Today I brewed the M3. This is the sixth iteration of this one. My friend, Mike, and I brewed the original of this one back in 2018. This was on my old brew set up. His recipe was out of this world. We really enjoyed that beer … my only problem was I couldn’t find the recipe the next time I wanted to brew it! Haha.
I didn’t get around to brewing it in 2019 (I was still enjoying all the bottles from the previous batch). I used Maker’s Mark Bourbon in this first batch and all following batches. In that first one I used “small french oak” blocks I was given from a local supplier. I soaked the chips (but didn’t char them).
In 2020 and 2021, I crafted a recipe and bounced it off Mike. He said it sounded good–I used my French Oak Blocks again in 2020 but I made a mistake and bought pre-soaked (bourbon) chips for 2021. I found that I had the wrong kind of oxidation in that batch. They both were so big that they blew out the fermenter each time! I brewed these two batches on my old system. I think the 2021 batch was the last one before the new system arrived!
In 2022, I brewed it for the first time on the new system. This time, I made my own “oak staves.” I bought some American Oak, cut them to length, and then charred them on my grill. I soaked them in Maker’s Mark and then dropped them in to the secondary fermentation. I found that 3 days was just about the right length of time for that. I used those staves in 2023 and plan on using them again on this batch.
In 2022, I put 20 pounds of grain in my new brew system to make the Imperial Stout–it was too much! I was lucky to have some DME to use in the boil to boost up my gravity to make it an imperial stout. Last year and this year, I used around 18 pounds of grain (still too much) and added 3 pounds of Traditional Dark DME.
This year’s batch definitely has the viscosity appropriate for an Imperial Stout. The gravity was up around 1.095 … pretty happy all the way around.
About 3 weeks, and the sixth iteration of the Merkin will be available for all to enjoy! 🙂
As stated in a previous post, I started brewing a lambic-style beer in December 2021. In December 2022, my friend gave me a bag of Italian Plums from the tree in his backyard … I used a couple of gallons of my wild-fermenting lambic-style beer as a base and, bottled in March 2023, La Prugna was born! Another 6 months later (October 2024), and it was ready to drink. Here it is March 2024 and I’m down to two bottles remaining. However, no need to worry that I will run out … I’ve bottled the next batch! This batch is from the December 2022 wild-fermenting lambic-style beer. Unfortunately my friend’s plum tree didn’t produce in 2023–again, no worries–I was able to obtain some locally grown plums again!
Here’s a couple of photos of the “initial pitch” of plums … It’s sitting in my “Lambic Cellar (under the stairwell).” It looks pretty plain with some initial fermentation activity — this was from 13 Dec 2023.
In the background of the photos you can see my “wood staves” to be added to my lambic (my simulated cask staves …)
I pulled the fermenter out of my Lambic Cellar a couple of weeks ago planning on bottling it, but it kept fermenting. I felt the gravity could go a touch lower, so I left it sitting in my “brewery.”
You can see the plums are pretty “squishy” looking — I know I got full sugar conversion on them, even without cutting them up or pulping them. I didn’t pit them either — my friend thought it would help with a “tannic” characteristic.
I bottled it on 16 March 24. Ended up with close to 1.75 gallons (about 18 33cl bottles). Really like the color and the flavor of this Fruit Lambic — the brett is evident but well supported by the plum. Now to wait 90 days or so for it to carbonate …
One of the things I’ve tried to do in recent years is to recapture and harvest yeast from the beers I’ve been brewing. Even one pack of dried yeast is $6 bucks! If you go with some of the specialty yeasts (liquid/what not) you are looking at $12 to $15 a package. With 9 brewing sessions this year, that would add up to about $100. I’ve worked really hard on capturing and storing the yeasts I use the most often. Here’s a picture of those in my beer fridge:
You’ll see I have one vial of “Brettanomyces Bruxellensis” from White Labs. The rest of the vials are all recaptures. I’ve got WLP 550, WLP 565, Hornindal Kveik, a few misc Orval (Brett Bs). I still have some dry yeasts packets as well.
Knock on wood, so far I’ve had great luck by re-pitching a starter (2 cups water, 1/2 cup DME) about 2 to 3 days ahead of brew day. I usually check my yeast health and do some random cell counting.
