The Brew Master

Enlarge Image

I had some great wine in California, but it was the beer I tried that took me by surprise. It was so great to be able to wander across the street from any given hotel and find so many fantastic California beers.
   
(Side note: thanks for all the emails with brewpub/beer/food suggestions — there were more than I possibly could have tried/visited in my limited time.)
   
Hopefully the changes to Manitoba’s liquor legislation that ease restrictions on opening or operating a brewpub will get more Manitobans brewing beer. We obviously can’t build a bustling Manitoba winery scene — there’s only one functional Manitoba winery at present (Rigby) that mainly (and wisely) makes fruit wines. Vines would die here in the wintertime, so you don’t grow ’em.
   
But why can’t we have a killer Manitoba beer scene? We can grow all the key ingredients here — one only has to look at the development of The Farmery in the Neepawa area as an example. It’s aiming to be an estate brewery, meaning all ingredients are grown or sourced from the property. Why aren’t more folks following suit? And hey — if you can’t get the hops, malt, yeast or whatever you need for your beer locally, you can always bring it in from elsewhere. Most breweries do just that.
   
As for where and when you can buy beer, our current setup of Manitoba Liquor Marts and beer vendors isn’t likely to change soon. One can only hope that there’s a hotelier or two out there who might have the stones to start selling more specialty/craft beers through their vendors so that thirsty ’Tobans have better access to interesting, compelling beer.
   
Consider this my call to arms. Get cracking, people.

• • •

Anderson Valley Brewing Company Boont Amber Ale (Mendocino County, Calif.; Not available in Manitoba)
   
Medium amber and slightly hazy in colour, the Boont brings a malty and slightly hoppy note on the nose. It’s a fairly weighty amber ale, with a slightly sweet malty flavour and some fairly green hops on the palate, yet is incredibly well-balanced. I lost the receipt for this one — it was probably around $5 for a 650-ml bottle. I picked it up in Napa Valley at a boutique-ish gas station (with a great beer and wine selection) across from our hotel called Kelly’s Fuel and Provisions.

Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale (Healdsburg, Calif.; N/A in Manitoba)
   
Deep gold/copper and with a white head, the Racer 5 brings great bitter hops, pine resin and grapefruit peel/citrus notes on the nose. There’s some weight on the palate but it’s still pretty crisp, with malt notes offset by greenish, hoppy flavours on the palate. I bought this at the grocery store across from my hotel in San Francisco for $5.29/650 ml plus tax.

Anchor Steam Beer (San Francisco, Calif.; $2.27/355 ml bottle)
   
Medium gold in colour, there are great malty, light spice and hoppy notes on the nose here. The Anchor Steam has great body and is somewhat creamy on the palate, with pronounced malty notes and some lighter fruity and caramel flavours coming through. It’s available in Manitoba in the bottle but tasted fantastic on tap at The Grand Café, a picturesque bar attached to my San Fran hotel.

   
Like most wine columnists/judges, Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson is also passionate about beer, and has a hybrid beer-and-wine gut to prove it. Follow him on Twitter at @bensigurdson and/or email him at uncorked@mts.net.