperial Pale Ale Becomes Imperial IPA

HALIFAX, NS – Garrison Brewing are making a slight name change to their award-winning Imperial Pale Ale, and will now be calling it Imperial IPA.

According to brewery president Brian Titus, the original name “seemed to have caused some confusion”, and that “having to continually explain that this isn’t ‘…just some pale ale’ & ‘yes, we do make an IPA actually’ was starting to wear a little!”

All future batches of the beer will feature a redesigned label with the new name.

Alley Kat Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale

EDMONTON, AB – Alley Kat Brewing have brought back their popular seasonal beer Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale for another year, just in time for celebrating St. Andrew’s Day on November 30th:

Kilt Lifter is all about malt. It starts with an aroma of sweet malt with hints of toast and smoke. The flavour follows through with the malt showing lots of caramel and some hazelnut. Kilt Lifter finishes somewhat dry with a bit of hop bitterness and a slight warmth from the 7.5% alcohol content. It is brown in colour with flashes of garnet.

Kilt Lifter is sold in six packs of 341 ml bottles and is available at premium liquor stores throughout Alberta.

Minhas Creek Launches Boxer Lager in Ontario

TORONTO, ON – Minhas Creek Brewing entered the Ontario market for this first time this week with the launch of Boxer Lager at Beer Store locations across the province.

Minhas Creek and sibling company, Mountain Crest Brewing, operate out of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with brewing facilities in Monroe, Wisconsin. They market a variety of brands in Western Canada and some US regions, with discount and budget brands being their main focus in Canada.

Boxer Lager is made with Western Canadian 2-row barley malted in Biggar, Saskatchewan, and is described as a “unique maltier-tasting beer that is preferred by most Canadians”. It’s available in 12 packs of 355 ml cans for $15.80 including taxes and deposit, the lowest legal price for beer in Ontario.