If it’s a big brew, I’ll do a bigger starter. I have a couple of 1 liter, a 2 liter, and a 5 liter flask if I need them! I had built a laminar flow hood, but I “gifted” it to a local brewery while I was living in Tucson (hopefully they are still using it). I would like to do some yeast culturing, so I’m probably going to have to build a new one — I’d like to build a smaller version — I’ll just have to figure out the noise reduction/venting issues in my “brewery.”
One of my goals over the next couple of years is to try and capture a local yeast (from one of the many fruit orchards near here) and see if I can make a passable beer from all British Columbia ingredients. The Gambrinus Malt house is about an hour north of me. I can get locally grown hops — I just need the yeast! I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I can capture some and it doesn’t smell like dirty socks. Stay tuned for more of this adventure!
The photo above is a current snapshot of the Ziggy Brau beers I have in my beer refrigerator. Several years ago, Volkswagen had a commercial talking about Fahrvergnügen. It basically meant “Driving Pleasure.” Here’s a link to one of the commercials. In a fit of creativity, I came up with this slogan for my beer fridge (and made it my Ziggy Brau slogan): “Biervergnügen in der Flasche.” It’s German for “Beer pleasure in the bottle.” To keep that “Biervergnügen” going, I’ve developed a brewing schedule to keep a plethora of different beers available in the fridge.
As I posted earlier, I standardized my brew setup and have now developed a pretty consistent brew routine/process. I’m pretty settled now on a Library of 20 Beers. There are three below that are not highlighted — I haven’t developed those recipes yet. The rest are in the library, and as you can see above, several are in the fridge!
This list covers all the styles I like to drink:
Belgian Lambic-style Ale (Name: Hefenebel [Translation – Yeast Galaxy]). This is a continuing experiment — I just brewed the third version of it and will be making a Gueuze out of it at the end of this year! Oh, I also make a Fruited-Lambic (Name: La Prugna) with locally-grown plums. So (a) Lambic, (b) Gueuze, and (c) Fruit Lambic.
Belgian-style Blond (Name: Keoni Blond). I brewed the first iteration of this beer on the day my grandson was born! April 11, 2021. Version 2 and 3 were right around his birthday as well. I love this beer — great flavor/color.
Belgian-style IPA (Name: St Hommel). This is my attempt to clone the Hommelbier from Leroy Breweries in Belgium. I’m taking a trip there this year so I want to gather some notes on the flavor to use in adjusting my recipe. Would like to narrow it down and nail this one. I like the current version, but I’m just not convinced the hops are right yet.
Orval Clone (Name:Valle Dorado) — my favorite beer — my clone is so close in flavor–I’m just off on color now–next iteration should dial it in!
Monastic-style Dubbel (Name: Dubbel Trubbel). My Trappist-style Dubbel (Westmalle / Chimay clone). This one is very nice, but I haven’t made it in a couple of years. Looking at later this year (early winter, possibly)
Monastic-style Tripel (Name: Die Drie Draken) My last Tripel was a little under-carbonated — I put it in the cold storage too soon. Flavor was nice. Gonna be a do-over–maybe 2025.
Belgian/Monastic Dark Strong Ale (Name: Drakengeist) Also known as a Belgian Quad. This beer turned out very well (and has aged very well). I still have a few–need to work it back into the schedule … 
Belgian-style Pale Ale (Name: Merlin’s Magical Elixir). I made two of these right in a row. The first one not so great, but the second one was nice. It is coming up again on the radar!
Baltic Porter (Name: Polly Porter). I brewed this beer last year on my second grand-child’s birthday! Yum. I will be brewing it again this year. What I like about this one is that I can use the left over ingredients from my Barrel-aged Imperial Stout.
Bourbon-oaked Imperial Stout (Name: Morganna’s Mystical Merkin) This beer has been great–I’ll do a whole post on this one later (Brewing again in March 2024). I char my own oak staves and soak them in Maker’s Mark Bourbon. This will be the fifth iteration — it just keeps getting better. I have a bottle from each of the last 3 years (I think). Time for a vertical tasting! 
American Brown Ale (Name: Big Brown Beer) I made this one and it ended up having Brett in it. Still tasted good, but want a do over as well So far (fingers crossed), this is the only cross-contaminated beer I’ve had in my brewery. I should have called it “Big Brown Brett Beer.” haha.
