This Pint Has 20 Ounces

All good things must come to an end, so we’re not going to sugarcoat it… this is the final episode of This Pint Has 20 Ounces. This episode Jonathan, Nick, Mama T, and producer Alex are on the mic for one last hurrah and to reminisce about the great times they had.By the time you hear this episode, Nick will be kicking back on Vancouver Island living the island life. He breaks the news to us that he’s resigned from his position at Wild Rose which unfortunately means the end of the podcast. For this last instalment of the podcast the boys and Mama T have asked the often alluded to producer Alex to join them, and together they recall their favourite moments of the podcast. For Alex it was the day he found out Wild Rose was on board for creating the podcast, for Mama T it was all the laughs and silly questions, for Jonathan it was learning so much about people, for Nick it was a specific session of Ask Mama T, and for all four it was the great conversations, great beer, and roast beef sandwiches. In addition to

Continuing our theme of tasty guests on the podcast, this week Deidre Lotecki of Sweet Relief Pasteries joins us for a delicious dessert, and to talk about how she’s serving up sweets for Calgarians. Deidre first got in touch with the Wild Rose team to speak to Nick about getting her hands on some Wraspberry Ale for a unique father’s day special: beer cupcakes. This was an idea she’d had for a few years but never had time to pursue, but with COVID disrupting business-as-usual she suddenly had extra time on her hands to set up what would end up being a 6-pack of cupcakes, with each cupcake made from beer from one of six different craft breweries, and the Wraspberry Ale contributing to a lemon raspberry cupcake. Deidre dropped off a number of these cupcakes for Nick and the team to try… but we’ll never know just how many because they were so tasty Nick enjoyed them all himself!Her passion for baking goes all the way back to her childhood, and as Deidre explains “baking is what I’m meant to do”, but she hadn’t c

In a city of oil bosses, this week’s guest stands out as one who can bring the heat - figuratively and literally - Shaun “The Oil Boss” Albert of Oil Jefe.Shaun’s affinity for chili oil began nearly a decade ago when he tried it for the first time at King’s Wonton. Having a background in recipe development before his career in the trades, Shaun found himself wanting to kick up the heat a bit and started making his own chili oils at home. His friends would visit, try his delicious chili oils and get sent home with the recipe, but they never could quite get the same result and would come back asking him to just make some for them. After 6 or 7 years of keeping things spicy for his friends and family Shaun decided to take a run at producing his chili oils at a professional level. He’d found himself missing the creative process while working in the trades, and with the inconsistent boom-bust cycle of his work the timing seemed right. Since then he’s gone from making 24 jars a day in his own kitchen to making as m

Step aside wine-and-cheese, there’s a new king of tasting pairings in town. This week’s guest, Shawn McDonald of Springbank Cheese in Marda Loop, is here to take our tastebuds on a journey with a beer-and-cheese tasting flight.Known by many as “the cheese troll,” Shawn has been working with family-and-friend operated Springbank Cheese for more than 15 years. Int hat time he’s seen the palates of Calgarians expand dramatically, at times in tandem with phenomenons such as Alberta’s craft beer explosion. In addition to some insights on the cheese industry and the multi-province history of Springbank cheese, he brought a variety of cheeses to sample with the perfect pairing of Wild Rose brews:Comté Cheese paired with Wild Rose Electric Avenue BlondeEspresso Bellavitano Cheese paired with Wild Rose Barracks Brown AleOssau-Iraty Cheese paired with Wild Rose Industrial Park AleSheep’s Milk Blue Cheese paired with Wild Rose Alberta Crude Stout“Classic” Pimento Cheese paired with Wild Rose High Harvest Hemp Strong Pal

This week we’re joined by a former Wild Rose team member who is now repping a whole different side of Alberta's craft beer industry, Colin Mundy of GP Brewing Co.There are a lot of assumptions and stereotypes about craft beer... and the people who drink it. For many the label “craft” can mean ultra boozy beers, overly hoppy brews, face puckering kettle sours, or expensive four-packs of tall-boys, despite the fact that the term really just refers to beer brewed without preservatives, with a great deal of care and attention to detail, and frequently beer that is local and small batch. For beer drinkers who enjoy a more traditional lager the stereotypes behind craft beer can make them turn their nose up and steer clear of what is assumed to be mostly out-there-ales, even though the lager is one of the hardest styles to perfect. But folks with this more traditional palate often still want to buy beer that is brewed locally and supports Alberta farmers. Enter GP Brewing Co. This brewery based in Grand Prairie is b

