The Henry House Part 2

“We had a founding member of “Campaign for Real Ales” (CAMRA – an organization that was created in 1971 in the UK Campaigning for Real Ale, Pubs, and Drinkers' rights due to the high number of mega breweries attempting to purchase establishments and sell watered down lagered beer) come to visit us here in the pub and he absolutely loved the ales. He lives in Mahone Bay now and his son brings him to visit us every now and then for some pints”, exclaims Donna. Along with the Granite’s ales, the Alsops brought in local micro-brewed beer like Propeller and Garrison along with McAuslan beers from Montreal to compliment their selection. This created a well-rounded line-up that appealed to someone with a palate for full flavoured beer. At the Henry House you will not find the likes of Keith’s, Blue, Canadian etc on tap, but it is available by bottle. “Our goal is to not try to convert people’s taste to real ales, but to offer a wide selection of beer for everyone to enjoy in the comfort of the pub”, says Donna.

The Henry House consists of four floors, but only three are open to the public. The fourth floor has apartments that were customary in British pubs for the owners so that they wouldn’t be far from the action. The third floor of the house is used for private functions, group parties, etc. This summer, the floor will be hosting a wedding, which is a first for the Alsops. The dining area is on the second floor with an L-shaped bar, exposed granite walls, old portraits and antique furniture. And finally, the basement is where the pub is located, and what an attractive pub it is. The ‘local’ as Donna would have you call it, is a place where friends and visitors alike can mingle over fine ales, partake in pleasant conversation with barkeep Mel, or hunker down with a good book.

The atmosphere in the pub is reminiscent of a British establishment, but with a flair of maritime hospitality with people socializing, having a great time. It is a warm, intimate, cozy pub that is ideal for a first date or meeting friends after work for a refreshing drink. Patrons range in age from graduate students to more elderly experienced drinkers. Donna states that there is a fair share of regulars that grace the pub daily creating enduring friendships. The pub’s granite walls are cool to the touch and the exposed wooden beams and rafters take you back in time. There are only two small windows to the outside world that offer a ray of sunshine and with its rustic wood furniture, dimmed lighting, stone fireplace and dartboards, you will be reminded of pubs from Britain, but you won’t have to leave the country to experience them. “We have visitors from England, Scotland, and Ireland who come to Halifax for either business or pleasure and they end up here. They all say that our pub reminds them of pubs back home and we often hear back from them by means of pictures or postcards upon their arrival back home”, boasts Donna.

Saturday nights the pub comes alive with the sound of traditional Celtic music. Musicians gather in a corner booth and play well into the night on their fiddles, flutes and penny whistles. The patrons are clapping, tapping their toes and basking in the delightful entertainment. As you walk through the doors and down the stairs and step foot into the pub, you are reminded of simpler times and worries seem to drift away with the gentle flow of the music.

For now the Alsops are quite content with the direction their pub is headed. They have been so successful that they have been approached by entrepreneurs to head up more pubs; to create a chain. “We’re happy with what we have right now and we see no change for us” admits Donna. “We are very happy that we came to Halifax and pursued this idea, everything has been terrific”.

The Henry House owners will continue to keep customers satisfied with their warm and inviting hospitality, their generous helpings of food, and their terrific English style ales. So come in, grab a seat and enjoy the comfort of good times, great beer, and terrific food. You won’t leave disappointed.

LCBO Blamed for Factory Closing

Did you read the news yesterday? A glass factory in Toronto was forced to shut down due to a number of financial reasons, resulting in 430 people without employment. The company issued an international press release listing the reasons for the closure and one of those reasons focused on the LCBO.

The company stated that the LCBO has been focusing on tetra-packs and non-glass containers as part of their 'green' recycling program. Because of this, the glass company felt that the LCBO was partly to blame as the manufacturing of glass for alcoholic beverages continued to decline to the point of the company losing significant amounts of money. They figure the LCBO is encouraging alcohol suppliers to switch from glass containers to either plastic or the aforementioned tetra-pack.