(Imperial) American-style IPA (Name: Wedding IPA). I made this beer in 2016 to celebrate our wedding and have made it four times since. Sometimes it is just big enough for a Imperial IPA and other times my mash efficiency keeps it in the IPA category.
German-style Pilsner (Name: OK Premium Pils). This is a mid-winter beer for me to make — so it can lager into the early spring summer. This year I made the Eis-bock instead. OK stands for Okanagan (where I live), but also “OK” in the sense of OK. I found it funny using OK and Premium together.
German-style Weizen Doppelbock/Eis-bock (Name: Frosty Billy). See previous post on this one. I really liked the flavor of this as a Weizen Doppelbock — but making the Eis-bock is fun, too. I might alternate them (every third year with the Pils)
German-style Dunkel Weizen (Name: TBD). This is a beer in initial design phase. I have a smoked-pecan weizen recipe I really like … I might make it again as part of this recipe.
Irish-style Red Ale (Name: Auburn Sunset). This is a collaboration I did with Kelowna Brewing Company — think Kilkenny or Smithwicks. It turned out nice — we are still working on this one to dial in the recipe.
English-style Strong Bitter (Name: The Finger). Another collaboration with Kelowna Brewing Company. This one has turned out great — it’s been brewed a few times now. Ask me about the name over a beer. haha.
Finnish-style Sahti (Name: Surreal Sahti). My experimental Finnish beer — turned out very nice–want to reduce the amount of liquid, bump up the rye and add a little more juniper next year. This will be a yearly brew (around December). Will make less than 3 gallons because it needs to be consumed fresh!
Flanders-style Red Ale (Name: TBD). Work in progress.
English-style Barley Wine (Name:TBD). Work in progress.
My schedule so far this year (2024) is quite full! Brewing approximately nine different beers.
2 Jan – Surreal Sahti
21 Jan – Frosty Billy
11 Mar – Morganna’s Mystical Merkin
11 Apr – Keoni Blond
12/13 Apr – Attend Penticton Fest of Ale
9 May – Polly Porter
23/24 May – Brew St Hommel with Sierra Nevada Brewing
My favorite German Beer is the Schneider-Weisse Aventinus (Weizen Doppelbock). It is a BIG beer and has an awesome flavor. You will see several posts here on my blog about this beer. I’ve enjoyed a tour of the brewery, attended the Aventinus Festival in Kelheim, and generally have determined that it is definitely an A++ beer.
A Weizen Bock is a strong wheat ale. Weizen in German means “Wheat.” The term Bock is more nebulous but really, in this sense, means “Strong Ale.” Another meaning for Bock is “He Goat.” That’s why on most traditional bock beers, you will find the image of a Goat (or Ram). Here are a couple of examples:
However, on Weizen Bocks, the label usually references some historical figure or religious saint … in Schneider’s instance, it is Aventinus, a (local to Kelheim, Germany) historical figure. Aventinus is actually called a Doppelbock — meaning an extremely strong (over 8% ABV) beer.
From Schneider’s Aventinus beer comes the Aventinus “Eis-bock.” An “Eis-bock” is made from “freeze distillation” — a fermenting “wort” (in this instance the Aventinus beer) is frozen and the ice is removed. In this instance, to get to 12% for Aventinus Eis-bock, they remove approximately 31.6% of the water content.
If you’ve had a Weizen beer, you recognize that the flavors/aromas are typically a sweet malt character supported with Banana esters and Clove phenols. These are yeast derived characters that support the sweet malt character and make Weizens some of the tastiest of beers (in my opinion). Making it even stronger requires great balance and skill — something Schneider demonstrates time and again. Both of these beers are the best examples (see here) and that’s why I wanted to try and clone them.
To get the big beer I wanted in my current brew setup, I had to use some dry malt extract with my other grains. I used what I called a “fake decoction” process (a step mash really) and an open fermentation to try and match the ester/phenol character in the Weizen doppelbock. I think I hit it pretty well–ending up with an 8.7% beer. Then, I tried the freeze distillation — my target was to remove about 27.5% of the ice to get to that 12% ABV level. I was not patient enough and only removed about 8% of the ice … ending up with a 9.5% ABV “Eis-bock.”
Because I didn’t have any patron saint or historical figure in mind to name my beer after, I took the traditional meaning of Bock and a winter theme and came up with “Frosty Billy.” Here are the two beers compared side-by-side.
