Apparently, my rant was a touch pre-mature. In the days since the post, I have been party to some meetings and other discussions about some new planned ventures that have the potential of turning the beer scene in town up a notch. The furthest along was confirmed publicly this week by the CBC. The Underground will be a new downtown craft beer pub opening in July on 100 Street and Jasper. There have been a number of questions swirling since the story broke last week.

Allow me to confirm a few things, as I had a meeting with the owner and got a chance to review their preliminary tap list (and, importantly, they were open to my recommendations for changes – not sure how many they will follow as yet). 72 tap lines (very few bottles to be on offer, I am told). Most are legitimate craft offerings. By my rough count, 12 are macro-lagers and another 6 or so standard corporate imports. But the rest are legitimate craft beer offerings, spanning a large range of styles, including Double IPAs, Imperial Stouts and a Lambic. To be honest, I think most of the limitation is what is available in the province in kegs, not the operator’s desire. So, their craft beer intentions are solid. Obviously much remains to be seen in terms of what happens in practice, and whether that location can succeed, but I am hopeful. We don’t have a good beer place in the heart of downtown, and if they can figure out a way to survive on a lunch/after-work crowd they might do okay.

I have also received confirmations of two other craft beer ventures. The Craft Beer Market (yes, I know there are criticisms of them, but, still, it is more than the city has now) is opening sometime soon in Edmonton, and a third, as yet unnamed, project is slated for the old train station in Old Strathcona (the old Iron Horse embarrassment). I will try to offer more details on these as I get them.

And then there is the Ale Yard.

This place in north Edmonton has gotten a lot of buzz since it opened less than 2 months ago. More than I would have expected. So, I thought I should go check it out. I had a meeting with one of the owners to see what was up, and it was interesting. The place is interesting, but needs work. The tap line is only so-so, although the bottle selection is well-picked, and the atmosphere needs a bit of work to shed its sports bar feel. However, I will expand upon my review in a later post, but for now I want to report their one big initiative to date. The big news here is their commitment to what they call Cask/Keg Night EVERY Thursday.

That term may seem weird, but here is the deal. Alley Kat has committed to two casks per month (and promised to not conflict with the Sugar Bowl Cask night, which is also on a Thursday). The Ale Yard hopes to find one more cask per month. The remaining Thursday(s) will be covered by one-off kegs of beer not normally available. Hence the name.

I have two key thoughts here. First, I am thrilled to see another location with a regular cask night, and particularly giddy over the fact it is more than once a month (I have been waiting for someone to up the ante by going for weekly – not there yet, but close). Second, I am unsure if this is the right time for this particular location to embark on a cask event. They have a lot of work to do to shift the client base and build a beer appreciation space in north Edmonton. Maybe offering cask is a good way to move it forward, but it might also be pre-mature. If people there don’t really understand WHY cask is special, the value could be lost. Time will tell. But, at least we know that every Thursday we have somewhere to go where we can get a pint of something special. And that is cool enough.

In general, I want to give Ale Yard some time. They are working in tougher area than Old Strathcona or downtown. They are in the old Don Cherry’s, which is all I need to say to demonstrate the magnitude of the shift they are trying to achieve. So, let’s celebrate another cask location and keep advocating for more. Because when it comes to cask, the more the merrier.