Update, Canada Day, Canada Beer Month, FUNKFEST Live Blog, and a Yeast Named Brett,

Well first off it's Canada Day, So let's mention that right up front. Today we celebrate the 150 years of Canada officially being Canada. This year has been sort of controversial in that regard because Canada is certainly not 150 years old to many people; it is mostly a metric of British colonization. Montreal Recently had their 350 anniversary, and Quebec City is Celebrating 409 Years.And without getting too deep into the major politics of Canada Day, the Indigenous Peoples of Canada have been calling this place home for 50,000 years. While I'm a proud Canadian and enjoy the benefits of what calling myself Canadian means around the world; I like many people feel the need to open a dialogue on how we can best celebrate this nation, our long history, and it's many people. Anyway, that is too heavy a subject for today and my little beer blog. Just keep in mind as you raise a beer for this sesquicentennial celebration of the greatest nation, it's not about the numbers, it's about our people.

Yes. I know. I've been gone a long time. Sorry. My new job keeps me pretty busy so I haven't had much time to Blog. So I am taking the opportunity this month to fix that; I declare this the Second Annual #CanadianBeerMonth. The Fridge of Fame is stocked with some awesome Canadian Craft Beers from a few different provinces, and I'm going to get to as many of them as possible.

You are probably wondering why I am up so early, and it can only be one thing: it's FUNKFEST! Every year on the Canada Day Lond Weekend, Sawdust City Brewery hosts... oh, about a thousand or so of their closest friends to celebrate Sour Beers. They have invited over 40 breweries down to pour special one-off and seasonal brews for a total of around 85 beers! It is an amazing time. I went last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I have been looking forward to this year's Fest for quite some time. So throughout the day, I will be posting updates from the Fest with beer tasting notes, pictures, and maybe a video or two (we'll see how my poor phone holds up under the battery strain). Just don't expect any Pulitzer prize-winning narratives... (85 beers remember!). Follow me on Facebook, and Twitter with the hashtag #PintJockeyLiveBlog.

Onto the last item, I wanted to talk about this morning. Brett. When you ask what makes a sour beer, and more importantly why would I want to drink one, the answer begins with Brett. Or Rather Brettanomyces. Brettanomyces if a particular yeast strain that grows on the skins of fruit. It was first discovered in Brittain when people started to investigate what was causing some off flavours in some Brittish beers. They discovered that this on particular yeast strain contributed a "funky" citric acid taste to the beer. Not desirable for the Britts. The yeast strain was named "Brettanomyces" which literally means "Brittish Fungus." ( I dare you to come up with a better name for a punk band than Brittish Fungus). However, there are certain styles of beer where this little sugar chomper is desirable. And many of these styles have become popular in recent years with the craft brew crowd. Lambics, Gueuze, certain Saisons, Old Bruin, and Flander's Red style ales all take advantage of the fruity sour hint of Brettanomyces. It is also used in barrel aging beers to produce a brighter more complex beer. I have seen Brett applied to more and more styles lately, especially the crowd favourite IPA, which, when balanced with juicy hops can make a thirst-slaking refreshing brew.

I will try and talk more about Brett in some upcoming posts. Right now I want to drink some. Well, Funk Fest Starts in just over 3 hours. So if you are going hope to see you there, if you are not, please follow along as I taste my way through as many beers, as I can safely consume. (Don't worry, there is a bus!)

Cheers
CJT