The one on the left is my Eis-Bock — the one on the right is the Aventinus. The middle, single glass is the Aventinus … so clear! Mine is the one on the right. Both have really good flavor. I can tell the Aventinus is aged — it has a great oxidized character of plums/raisins/molasses. So good! The flavor/alcohol are balanced nicely. The flavors are there in mine — since it’s only been in the bottle for a week or so it needs time. In another couple of months, it should really be entering its prime!
I really enjoyed making this beer … I’m hoping it will be my annual February Beer. We’ll see.
Last September (2023), my friend sent me a link to an article about a “Beer Contest.” Here’s the link. He said “We should enter!” … I said “Hell’s Yes!” When you click through to the contest, you’ll see that it was put on by Sierra Nevada Brewing. This already piqued my interest! One of my favorite breweries in the US and (as I mentioned in my previous posts) one of my Top 30 places to drink a beer. 
 This particular competition was for their newest brewery–in the Asheville, North Carolina area. So, if you win, you get to 1) go to the brewery and brew a custom beer with the brewers, 2) hang out and drink great beer, and 3) enjoy all the fun that being in Asheville provides (for me Mountain Biking and Disc Golf are two that come to mind).
 We decided to enter. Being my normal “not really into the details” kind of guy, I skimmed the rules and saw we needed to provide a video not longer than 30 seconds. The competition rules stated this was a “Friend’s Reunion” competition to celebrate the history of the 40-plus year-old Sierra Nevada Pale Ale–‘Still the One! that brings friends together.’
 Fortunately, my friend looked a little closer at the rules and found the criteria for the judging. They were: 1) relevance to the theme, 2) creativity and 3) originality. Our first thought was to have a rotating list of pictures of our group of friends from the last twenty-plus years, supported with our version of a “Still the One” song. The two songs i could remember were Shania Twain’s “Still the One” and Orleans “Still the One.” Either one of those two would have worked with some modified lyrics, but we read the rules even closer and realized we couldn’t use copyrighted material. 
 We decided to go ahead and write our own tune–my focus was having a catchy rhythm, keeping in mind the theme of the contest. I cracked open a Sierra Nevada and started strumming my guitar. haha. I came up with this chord progression: G – D – Dsus2 – A to open G, G and repeat. Here’sa link to my initial attempt. Although not fully developed at the time, these are the lyrics that were kind of floating around in my head while I was playing:
Crafting it and Brewing it … for a long time!
Bringing it and Drinking it … for a good time!
Wanting to Remember it … for a lifetime! (Sierra Nevada. Still the Beer!)
Chugging it or Sipping it … what a flavor!
With my Friends enjoying it … All Together!
40 plus and going strong … Classic Pale Ale!
 My friend worked his musical magic on my song, we added the lyrics above, and (after having to change some pictures based on an additional reading of the rules … haha) we submitted it to the contest. Here’s a link to the actual 30-second submission.
We submitted our entry pretty early in the contest window — the site had a scrolling list of the entries. Remember when I said we needed to submit a video? All I saw for the entries from other people were photos. My friend and I both thought these were thumbnails from submitted videos from other entrants. After we had submitted ours, we waited to see our “photo” show up in the list. However, when it showed up, it was a video! Apparently, if I had paid closer attention, I would have seen that you could either submit a video OR a photo. haha. Good thing I didn’t see that, because we might have just submitted a photo. 
On my 60th birthday (!!), the contest ended … we had to wait another three weeks to find out who won. On the 8th of November I was out on a bike ride–I had checked the site that morning to see if they had posted anything–there wasn’t anything there, so I forgot about it. My friend was the actual person to submit the entry–I typed up the text for our written entry to answer the questions for submission: (1) Tell Us Why Your Friends are the Best, and (2) Tell Us Why You All Deserve an Ultimate Friend Reunion Trip to Asheville. He submitted the video and the “essay.” 
That meant he was the one notified — and we won! Woo Hoo! We are heading to the Sierra Nevada Brewery near Asheville for a fun-filled weekend! That’s why I consider myself to be an “award-winning” songwriter. haha. Stand by for the report on the festivities!
As I’ve traveled around and sampled beer all over the world, I’ve definitely put together a list of places I would easily visit again. If you are one of the three people who follow this blog (lol), you will know that I was tracking the defunct magazine’s (All About Beer) “Growler List: 125 Places to Have a Beer Before You Die.” That list came out in 2008–but over time, it has become a little bit of a Circus. Many of the places closed or changed over time (especially during COVID period). If you follow the brewing industry, I think you would know that the emphasis always shifts–except for those precious few that remain consistent.