The LCBO issued a statement that only 4.5% of sales account for non-glass containers, which is relatively low when you factor in the fact that the LCBO grossed over $4 billion dollars last year. What wasn't released in the LCBO's statement, but was relayed to me from someone inside the government owned retail chain, is that 74% of the 4.5% of non-glass containers sold in LCBO stores belongs to the aluminum beer can category.

Just an interesting take on the story.

Hart House Presents Local Craft Beer and PIG!!

Looking for something to occupy your time tomorrow night? The Hart House, located on the grounds of the historic University of Toronto campus, will be hosting a local craft beer festival and summer bbq starting at 7pm. Everyone knows how well bbq meats are complimented by beer, but a variety of different craft beers is just ever more exciting.

Twelve local craft breweries will be on hand offering samples of their quality lagers and ales. The list includes the likes of: Great Lakes Brewery, Grand River Brewing, Cool Beer Brewing Company Inc., Creemore Springs Brewery, Mill St Brewery, Wellington Brewing Company, Cameron's Brewing Company, Big Rock Brewery, F&M Brewery, Barley Days, Black Oak Brewery, and Hockley Valley Brewing.

Also, Mirella Amato, a contributing writer with TAPS: Canada's Beer Magazine, the creator of the Beerology.ca and Toronto's Cultural Craft Beer Expert will be on site to provide tips on how to enjoy craft beer and answer any questions related to our favourite beverage.

The meat will be provided by Mario Pingue of Niagara Specialty Meats, according to the invaluable food website TasteTO, and there will be salad's, corn and other vegetarian options available. It's 7:30am right now and I am craving a nice slice of pig with a beer in my hand.

The live musical entertainment portion of the evening will feature performances by Brittlestar, Dinosaur Bones and Nachtmusik. I don't know who they are but I'm sure they will be quite good.

The Hart House is located on 7 Hart House Circle at the University of Toronto campus. U of T students can pick up tickets for the low price of $20, while non-students can snag one for $30. Tickets can be purchased on-line by visiting www.uofttix.ca. As mentioned, the event starts at 7pm and runs until 12am. Couldn't think of a better way to spend a Thursday evening in the city. You should come down and check it out.

Win Free Toronto Festival of Beer Tickets Reminder

This is just a gentle reminder that the deadline for submissions for your chance to win 2 free Toronto Festival of Beer tickets is fast approaching.

Click here to read last week's announcement. The contest closes this Thursday, July 31st at midnight with the winner to be announced August 1st. All you have to do is submit a short story (paragraph/rant/opinion...) on your favourite local pub or your favourite craft beer or a combination of the two.

Thank you to all those who have already participated and I look forward to reading some more, so get writing and send your stuff to me at greatcanadianpubs@gmail.com.

Why the Fuss Over Imports?: By Walter Leipurts

The rant below belongs to Walter Leipurts, owner/operator of WL Designs who handles various brewery accounts as part of his business. Stay tuned for more rants from Leipurts in the future.

I just received a colourful flyer from the LCBO with a focus on imported beers. The last few pages were dedicated to our Ontario products but I couldn’t help but wonder why a government-owned company was pushing imports over domestic products. I suppose they would have an argument if our local beers were inferior or we lacked sufficient variety, but we know this is not the case. Also, you’ve seen the TV ads pushing fresh local produce such as apples over the imported stuff. You can see where I’m heading... Beer is like young children and babies - none of them travel well. Also, what is the guarantee of freshness and environmental viability of these imports? We have no way of checking. As well, consider the energy used to transport this stuff, which has become an issue with skyrocketing fuel prices and carbon impact. The LCBO also might be the vehicle for these Europeans etc. with breweries the size of AB in St. Louis to dump excess product onto our market. Think of the selection of Ontario beers as well as the guaranteed freshness. We have a range of tastes and styles from the slightly flavoured Club Soda that is Coors Light all the way to the various Stouts that our micros produce. Is it the usual misconception that imported is better? We have the best water, barley and hops in the world. Let’s dump the inferiority complex and stick with the world class beer that just happens to be produced in our own back yard - Ontario. Arrange for a brewery tour - you’ll be surprised at how much pride local micros take in their products and how accommodating they are- - you’ll leave feeling pretty darn good and satisfied.

