While I am happy to finally see the year 2021 in the rearview mirror, not much has changed in the early days of January. For the third year in a row, I spent Xmas and NYE isolated at home, with only the ever-dwindling contents of the wine cellar to keep me company.
In what has become an entirely unwelcome tradition, my extended family gathered virtually for Christmas dinner from the safety of our respective homes yet again, using strategically placed laptops on a group Skype call, so we managed to get together while remaining safely apart.
Another December tradition that was sorely missed in both 2020 and 2021 was the beer-soaked revelry at our local pride and joy, Township 24 Brewing, whose fourth birthday passed by uneventfully on December 28 while I was isolating at home due to a close COVID contact.
I can still recall my giddy elation when Township 24 Brewing announced they would be opening in Chestermere, and I was the first customer in the door on that miserably cold and snowy day in December 2017, eager to drink deeply from the freshest and most local beer ever to grace the shores of Chestermere Lake.
Chestermere is no longer the beerless desert I recall from the squandered days of my bygone youth, chugging stale Labatt Blue in the original Chestermere Landing. Our town has been graced by Township 24 Brewing for four years now, although it seems like COVID has stolen two of those years from us.
In those carefree pre-pandemic days of yore, Township 24 quickly became a favourite destination, with lycra-clad yoga fans popping into the taproom for a midday kombucha after a class at the nearby yoga studio, to music fans gathering for the regular open mic nights, and beer lovers popping in at all hours, either for a quick takeaway growler fill or six-pack, or to sit and while the hours away in the taproom with good friends, good beer, and good vittles from the small but efficient onsite kitchen.
Like all retail-oriented small businesses, Township 24 has been hit hard by the pandemic, with the frequent mandates for taproom closures or capacity reductions severely impacting cash flow. Like many other of our plucky craft brewers across Alberta, Township 24 quickly pivoted to home delivery in the early days of the pandemic, and I have been making heroic efforts to put dollars in their coffers, either via takeaway orders from the taproom, or through their fast and efficient home delivery option.
None of us want a return to those bleak years of drinking bland macrobrews at the golf course way back when our community was still known as the Summer Village of Chestermere Lake, so be sure to support your local businesses like Township 24 during these difficult times, to ensure they will still be there when this accursed pandemic finally ends.
While I do miss those ten taps of frosty goodness in the taproom, enjoying Township 24 while safely ensconced at home has brought me much comfort in these trying times. The flagship brews are always reliable, but I would be remiss if I did not mention my new favourite, in the form of the recently released Earl Grey Kölsch.
The Kölsch beer style originates in the German city of Cologne, and is unique in that it uses a flavourful warm-fermenting ale yeast, but is then cold conditioned like a lager for a clean finish. Township 24 then makes the Kölsch style their own, with generous addition of bergamot leaves while the wort is boiled, resulting in a mildly hoppy brew with subtle hints of the bergamot flower that gives Earl Grey tea its unique flavour. I like to keep a four-pack on hand at all times in case the Queen of England drops by for a spot of tea and a pint, or for other special occasions, like Tuesday.
Several craft breweries in Alberta have closed their doors permanently due to the pandemic, so help ensure that our beloved Township 24 Brewing is around for many years to come by visiting the taproom during the brief lulls between each wave of the pandemic, at your neighbourhood liquor store, or if you are isolating at home, visit their website to order delivery directly to your door.
