Everyone talks about the west coast pale ales of B.C. or the Belgian-inspired strong ales of Quebec. The Ontario brewers get the benefit of being in our nation’s largest market. However, out here on the prairies, we hold some hidden gems of beer just as impressive as the beers from elsewhere. Now, I could keep them a secret so there are more for us, but I think beer drinkers across Canada and the world need to know more about Western Canada’s craft brewers. So below is a short rundown on the prairie micros.
ALBERTA
Alley Kat Brewing (Edmonton)
Operating since 1996 by former provincial government employee Neil Herbst and his spouse Lavonne, they have a reputation for consistently high quality beers. The permanent line-up includes something for everyone, and one of the brewery highlights include a regular stream of new and creative seasonal offerings, sometimes repeated, sometimes on-offs. They have intentionally grown slowly over the years, giving them fiercely loyal local following. Their beers are much harder to find outside Edmonton.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Full Moon Pale Ale, Aprikat, Charlie Flint Lager, Amber Ale, Raspberry Mead.
Website: www.alleykatbeer.com
Amber’s Brewing (Edmonton)
A young brewery, opening only in 2007, it is run by energizer bunny-man Jim Gibbon in the old Wing’s soy sauce factory on 99 street. Amber’s is working hard to build a brand that stands out from other beers on the shelf with creative ingredients, like Australian mountain pepper berry or maple syrup. They are also actively connecting to their local Edmonton roots through their Bub Slug line of beers.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Australian Mountain Pepper Berry lager, Sap Vampire Maple Lager, Bub’s Lunch Pail Ale, Amber’s Pale Ale, Kenmount Road Chocolate Stout. They also make a lime cooler called Grog.
Website: www.ambersbrewing.com
Banff Avenue Brewing (Banff)
Alberta’s youngest brewpub is the brainchild of Jasper Brewing’s Brett Ireland, who obviously is cornering the market on breweries in National Parks. This second Ireland brewery offers a similar approach of good food and accessible and well-made beer. It just opened in June of 2o1o, so give it some time to catch its legs.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Banff Avenue Blond Ale, Czuggers Pilsner, Head Smashed IPA, Brewer’s Oar Cream Ale, Beverand Rundle Stout, Lower Bankhead Black Pilsner, Stubble Jumper Saskatoon Berry.
Website: www.banffavebrewingco.ca
Big Rock Brewery (Calgary)
The grand-daddy of Alberta’s craft brewing scene, who, it could be argued, have jumped into the bigger brewing pond. Formed in 1985 yes 25 years ago by Ed McNally (and still owned by the McNally family) they dwarf all of Alberta’s other brewers in volume. Their distribution is now national in reach, and they have solidified their place as a mainstay of Alberta beer industry.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Traditional Ale, Grasshopper, Warthog, Lime Light Lager, Jack Rabbit, XO Lager, Pale Ale, Honey Brown, McNally’s Extra, Black Amber Ale, Rock Creek Cider.
Website: www.bigrockbeer.com
Brew Brothers Brewing(Calgary)
A small Calgary brewery opened in 1994 that has become something of an enigma in recent years. They closed their taproom a few years ago, and now brew irregularly and have a handful of accounts. In Northern Alberta, their beers are no longer available, and increasingly hard to find in Calgary itself.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Black Pilsner, Ambush Ale, Tumblewheat Hefe
Website: www.brewbrothers.com
Brewster’s (Brewpub Chain, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina)
A prairie-based brewpub chain, started in Regina in 1989 by the Lanigan family. They entered Alberta in the mid-1990s and now have 6 locations in Calgary and 5 in Edmonton. However, brewing only occurs at two locations. They offer a full range of beer styles, using 13 their regular beers to appeal to a broad audience and one seasonal beer at all times to be more creative.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Original Lager, Hammerhead Red, Blackfoot Blueberry Wheat, Lanigan Irish Ale, Wild West Wheat, Bow Valley Brown, River City Raspberry Wheat, Flying Frog Lager, Rig Pig Pale Ale, Gunther’s Hefeweizen, Shaughnessy Stout, Czech Pilsner, Farmer’s Tan White
Website: brewsters.ca
Drummond Brewing (Red Deer)
Alberta’s youngest brewery, but with an old-time name. Back in the 1980s, Drummond was a well-known Alberta brewery that inherited the Uncle Ben’s brewery, specializing in light lagers, including an brown-cardboard clad generic Beer Beer. Kevin Wood and Cody Geddes-Backman, who have no connection to the original brewery, bought the brand name and started up a new operation in 2009. They, like their namesake, are aiming for the discount beer market by creating canned lagers retailing at an economic price. They have even brought back the generic beer, although dressed in white, rather than brown. Most of their sales are in central Alberta, but can be found in select locations in Edmonton and Calgary.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Drummond Lager, Drummond Strong, Beer Beer
Website: www.drummondbeer.com
Grizzly Paw Brewing Company (Canmore)
Niall Fraser started Grizzly Paw as a brewpub in the idyllic Canmore in 1996, and quickly turned it into a mountain resort favourite. They added a microbrewery license in 2007 which allowed them to bottle three of their beers for distribution across Alberta. They are more easily found in southern Alberta stores. At the pub, a wider range of beers are available on tap, including a rotation of seasonals.