I was, at one time, using Untappd to track my stats … It became tedious to me because I was always trying to up my numbers and try different beers — even when they weren’t the beers I wanted! I think I started using it in 2013 and stopped in 2019. By that time, I had recorded over 2100+ beers and had been to 500+ places.
Interestingly, I still ended up drinking what I would consider my favorite beers anyway … the only one I would probably swap out on this list is the “Tripel Wit” at the bottom for a Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA.
By replacing the Tripel Wit with the Union Jack IPA, I can then say I’ve been to four of the five breweries associated with my five favorite beers: Orval, West Vleteren, Russian River, and Firestone Walker. My favorite place to visit was Orval (although you can’t drink a beer at the brewer). The only one I haven’t visited yet is the Leroy Breweries — and I hope to do that this year! 
Suffice it to say that when I pick my top 30 places, it is with much experience, enthusiasm, and pleasure–but the list will probably morph as I continue along my beer journey. As I’ve gotten “more experienced,” I find I like a quieter locale–plus I really like to dig into the history, character, and quality of the establishment and the (obviously)–the beers.
This is actually an update to this blog post from 2010. It, too, listed my “Top 50 Places” … up to that point. I’ve reduced my number to 30 — more manageable and it makes it more special. My criteria is still the same for my “30 Places:” 1) I can remember where the place was and can get back there, 2) it’s a place that you can get to to drink beer, 3) it will be a place that, no matter if you’ve been once or dozens of times, you will want to go back when the opportunity presents itself. The specific order to this list is my Top 5 … see that post here, Top 5 runner-ups, top 5 festivals, top 6 breweries, 4 most obscure, and 5 other?
Beer Mentor’s 30 Places: Yes, I’ll have Another one!
1a
My House. IMHO, my brewery produces great beers (and my collection is growing!) … oh, and I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get home after a couple of beers
1b
Bräustüberl Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany. (2010, 2012 x2) – to drink the beer produced here at the oldest brewery in the world! Plus you can sample traditional Bavarian cuisine as well … then walk around the halls and brewery–check out the history.
2
A la nouvelle Hostellerie d’Orval, near Abbaye d’Orval, Belgium (2009×2, 2012) – where to drink an Orval near the Abbey. Then head over to the Abbey for a visit to the museum and to pick up your beer. If you are lucky enough, maybe you can figure out a way to tour the brewery … Make sure to visit the Spring in the old Ruins — the source of the water for the brewery …
3
In de Vrede, Westvleteren, Belgium near Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren (2009, 2010, 2012) – you can drink (and purchase) all versions of Westvleteren here … need I say more?
4
Staffelberg-Klause, Bad Staffelberg, Germany (2010) -You get the local beer on tap here and views that don’t stop … and when you are here, you’ll see why I rank it so high (in Summer/Fall only)
5
Ye Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden, London, England (2010) .. although a hole in the wall (basically in an alley) … it opened in 1546 …pouring Fuller’s beers. You can feel the history as you stand there drinking your beer.
6
Hofbraeuhaus, Munich, Germany (1997, 1998, 2001, 2012) — probably should be in my top 5, but there’s only 6 places there. haha. That’s how good I could count after having a few liters at the Hofbrauhaus.
7
The Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium (2010, 2012) — Any number of small cafes on the Grand Place will serve you a wonderful beer … a great atmosphere for people watching.
8
Kloster Andechs, Andechs, Germany (2010 x2, 2012) – Monks have been serving pilgrims here since 1455 … I have enjoyed each journey I’ve made to this beautiful locale …
9
The Long Valley Bar, Cork Ireland (2000) — As I was touring around Cork, I stopped in here for a pint of Beamish … and left with my favorite Beamish Glass. Family-owned Irish Pub … an awesome place.
10
Sloppy Joe’s, Key West, FL (Can’t remember all the times) – Let’s just say if the place was good enough for Ernest Hemingway, it’s good enough for me!
