Maidstone, Saskatchewan

We moved westward in Saskatchewan and stayed at a municipal campground in a small town called Maidstone. We chose it purely for the low price and desire to get full access to water, electricity and sewage hookups to replish ourseleves for the next few days (we need to refill the water tank and empty the waste water about every three days). The highlights were few, but I was pretty stoked about one thing.

I was jogging around the town (a good way to shake off the rust from being cooped up in the RV and also see what a place has to offer), making my way down the tiny Main Street when I saw a sign in front of what appeared to be an abandoned Co-op that said "OUTLAWS BEVERAGE CO. Growler refills in the back entrance." Intrigued, I went out back and peaked my head inside an open door to find a tiny micro-brewery. 

The owners were real friendly guys and they indulged me with a little talk of the trade after I informed them of my own interest in brewing and possibly opening up a small operation of my own in South Korea when we go back. They even let me look around the back. It was very small scale, with only three beers brewing at a time and 5 on offer--tiny but a legitimate business nonetheless (as an aside, it took them 3 years to get permitted by the provincial government, which is madness).

I left with two growlers of beer and encouragement that my own plans are not "pie in the sky" by any means. Their humble deal (hardly bigger than what a really serious homebrewer might be working with) is exactly what I want to start with, so it was cool to see them up and running (though they will have to do something about their currently nonexistentonline presence).

It was also nice to see some guys in the business who are interested in talking the trade. Normally the craft breweries you go to are so big that the people on site are not even involved in the brewing whatsoever and can't tell you much, if anything, about what goes into a certain beer.

You never know what you'll find in these small towns, it seems.

We drove on to Edmonton.