Wanna Move To Winnipeg?

[newguy]

An acquaintance who followed through on his dream of starting a microbrewery is now looking for help. Our club's newsletter editor just passed along this email from him to our membership and I thought I'd also post it here. I know that the chances of anyone wanting to move halfway around the world are slim, but stranger things have happened. If you dream of learning the commercial brewing ropes and for some reason want to learn them in Winnipeg, then here's your chance.

For some reason Dave didn't include a link to his home page in the message, so here it is.

One last thing, Winnipeg is nowhere near any mountains, but it is very close to one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. I say this because every time I've been to Banff or Jasper (both in the rockies), there are a lot of Aussies around so I take it that mountains are popular to you.

Hello all,

It seems we've always had the best luck with employees when they're familiar with what we do at the brewery. And really, who's more familiar with Half Pints than you guys?

If anyone knows of someone who'd make a perfect addition to our rag-tag team of beer geeks, please forward this on to them - thanks in advance for your help.

Dave

Help Wanted No kidding, you could be working with us to make great beer in Winnipeg. We're looking for one person to join the team here if:
You're a quick learner,
You're able to lift 50Kg. Kegs,
You have a clean driver's license,
You're generally a happy person with a customer friendly attitude (retail experience is a bonus!),
You're willing to learn new skills like kegging and bottling,
You are clean, clean, clean,
You love great beer BUT...
You're not just a drunk looking for free beer - seriously - who's got time for drinking when there's so much work to be done?

The position is full time days, benefits after 3 months, fun work environment, and certainly not your average day job.
Get your resume in by January 19th, 2008
Send it with a cover letter by e-mail to [email protected]

David Rudge
Brewmaster/President
Half Pints Brewing Company
334 Keewatin St.
Winnipeg, MB
R2X 2R9
Ph. (204)832-PINT(7468)
Fax (204)632-7702
small brewery, BIG FLAVOUR

 

[troydo]

I wish....

 

[cliffo]

An acquaintance who followed through on his dream of starting a microbrewery is now looking for help. Our club's newsletter editor just passed along this email from him to our membership and I thought I'd also post it here. I know that the chances of anyone wanting to move halfway around the world are slim, but stranger things have happened. If you dream of learning the commercial brewing ropes and for some reason want to learn them in Winnipeg, then here's your chance.

For some reason Dave didn't include a link to his home page in the message, so here it is.

One last thing, Winnipeg is nowhere near any mountains, but it is very close to one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. I say this because every time I've been to Banff or Jasper (both in the rockies), there are a lot of Aussies around so I take it that mountains are popular to you.

Freaky...just got an email from a former work colleague who has moved to Winnipeg to see her sister for a while....apparently its about -30 degrees celcius at the moment though they recently had a string of "balmy" -11 degree days.....positively toasty Something to consider if making the move hehehe..

 

[wabster]

Lift 50kgs kegs, they gotta be kidding. The water delivery bottles here in Oz were reduced from 19 litres (5 US galls) to 15l because of OH&S claims by the guys that had to lug them off trucks and into houses. I assume they'd weigh 17kgs max now.

I've rolled plenty of kegs in my day working pubs in Brissy, but I never had to lift the buggers :-(

Other than that could be fun if you wanted a change and were a bit footloose, cheerz Wab

 

[newguy]

Lift 50kgs kegs, they gotta be kidding. The water delivery bottles here in Oz were reduced from 19 litres (5 US galls) to 15l because of OH&S claims by the guys that had to lug them off trucks and into houses. I assume they'd weigh 17kgs max now.

I've rolled plenty of kegs in my day working pubs in Brissy, but I never had to lift the buggers :-(

Other than that could be fun if you wanted a change and were a bit footloose, cheerz Wab

The occupational health & safety standards here (Alberta) are actually silent regarding maximum weight anyone is expected to lift. An oversight, yes, but the tories made sure to make this a business friendly province. Not sure about the guidelines in Manitoba, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are no limits there either. You're right - lugging full kegs is the biggest drawback to working in a micro here.

And there is a story floating around our club that came from an employee of a local micro. He met a "farm boy" that worked for a rival brewery who would deliver 2 x 50l kegs at once - one on each shoulder!!!! Of course, said "boy" is no longer delivering kegs....but I know who I want on my side in a brawl!

 

[T.D.]

One last thing, Winnipeg is nowhere near any mountains, but it is very close to one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. I say this because every time I've been to Banff or Jasper (both in the rockies), there are a lot of Aussies around so I take it that mountains are popular to you.

My sister, who lives in Calgary, calls Winnipeg "Winterpeg" because its always so damned cold! I always get a kick out of watching the weather channel when visiting her in Winter. Winnipeg always has temperature ranges like "-18 to -26" or something like that! Always gives me a chuckle. At least Calgary (And Edmonton too if I am not mistaken) gets chinooks! (btw I don't mean the hop, I mean the warm blanket of air that gives momentary relief every so often during winter).

 

[newguy]

Winnipeg does get some bad weather. I'm from the Saskatoon area, and one weatherman from Saskatoon would always say that the weather was due to our "continental climate". A polite way of saying that we'd get shafted winter and summer. In winter, the arctic highs would slide down to roost right on top of us, and in summer the continental US highs would slide up. The result was a -40C to +40C temperature swing most years. Winnipeg gets the same swings. Edmonton is lucky enough to get the remnants of most "pineapple express" fronts in the winter (a blast of warm air from the pacific) and is far enough north to not get so hot in summer. The temp swings here go from about -30C to +30C. I lived in Calgary for a couple of years and it would sometimes get to -25C there, but not often, due to the chinooks. Chinook is a native word that means "snow eater".