11
Fruhlingsfest, Bad Cannstadt, Germany (2010) (The second largest (I think) fall festival in Germany (after Oktoberfest) — I place it higher because it was less touristy)
12
Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany (1998, 2012) (It would be difficult not to include this festival — just for the sheer spectacle (look at the size of it on the map! … but it also has great beer in one liter steins. lol)
13
Aventinus Festival … Schneider Weisse Brewery, Kelheim, Germany (2010) – (this would be my number 1 festival, but it is a hard one to attend — I think it is typically for the employees and local people around Kelheim. We were very lucky to get tickets! If you can’t get tickets, the Weisses Brauhaus is awesome too!)
14
Wurstfest, New Braunfels, Texas (2013). Great locale, excellent food/music, and really good beer–still going string since 1961. Worth a trip!
15
Great American Beer Festival, Denver, Colorado (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009) –– How many different beers can you drink in 3.5 hours? A lot! Remember them all … probably not. You gotta like a lot of people to go to this festival!
16
Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum, Belgium (2010, 2012) – The heart of the Gueuze … an absolutely amazing tour — will be crowded, but worth it!
17
Pilsner Urquell Brewery, Plzen, Czech Republic (2012) – Wow. The birth place of the Pilsner — go for the great tour, stay for the great beer! (Fresh from Fass!)
18
Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA (2019) – one of the original breweries of the Craft Beer revolution — still making great beer, and the tour is out of this world! Worth a visit!
19
Rogue Brewing, Newport, OR (2017) – When you get to ride the “beer train” over to the distillery, you know you’re in the right place! Great experience here …
20
Anheuser-Busch Brewery (St Louis, MO) (2012, 2013) / Coors Brewing (Golden, CO) (2011) — I know … big beer … but the absolute scale of these breweries is amazing, and the tours are both really good!
21
Huisbrouwerij De Halve Maan, Bruges, Belgium (2012) – A great brewery tour — was here for my 49th birthday — they had a sign up for me — the full tour of this place. Incredible. And Bruges is a wonderful city …
22
Cellar Bar at the Breuberg Schloss, Germany (1998, 1999) – First of the obscure/hard to get to entries: only really open during the Bagpipe Association of Germany’s Summer School and ending festival. Do it!
23
Beer Tent. Glengarry Highland Games, Maxville, Ontario (2003, 2009) – Second Obscure Entry: Excellent during the games — fantastic when all of the Pipe Bands are there celebrating after the ceremony.
24
Selin’s Grove Brewing, Selinsgrove, PA (2009) – small out-of-the-way brewery in Pennsylvania that is worth a trip … or at least it was back in the day! I need another visit to check it out!
25
Mercury’s Bar, Stone Town, Zanzibar (2012/2013) – right on the beach looking out over the ocean … the beers are good enough with this view … just not an easy place to get to!
26
Irseer Klosterbrauerei, Irsee, Germany (2010, 2012) – since 1142 … lol. You can stay here and stumble back and forth to drink great beer! The church, Kloster, and surrounding area is beautiful!
27
Jack Quinn Irish Pub, Colorado Springs, CO (Too Many Times to Count) – What can I say about Quinn’s — I went through countless pints of Guinness, played a lot of bagpipes here, and have some awesome memories/stories … if I can just recall them …
28
Naturfreunde Haus, Vaihingen, Germany (Many Times) – this one could have been in the obscure list as well … so inviting … awesome food … great Kellerbier! Worth the walk
29
The Auberge de Poteaupre, near Chimay Brewery, Belgium (2010 x2, 2012) – Stayed here (I think) three times … excellent food and you can drink ALL of the Chimay beers … to include the Monk’s beer … Beautiful place and a short walk to the Abbey.
30
Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD (2011) – this place has live music, a lot of character, and some great beers on tap … so much US History in this area. Worth a visit
Wow, this was a harder exercise than I thought it would be — a huge variety of places that were good that didn’t make the list–however, this list contains the places where I’ve been, with a beer in my hand, and said to myself “could this be any more perfect than this right at this moment?” My only caveat would be that, as time passes, places change. But I would say each of these places would be as special, because I’ve found each visit has always brought its own flavor. Enjoy!
My “new” brewery is now more than two years old … and I’ve been brewing away on it!
Keoni Blond from Ziggy Brau
The Brewtools B40 — their smallest (40L) integrated system — has really worked well for me. I will say that every comment I’ve seen on reviews are spot on — if you don’t know the process you are using and you don’t have a good idea why you do certain things in the process, you will be a little challenged. The only issue I’m having (currently) with my system is mash efficiency — it has been in the60 to 70 percent area … I’d like to get it up closer to 80 percent. I’m changing up my grain crush now to see how that goes. In the meantime, I’ve been using the recipe scaler on the brewfather app and it is helping me hit my targets.
