Don Tse, a Calgary-based beer consultant and writer, has documented every different beer he’s sampled over the years and is set to consume brew number 20,000 this weekend.
“I had what I like to call a revelation moment a little over 20 years ago,” explained Tse who is known in local beer circles as ‘The Don of Beer’. “Similar to most people, I used to drink the domestic macro lagers. Then I had a beer from a brewery, a local brewery that unfortunately no longer exists, called Brew Brothers. They had a beer called Black Pilsner, a dark beer but really light in body but had a lot of complexity to it. It was this ‘A-ha’ moment."
The former attorney, who practised law for a little over 20 years before pursuing a career in beer, hopes to mark the occasion by raising $20,000 for Providence Children’s Centres during an 11 course, beer-paired, meal fundraiser being held Saturday at the Pig and Duke (503 4 Ave SW). All proceeds from the $50 tickets to the event will benefit the preschools for children with special needs.
Village Brewery has specially crafted a new beer in a style of Tse’s choosing, lovingly referred to as The Village Idiot, in recognition of the milestone. Tse believes the style is a first in the province. “There’s so many breweries now I can’t keep track but, to my knowledge, it’s never been brewed in Alberta before and it will legit be my 20,000th beer.”
Tse says there’s never been a better time to be a beer lover as the industry continues to grow and flourish. “Around 15 years ago, I set myself the goal that I wanted to try 365 new beers in a year and that was really hard to do,” said Tse. “I just never imagined that there could be 30 breweries in Calgary.”
For tickets to the ‘20,000 beers into the Tse’ event, visit Pig and Duke.
With files from CTV's Kevin Fleming
