The Bar Towel

It's February in Winterpeg so I'm not looking for a patio, but if anyone has suggestions, I'd be grateful. The last time I was there, I did most of my drinking at the King's Head, and will do again if there's nothing else that's improved since 2008.

I was there just a couple of weeks ago!

The Round Table had good beer.
Original Joe's was good.
A place I didn't get to but heard was good was the Yellow Dog.

I did take the time to visit Half Pints Brewery for a tour. Dave is the brewmaster there and he took a good chunk of time with me personally to show me around. If you go, bring beer for trading if you can. I didn't know about that but it's something that Dave likes to do and he'll swap one for one regardless of the brand.

Enjoy!

Just talk to Dave at Half Pints, but as far as I know, Kings Head and Hi Lo are the best options.

I did Kings Head and Yellow Dog when I was there two years ago. Its basically Half Pints as the best option no matter where you go I think.

Yeah, Half Pints is the beer of choice for sure. Original Joe's did have their own house beers on tap. Several different styles and well worth trying although nothing super outstanding. I had some and then went back to the Half Pints Li'l Scrapper IPA, a very decent IPA.

Peter Collins wrote:Yeah, Half Pints is the beer of choice for sure. Original Joe's did have their own house beers on tap. Several different styles and well worth trying although nothing super outstanding. I had some and then went back to the Half Pints Li'l Scrapper IPA, a very decent IPA.

Original Joe's house beers are contract brewed by Big Rock. Hardly worth it.

markaberrant wrote:

Peter Collins wrote:Yeah, Half Pints is the beer of choice for sure. Original Joe's did have their own house beers on tap. Several different styles and well worth trying although nothing super outstanding. I had some and then went back to the Half Pints Li'l Scrapper IPA, a very decent IPA.

Original Joe's house beers are contract brewed by Big Rock. Hardly worth it.

Well... True.

But when your choices are limited, as they are in Winnipeg, a change is as good as a rest. It's not Coors.

Gonna be here in July and I expect to be underwhelmed. I recall Nick Pashley's "Cheers!" painting the city as a beer wasteland with only a couple of bars that carry some Half Pints and Fort Garry beers. Kinda strange that craft beer is so marginal in one of Canada's largest urban centres.

markaberrant wrote:Just talk to Dave at Half Pints, but as far as I know, Kings Head and Hi Lo are the best options.

think you mean Lo Bar.

Yellow Dog has a good rep as well.

cratez wrote:Gonna be here in July and I expect to be underwhelmed. I recall Nick Pashley's "Cheers!" painting the city as a beer wasteland with only a couple of bars that carry some Half Pints and Fort Garry beers. Kinda strange that craft beer is so marginal in one of Canada's largest urban centres.

don't bitch. i paid $4 for a pint of Half Pints at the Toad in the Hole, so i was happy

winnipeg's microbrew tradition is quite meh.
in the 1990s, you had Fort Gary which became famous due to their dark. they also made a Pale Ale and some other beer. nothing adventurous or ground breaking. its dark is good, not amazing.

then in the late 90s, you had 2 microbreweries open at the same time - Two Rivers and Agazis. Neither of them lasted too long and i don't remember liking their beer all that much (one had a wheat beer that was actually quite good. otherwise, they were meh).

I think Dave from Half Pints came from one of those breweries.

not really sure why craft beer hasn't taken off in Winnipeg, considering how integral alcohol is to the local culture. lots of drinking goes on. i don't recall taste really being a focus. and up until recently, i think that good imports weren't available. even now there isn't all that much variety.

atomeyes wrote: don't bitch. i paid $4 for a pint of Half Pints at the Toad in the Hole

I'll take wide variety over cheap prices any day. But yes, $4 for Half Pints draughts (assuming they're 16-20oz) is a good deal.

atomeyes wrote: not really sure why craft beer hasn't taken off in Winnipeg...up until recently, i think that good imports weren't available. even now there isn't all that much variety.

I wouldn't be surprised if MLCC restrictions on imports, private orders, and licensee products (i.e. what bars can carry) as well as the lack of dense heterogeneous markets outside of Winnipeg have something to do with it. Not certain though since I don't know anything about the Manitoba beer scene.

In Winnipeg right now. No offense, dudes, but we're talking about a serious beer wasteland.

i was surprised at the beer selection at the LC. Orval and Westmalle Tripel, among a few other belgian beers. a nice selection of Unibrou beer.

but the bars...its beyond pathetic. don't bother looking for good bottle selection anywhere. Didn't realize that bars still sold Kokanee until i came back to Winnipeg.

Draught: if they're not pouring Winnipeg's Half Pints, they're likely pouring crap. that's the quick and easy summary.

Yeah, sounds about right.

No offense taken, it's not my hometown. That's just the situation there. Thank goodness for Half Pints!

As for the liquor stores there, just as good/bad as LCBO, just a different selection.

My next two trips out of town are Boston and Cleveland. Very much looking forward to some US IPA!

Sounds like bring your own is the best idea here after you have your fill of Half Pints

Cheers,

just an update.

Lo Bar has closed.
Luxa Lune is open. basically, think of a bar that smells but offers lots of your typical international fares. nothing great.

um, otherwise, nothing new.

Gotta do the trip next year. Outside of Half Pints I'm wondering if it may be worth it to rent a car and head south for some bottles.