Have something to say? Send me a write-up about anything to do with the brewing/pub industry and have it posted on this site. Send your post to greatcanadianpubs@gmail.com.

The Henry House, Halifax NS: Part 1

The following is an article I put together during my time in Halifax about one of my absolute favourite pubs: The Henry House. It was supposed to run in the Summer issue of TAPS; however, due to space restrictions of the new edition it had to be removed. Every Thursday evening when I was living near the ocean, a group of us would head down to the pub every Thursday evening and good times were always had.

Enjoy!

In 1985, Kevin Keefe a brew master by trade, purchased the building at 1222 Barrington Street to re-locate his Ginger's Taven, which was the 2nd brew pub in the nation at the time (the craft brewing industry had yet to grapple the country). The move allowed Keefe to expand his brewing capacity of English style, unpasteurized ales and he called the new location the Granite Brew Pub. Here Keefe brewed ales like Peculiar, Best Bitter’s, India Pale Ale, Stout and more using only natural ingredients with no preservatives or artificial carbonation. His ales along with his terrific food menu created a following and it didn’t take long to see that Keefe was onto something. Not long after, due to the Granite’s success, Keefe’s brother Ron opened a larger brew pub and store in Toronto, ON that has helped create the Ontario craft beer scene. It wasn’t until 2001 when a man by the name of Bill Alsop would happen to visit the Granite and change Keefe’s operating plans for the future.

In September of 2001, Bill Alsop would get in his car and make the drive from his home in Toronto, ON to Halifax to get his daughter settled into her new residence at Dalhousie University. As the story goes, Alsop figured he needed a couple of days to make sure his daughter had everything she needed before he got on his way. After meeting her roommates though, Alsop was left to wander the city during the day while his daughter socialized. By sheer chance, Alsop stumbled onto the Granite Brew Pub and was fascinated by the grand architect of the building’s granite and ironstone structure. Hailing originally from England, Alsop was quickly reminded of homes back in his native country. Upon entering the establishment Alsop fell in love with the ambiance of the place, the beer and the pub. He called his wife Donna on his cell phone and promptly asked her if she wanted to purchase the pub. Her response, “sure”, and for a year and a half, the Alsop’s did everything they could to convince Kevin Keefe to sell them the building.

It is believed that the house was originally built in 1834, yet some visitors and historians alike have told the Alsop’s that the house might have been constructed closer to 1812. It was built in the suburbs of Halifax on what was known as Pleasant Street which was home to other wealthy Halifax descendants. It was built with granite that was shipped over seas from Scotland, and ironstone from Nova Scotia creating a strong foundation. The building’s architect as a side hall building is unique in itself and led the house to garner distinction as a Historical Property. The house would go on to be the home of one of Canada’s most influential leaders of the 1800’s in a man by the name of William Alexander Henry.

Henry was born in 1816 in Halifax but moved away to Antigonish where at 24 years of age he became the youngest member of the House of Assembly. He went on to be named the Attorney General of Nova Scotia, a job which relocated him back to Halifax in 1854 and prompted him to purchase what is now known as The Henry House. Henry wasn’t done there. He went on to be a founding father of confederation, helped write the British North American Act, and was the first Supreme Court Judge appointed from Nova Scotia.

After Henry’s departure from the house, the building endured years of new residents and was primarily used as a home. It was in the 1960’s, where some renovations took place in the house to create a fine dining restaurant. The owners decided to name the restaurant “The Henry House” paying homage to the man who once lived there. The downstairs pub was created and named “Little Stone Jug” and not much has changed since. In 1985 Keefe entered the picture and the Granite Brew Pub was created.

After the Alsop’s purchased the building in 2003, they relocated to Halifax from their home in Toronto to embark on a venture. Both retired and with no experience in the hospitality industry, they didn’t’ know what to expect. They knew that the Granite Brew Pub had a loyal following of people that appreciated great ales and terrific food so their first decision was a simple one: keep Granite’s ales on tap and don’t change the menu too drastically. One decision the Alsop’s made was to change the name back to “The Henry House” out of respect to the man who once lived there.