Regular Beer Line-Up (available in stores): Rutting Elk Red, Grumpy Bear Honey Wheat, Powder Hound Pilsner
Website: thegrizzlypaw.com
Jasper Brewing (Brewpub, Jasper)
Canada’s only brewpub located in a National Park. Brett Ireland, then a 28-year old engineering grad pulled together the capital to set up a restaurant and brewing operation in Alberta’s quieter of the mountain parks. In operation since 2005, Jasper serves 8 beers on tap directly from their conditioning tanks (7 regulars and one seasonal).
Regular Beer Line-Up: Honey Bear Ale, 6060 Stout, Sutter Hill Pil, Fireman’s Ale, Liftline Cream Ale, Rockhopper IPA, Black Pilsner, Blueberry Vanilla Ale
Website: www.jasperbrewingco.ca
Norsemen Brewing Company (Brewpub, Camrose)
Believe it or not, Camrose has a brewpub. Having just opened in the spring of 2011, it is small and still trying to catch its feet. But it currently has on offer three beer, but hope to expand the selection over time.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Longship Lager, Horned Helmet Wheat, Eric Red Lager.
Website: www.norsemeninn.com/norsemen-brewing-company
Ribstone Creek Brewery (Edgerton)
Based in the most unusual of places – a very small town in eastern Alberta – Ribstone released its first offerings in late 2011. For now it is contracting its brewing at Edmonton’s Yellowhead, but it has plans to open a brewery in Edgerton in the next year or so. The beer is a basic pale lager and the plan is to capture some of the neglected rural Alberta market. The four owners are savvy businessmen with little beer experience, however they have roped in David Beardsell, of Bear Brewing and most recently Kamloops’ Noble Pig fame, to offer beer advice. Time will tell what comes of them, but for now they are trying to enter a very crowded market.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Ribstone Creek Lager
Website: ribstonecreekbrewery.ca
Roughneck Brewing (Calmar)
Roughneck, based in the small burg of Calmar, has recently (fall 2010) undergone a rebranding and a launch of new, openly craft-y beer under the “Bremaster’s Choice” label. Gone are its cans of accessible, straightforward beer, replaced by standard bottles of English-inspired brown ale and India Pale Ale. Availability is still sparse, but will hopefully grow over time.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Brewmaster’s Choice Brown Ale, Brewmaster’s Choice IPA
Website: roughneckbrewing.com
Village Brewery (Calgary)
A
new start-up in 2011, Village Brewery is made up of a number of ex-Big Rock folks trying to get back to their micro roots. They released their first two beer in early 2012, and are working to expand the line-up. For the moment the most reliable place to find their beer is at the brewery itself, but as the months roll along, they will likely find more accounts in Calgary and the surrounding area.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Village Blonde Ale, Blacksmith India Black Ale
Website: villagebrewery.com
Wild Rose Brewery (Calgary)
Wild Rose contends with Alley Kat for the title of oldest microbrewery in Alberta. The Calgary brewer has, like Alley Kat, been building its reputation since 1996. Lately it has housed itself in a barracks at the old Currie Barracks which offers the perfect Taproom next door to the Calgary farmers’ market. Wild Rose works toward a more accessible beer in its regular line-up, although its seasonal rotation and its Taproom-only (e.g. Alberta Crude Stout) offerings are quite adventurous. Easy to find in southern Alberta, and working to expand their northern Alberta reach.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Velvet Fog, WRaspberry Ale, SOB, WRed Wheat Ale, Brown Ale, IPA
Website: www.wildrosebrewery.com
Yellowhead Brewing (Edmonton)
Edmonton’s newest brewery, having just launched in May 2010, takes over the shiny downtown brewhouse built for the now defunct Maverick Brewing. Not just the name is new; the beer and the business approach are different as well. European-trained brewmaster Scott Harris has constructed a pale German-style lager as their first offering. The plan is to move slowly, starting with draught accounts in pubs and bottle sales only at the brewery. Bottle sales in liquor stores to come in the future. The brewery is named after the beer made by Edmonton’s first brewery, Edmonton Brewing and Malting, in 1894.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Yellowhead Premium Lager
Website: www.yellowheadbrewery.com
Saskatchewan
Bushwakkers’ (Brewpub, Regina)
Saskatchewan owes a lot to the Robertson Family, who, due to their dissatisfaction with Canadian industrial beer, lobbied hard to change the province’s liquor laws to permit brewpubs. They opened in 1991, mere months after the new legislation came into effect. Today they are seen as one of Canada’s most popular and highest quality brewpubs. They present a list of highly regarded regular beers along with a healthy mix of seasonal and specialty brews.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Regina Pale Ale, Dungarvon Irish Red, Palliser Porter, Sodbuster Brown, Stubblejumper Pilsener, Last Mountain Lager, Northern Light Lager