Eighty Eight Brewing’s Jordan Saracini joins the podcast this week for a chat about the Olympics, 80s music, nostalgia, pizza, and of course excellent craft beer.Jordan and his partners’ origin story is a common one in the craft beer industry - a group of friends who started homebrewing together back in late 2013. The level at which they started brewing was a little less common however, skipping over brewing kits and jumping straight to whole grain. Within just a few years they’d decided to take their brews public, incorporating Eighty Eight Brewing in 2017 and opening the doors the following year. When this episode releases their two year anniversary is just around the corner on August 22nd.Anyone who has visited the taproom or even seen their cans will be immediately familiar with the brewery’s iconic design. The branding is heavily inspired by the 1988 Calgary Olympics (if the name wasn’t a dead giveaway) as well as all things ‘80s. This theme runs deep, from their labelling to their beer names to the deco

What do you get when you combine a passion for comics with a passion for craft beer? This episode’s guest, Mark MacDonald of Zero Issue! In our first episode back at the taproom since re-opening we talk to Mark about Zero Issue’s backstory and their iconic cans.With Jonathan occasionally having beers turn him into a super hero and Nick looking the part of a super hero, it only makes sense that they were drawn to the super hero and sci-fi inspired artwork featured on Zero Issue’s cans. Zero Issue was founded by the dynamic duo of Mark and his brother Kirk, both lifelong lovers of all things comics and science fiction. Their love for craft beer came a bit later, starting with Kirk being exposed to Portland’s world famous brewing scene. After coming back to Alberta Kirk suggested that he and Mark try out homebrewing and they bought each other home-brew kits for Christmas. Mark’s beer didn’t turn out and Kirk’s barely did, but they pressed on eventually going from starter kits to malt extract and then to all-grai

Were can you find standup comedy, knife juggling, and fire breathing in one place? With this week’s guest, Tom Allen of TomCat Performance! In our final remote-recorded episode we talk about how to get into circus performance, and the difference between English and Canadian comedy audiences. Tom says he has always had a performative compulsion, which led him to become a circus performer nearly 15 years ago, before immigrating to Canada. This started out with juggling fire, and led into fire eating, fire breathing, sword swallowing, unicycle riding, and a lot of other head turning performances. As a circus performer he had always tried to incorporate comedy into his routine, which he says is cheating a little bit, since it allowed him to get away with making mistakes that might have sunk a more serious performer.After moving to Canada a decade ago Tom gravitated towards circus performing here as well, and during the last oil boom frequently performed at corporate gigs, and even once set himself on fire doing s

This week we’re joined by former Wild Rose team member turned Bitter Sisters brewmaster, Marc Creaser. Marc calls in from the brewery to recount his beginnings in the craft beer industry and how Bitter Sisters is keeping their thirsty customers safe during Alberta’s re-opening.Marc got started in craft beer nearly a decade ago while studying at Mount Royal. He had a bunch of friends working in the kitchen at the Wild Rose Taproom and through them got to know the rest of the team and knew he wanted to be a part of it. When a position on the packaging line opened up he dropped out of Mount Royal to join the team and a year and a half later Marc was the head of production & distribution. After leaving Wild Rose in 2016 Marc spent 2 years working with a medicinal cannabis dispensary before re-entering craft beer at Legend 7, where he helped out on the packaging line and started getting his feet wet with brewing, and within 2 months he was brewing all on his own.In his current role as brewmaster for Bitter Sis

In the podcast’s first entirely remote interview during social distancing we talk to professional powerlifter Bryce Krawcyzk of Calgary Barbell. Since getting into powerlifting in 2012 Bryce has set multiple world records and now helps other powerlifters achieve their heavy goals.Bryce got into weightlifting because he was a skinny kid who just didn’t want to be skinny anymore. Before long he went from skinny kid to one of the world’s strongest men, setting a deadlift world record of 353kg (756lb) in 2015, which he overtook in 2017 setting another world record of 388kg (855lb). Doing much more than just lifting weights, this massively passionate powerlifter also helps lift up other barbell enthusiasts as a powerlifting coach. Much of this coaching takes place virtually, with Bryce helping his clients figure out the optimal weightlifting technique for their own body type and history. For many of his clients this process involves filming their sets for Bryce to critique their form and develop detailed plans to