Like in every great pub, you must serve great food. The Henry House’s food goes above today’s standard pub grub like deep fried wings and deep fried potato skins by serving delicious pub food prepared by Chef Eric Orickle, with specialties like the Ultimate burger, Bangers and Mash, and Steak and Kidney Pies which are all crafted by hand. The burgers are the most popular item on the menu next to their beer, and Donna credits their success to Orickle’s preparation and attention to detail. Everything on the menu is fresh, bought locally and prepared the day of. All sauces, dips and soups are made in the morning ensuring freshness and Orickle creates wonderful daily specials that leave you completely satisfied. But the Henry House isn’t just known for its terrific food. No, the Henry House is known for its beer, its hospitality and its good nature.

When Keefe sold the building to the Alsop’s in 2003, Bill already knew that Haligonians and Nova Scotians alike were finding the Granite’s ales interesting in taste and flavour and the pub had developed a loyal fan base. Bill, being from England and all, loved the ales himself and thought he shouldn’t mess with something so good. So the Alsop’s stuck with Keefe’s ales and to this day Keefe delivers the fresh cask conditioned beers and kegs to the Henry House personally. The lineup of ales include: the award winning Peculiar ale (that was designed after the famous “Old Yorkshire Peculiar Ale” in England), Best Bitter, Best Bitter Special, India Pale Ale, Keefe’s Irish Stout, and Ringwood Ale. There are also mixed beer creations like the Black and Tan, Lunatic Stout and more. The Peculiar, Bitter and Best Bitter Special are all cask conditioned, which means the beer is still fermenting in the keg and later it is pushed out with beer gas through hand pumps which prevents CO2 that causes bloated-ness.

Stay tuned for Part Two

More on Mill Street vs. Distillery Group and Sleeman

The National Post is running a story on the Mill Street vs. Distillery Restaurants Group and Sleeman saga today.

John Sleeman: "they have every right to be upset (about banner over door) that was a mistake."

Click here to read more....

Cask, Pubs, Weissbiers, Awards, Oh My....

A litte news round-up from the world of beer in Canada.

*The core members of the CASK Toronto group have recently announced that there will be a follow-up to their very successful summer cask festival held back on July 13th at Victory Cafe. Word has it that Victory will host a winter festival sometime in January which is terrific. There aren't many beer events that happen during the cold snowy month of January and this will definitely lift those dark day blues.
Read more...

*As mentioned on this blog earlier this week, the Gahan House brew pub has recently started bottling their Sir John A McDonald Honey Wheat and Red Island in 500ml bottles for distribution in the PEI Liquor Commissions.

*Cass Enright, over at Freeourbeer.org provides readers with more stories about the red tape and dysfunctionality within the Beer Store conglomerate, as he tells the plight of Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. in Vanleek Hill. Turns out that Beau's beautiful ceramic style top bottles are not being returned to the brewery as standard bottles would be. Instead the Beer Store is smashing them, purportedly for recycling purposes.

*TAPS: Canada's Beer Magazine has released details for the 2008 Canadian Brewing Awards. The CBA's are entering their sixth year and more and more Canadian breweries, big and small, are entering more products year after year. Judging is taking place on September 6th in Markham at the Duchess of Markham pub with 12 certified beer judges sniffing, swirling, tasting and rating. TAPS also released information regarding the awards gala. The Richmond, located in Toronto, will host the gala as brewer representatives from around the country will gather and try each others award winning brews. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the gala.

*Donna Alsop, the owner of The Henry House pub in Halifax, NS (and one of my favourite ever) emailed me this week to inform me that they have added an outdoor patio, providing more room for the always busy pub. Cask conditioned Granite beers on the patio of an historic building with the smell of ocean air in your lungs, I can't imagine anything better right now.

*A loyal reader of this blog sent me an email early this week to direct me to a chapters/indigo link featuring a brand new book titled: "Sociable, the Elbow Bender's Guide to Maritime Pubs" authored by noted local Wolfville musician Bob Connon. I have yet to obtain a copy to review, although I have talked with Connon and hopefully I should have one shortly. From what I've heard from some pub owners in Nova Scotia is that the book in wonderfully done, full of beautiful colour photos and well written with informative profiles.