Website: www.bushwakker.com
Great Western Brewing (Saskatoon)
Great Western is, in an unexpected way, a creature of corporate amalgamation. In 1989, Saskatoon’s Carling O’Keefe plant, which first opened in 1927, was slated for closure due to Molson’s recent buy-out/merger of the historic company. Rather than quietly parade to the unemployment line, a group of 16 local workers got together to buy the plant from Molson. Great Western has made a point of producing beer that proclaims its western heritage, and has become one of the biggest selling brands in Saskatchewan. The beers remain steadfastly mainstream, but they find a way to carve out some of that big boy market. They are big enough to have a substantial reach across the Prairies.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Light, Premium Lager, Pilsner, Brewhouse Pilsenser, Brewhouse Light, Gold Strong, Gold Extra
Website: www.greatwesternbrewing.com
Paddock Wood Brewing (Saskatoon)
The little brewery that could. Former University of Saskatchewan professor, Stephen Cavan, opened Paddock Wood in 2004 determined to make good beer available to Saskatchewanians. One of Canada’s smallest breweries, Cavan puts out a head-spinning diversity of beers each year, all brewed with both eyes firmly on quality and flavour. Paddock Wood is also Saskatchewan’s first microbrewery with good distribution in their home province. They can be found in better beer stores in Alberta as well.
Regular Beer Line-Up: 606 Pale Ale, Black Cat Lager, Czech Mate Pilsner, Bete Noire, London Porter
Website: www.paddockwood.com
Note:
Due to Saskatchewan off-sales laws, the province has more than a dozen pseudo-brewpubs, particularly in Saskatoon. I do not mention them, as generally the beer is sub-standard and the purpose of the brewpub license is not to make good beer, but to provide off-sales. Consider yourself warned.
Manitoba
Fort Garry Brewing (Winnipeg)
A brewery named Fort Garry has existed in Winnipeg since 1930, however the original was bought out by Molson in 1960, who eventually closed the plant in 1990. However Richard Hoeschen fought for the brand name and re-opened Fort Garry Brewing, although in a new location, four years later. It has been brewing ever since. In the past decade they have marketed themselves fairly aggressively and as such have grown at an impressive rate, which made them an attractive target for mid-sized B.C. brewery Russell Brewing, who bought them in 2006 and have continued to expand the brand name. Fort Garry is widely available across western Canada.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Dark Ale, Pale Ale, Premium Light, Rouge, Frontier Pilsner
Website: www.fortgarry.com
Half Pints Brewing (Winnipeg)
Another example of a small-scale brewery packing a big flavour wallop. Half Pints owner, David Rudge, is a man with a mission. Not content is he to brew good beer he wants to make fantastic beer. Since its opening in 2006, Half Pints has quickly built a rabid following in Winnipeg, and is now branching out to the rest of the west. Their regular line up is impressive, but it may be their seasonal and specialty beers that have made their reputation. They boast Canada’s hoppiest beer, humulus ludicrous, one of our best barley wines, and an annual trilogy of abbey-style beer. In Alberta and Saskatchewan you are more likely to find their regular beers, but if you do happen to see one of the others, scoop them up.
Regular Beer Line-Up: Little Scrapper IPA, Bulldog Amber, Stir Stick Stout, St. James Pale
Website: www.halfpintsbrewing.com
Yukon
Yukon Brewing Company
Yeah, I know Yukon Territory isn’t in the prairies, but you gotta have a soft spot for someone prepared to make beer up in the Arctic. So I have decided to give Bob Baxter and the folks at Yukon Brewing honourary prairie citizenship. Yukon opened in Whitehorse in 1997, and obviously, Baxter knew right away he would have to sell to other locations if they were to survive. However, they have not forgotten their home base, and are actually the biggest selling beer on tap in Whiehorse – no small feat. Their beers are flavourful and impossible to pin down to a style, as they are designed using a unique taste panel approach, which creates beers that may deviate from traditional boundaries, but keep the beer drinker in mind. Their beers are widely available in Alberta and are creeping into Saskatchewan.
Regular Beer Line-up: Gold, Red, Lead Dog Ale, Midnight Sun Espresso Stout, Cranberry Wheat Ale, Discovery Ale, Chilkoot Lager
Website: www.yukonbeer.com