I forgot to mention the provincial bird of Manitoba is the mosquito.

 

[geoffi]

Winnipeg does get some bad weather. I'm from the Saskatoon area...

When I was a little boy I lived for a couple of years south of Weyburn, Sask. (My earliest TV memories are The Friendly Giant and Mr Dress Up.) My dad had to drive to Saskatoon for a meeting one time...pretty much in a blizzard. When he came back he had bought nice little hats with a furry lining for my brother and me. We always called them our 'Saskatoon hats'. Still have mine somewhere.

BTW, I wonder if anybody ever tried to flavour a beer with Saskatoon berries.

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Winnipeg does get some bad weather. I'm from the Saskatoon area, and one weatherman from Saskatoon would always say that the weather was due to our "continental climate". A polite way of saying that we'd get shafted winter and summer. In winter, the arctic highs would slide down to roost right on top of us, and in summer the continental US highs would slide up. The result was a -40C to +40C temperature swing most years

If God had of wanted me to live in Winnipeg, I wouldn't have been born an Australian

One last thing, Winnipeg is nowhere near any mountains, but it is very close to one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. I say this because every time I've been to Banff or Jasper (both in the rockies), there are a lot of Aussies around so I take it that mountains are popular to you.

Mountains, yes. What do you call a waste of time ? Trudging up a mountain just to ski down it.

Any surf on that freshwater lake ? I'd think it'd be a freshwater skating rink most of the time.

Chinook is a native word that means "snow eater".

as I always say, don't eat the yellow snow.

You're a quick learner,You're able to lift 50Kg. Kegs,

I'm a quick learner. I've learnt not to lift 50kg kegs. More fun to empty one, one schooner at a time. :chug:

Good luck Newguy. But you never said whether the Half Pint beer was any good or not ?

 

[newguy]

Any surf on that freshwater lake ? I'd think it'd be a freshwater skating rink most of the time.

It gets waves, but nothing like ocean swells. It's only a rink for about 6-7 months of the year. By the middle of August some of the shallower bays might be up to about 15C if you're lucky. Sure, it sounds cold, but it feels great when it's really hot.

as I always say, don't eat the yellow snow.

And don't drive fast on the black ice. B)

But you never said whether the Half Pint beer was any good or not ?

Half Pint brews some of the best beer I've ever tasted. Dave used to be the brewer at a brewpub in Regina, Saskatchewan. His hands were really tied there - couldn't brew to style, and his creativity was limited by the boss. Now that he's free, his beers are flavourful and exciting. One of his favourite sayings is something like "there's no such thing as too much hops." The only small problem that I've heard through the grapevine is that he keeps changing the beers that he brews. Once his customers (who are very dedicated, and growing in ranks) get used to a beer, he drops it and brews something new. As a homebrewer, I can relate. He's just excited.

BTW, I wonder if anybody ever tried to flavour a beer with Saskatoon berries.

Yes. I think the gold medal fruit beer at our club's last competition (I know it took a medal for sure) was a rhubarb saskatoon berry beer. I've never made one myself, but I've tasted quite a few.

 

[Josh]

I've actually been considering a change in occupation towards brewing. Was think of looking for work here in Oz, but this could just be the change I need.

Will probably be sending in a resume.

 

[Simon W]

....
Any surf on that freshwater lake ? I'd think it'd be a freshwater skating rink most of the time.
....

Yes plenty!
That comment triggered a distant memory from decades past about a documentary I saw, so I plugged 'Great Lakes Surfing' into google and got a ton of hits.
Just a couple(random selection):
http://www.greatlakesurfing.com/
http://www.surfingvancouverisland.com/surf/greatlakes.htm

Edit:

Ooooh yeah!

 

[geoffi]

Yes plenty!
That comment triggered a distant memory from decades past about a documentary I saw, so I plugged 'Great Lakes Surfing' into google and got a ton of hits.

It should be noted that the lake near Winnipeg, the aptly named Lake Winnipeg, is not one of the Great Lakes. Lake Superior is is the nearest of those, about 500km away, and I know that gets some pretty big waves at times, but it's more an inland sea. In fact it's bloody huge.

I have memories of a swim at a beach on Lake Winnipeg. Actually, as I recall it was more of a mud bath, at least the spot we went to.

 

[geoffi]

It would be interesting surfing in fresh water. I guess you'd need a bit more foam to compensate for the reduced density.

Oh. And you'd need a THICK wetsuit, or even a dry suit. I've swum in lakes Superior, Huron and Ontario, in the middle of summer, and they were BLOODY COLD!

 

[Simon W]

It would be interesting surfing in fresh water. I guess you'd need a bit more foam to compensate for the reduced density.

Done some Skurfing(skiing behind a boat with a surfboard) in rivers and dams, the bouyancy would be a problem while sitting on the board in the line up waiting for waves and paddling for the waves, I would probably just sit closer to(or in) the take-off zone tho for less paddling. Once you get up-to-speed (planing) there's no difference.

The rail might bite in a bit more in bottom turns and stuff..... dunno. Would love to give it a go. Would probably get used to it pretty quick.