*Weihenstephan Hefe-Weissbier came into the province this year with a bang, as the team at Beer Barons Imports threw a posh party at Toronto's Bier Markt back in May. So how has it sold? Sean Fleming, owner of the Barons, states that Weihenstephan is selling so well that it might soon be gone. 14 pubs/beer bars are currently carrying the 500ml bottles and sales are strong (for a full listing visit Beer Baron's website). As well, 1200 cases of the beer were received by the LCBO and there are roughly 200 left in the warehouse and only 150 in the retail stores, as of July 22.

*And last but not least, the funniest news of the week comes from a forum on Bar Towel about Mill Street, Sleeman's and the Distillery District. Turns out a new poster who calls himself Izaak wrote a long, sloppy post in defense of the Distillery Restaurant Group and blasted Mill Street. He also went on to say that Steam Whistle is a small time craft brewery. Well, news editor Greg Clow did some investigating and it appears that Izaak posted from the Boiler House, a restaurant in the Distillery. I don't like calling people out but Izaak, come on man, use your head

Have a great weekend.

Picture(s) of the Month

Good man pouring a Stonehammer Dark Ale -Victory Cask Festival

Granite Best Bitter Special and Cascade Hops at Victory Cask Festival

Win Free Tickets to the Toronto Festival of Beer

Ever heard of the Toronto Festival of Beer? One of Canada's most celebrated beer events at Toronto's Historic Fort York.

Well, I happen to have two tickets to giveaway for the opening night (Thursday August 7th) and I thought that this would be a good time for a small contest. Are you interested?

Here's what I'm looking for:
A short profile of your favourite local pub or your favourite craft beer or any story involving the two. The winning entry will not only get the two tickets, but they'll also get their submission posted on this blog.

Some rules will have to apply though.
1. The pub and/or craft beer submission must have a Canadian content;
2. Please keep it to less than 800 words;
3. Winner must be of legal drinking age to win the contest (duh!); and
4. Agree to have a beer with me at the festival

So here are some details for the Thursday night:

99.9 MIXFM presents the Bowmans Ball, featuring The English Beat live on Thursday August 7, 2008.
Online prices (GST incl.)*:$40
Gate prices (GST incl.)**:$50

The festival is entering its 14th year and over 30,000 people attended last year's event. You can sample more than 250 brands of beer produced by small breweries, regional breweries and big breweries while indulging in bbq'd food, music, and much more. This is a great way to get tickets to the festival if you've never been.

So, if you're interested in participating, shoot me an email (greatcanadianpubs@gmail.com) with your submission, your name and contact information by no later than Thursday July 31st. The winner will be announced Friday August 1st.

This will be the first ever contest / giveaway that I have done on this blog, but it certainly won't be the last.

Gahan House Brews Available in Bottles

I just came across some great news today that the Gahan House Brew Pub in Charlottetown, PEI will be selling 500ml bottles of their Sir John A. Honey Wheat and Island Red beers at PEI Liquor Commission's across the province. For $3.50 each you can pick up a well crafted island beer brewed in the historic Gahan House just off the main street.

I spent some time in Charlottetown PEI when I was living in Halifax over a year ago and fell in love with the old city. The Gahan House was one of the first places we stopped when we arrived and I was lucky enough to get a private tour and tasting with the brewmaster and brought many growlers back to Halifax. Their IPA was reminiscent of a lighter Dogfish Head 60min IPA and it was damn good (I don't know what it's like now).

Here is my old review of the place, albeit short.

Click here to read the story as it appears on CBC.ca.

