Bill Wright and Dave Craig are two Winnipeg beer enthusiasts who collaborated on the book 300 Years of Beer: An Illustrated History of Brewing in Manitoba. They love the two breweries left in Manitoba and dispensed some valuable advice if you want to expand your beer roster.
Favorite beer?
BILL: I have a sweet tooth so I like Fort Garry Dark.
DAVE: I like a little hoppy beer so Little Scrapper IPA from Half Pints
Give me a great beer that people may not know about that they should try:
BILL: I can’t name one specific one, but Half Pints is quite creative when it comes to new recipes.
DAVE: Half Pints’ St. James Pale Ale. It’s got a nice flavour to it. If you’re drinking one of the mainstream brands, it’s a good transition to get used to the idea of flavour to a beer.
Any memories of the worst beer you ever tried?
DAVE: We were in Kingston (Ontario) and there was the Kingston Brew Pub. They had made their own beer and they had bock beer. It’s the first time we ever really had it. Blech. Horrible tasting. And we kind of forced it down. And we said ‘If this is what the new generation of beers are going to be, we’ll stay with (Labatt) Blue.
BILL: When it comes to really bad beer, some guys like home brewing. And they’re really proud of what they’ve done. You drink it and you want to spit it out but you don’t want to hurt their feelings…I think that’s my experience.
When I go to a bar or restaurant how do I know that I’m in a place that is serious about beer?
BILL: If you go into the Luxalune they have the widest selection in the city.
DAVE: When you go in there you can tell because they have about 30 tap handles in a row. You get your different styles. That’s a good sign.
BILL: The more tap handles, the more serious they are.
Comments