THE FUN CONTINUES!

Little bit of sleeping in, little slow getting going, but we got to the tour at the Farmery Brewery.  Lawrence and Chris and staff are going non-stop, from the looks of things, so we very much appreciated the time they took out of their day to tour us around the brewery.  Especially when they had a real writer and photographer from a German magazine to tell their story to! 

Farmery prides themselves on locally sourced product.  They grow their own barley and hops and source supplies, equipment and services for their process within the province wherever possible.   Beyond the production of beer and expansion into Saskatchewan and working on Ontario and British Columbia, they are considering products that will make use of the extra hop oil that is extracted and not used in the brewing process.  These products may include aromatherapy mist and lotion.  We got to sample both and I will be watching for the lotion!

While they began with only a couple of varieties of beer, they have expanded production to include some specialty beer and even non-alcoholic sodas (my favourite).  We saw all stages of the process, though I would be hard-pressed to explain it to you.  The detail involved is fascinating.  Like wine, brewing a good beer involves monitoring enzyme activity, sugar content, temperature control, adding the right things at just the right time.  Not to mention the dizzying variety of equipment that must be employed and maintained to produce that can in your hand.  My advice – get on down there for your own tour, sample some beer and take some home with you, along with a couple of Farmery beer glasses to pour it into!

Having sampled some beer for ourselves, we thought the fish and chips they have at their fish truck sounded like a good idea.  This proved to be a stellar decision as the fish in the fish and chips was pickerel and the fish tacos I had were pike (more local product).   Prepared in the Farmery beer batter, of course, we enjoyed our lunch very much.  Their fries were to die for.  Normally I can eat about 5, but I had no problem picking away at the fresh, hand-cut fries served with the fish.  Then we saw the kids nearby come out with ice cream sandwiches and sundaes.......I bet you don't even have to ask if we had some.  

Waddling over to the truck, we got in and found our way over to cousin Alexis (yes, I have two first cousins named Alexis), who is now working in Neepawa.  So glad she messaged me to let me know!  We had a good visit, although she wouldn't let me go into the bathroom and flush the toilet while the plumber was working on the sewer pipe.  I love her, but she can be a real killjoy!  Actually, I think she secretly thought it was a great idea, but didn't want to get fired.    😊

We stopped on the way home to toss some bread to the sheep before heading over to brother-in-law Brad’s for dinner.  Brad’s family was around and we had a quick trip over to the auction barn to see some of what was going to auction this weekend before returning to the house for supper.  Too much awesome food.  I hadn’t thought to take the bike over and was a disappointment to Genie and Bob, so I ran back over with it after dinner in time to catch them just ready to leave.  It’s always fun when people admire Night Fury and Bob and Genie were very dutifully complimentary!  Even Lucy came to give her a sniff, but she wasn't quite sure about that iron dragon.  Got some pics and returned to Dad’s to tuck her away in bed for the night. 
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Poured over some maps with Dad in preparation for the Ontario route that will begin next week, after my quick trip into Nunavut on the weekend.  So much more to see!  I hope you will continue to join me on this grand adventure.