I had a slow week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, so I decided to catch up on a few brewery visits as part of my ongoing quest to visit every craft brewer in our fair province.
The roads were dreadful for most of the week, so I opted for breweries that were less than an hour away, of which there were many. The ever growing list in nearby Calgary seems to change every week, so I decided to catch up on some of the more rural Alberta brewers.
The Balzac Craft Brewing Company is just off the QE2 highway, only a few minutes north of that enormous CrossIron Mills shopping area, as well as the new Amazon fulfillment centre that all my online Christmas shopping came from.
Despite its name, Balzac Craft Brewing is actually located within the municipal boundaries of Airdrie, with the tiny hamlet of Balzac squeezed into six kilometer strip of land that still separates the respective city limits of Calgary and Airdrie, so it may be a ripe target for annexation by one of its neighbouring cities.
My favourite was the Tuxedo Rye Porter, which poured into the glass like indigo silk. The nitrogen tap provided a smooth and creamy mouthfeel, while the addition of rye grains to the mash added a spicy tang to remind me that roasted barley is not the only option for brewing up a fine porter.
My drinking companion preferred Balzac’s Best Bitter, made in the traditional ESB (English Special Bitter) style, which despite its name, is not really a bitter beer. The ESB style is the popular session ale for quaffing in a British pub, and weighs in at a comfortable 4.1% ABV, making it an easy drinker. If you enjoy a lighter flavoured dark beer, this is the pint for you.
While most Alberta brewers will boast about their locally grown barley, Balzac Craft Brewing goes one step further, infusing their hoppy IPA with Sea Buckthorn berries grown just a stone’s throw away. The pine resin aromas from the generous bitter hop additions are complemented by the tart citrus notes imparted by the Sea Buckthorn berries, making this the most local brew I have enjoyed in a long time.
Just a few kilometers away from Balzac Craft Brewing is Fitzsimmons Brewing Company, located on the other side of the QE2 highway on the east side of Airdrie. I opted for the East Lake Amber, a 3-time winner at the Canadian International Beer Awards, an impressive feat for a small brewery only in its third year of operation.
The East Lake Amber started out as a homebrew recipe that the owner made before he went pro, and has a pinch of red rye grains for a spicy finish that gives a unique twist to the classic amber ale style.
I couldn’t resist a pint of their award-winning Anniversary Saison, with plenty of those weird Belgian yeasts that make Saisons so special. The light colour made me think it was a blonde ale until the first sip, when the slight clove finish added a Christmasy theme to the rest of the glass.
Trying hard to keep my brewery tour within an hour of Chestermere, I decided to leave Airdrie behind and strike out for the Cowtown Brewing Company in Didsbury, which opened last May.
As I learned while chatting with the brewer and chief bottle washer in the taproom, Cowtown Brewing is the third brewery in that same space in Didsbury since 2016. The first iteration was King of Springs Brewing in 2016, run by a Calgary-based engineer who kept his day job, so only operated the brewery on weekends. The beer was a big hit in Didsbury, but the weekends-only schedule was its death knell, and it soon transitioned to new owners that renamed it Beerdmeister Brewing, and yet another ownership change this past summer to Cowtown Brewing.
With a population of just over 5000 mostly blue-collar boozers in Didsbury, the offerings lean towards light and easy-drinking lagers, so macrobrew drinkers will be right at home. My favourite was the Honey Lager, made with just a hint of pure Alberta clover honey.
Show your rural Alberta pride by asking for these in the can at your neighbourhood booze merchant, or make a day trip to visit the taprooms in person!
