Welcome, gentle reader, to the much-awaited first liquor column of the New Year. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the past year, and how the face of beer drinking changed in our fair province.
The craft beer revolution continued to gain new adherents, with several dedicated beer parlours and gastropubs with lovingly curated beer menus opening. Truthfully, it is a wonderful time to be alive for the beer nerds of our fair province.
Faithful readers may recall that the Alberta Gaming & Liquor Commission, in a shocking display of common sense, has been slashing red tape for the past few years, making it much easier for small brewers to open for business in Alberta.
This has led to a beer renaissance in Alberta, with new craft brewers bringing bottles and kegs of liquid joy to our fair province.
The smallest of these small craft brewers is the Calgary-based Dandy Brewing Company, which starting selling their British-styled ales in September 2014. For the first few months, their brews could only be picked up on Friday afternoons at the nanobrewery front door, but they now have distribution in local Co-op liquor stores, as well as a few other select booze merchants.
Dandy Brewing has two British-styled ales, both of which should be consumed cool, but not cold. Take them out of the fridge about 20 minutes prior to drinking, and you will be fine.
The Golden Brown Dandy Strong Ale weighs in at 6% ABV, so remember to sip it slowly instead of swigging. Made in the style of an English Pale Ale, there are toffee flavours on the tongue from roasted malts, with a solid hop bite befitting of the pale ale style.
For the more adventurous, try the Dandy In the Underworld Sweet Oyster Stout. As with most beers of this style, it should be consumed a little warmer than Canadian palates are accustomed to. Most Canucks drink their beer at around 4ºC, but this one is best enjoyed closer to 8ºC, so let it warm up on the counter for a bit before popping the cap. This stout beer is bursting with flavours of burnt chocolate, and makes the perfect winter warmer on a frosty evening.
Faithful readers that were boozing it up in the decade of decadence known as the 80’s will remember the glory days of Calgary’s Electric Avenue, which had over a dozen bars and drinking establishments over a single block. Those halycon days are done, but a new craft brewery has risen from the ashes of that once-proud location.
Yes, gentle reader, we have been blessed with another craft brewery in Alberta, in the form of the Last Best Brewing & Distilling company, which has set up shop in the space formerly occupied by the Design District Tavern, Amsterdam Rhino, Brew Brothers, King’s Head, and other bars that have graced the same building over the years.
Last Best Brewing & Distilling may sound familiar to some readers, as it is the newest location of Bear Hill Brewing, the same band of merry maltsters that run the Jasper Park Brewery, Banff Avenue Brewery, and Wood Buffalo Brewing in Fort McMurray.
It is hard to believe that Bear Hill Brewing started out with just a single small brewing operation in Jasper back in 2005, and just a short decade later have grown to 4 locations, and are even dipping their toes into small-batch distillation of spirits.
Last Best Brewing has several brews available, with my favourite being the Dirty Bird Black Lager, made in the Schwarzbier style of German dark lagers. Nice and dark in the glass, but only mild hop bitterness to keep you coming back for more.
In a shining example of the rural Alberta advantage, even the town of Canmore has a brewery under construction, which should be open by summer. The Half Hitch Brewing Company is a family affair, and will house a restaurant and brew pub in an old-timey barn for that rustic feel. Keep your eyes open for this one!
Luckily for the beer fans of Alberta, these local brews are becoming more widely available. The Last Best brews are only available on tap at better drinking establishments, but the Dandy beers are available in bottles in most Co-op liquor stores. Check www.liquorconnect.com for one near you.