My focus the last couple of years (as mentioned previously) is on German and Belgian-style beers (and a couple of miscellaneous American-styles). So far I’m having excellent success with my process, my equipment, and my ingredients—only one of my recent beers didn’t turn out the way I wanted.
Here is my current library of beers:
Belgian-style Blond (second/third editions of this one!). I brewed the first iteration of this beer on the day my grandson was born! April 11, 2021. Version 2 and 3 were right around his birthday as well. [ 1a — is a Brett one off from my extra wort]
(Double) American-style IPA (fourth iteration). I brewed the original version of this for my wedding and have continued to make it.
Belgian-style Pale Ale. I made two of these right in a row. The first one not so great, but the second one was nice. It is coming up again on the radar!
Barrel-aged Imperial Stout (Yum — 3rd iteration!). This beer has been great–I’ll do a whole post on this one later. 
Belgian Lambic-style Ale. This is a continuing experiment — I just brewed the third version of it and will be making a Gueuze out of it at the end of this year! Oh, I also make a Fruited-Lambic with locally-grown plums.
German-style Pilsner. This is a mid-winter beer for me to make — so it can lager into the early spring summer. This year I’ll be substituting the following beer for it instead.
German Eis-bock. Another entry on this beer (quite involved). lol.
Belgian/Monastic Dark Strong Ale –– also known as a Belgian Quad. This beer turned out very well (and has aged very well). 
Monastic-style Dubbel and Tripel. These two were also good. The Tripel was a little under-carbonated — I put it in the cold storage too soon. Flavor was nice. Both do overs!
Baltic Porter — I brewed this beer last year on my second grand-child’s birthday! Yum.
Belgian-style IPA — I brewed this one to make a clone of the Poperinge Hommelbier. It’s close — I need to work on my dry hopping … flavor and color are awesome.
American Brown –– I made this one and it ended up having Brett in it. Still tasted good, but want a do over as well. haha.
Orval Clone — my favorite beer — my clone is so close in flavor–I’m just off on color now–next iteration should dial it in!
Sahti — My experimental Finnish beer — next on tap for brewing! Stay tuned.
I enjoy the process of coming up with labels, too. Check out my collection for the current beers! No Sahti label yet …
Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the first annual Prairie Beer Awards (PBA) competition in Winnipeg, Manitoba from 11-15 May 2022. This is a commercial beer competition covering two provinces in Canada – Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The organizer used the BJCP guidelines and supplemented with a couple of other unique categories. The awards ceremony is scheduled for June 4th.
Kudos go out to Dave Cole for bringing this all together. The sponsors stepped up huge and the local breweries in Winnipeg were all in! I arrived on Wednesday night after an uneventful flight. Dave brought out the big guns for “Beer Church” that night … so many crazy, unique beers–almost everyone brought something special to share.
I brought three to share in my Beer Briefcase (the ones on the right side) … The other three bottles were mead for the Mead Exam.
Selection of Beers in the Beer Briefcase
This competition had three Master-level judges and three or four National-level judges, from across the provinces … there were folks from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia for sure. A couple of the judges were professional brewers from different provinces. They also had a representative from Red Shed malting. It was a great turn-out!
Wednesday night’s Beer Church included a 1994 Lindeman’s Gueuze Lambic! It was still funky and full of different flavors … I’m still trying to decide if I liked it! haha.
I was super busy during this competition. I judged several categories: 1) All Belgian-style beers, 2) Ciders, 3) Meads, and 4) Other Brewery Beverages to name a few. I also proctored two different exams: 1) The Beer Tasting Exam and 2) The Mead Tasting Exam. Finally, I took the BJCP Written Exam trying to move up to Master.
I took the written exam at the end of the event — I think I would rather have taken it at the first so I could relax more during the weekend.
The competition was very well organized, and we were able to visit breweries on Friday and Saturday. We got to ride around in a couple of old school buses checking out all the different places.