TAPS & The Canadian Brewing Awards

TAPS MAGAZINE
Contact: Carole Hines, Taps Media Events Co-ordinator
Telephone: 416-531-0222 x 223
Email: carole@canadianbrewingawards.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
***2008 CANADIAN BREWING AWARDS***
***Taps Magazine Presents the 6th Annual CBAs***

Taps Magazine is pleased to announce the 6th annual Canadian Brewing Awards. The call for entries has just recently gone out for this year’s Canadian Brewing Awards. The deadline for entries is August 15th and all products must be received by August 22nd. Judging will be held on September 6th with the awards gala to follow on September 25th at The Richmond in Toronto. Applications and rules for entry can be found at http://www.canadianbrewingawards.com/.

The CBAs are the premiere competition for Canadian-brewed beer, with judging overseen by 12 certified beer judges with no commercial links to the industry. Awards are decided in over 20 categories, with each entry being judged on appearance, aroma, flavour, mouth-feel and overall impression.

The CBAs are proudly presented by Taps Magazine, Canada’s only beer magazine. Focusing on Canadian beer, Taps is an excellent source of news and trends in Canadian beer, and the bars and taverns that serve it. It’s also a good place to find fun facts, beer culture, recipes and food and beer pairing.

For more information on the Canadian Brewing Awards or Taps Magazine, please contact Carole Hines, or go to http://www.canadianbrewingawards.com/.

Afreehouse.org - Independence, Variety, Choice

Len Owens, owner of the Golden Kiwi Pub and Grill in Cambridge, ON has commenced a website dedicated to raising awareness to the hardships independent pub owners of Ontario must face in their daily operations. Offering quality beer at quality prices while competing with chain pubs who receive the perks large breweries throw around. He is fed up and he is not taking it anymore.

Afreehouse.org was recently unveiled on the heels of all the exposure in the media about the Beer Store, best beer bars in the GTA and the small brewers, and Owens figured the time was now to get things going.

His website (which looks promising) plans to offer a directory of freehouses across the country, helping drinkers of fine beer locate places without restrictions, while supporting the breweries that make quality beer and support local flavour.

Owens is calling out other owners of Freehouses to sign up and become partners in the fight, to work together. Grand River Brewing Co., Castle on King and Augusta's Winking Judge are confirmed so far and I hope others will soon join.

So what is a Freehouse? I'll let Owens explain:

Freehouses, as they became known, were not tied to any one brewery by ownership or the beer they chose to serve. Today’s freehouse will often have beer from many different breweries and some will have a sign proclaiming the establishment as a freehouse.

It is obvious that I am a strong supporter of freehouses. I seek them out when out experiencing a new pub. I rarely go into a place that has a 'contract' with a brewery so to speak. So I'm jumping on the bandwagon and encourage you to do the same. Lend your voice in support along with the great freehouses in this country.

Here is an example of what Owens is talking about based on personal experience, even though it doesn't involve a craft brewer, it still tells a story about the cutthroat business:

When I was living in Halifax I heard a story while working for a large brewing company. The company was made aware from a loyal customer that a pub in the downtown area was pouring a rival brewery's beer from one of our taps. A worker went in to investigative, ordered a pint of the stuff and confirmed it was indeed not the proper beer that should have flowed from that particular draught tower. Thinking maybe someone just hooked up the wrong keg to the line he went back over the next week and it was still the same. It was alleged that the rival brewery had approached the pub with promise of free beer, cash kickbacks for every keg sold and lots of advertising and promotional wares. Needless to say, the company involved pulled all their products from the pub and a once friendly relationship quickly turned sour.

Combine the recently created CASK Toronto movement, the Freeourbeer site and the opinions of other beer bloggers and media personnel, there is now a pretty substantial voice in the craft brewing industry. Keep up the noise, persistence pays off in the long run.

* Picture of Len obtain via Afreehouse.org*

The Stinking Rose Pub Sold to Church Key Brewing

I received a message today from John Graham, the owner/operator of the Church Key Brewing Co. stating that, while not yet official, he has bought The Stinking Rose Pub in Campebellford, ON, not far from where the brewery is located in Pethericks Corners.

Here is John's message, which is also posted on Church Key's website.

