Wow! This is a big week for Alberta beer announcements. So, rather than clutter up the site with separate posts on each bit of news, I will combine them into one omni-post for ease of beer gossip gathering. So, let’s get on with the news:
Wild Rose AF23 Pale Ale: The latest seasonal from Calgary’s Wild Rose is a pale ale named after Wildrose’s home on the former Calgary barracks. Doubtful that the beer will make it beyond the municipal borders of Calgary, but for all of you in Calgary, it is being released on May 7 with a cask ale version at their tap room. The non-cask version will be available at the Tap Room and other select locations until it runs out.
Big Rock Gopher Lager: The folks at Big Rock have announced a new beer designed for summer quaffing. They indicate it will be an all-malt pale lager with a lighter taste. I have also learned that Gopher Lager will replace XO Lager, which is being discontinued, in their regular line-up. i expect Gopher will be similar to XO, given the description, but we will have to see. The expected release date is June 1.
Hudson’s House Brands: This past week saw the introduction of two house brands at the Hudson’s Canadian Tap House chain in Edmonton and Calgary. They are brewed by Big Rock on contract, and I am told they are original recipes designed for Hudson’s. I got an advance sampling of both. Lumberjack Superior Lager is a standard north American pale lager. It tastes like it is all-malt, but it is quite light and unintrusive. Beaver Tail Ale is an amber ale with more flavour than Rickard’s Red but still nothing to write on your blog about. Both are clearly designed to appeal to Hudson’s core market. Neither insults, but neither do they give a beer guy/gal reason to frequent Hudson’s.
Kohler’s Lager: A new Edmonton-based contract brewer is officially launching its beer on May 14. The beer is brewed at an unspecified brewery in the States (they wouldn’t divulge the brewer), and will initially be available in cans at select liquor stores, with hopes of some pub taps in the future. I have not sampled the beer yet, but the brewery calls it an all-barley “Canadian-style lager”. In terms of style, that doesn’t bode well, but the lack of non-barley adjuncts (i.e. corn, rice) might be a good sign. I might post on it once I have a chance to taste it.
So, that is the Alberta beer news for now. Film at 11.
May 4, 2010 at 12:06 PM
except for the Wildrose, this seems more like a “Corny-copia” than a “Cornucopia”.
May 4, 2010 at 1:23 PM
Do you guys know who is doing the contract brewing for Brecknock these days? I believe it is an Alberta brewery, just not sure who.
May 4, 2010 at 1:36 PM
Just read the Prairie Beer section and see Brecknock is being brewed at Amber’s these days. So is Brecknock really based out of Saskatoon? The address on their website says Regina.
I see their new website also says, “The Brecknock brewing process is organic from barley seed all the way to your first sip.” Was Amber’s recently certified as an organic brewery? That would certainly be news worthy!
May 5, 2010 at 12:17 PM
Hi Mark,
Good questions.
Yes, Amber’s in Edmonton is now brewing for Brecknock. It used to be Paddock Wood, but due to a variety of reasons, they switched.
Second, Amber’s is not yet certified organic – although I am told they are applying. I have been keeping my eye on it and once Amber’s gets its certification I will let the world know. However, it does raise some questions about Brecknock’s marketing approach here. They are overselling their organic connection. For example their hops are NOT organic (but since hops make up such a small portion of the ingredients, don’t need to be under Canadian organics law). And Saskatchewan types might feel odd about a craft brewer brewing out of Alberta, rather than Regina or Saskatoon. But I will leave that to Saskatchewan residents to decide. I make a point of not including contract brewers who brew outside the prairies on the Prairie Beer page, but since the beer is made in the Prairies, it makes the list.
As a quick aside, I noticed that Sherbrooke liquor now has the two Brecknock beers in stock in Edmonton.
Finally, the Saskatoon reference on the Prairie Beer section is an error on my part. I will fix it. Such is the imperfection of website creators…
May 5, 2010 at 1:43 PM
The Brecknock website also claims their beer is transported using biodiesel… I kinda doubt the SLGA distro system is using biodiesel, nor would the sacks of Gambrinus Organic malt be shipped to Amber’s via biodiesel trucks (even though they imply that their malt comes directly from the family farm in good ol’ Saskatchewan), and I’m almost certain that the non-organic German hops that they use in their “traditional british pale ale” are not shipped to Amber’s using biodiesel.
However, it is kinda cool to note that Ambers is pursuing organic certification. Best of luck to them. When I inquired to Brecknock last year regarding organic certification, they told me it was too hard and didn’t really mean anything…
Anyways, I love the new site Jason, and it is a pleasure to be able to comment and banter back and forth.
September 26, 2014 at 1:42 PM
Would love to buy/try some of my “Namesake” Where can I get some??
September 26, 2014 at 2:17 PM
John,
Alas, you are too late. Brecknock has gone bankrupt and is no longer available. Sorry.