Change is afoot in the Alberta beer scene. Faithful readers may recall that Calgary-based Wild Rose Brewery was acquired by megabrewer Sleeman Brewing last summer, followed by Banded Peak Brewing being acquired by Labatt earlier this month, and a third Alberta craft brewer changed hands just last week.
I have been predicting that Edmonton’s Alley Kat Brewing would be the next to be acquired by a megabrewer, and I must now eat some humble pie since that prediction did not come true.
Lo and behold, Alley Kat Brewing did go through an ownership change last week, but I am happy to report that it will remain locally owned.
Alley Kat was one of the first craft brewers in Alberta, opening their doors in Edmonton way back in 1995, about the same time as Calgary’s Wild Rose Brewery appeared on the scene.
As pioneers in the Alberta craft beer industry, the husband & wife team that owned and operated Alley Kat Brewing were instrumental in forging the path that many other Alberta brewers would follow in the years to come.
Due to their long history, the employees from Alley Kat have spread far and wide throughout Alberta and beyond, moving up to head brewers at other facilities, or even starting up new breweries of their own.
Unlike the last few Alberta brewers that were acquired by multinational conglomerates, Alley Kat will be staying local. The Herbst family has been running Alley Kat for over 25 years, and had been pondering an exit strategy for a well-deserved retirement, when they were approached by a pair of local entrepreneurs with an acquisition offer.
The new owners come from the finance industry, and were planning to construct their own brewery from scratch, but instead jumped on the opportunity to acquire Edmonton’s oldest and most revered craft brewery.
As is common in acquisitions like this, the Herbst family will remain for a transition period to ensure a smooth operational transfer, imparting their decades of wisdom and experience to the new owners.
Craft beer fans are already cheering, wishing the Herbst family the best in their well-deserved retirement, and knowing the Alley Kat brand will remain a locally and independently owned Edmonton institution.
Since my last prediction about Alley Kat did not come to pass, I will make a new prediction now. The Herbst family will remain at the brewery for a 12-24 month transition, during which time there will be no significant changes to the core lineup of beers.
The new owners will eventually want to make their own mark on the business, and will slowly start tweaking the recipes, possibly with an eye on expansion, which would not have been a priority for the Herbst family as they approached retirement age.
Never fear, the iconic Aprikat Ale is not going anywhere. Experienced boozers may recognize Aprikat as the first beer flavoured with apricot in Alberta, and has remained the best-seller at Alley Kat for the past 25 years.
I have enjoyed countless Aprikat Ales over the years, usually on sunny patios where the refreshing taste of a fruit beer is most appreciated. Despite my long acquaintance with Aprikat, my favourite sunny patio beer has recently switched to the Main Squeeze Grapefruit Ale.
Both the Aprikat and Main Squeeze ales start with a wheat beer as the base, followed by the fruit addition later in the brewing process. The Main Squeeze uses ruby grapefruit that are squeezed into the brew, using about 75 grapefruits per batch.
This makes the Main Squeeze Grapefruit Ale vaguely similar in flavour to the Radler style, which blends a light beer with lemonade or grapefruit juice. Unlike a typical Radler that weighs in around 3% ABV, the Main Squeeze is a full strength 5% ale, with a sturdy bitterness from a generous hop bill, as well as flavour extraction from the grapefruit rinds.
For those who do not care for fruit beers, the Alley Kat Full Moon Pale Ale was the first recipe brewed when they opened their doors in 1995, and is still in the core rotation. Plenty of citrus and pine notes from the hops make this a moderately bitter pale ale, nicely balanced by caramel malts to moderate the hop bitterness.
Alley Kat has many other brews in their portfolio, so try them all as time permits, and keep an eye on new offerings from this next chapter in one of Alberta’s oldest craft brewers.