Great Barbecue and great beer are a match made in heaven, which makes this episode’s guest, Jordan Sorrenti of Paddy's Barbecue & Brewery, the Barley Belt’s greatest matchmaker.Nestled in the heart of Calgary’s Barley Belt district, husband and wife duo Jordan and Kerry Sorrenti are serving up world class barbecue and award winning beers to wash it down. But the question on everyone’s mind is who the heck is Paddy? We learn that this Barley Belt staple is named after Jordan and Kerry's son, and Jordan assures us it’s okay to call him Daddy.Paddy’s began not as a local barbecue joint but as a catering business specializing in keeping people fed through the Calgary Stampede. After adding a skookum Southern Pride Smoker to their arsenal they segued from catering to operating a physical restaurant where they specialize in barbecue and small batch lagers, including their award winning black lager.Jordan makes our last in-person interview before social distancing a tasty one, and the guys can’t get over how he

Our guest on the show this week is Ben Collins of Uprooted Farm. Along with the help of his partner Kait, Ben takes a craft approach to farming, growing food that they’d want to eat, with flavours that take you to times in your life like pulling a carrot out of your grandma’s garden. Over the past four growing seasons Uprooted Farm has expanded to roughly 2/3rds of an acre, filling a niche that Ben refers to as a “market garden.” He’s certainly no stranger to the Wild Rose Taproom, with Uprooted taking part in previous farmer’s market events and selling some of the freshest produce you can find outside your own garden. Nick recalls a story of asking Ben how long it would take to set up for the farmer’s market at the Taproom and learning that the vegetables Ben would be selling hadn’t even been picked yet! As it turns out the wait between him pulling the produce from the ground and someone enjoying it can be as short as just 10 hours. In addition to (or perhaps because of!) Ben’s work on the farm he is also a

This week Bill McKenzie returns to This Pint Has 20 Ounces for a followup interview. On Bill’s last appearance he offered a CEO’s perspective on the brewery’s acquisition by Sleeman, and now having successfully facilitated it and gracefully bowed and out after handing over the proverbial keys to the brewery, he returns to reminisce and reflect on his favourite memories during his time at Wild Rose. When Bill’s nearly 8 years at Wild Rose began it was 2012, just as Calgary’s craft beer boom was about to kick off. He had recently left another brewery and was considering starting up a brewery of his own when he was approached by the founding shareholders of Wild Rose and asked to take the wheel. They’d made a big impression on him, one big enough to put his own brewery plans on hold, and one of his first big projects would be the expansion of the brewery. Wild Rose had outgrown the brewing facilities in the back of the taproom and needed more room to keep up with demand. He would help the team navigate a number

Regulars at the taproom have probably seen our host Nick and his glorious beard before, and this episode we talk to the man responsible for it! Nick Ossais, owner of Marda Loop Barbershop, tells us how cutting hair is in his genetics in this interview recorded live back before social distancing guidelines made the taproom pick-up only. Nick Ossais has been spending time in barbershops since he was just a kid, helping out sweeping floors and pricing product in his dad’s barbershop. A few years later while attending university and feeling lacklustre about the direction he was heading he got asked to make the trip from Calgary up to Spruce Grove to help his dad out at what was then a massive shop with 27 chairs and close to 50 employees. During the two years he spent helping out in his dad’s shop he started to miss all his friends and family in Calgary so he packed up and headed back down, discovering once he arrived that the Marda Loop Barbershop was up for sale. He scooped it up, starting out small with only 3

Andrew Bolinger, founder of The Strength Edge, joins us on This Pint Has 20 Ounces to chat about Calgary’s powerlifting and strongman community and why he founded The Strength Edge as a place for the city’s strongest men and women to get together and train together. A self described misfit, Andrew was having a hard time finding a gym where he could do strongman training and got wind of a group of guys who trained in a parking lot on Sundays. The first time he showed up he wasn’t quite sure what he was in for and started looking around for the strongest people he could find and asking them if they were there to train strongman. After only a few confused responses he eventually found 3 guys and a shipping container, flipping tires and lifting heavy stuff. Before long he recognized a big flaw with this arrangement - they couldn’t train in the winter, which made it pretty hard to master the events when they could only train for half of the year. From here they’d get set up with their first indoor “gym”, a double

