Saskatchewan Champagne

@bhopps83 #BeerRun @run_beer

Here's a thought for a particularly rainy, Sunday afternoon.

Why is Molson's Pilsner so popular in Saskatchewan?

It's a question I've wrestled with for some time, and I'm not entirely sure there is a concrete answer. Here's what I know from scrounging Wikipedia, and the Pils website. "Old Style Pilsner" has never been brewed in Saskatchewan. The closest it's come to this province is in its origins in Lethbridge, Alberta. In Fact, the brand has more history in Ontario, where it was launched in 1992 by Molson, and failed shortly thereafter. There's even a Manitoba connection where the beer's founder, Fritz Sick, purchased a Manitoba brewery and created "Frontier" beer in the 1930's.

Pilsner is however, a major sponsor of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, another institution in green packaging. The two brands go hand in hand, of that I'm certain. Whenever the "Green and White" are out and about, an empty box of Pils is usually resting on someone's head (that or a hollowed-out watermelon).

is that all it is? Put a sponsorship on Saskatchewan's team, and hang on for the ride? the Old Style is one of the few beers brewed by the big boys (although it was bought out) that I enjoy, so it's not like I dislike the idea of it being so popular. What I'm curious about is why... It's one of those things that the people of this province have attached themselves to, and the only reason I can think of as to why, is because someone, somewhere in the Molson Hierarchy decided to put some coin behind The Riders. Pils isn't local by any means, so I find it curious that an entire province would back it, above all other brands. It's kind of funny actually, in other provinces, the cashier behind the counter at the off-sale has to think if they even carry the stuff. Not around here!

In any case, I'm not trying to mess with your "Green Diesel."

The Namesake

@bhopps83 @run_beer #BeerRun

A Thirsty Beaver, The Backhand of God, and a bottle of Moose Drool.

Sadly, There isn’t a witty punchline to follow this list of unrelated items. Okay, I lied. These three objects do have something in common. They’re all great names for beer I’ve come across in my adventures of tasting the latest and greatest lagers and ales.

While there are no guarantees you’ll enjoy any one of them, the chances of remembering their distinctively creative names are slightly higher.

Big breweries are trying desperately to cover markets where the craft world has caught, and in some cases, surpassed them. One area the craft market does exceedingly well in is the naming of their product. I truly believe the right name for a craft beer can build an audience on its own accord. A proper moniker has to be distinct and easy to remember.

“It can be a challenge,” says President of Paddock Wood Brewing, Steven Cavan. “Generally, we have a product created, and then we sit around collectively and brainstorm first, a catchy name people will remember, and two, a piece of imagery we can take to our graphic artist.”

Names like: “Red,” “Blonde,” “White” and “Dark” certainly give you a clear description of what kind of beer you’re drinking. Both Alexander Keith’s and Rickards have used these names for their latest beers, appealing to a selective audience. However, without a gimmick to help consumers remember one red from another, a craft brewer’s creation is in danger of being lumped into a box of empties and forgotten about. A brewmaster’s worst nightmare!

“We have the Red Hammer, and Black Cat and you have a general sense of what you’re drinking,” says Cavan, “but we tend to stay away from that way of naming in favour of the imagery. The Graphic Artist plays a bigger role than you might imagine.”

One of Paddock Wood’s Flagship beers, the 606, has a very distinctive image on its packaging.

“I went to our artist and asked him what we could do with the imagery, it’s just a number, and he responded with the concept of identifying trains by their numbers. If you ask a train geek though,” says Cavan. “They know trains don’t have 3 numbers on them, they have 4. We were actually approached by a jazz festival to come up with a concept beer. The 606 club in London is a very famous jazz club there, and that’s where the name is derived from.”

According to Cavan, this isn’t an unusual request.

“Three or four times a year we’ll get approached by organizations to create a beer for them. Sometimes they are very specific in what they want to see in a recipe or even the name, other times it’s an open-ended challenge.”

As a result, a number of the Saskatoon brewery’s creations have been aided in the naming process by different groups and agencies.

For the past few years Paddock Wood has participated in Saskatoon’s Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan by providing themed beers. Each Summer has brought a new concept to the Fesitval’s open-ended challenge, and that tradition will continue this July.

The naming process doesn’t always have to be complex, the President of Paddock Wood ponders, as he explains several rituals he’s gone through to name a creation . The story behind his Czech Mate brew is quite simple.

“I like Czech beer, and I like playing chess, simple as that,” says Cavan.

A Break From The Norm

@bhopps83 #BeerRun @run_beer

We’ve all been in this situation before: The scene is a dinner party, or a wedding social, or some non-descript event you really didn’t want to attend in the first place. Inevitably, you’ll have to venture towards the bar.

The drink situation is a lot like the people you’re trying to make small talk with: bland and boring. Your choice of brew is always the same. You’re forced to choose between two “light” beers, or a “premium” variety of the first two choices.

This, ladies and gentlemen should not be the choice we’re entitled to make when a “pick-me-up” is required to pass the time.

I bring the aforementioned social scenario to your attention because the same situation was presented to me at a wedding social for a friend I hadn’t seen in years (sound familiar?).

