On a bright and sunny afternoon, Leif, Tim and I got a great tour of Winnipeg’s only locally owned and manufactured craft brewery, Half Pints.

I’m going to make a confession, I’m not really a beer drinker.  But if there was ever a brewery that was going to change my mind it’s Half Pints.  Like many things in life, the more I learn the more I appreciate.  My favourite Half Pints brew remains their top seller for the past 3 years, St. James (as much as it might disappoint the delightful Nicole Barry, co-owner and co-founder) followed by the limited edition Pothole Porter but I’m actively working on not getting too attached to it.

Half Pints is know for their main brews; St. James Pale Ale, Bulldog Amber Ale, Little Scrapper IPA and Stir Stick Stout.  These are all available at the brewery, located at the 550 Roseberry Street and at most LC’s and vendors.  If you are new to this craft brewery I would encourage you to grab a multi pack and try them all out, you might be surprised at what you like!

Beyond their main brews they do a number of specialty cask beers over the course of the year.  Please be advised!  Their last brew, Black Galaxy, sold out in less than 20 minutes.  There were people in line that didn’t even get their hands on one!  This is what we have been waiting for, foodies just can’t get enough of limited edition or specialty anything and Half Pints keeps knocking them out of the park. 

Jeremy Wells, one of the brewers took us through the brewing process in detail and I couldn’t help thinking about the history of this amazing drink.   We’ve been drinking beer since 9500BC.  Beer is the world’s third most popular beverage after only tea and water!

At Half Pints beers are constantly brewing and the process is both scientific and an art.  Grains and are the base along with hops.  Nicole explained it as “hops are to beer what grapes are to wine in terms of flavour.”  Ales and Lagers are the two main brews along with cask beer, which is fermented with sugar rather than yeast and there is a lot of freedom for flavours and experimentation.

Opened in February 2006 and selling beer by July, Half Pints opened small and expanded smart.  They sell more bottles than draft, about 2 to 1 with draft accounts in and outside Winnipeg.   Free tours of the brewery are available every Saturday at 1pm and it is a great way to kick off an afternoon!

You can feel that staff are very close.  Nicole shares “I could never express the gratitude to staff over what they are willing to put in.”  You can feel the heart and soul in the brewery and you can taste it in the beer.  And I couldn’t be more grateful.

Cheers,