A Neighborhood Brewpub From Neighbors

How many of your neighbors do you know? Not many, I'd bet. I only know a couple and that includes our immediate neighbor whose driveway abuts ours. There might be some really cool people just around the corner and who knows where that could lead? Just look at Great Notion Brewing - the three owners met because they're neighbors and a shared love of craft beer has spawned a partnership that is re-energizing the former Mash Tun brewpub on NE Alberta.

James Dugan and Andy Miller had been homebrewers for years before they met Paul Reiter, the non-brewer piece of the triumvirate. The beers they shared with Paul thoroughly impressed him and it wasn't long before they began talking about opening a brewery. Many a homebrewer has done the same thing but talking and actually making it happen are completely different. Thanks to Paul's professional background in finance, they were able to tether their dreams to reality, albeit a reality that included scouting locations and finding many of them to be financially out of reach.  Then through a friend of a friend they learned that the owner of Mash Tun was looking to get out of the business.

The guys proceeded with the process of purchasing it, taking over ownership in the fall of 2015. Since the purchase included the beer that had already been brewed (and they were sitting out the standard six month wait to brew from "The Man") they continued to pour Mash Tun beer, retained the Mash Tun name and curated a guest tap list as the Mash Tun beer ran out. In early December 2015 they were cleared to begin brewing and as the New Year was rung in the official rebrand from Mash Tun to Great Notion took place.

It wasn't until recently that I finally made it to Great Notion to check it out first hand after hearing great things about them and being impressed by a pint of their Ripe IPA enjoyed at my Growler Guys in SE. The space doesn't look drastically different from it did as Mash Tun but look below the surface - a larger (7bbl) brewing system, a lineup of beers that showcases the brewers' ability to take what had formerly been recipes scaled for homebrewing to successfully recreate them on a commercial system (far harder than just doing math) and a menu from Chef Ryan O'Conner that goes beyond the food you'll eat just because you're there and need something to pad your belly with to food that you'll look forward to.

Both Ripe IPA and Juice Jr. session IPA are great beers but it's the sour program that they're working on that excites me the most. Currently available is Zest, a Berliner-Weisse, that is kettle soured and very enjoyable but for those who prefer a more traditional barrel-aged sour, those are coming. I was able to sample one, a 12% Belgian beauty that if representative of what's happening at their separate barrel aging facility where they're utilizing their own sour strain they will be something worth seeking out.

Based on the beers I've had so far Great Notion seems to be living out their slogan, "The passion for hops. The patience for sour." If you haven't been it's time to check them out. In the meantime, a clip of Paul, Andy and James talking about their place.

3 Reasons to Visit The Mash Tun Brewpub

When was the last time you visited The Mash Tun on NE Alberta? Months ago, years ago, maybe never? Then it's high time you stopped in.

I can't say it's a place I visit more than a few times a year, mostly because I just don't get up NE Alberta much and when I do there are so many places competing for my attention (many of which I was reminded of as I was making my way there last night). To help me remember to go more often and to prompt you to do the same, here are three reasons you should pay them a visit.

1. Their Alberta St Pale Ale is a deliciously bitter, full flavored beer. While pale ale purists may say it leans too far in the IPA direction I find it lovely and highly drinkable.
2. They have a great patio. Not only does it double their seating but it backs up garden boutique Thicket and is adjacent to Pine State's patio. You'll have no idea you're sitting just steps from bustling Alberta.
3. Tuesdays are $2 pint days. Yes, you read that right, $2 for any house pint all day. Add in their daily happy hour food offerings (3 - 6 pm) and you've got one of the least expensive ways around here to spend a Tuesday evening.

On previous visits the food has been hit or miss but I'm pretty sure I've always gobbled up their tots and I have a friend who can never pass up their beet salad.

As for the rest of their beers, again, hit and miss. Their IPAs, generally only one is available at a time but they change periodically (last night it was a single-hop version using Galena hops), are generally serviceable but not outstanding. Mag found his Blackberry Oatmeal Ale to taste a bit homebrew-y while the sip of Regan's Feats of Strength I had was outstanding.

Will this be a place you take out-of-towners to? Probably not. Will it be the first place that comes to mind when you're looking for a brewpub? Probably not. Will it be a place you visit occasionally? I sure hope so, especially on Tuesdays.

Two More Down

The list of places to check out got two places shorter (at least temporarily) as we took advantage of a free Saturday evening to focus on a slice of Northeast. Sitting only half a mile from one another, relatively established The Mash Tun (est. 2005) and newcomer Grain & Gristle (even newer to than we are!) were the designated targets for the evening.

Of the two, The Mash Tun won me over for beer offerings. All five house taps sounded good, but I was particularly enamored with the Master Bitter and Nightfall Dark Ale. The bonus came in the form of a basket of perfectly cooked tots with a side of buffalo sauce. (All of the aforementioned items just $3 during daily happy hour to boot.) As much as I enjoyed it, I fear making it back here on a regular basis isn’t going to happen. The Alberta Arts District is a hopping place and I can imagine that if anything is going on, navigating through the foot and car traffic would be a nightmare, not to mention how difficult parking would be.

The tots may have been good, but Grain & Gristle upped the ante on the food front. The cured meat board, which included braunschweiger, was tasty, but it was the airy, nearly foot high pile of pork rinds that blew me away. Lucky for me, my companions were satisfied with just a piece or two each, leaving the bulk of the salty pork goodness for me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t nearly as excited about the tap list. The Firestone Walker Velvet Merlin was the only beer that held any interest for me. With that said, I can’t knock them on their beer selection after only one visit. I suspect they go through kegs quickly so another day may find me in a quandary as I stare at a board filled with beers I want to drink.

All in all, it was a successful outing. Hopefully you had an equally enjoyable Saturday night.