The evening was playing its course quickly enough,and at this point, thankfully, so was the beer. Except, one of the people I was talking with, discussing, the lame selection of alcohol (also, a friend I hadn’t seen in years), turned out to be a Beer Representative for Okanagan Springs, Creemore Springs and Granville Island Brewing Company. The friend was based out of Winnipeg, and was responsible for bringing the brand to Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

My jaw went slack for a good three seconds.

When I regained social consciousness, I confessed to being a self-educated hophead, and enjoyed discussing the finer points of beer.

We ended up trading business cards at the end of the evening, and I marvelled at my stroke of good luck in having grown up with someone who works in the industry.

Granville Island Brewing (GIB)is a west-coast brewery, situated in the public market district of the same name in Vancouver. It holds historical significance in this country as being the first Canadian microbrewery, having opened its doors in 1984.

Currently two of GIB’s flagship beers are available in Saskatchewan: Kitsilano Cream Ale, and English Bay Pale Ale. Both are enjoyable brews, but with reference to the overall point of the article, I point out these two beers for their break from the norm. They offer up variety. Both brands are immediately palatable. For those who are used to light beers, GIB’s mainstays are a great introduction into the world of craft brewing.

Perhaps the greatest reason I can think of to include The English Bay Pale Ale in your introduction pack is after your initial sip, the hops in the brew aren’t all that present in the taste, but come out slowly in the seconds after you swallow, and along with it a subtle taste of caramel and honey.

The main difference between the English Bay and Kitsilano Cream Ale is the ending. Instead of caramel and honey, the Kitsilano has a kick of maple. As you can devise from your own experiences with caramel, maple and honey, both of these varieties are sweet to the taste.

GIB is constantly brewing new recipes to add to their lineup. You can visit their website at gib.ca and while only two varieties are available in Saskatchewan right now, if you can get your hands on some of their other beers, they are definately worth a second sip.

When organizing your next social function, be it a wedding social, or 40th wedding anniversary, instead of making sure the beer list includes the four major beer brands, think of the people like me. Add at least one drink that’s different; a break from the norm. You’ll have people saying, “the people were bland and boring, but at least the beer was good!”

Squeeze These Lemons

By @bhopps83 #BeerRun @run_beer

There are several things we’ve come to expect from the onset of summer: warmer weather, the start of the CFL season, blockbuster movies, skirts and backyard barbeques all wet our appetite for longer days. I know of only one sure way to quench the thirst from a hot summer day, either at the office or out on the water. It involves your favorite brew (or, two).

Of late, big name breweries have, or at least tried to add to the growing list of our favorite summer prospects. Beer with lime infused flavorings, Clamato already added, or artificial lemon juices are a few of the summer marketing gimmicks being implemented. The latest in the game is an iced-tea inspired creation from Molson-Coors.

This trend of combining our favorite additives to beer started way back in 2008 when Budweiser turned the beer-brand marketing world on itself by adding the lime for us (because you really do need the lime for a Bud Light to taste like … well, anything). Who could forget the tongue-tickling catch phrase “It’s Time for Lime.”?


If I want a lime in my beer, Mr. Overpaid-Marketing-Genius, I will put one in there, thank you.

While I do enjoy the odd slice of lemon or orange in my Half Pints Little Scrapper I.P.A. or Paddockwood 606 I.P.A. on a hot day. A beer should be consumed without masking the original intent of the flavourings. Often, a good brew master will add notes of citrus, herbs, berries or even coffee beans to his or her recipe as part of an overall vision.

There are smaller, localized breweries around that have creations with aforementioned ingredients within the bottle, but again, it was part of an overall vision, not just an afterthought. Mill Street Brewery’s Lemon-Tea Ale for example, comes to mind. It’s not available in Saskatchewan, but with its popularity growing in Ontario, and the mass-marketing push of these infused beers from big-box breweries, especially in the prairies, you might see the Tea Ale available in the west soon enough. As the name suggests, it’s a citrusy-sweet taste, very light and smooth.

Not my usual cup, but if the mood suits, it can be quite enjoyable.

Amber’s Brewing Company, out of Edmonton, makes a very nice “Summer” seasonal beer, which is great on it’s own, and conversely, very accepting of a lemon, lime, or orange slice. Their Australian Mountain Pepper Berry Blend is brewed with sundried blueberries found in Australia. Apparently the process of sun-drying the berries gives the flavour its peppery aftertaste. It’s that sensation of pepper that enhances the overall body of the beer.

Not buying in to the infusion trend, but still add your own ingredients? Good for you. A rule of thumb when looking to add ingredients of your own is to choose a lighter beer. That’s lighter in colour rather than alcohol content. The theory is that the lighter the colour of the brew suggests more subtle flavours, which are more accepting to additives. This is why before Bud Light With Lime came along, a typical pairing for lime-included beers like Moosehead, or Carona. Choosing bottles over cans can be to your advantage in this instance. You can actually distinguish colours, somewhat, through a bottle.

If you want to add that Clamato to your brew, go for it. You deserve it. It’s summer after all. You should be able to do so, however, without the gimmicks. Without the “here’s the same boring beer, but we’ve squeezed the lemons for you” mentality.

Who said it needs to be summer to add lime to a beer anyways…