Calgary’s craft brewing industry is often applauded for its strong focus on collaboration and cooperation over competition, which was a massive inspiration for this week’s guest, Byron Brooks of Builders and Brews. Byron tells us of how after being contracted for some construction work at Annex Ale Project he was inspired to create this collaborative spirit into his own industry. A carpenter by trade, Byron has worked on a massive range of products across his career, from furniture to high rises, and most recently custom homes and commercial construction including breweries and taprooms. While helping to set up Annex’s taproom he saw a few guys from their neighbours Banded Peak pop in to help set up a piece of equipment so Annex’s founders Andrew and Erica didn’t repeat a mistake they’d made in the opening of their own brewery the year before. It seemed a little weird to Byron since he knew they were competitors but didn’t think too much of it. A couple days later some guys from another brewery would come by

This episode we sit down with one of the longest standing team members at Wild Rose, the head brewer at the AF23 taproom, Mark Kerrigan. As a 15 year veteran and employee #6, Mark has a lot of insight into how the brewery has evolved and gives us an inside look at what’s changed during that time at the brewery and in Calgary’s beer scene at large. Mark’s career in the beer industry started in London Ontario on the packaging line for Labatt’s as a summer job. After finishing up his degree Mark tossed in a resume and was asked to come learn how to brew. Mark would later meet his wife, a Calgarian, on a trip to Europe and follow her back to Calgary. At the time there wasn’t much for breweries to work at, but Wild Rose would make him a job offer over the phone and in the decade and a half since then Mark has been able to watch the brewery and the team grow. In those 15 years a lot of things have changed, but many other things have stayed the same. Walking in as Wild Rose’s sixth employee the core lineup of beers

“You can be 14 again, but with a bank account and beer.” This episode Nick and Jonathan feel nostalgic for their teen years when Revival Brewcade’s James Dobbin tells us how Alberta’s smallest craft brewery is combining everything you love about beer and arcades. Located in the heart of the beautiful Calgary community of Inglewood, Revival’s story is in many ways a story of red tape. James fills us in on the struggles he and his business partner faced trying to open up the brewery, including the challenge of some antiquated bylaws that forbids havingg beer and pinball in the same location in many neighbourhoods in the city. But thanks to Inglewood’s BIA they’ve been able to find a home on 9th ave right next to the legendary Ironwood. When you visit Revival Brewcade you can expect a heck of a lot more than just unique beer. At the time of this recording they’ve got 13 different pinball machines available along with a massive selection of racing games, shooting games, and fighting games including Nick’s favour

It’s your friend when you have no friend at the bar, it’s the local arts and culture magazine you find at every cool place in town… it’s Beatroute Magazine, and this episode we talk with the magazine’s Associate Editor and Founder Brad Simm about the publication’s scrappy beginnings and exciting future. Beatroute was founded by Brad and a former student of his at MRU, Glenn. At the time it first started popping up in cool venues and spaces across Calgary the now defunct FFWD was still a staple in the world of free arts & culture magazines. Jonathan wants to get to the bottom of what Brad and Glenn did right to not only survive when FFWD could not but continue to thrive today. This was likely because of their difference in business model - FFWD followed what Brad describes as “the old model,” which meant a full writing team where-as Beatroute had simply started out as a DIY rock n roll magazine they were all doing for beer money. Today Beatroute’s reach is wider than ever. Brad explains the process of bein

How does a brewmaster stay fit? If you’re Wild Rose’s brewmaster you stay fit by working with Luke Leimenstoll, founder of Calgary’s Movement U and this week’s guest on the podcast! Luke Leimenstoll joins us for some pint-glass forearm curls while he fills us in on his more than decade long history helping Calgarians achieve their fitness goals. As a natural entrepreneur Luke started his own fitness company at 23 years old after moving to Calgary from Thunder Bay, Ontario so he’d have every chance possible to take his snowboard out to the Alberta Rockies. He and a coworker at a Calgary gym would kick off an outdoor bootcamp company that evolved into Movement U 8 years later. Movement U has been open to residents of Bridgeland since 2016, with a new location coming to 17th Ave in February 2020. Luke and the team offer a class-based approach to fitness, offering yoga, spin, row, and HIIT (high intensity interval training). HIIT sounds intense but as Luke explains this 30 second on/off approach to fitness is a f