8 comments on “Pre-Christmas Wrap-Up – News from Johnny Jacks, Unfiltered, Upstreet, PEI Brewing, Gahan Halifax, and much more!

  1. I wonder of the IPL was fermented at lager or ale temperatures? If ale temperatures I would think that esters would be elevated anyway. The higher OG would increase ester production too. I would think it difficult to defect the sulfur increase in a beer like this.

    • Only one way to find out about the sulfur, grab a pint! Actually, it could also go out for chemical analysis, if you were keen on finding out objectively.

      • I guess that was my point. Depending on the lager strain, sensory evaluation for sulfur compounds would be very difficult. I’d grab a pint if I were closer.

    • Beer quality is important to us, as well. I hope you are letting the offending breweries know directly about your concerns with quality and brewing problems. We’ve done so in the past. Unsure if you have access to a lab where you work, but offering QC services (for a price, of course) could assist breweries in improving their wares.
      Not mentioned in the linked post is draught line maintenance. If the bar you are drinking at does not clean their lines sufficiently, it could be tainting the perception of an otherwise good beer.

      • What is even more frustrating is when I read about an NB beer writer praising and promoting these very poor quality micros. Shame on them. If they don’t know beer, they should not be misleading others with their rubbish reviews.

      • The problem with reviewing can also be with beer consistency. Perhaps the bottle/pint reviewed was of high quality? But the next batch, or bottling run, was infected? Or vice versa? We don’t get into reviewing on here for that (and many other) reason. Of course, it would be ideal if all instances of a product were identical!

        It’s certainly a tricky situation, as we believe more breweries expand the public’s exposure to locally-produced beer, but if someone’s first experience is a poor one, it can be negative. We’re still figuring out the best way to deal with that ourselves. Hence the article striking a chord with us. Thanks again for sharing it.

        Training and knowledge (on both the brewing and drinking side) seems like a great place to continue to concentrate our efforts.

  2. I make it known when I experience poor quality however, the problem I encounter is mostly denial. I find this very disheartening. There is one larger NB micro (I can’t call it craft) I’ve encounter that actually boasts about their lack of quality testing – and it shows time and time again in their infected product.

    You are correct about draught line cleaning. For this you can only blame the bar and their lack of education & training. I was served an infected draught a couple weeks ago and told the server what I believed the problem was, to which she replied, “I’ll get you another in a different glass”.

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