It’s no secret that Belgian beer has left its imprint in the craft beer world while heavily influencing methods of brewing, marketing and adjunct ingredients that go into cultivating some of these delicious liquid libations. Perhaps we can blame its rich cultural and political history for making Belgian styles of beer world famous? While other […]

Let’s explore some of the ‘classic’ styles and characteristics of both Trappist and Abbey ales. There is a multitude of diversity amongst these highly respected beers, and there are no absolute cookie-cutter traits of each. This is precisely why it is so satisfying to ‘study’ these elaborate ales. By ‘study’, I mean drink! Some are […]

What are ‘Trappist’ beers? What’s an ‘Abbey’ beer? How do they differ in style, or are they the same? Where did these delicious brews come from? So many questions! Thank God (pun intended) that there are enough of these types of yummy beers to sip on whilst we #figureitout! First, we should clarify that neither […]

Whoa….whoa…wait a minute….there’s a style of beer with WINE in its name? I’m IN! Are you really that surprised? There are no grapes in barley wine, however. This may or may not disappoint you. Barley wine is the strongest style of beer, almost always reaching vinous strength of anywhere between 8%-14% abv (hence its name). It […]

PUMPKIN! If you’re a pumpkin-anything lover, then this time of year probably makes your tummy and taste buds feel all warm and fuzzy. While there is no substitution for a delicious, rich, sweet and spicy piece of homemade pumpkin pie, there are some craft beers out there that can give you (some) of the same […]

Imagine that you’re working on a farm in Belgium or France (it sounds a little more glamorous across the pond for some reason). Now imagine that you are given a constant and steady stream of spritzy-fruity-herby-spicy-lightly-hopped beer as part of refreshment and hydration to continue enduring hard, physical labour during the summer months. That sounds […]

When you hear the term imperial, what comes to mind? Young Joffrey sitting atop his Iron Throne? Darth Vader walking through a blast hole with smoke surrounding him while the Imperial March Theme Song plays in the background? We think of all of the above- and we would like to add Imperial styles of beer […]

It’s that time of year again; the leaves are a beautiful warm spectrum of yellow, orange and red. You can smell the wood-burning stoves heating the houses in the crisp autumn air. Pumpkin everything is available everywhere (including spiced lattes and special micro-brews). You can wear your favourite cozy sweaters again. Now, and throughout the […]

So, what the heck IS a cask? And what is the difference between regular draft beer and cask-conditioned beer? Well believe it or not, cask-conditioned beer plays a major role in draft beer history, long before modern kegs arrived on the scene. The cask itself is simply a storing vessel for beer (traditionally wooden barrels). […]