Wine Kitz Atlantic

June 2008

To date I have only written three blogs and some are already wondering why I don’t mention beer making. When I first started working in this industry in 1992 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, I named my first store Sudz Beer & Cheer Shoppe. At the time the name was a great fit. My sales were approximately 70% beer products, 30% wine products. Oh, how times have changed. It’s now mostly all about wine. You will note this wine trend is also very evident in our provincial liquor stores.

That being said, beer making is enjoying a resurgence. Beer kit sales are once again on the rise. There’s good reason for this: better beer making products…improved finished products.

For many, many years typical beer makers purchased a standard can of beer malt, a bag of sugar and went home to boil & brew. Many beer kits no longer require a boiling process, making for an easier and quicker beer making process. Many beer makers have moved away from adding corn or cane sugar to their beer batch. Using products such as powdered or liquid malts as a substitute for sugar enhances the quality and taste of most finished beer.

The largest factor in the resurgence of beer making is the introduction of “big box” beer kits. The two most popular brands are Festa Brew and Brew House. Festa Brew is a 23L all-grain beer kit. No water or sugar needed. Brew House is a 15L kit. Add only 8L water. Both of these kits are of the highest quality available on the market and each kit makes approximately 60-66 bottles. Both brands offer numerous styles.

One other new beer product recently introduced into the industry is called The Big & Easy Bottle Brew. The Big and Easy Bottle Brew is a totally new and different home brewing kit. It’s a revolutionary, easy way to make your own premium beer at home. It consists of pasteurized, unfermented beer, packaged in 2 litre bottles and equipped with a unique pressure cap. All you have to do is add the innovative yeast capsule to each bottle to start the fermentation. Two weeks later, once it has finished fermenting and has cleared, refrigerate overnight (12 hrs) and voila! You now have the equivalent of a 6-pack for approximately $1 per bottle!

Try a batch of any of the above beer kits and fool your friends. They will never know its home brew unless you tell them (and you will!). Unfortunately, they may not go home until all the beer is gone.

Happy brewing,

Blair