Not all is official yet, waiting for licenseing to change over. But the word is out so I will share my excitement. Church-Key Brewing has purchased The Stinking Rose Pub, from original owners Ron and Dianne. We look forward to making/keeping the pub the centre of conversation and libation that The Rose deserves. We will be meeting with all of the Church-Key and Rose staff this week to work out details.
Change over is slated for Aug 1st. Keep tuned in for details. Sorry to Tobey, Dianne, Harold and others for not saying anything on Thursday night, I had just signed the deal and was busting at the seams to tell but, could not yet.

John

I am excited for John and his family and now there's a voice in my head is telling me to get over to The Stinking Rose shortly after he takes over the reins. Congratulations!

More information to follow once it becomes available.

I Got PUNK'D...IPA That Is!

Why the exclamation at the end of the title? Because I thought it was necessary after downing an incredible Punk IPA brewed by the bad boys at Scotland's BrewDog Brewery.

As the public melts here in Toronto I figured last night was a great time to finally crack the top on this Scottish brew, a brew that I so kindly received from the fine folks behind the Roland and Russell Import Agency (thanks guys). Alan at A Good Beer Blog has already commented on Punk's brother Rip Tide and told the interesting story of the brewery's fight to offer a 12% beer (Tokyo) in the land of 40% whiskey's. Stephen Beaumont told us all about BrewDog's Paradox Islay, a beautifully whisky cask aged imperial stout in the last Session.

Now, readers of this blog know that I don't really profile beers and when I do it's usually a Canadian one. I want to do more and plan on doing more. Anyway, I thought I'd tell you about Punk. But first a little about the BrewDog Brewery.

From what I've read and what I've been told, the guys that own and operate the brewery are crazy about beer...great beer. Opened in April of 2007 by a guy named Martin Dickie and a guy named James Watt (both my age!), BrewDog brews a number of terrific beers that include: Hardcore IPA (explicit imperial ale), The Physics (laid back amber), Rip Tide (twisted merciless stout), Hop Rocker lager (redefining a genre), Tokyo (intergalactic fantastic oak aged stout) and Paradox Islay. They also brew a number of cask conditioned ales to compliment their diverse line-up and proudly brew a number of special cask offerings for events. They've already won 2 World Beer Awards for the World's Best Strong Pale Ale and the World's Best Stout-Imperial. Not bad for a brand-spanking new brewery.

It turns out that Martin and Watt were fed up with bland beer and decided that in order to drink better they would have to take brewing into their own hands. And that's exactly what they've done. One of their many tag-lines is "At BrewDog we are selfish, we make the beers we want to drink," which is something every true beer drinker wants to hear from brewery owners. They also state that beer was never intended to be pumped full of additives, preservatives and other really scary stuff, it was intended to be flavourful, rewarding and well crafted. They sound like geniuses to me.

As Alan mentioned, BrewDog has been getting some bad press in relation to their marketing efforts for Tokyo as can be read here. I don't have a bottle to try, but now I'm craving one more than ever.

So, Punk eh? Delicious. The beer pours a lovely hazy pale gold and is a touch cloudy with little to no white head. It is reminiscent of a cask conditioned ale and is simply stunning in the glass (but what well crafted beer isn't?) I take a picture and think of taking two, but the beer is calling out to me..drink me now dammit. I have to smell it first though and I'm glad I did because it has a beautiful smell of glorious hops which provide a sweet earthy nose, piney and a little fruity/citrusy. It is full of aroma but not over-powering as some IPA's are. The taste - awesome. Nice bite due to the hops, thirst quenching in this insane heat, the sweet malty profile nicely balances out the hop content providing a well rounded example of a 'post modern pale ale' that works both the English style and the American style into its profile. I want to savour this beer, but it goes down way too easy.
Tasted - 341ml bottle, 6% alcohol.

This is a beer any true beer drinker would appreciate. Nice in the hot weather, would be great with spicy food, easy drinking, yet complex and full of flavour. Contact Roland and Russell for more information on how to obtain some for yourself.

Some other fun quotes from BrewDog:

• Taste our Lager and we are pretty sure you will agree that the fine line between insanity and genius has just become a little more blurred.
• A beacon of non-conformity in an increasingly monotone corporate desert.
• Beer was never only destined to be made by huge faceless corporations who only care about profit margins and volume sales.