Alright, so maybe not a dollar short, but a late update is better than no update.

I spent last week in Regina at the ALES Club National Homebrew Open 2011.  You can see the results here.

It was a good week, though I was a tad nervous when I hit Grenfell and the RCMP sent me to Melville before going back down to Regina.  I thought I might get stuck in Saskatchewan and not be able to return until the flood waters subsided.  As it was, the Qu'Appelle Valley was gorgeous and warm, if not a little soggy with plenty of spots where the water lapped the #10 right at the sides.

I actually took it pretty easy, with only the odd beer here and there aside from judging.  I think if I wanted to drink more, I should be a competition steward.  I always seem to see those guys with beers in hand!

Friday we judged beer twice and then we had a beer dinner to do over at Beer Bros. in the Scarth Street Mall.  A great time was had by all - if anyone has photo's, please shoot them over to me at the brewery, I'd be glad to put them up.

We also had a lovely cask of Five-Al-IPA (5 citrus fruit zests, coriander and dry hops).  Lots of good comments on that one from the ALES Club volunteers.  That makes two casks of the Five-Al-IPA that we've brewed up and almost nobody at the brewery but me has tasted them.  I guess we might have to work one up for the next Friday the Firkinteenth.

I can't say I really liked it, since pretty much everything I've ever had from them has been undrinkable.  At least they're consistent!  Dave assures me that the 5am Saint is drinkable, so I guess I'll have to keep trying their beers one at a time until something actually hits.  I imagine that when Brew Dog figures out how to brew beer that matches their marketing genius, they'll take over the world.

Saturday morning we were up early for the traditional morning at Regina's premiere haute couture food establishment, Mr. Breakfast.  With a name like that, it's hard to imagine all the goodness that goes on within those walls, but I find too many locals don't know and love this awesome greasy spoon as much as I do.

The giant Molson M billboard above the place is just a bonus.

Here you see Dave and Nathan K. late Saturday night after the Bushwakker Brewer's Dinner.  Lots of beer with the meal, plus an import list of impressive girth = happy boys.

Given that Nathan took one for the team with the Half Pints W, I only thought it fair to vindicate his beer loving spirit with this shot for all of you to enjoy.

Hey Ken, that's your bottle of Pickard's in the bottom left corner, too.  It's famous!

All in all, a fun week topped by some silliness and general good times.  Thanks to the ALES Club for being the gracious hosts that they are and making the week fun to work at.

Labels: ALES Club, Beer Bros., Cask Ale, Regina

Here you see Nathan K., illustrious President of the Winnipeg Brew Bombers, taking one for the whole team.  Hopefully, more of you will want your photo taken with

W


We also recieved this very interesting e-mail this morning regarding bulk packaging of W:


We are so pleased that ordering the revolutionary new Half Pints W is so easy. How you folks managed to allow us to bottle our own is brilliant. We have now become a bulk Half Pints W store. Regrettably, we are unable to offer Air Miles Reward Miles with purchase.



Our only issue is from our Quality Control department who, being very vigilant, alerted us to the very alarming amounts of dihydrogen monoxide contained in every bottle of Half Pints W. You may consider being proactive, and removing this nasty chemical from your fine product, since it has been scientifically proven time and again that water insects, and indeed, eels and fish procreate within vast amounts of this pervasive liquid. A suggested alternative may involve dehydration of the product, which may make it easier to bottle.


Thanks again for introducing such a brilliant product that will no doubt put Winnipeg on the map for generations.


Ben Rusch, Store Manager


River + Osborne Liquor Mart

Half Pints is pleased to announce the release of our newest world class brew,

W

What is W you ask?



It's our fantastical first foray into the world of macrobrewing.  We figure we've dominated the craft beer realm for much too long, what with our beers garnering attention in various books, magazines, and websites.

W

is produced using only the finest malt, hop and yeast as per our regular brews, but the thing that sets W apart from all the rest is its smooth drinkability and its crisp, clean finish.  We've never heard a beer described like this ever before.

Here's what our fans have to say about their first taste of W:


"This is by far the most thirst quenching beer I've ever had!" - Jeremy W.

"The specially patented fizzeration-nation-carbonation in this is so smooth, you'd be hard pressed to get bloated on it.  Hell, I could drink eight glasses like this a day!" - Zachary M.

"This beer is so light, I bought a whole tank so I could use it to blow up ballons for my kid's parties" - HR Puffinstuff

Here's our original concept art for W:




As you can see, the styling is truly original.  We decided not to use our regular designers so we could come up with something so cool that everyone would want to run to their kitchen and grab one right now.  Oh, sorry, you didn't hear?

Yes that's right.  Half Pints W is now on tap in your house!  Get to your kitchen and try it now!


Click this video below for a commercial.  We've spared no expense with this one, and spent over ten billion dollars getting it just right, since it was editied by faeries of the wood.



FOR TODAY ONLY: stop by to have your photo taken with the newest world class beer from Half Pints Brewing Company and we'll post your photo up here for everyone to see!



W, you can't live without it! (TM)