Join the beer club
Lawrencetown’s Lunn’s Mill has lineup of craft brewery events all year
If your New Year’s resolution was to increase your craft beer knowledge and brewing skills, you probably already bought a membership in the Lunn’s Mill Beer Club and have the next 12 months all planned out.
You’ll even get to collaborate on a new brew.
The Lawrencetown brewery’s chef Chantelle Webb noted a number of the $100 memberships were bought as Christmas presents. The limited membership was more than 75 per cent sold out by Christmas Eve.
Webb said the Lunn’s Mill Beer Club, that holds its first event Jan. 16, is a monthly get-together with a series of different event nights.
“We’ve got the first six months planned, and we’ll probably have the next schedule up for the end of May,” she said. “It’s just taking all sorts of things that have to do with beer and presenting them in a new way. So your exclusive membership gets you in to these events and lets you try brand new beers first, all sorts of crazy discounts.”
Learning about and experiencing the craft beer culture is what it’s all about.
“Each event is scheduled around that idea, that we want you to learn something new, we want you to taste something new, we want you to eat something new – and have fun,” Webb said. “It’s people getting together and sharing ideas and even how to make beer. One of our brewers will be here, either Peter (Price) or Sean (Ebert). We hope Mark Reid will stop in too.”
Cask VS Keg
The year kicks off with Cask VS Keg on Jan. 16. Who knew they were different?
On Feb. 20 it’s all about Porters & Stouts.
“We currently have a Porter and Stout on tap, and we want to compare the two styles,” Webb said. “We’ll bring in maybe some classics. We’ll bring in a Guinness and find out why people are so afraid of a Guinness. A lot of women tend to drink the darker beers and we think it’s because they’re not so hoppy. They’re a little bit sweeter.”
She said that seminar will talk about how they’re made. “What the difference between a Porter and a Stout is – which really isn’t anything but they’re marketed in different ways and people tend to booze up Stouts kind of thing - they’re a high ABV (alcohol by volume). We’ll bring in a bunch of different ones from local craft breweries.”
Craft Beer and Food
For Webb, it’s the Beer and Food Pairing on May 15 that will be the most fun.
“That’s going to be my fun night,” she said. “That is going to be taking kind of classic BCJP (Beer Judge Certification Program) and looking at the traditional pairings of beer with food. There’s a whole thing about how sometimes you want a beer that’s dark and rich and you want a food that’s maybe light and spicy. They either compliment each other, they contrast each other, or they’re the same and they just go very well together. We haven’t created a menu for that yet because we don’t know what beers Sean is going to have on tap.”
She said at each monthly event they want to be showcasing a brand new beer.
“And for that one (Beer and Food Pairing) there will probably be two or three different beers and it will show that it’s not just about wine anymore,” she said. “You can go and feel comfortable ordering a beer with a fancy meal.”
Early on there will be a Beer Quiz Night.
“Our good friend Jim from Carleton Road Industries is putting together the beer quiz, so there will be some rounds with drinks,” Webb said. “You might have to identify a certain type of beer. There will be some history, there will be some fun facts. A little bit of everything.”
Lunn’s Process
Ebert said one thing he can teach Beer Club members is the Lunn’s Mill brewing process that is a bit different from other breweries.
“I can teach them what the different flavour profiles are, what different yeasts can do, what different malts can do, what different hops can do,” Ebert said, “also different types of conditioning. Our first event is Cask VS Keg, which we’ve done before, but this time do it with one of our core lineup beers. Maybe something that their familiar with on draft they’ll be able to try on cask as well side by side.”
“It’s a great way for people to get out, especially during the winter months,” said Webb, “and it’s a good way for people to share their love of craft beer.”
She said a collaborative brew will probably happen in the late fall.
“Once we’ve got through all the crazy summer events,” she said. “People will get a chance to be part of this industry. We found it so welcoming from all the other brewers who have helped us and we’re happy to share our knowledge and invite them in.”