The first brewery I visited, I didn’t even have to go anywhere! The competition was held at Torque Brewing. The folks at Torque were very nice and super accommodating. They had an excellent selection of beers on tap! Worth a visit in Winnipeg. I didn’t see it until after the competition was over (I couldn’t see the names of the breweries or the beers to keep the objectivity in place), but the walk-in cooler in this brewery was huge! They had so much room in the back … a great looking brewhouse.
Torque Brewing Brews List: May 2022
Friday was a full day of Cider and Mead judging. We got started a little late (flight delays were a slight problem). This part of the competition included the province of Alberta. I had the pleasure of judging with a very knowledgeable lady, Kathy Yan Li. Great insight!
After sampling a beer at Torque, we headed over to one of the original Brew locations in Winnipeg, Barn Hammer. We were able to squeak in a visit to Sookram’s Brewing Company as well, before heading back for the Beer Tasting Exam. It was a nice way to close out the evening before we headed back to the hotel for more Beer Church!
Riding in the Back of the Bus!
On Saturday, I proctored the Mead Tasting Exam and took my written test. We then visited five different breweries (on the Blue Bus this time)! Now to test the memory banks and see if I can remember the breweries in the right order. Lol. We had to hustle to catch up with the bus, so our first stop was at Low Life Barrel House. This place was setting the bar pretty high to begin with.
A Row of FoedersThe Grape Vidal …
They had a nice selection of barrel-aged beers … unfortunately, I could only sample two before it was time to continue the tour! The next place we stopped was Brazen Hall, a brewhouse in the Viking Style. Pretty cool place… since we were on a whirlwind tour, I picked the Dark Horse – Hazy Black IPA to sample. A very nice beer — I wanted to try the others, but, alas, I had to continue my travels!
Brazen Hall Dark House – Hazy Black IPA
Our next stop was at a Brewery still under construction: Devil May Care. It was a cool opportunity to see the work they are doing to bring their brewery into the downtown area of Winnipeg. The owners were very nice and we sampled a couple here and there and then headed out for our next stop! (I really enjoyed the Creme Brulee Stout)
The next place we stopped was Nonsuch Brewing. What an awesome location! The owner, Mark, graciously shared some of his nicest Belgian-style beers. I love the fact that the website is focused on the beers … how a brewery should be! But, if you visit the Brewery, you’ll see it is an upscale lounge/restaurant. It is a lovely building and the beers are excellent. I was able to sample this Red-wine Barrel-aged Belgian-style Pale Ale right from the barrel. What a treat. Next time I’m in town, I think I may go here for dinner.
Our final stop was at Oxus Brewing. Kevin and Sean are great guys and they are making some really tasty beer! A nice wrap up to a great trip. I’m already looking forward to the next competition in Regina! I highly recommend a visit to all the breweries mentioned above if you get a chance in Winnipeg. They all offer excellent beers with great atmosphere.
My travels home were an adventure. After a cancelled flight, delayed flight, another overnight stay, lost wallet, and lost bag I made it home! Haha. Good to be back and looking forward to the next beer adventure!
Beer Mentor
The Ceiling at Bag Claim at the Winnipeg AirportA plant was growing in the sink in my Hotel room!Flight delay meant I was able to sample another Restaurant in Winnipeg!My new flight was early enough I almost saw the Lunar Eclipse!Rushing back on the “Trolley” after retrieving my “lost wallet” from my first flight. Whew!After going on a journey on its own, my bag showed up with my stash of Prairie Beers! Yes!I had a good look at the moon before my 0600 departure! 🙂
I’ve now lived in the Okanagan Valley longer than I’ve lived anywhere else since the 1970s. Haha. What does that mean? I’ve actually started getting involved in my local beer scene … moving every two or three years made it difficult.
I had listed here a few ways I started to get involved, but things always morph … lol
THIS GUIDE IS NO LONGER PUBLISHED. I’m contributing articles to the local published beer guide … you can find it in local bars, breweries, and pubs. Here’s the link to it: The Okanagan Craft Beer Guide
If you want to follow them on Instagram, here it is: OkBeerGuide
DELETED MY BLOG! Two of the three places on my blog either closed or changed brewers … too volatile to have a separate site. I decided to track any of my Okanagan Beer stories here at Beermentor.
Although I do want to continue judging, the opportunities are limited due to distance and travel costs. I think I will focus on grading exams for a little while.
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I continue to brew on my new system with a definite focus on German and Belgian-style beers. I hope I can keep this up (haha) and you’ll continue the journey with me!
Beer Mentor 