#bentstickbrewing

[oneyearalbertabeer]

My 3 favourite Alberta beers of November (and more!)

Of the 13 Alberta beers I tried from 10 breweries in November, here are the 6 that stood out for me - 3 easy-to-find favourites, 1 that won’t last forever, and 2 more to consider. Enjoy! 

The November Top 3

Golden Gaetz Golden Ale Troubled Monk Brewery 5% ABV

I was tempted to think this beer would be a bore, with its clear gold colour and subtle scent of green apple and honey. I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

True, it's as straightforward as a prairie main street (Gaetz Ave., a downtown Red Deer roadway, lends its name to the ale) and is more pleasant and dignified than fancy. Golden Gaetz is full-bodied and balanced. A wholesome toastiness serves as the foundation for understated honey, the impression of vanilla and the suggestion of wild berries.

A spicy fizz and minty bitterness at the end help make this more than a reliable "gateway" beer. For me, this deliciously versatile beer will do just as well as a personal go-to as it will for making converts to the world of craft.

Passion d’Ale Belgian Wit Two Sergeants Brewing 5.2% ABV

After working out equipment issues, Fort Saskatchewan's Two Sergeants is putting more product on local shelves these days, each made with English barley and branded with a military theme reflecting the brewers' former careers. My favourite so far: Passion d'Ale Belgian wit.

This one seems more robust than the average witbier without sacrificing the delicate points that help define the style. The scent, for instance, is nothing if not dainty: fresh bread dough, apple, elderberry and coriander.

It toughens up in the taste, featuring a strong malt backbone with the flavour of oatmeal and brown sugar. There's fruit, but in place of the expected banana there's honeydew infused with rose hip. The coriander comes through with cinnamon, pepper and a good dose of orange zest for a bracing finish, dry, crisp and with a slightly acidic bitterness.

Passion d'Ale has me thinking Two Sergeants has hit its stride. Looking forward to seeing where they go next.

Cerulean Dragon Double IPA Alley Kat Brewing Co. 7.5% ABV

Since the double IPAs in Alley Kat's Dragon series come and go, it seems almost unfair to single out one as a favourite, especially because it's likely hard to find by now.

That said, I want to highlight Cerulean, single hopped with Calypso, to point out the virtues of the series (started in 2011). Each one is a great beer geek out, allowing the drinker to zero in on the flavours of one variety of hops (or the interaction of a couple, which has occasionally been the case with the Dragons).

With the deep-gold Cerulean, Calypso is obvious in both scent and flavour. On the nose, I get pine and rose (the bottle suggests I should get apple or pear but I don’t pick that up).

The balance is excellent; this is a big but highly palatable beer. Rich caramel meets a well-composed fruit salad, garnished with a little mint. I get maraschino cherry, almond, green apple, grapefruit and the soft pungency of cantaloupe. It's a little heavy, and might even seem syrupy were it not for the high alcohol, which has a cutting effect.

This is a beer I'd love to pour for a group - a different kind of dragons’ den - to see what flavours other drinkers might pick up. Maybe for the next one in the series. Happily, I've got an Amarillo Dragon waiting in the fridge and I hear Magenta is on its way.

Loved and lost

Rum Barrel Barley Wine Big Rock Brewery 10.8% ABV

I’m a sucker for barley wine. I love the weight, the depth, the layers, the way it is unapologetically overwhelming.

For me, Big Rock’s 2016 entry, aged for 8 months in Barbadian rum barrels, does it all. A sweeter, English-style barley wine, it pours a rich brown red with no significant head. It smells more of cognac to me than rum, but also fruit such as maraschino cherry, plum and warm raisins, as well as vanilla and some ginger. The high alcohol puts a little sting in the nostrils.

The taste reveals itself in stages. Dark caramel and biscuit is followed by the plum from the scent, well bruised, maybe even stewed, as well as cranberry. There’s nutmeg and ginger, pepper, a whisky earthiness, and a clean tequila warmth.

It finishes with a mild burn at the back of the throat, enhanced by an edgy but fine fizz. There is only the mildest hops bitterness.

Having tried one fresh, this is a beer that I’d love to save for a year. I could see such an exercise in discipline will be richly rewarded - if you can force yourself to wait.

Two to Try

Star Cheek IPA Tool Shed Brewing Co. 6.2% ABV 

One of Tool Shed's original beers, Star Cheek is an older one I wish I'd tried sooner. More on the tropical side than citrus, it smells of pineapple, some coconut, pine and even butterscotch. Guava and honeydew dominate the flavour, balanced with toasty malt laced with rum and butter. The finish swings back to citrus, grapefruit in particular. Given Tool Shed's generally lower price point, I’d call this one of the best value IPAs in Alberta.

Wakatu Wheat Bent Stick Brewing 5% ABV

I don't often think of beer pairing, but grilled salmon came to mind when I tasted this ale. I attribute that to its savoury nature. The lime citrus of the Wakatu hops comes through clean and clear, complemented by brown toast and a touch of honey. Very crisp, very refreshing. I look forward to matching it with barbecued fish this summer. Until then, it will nicely wash down a big bag of Miss Vickie's lime and black pepper chips.

[oneyearalbertabeer]

Everything old is new again: Bent Stick and Alley Kat

Until now, I’ve not covered the same brewery in back-to-back posts. This week, however, I have 2 perfectly adequate reasons for returning to Bent Stick, Edmonton’s newest brewery as of summer 2016:

Pure vanity. I want to be one of the people who will be able to say I tried their first-ever beers. I will tell this to my grandchildren.

Pure fun. I liked the idea of lining them up with Alley Kat, the city’s oldest craft brewery, where all 4 Bent Stick founders once worked. Comparing stuff is almost guaranteed pure fun.

What I found in all that fun is that, as divergent as the 2 companies might be –with Bent Stick forgoing Alley Kat's more traditional route of establishing a core of reliable sellers – they have much in common. Or at least 1 big thing.

As this week's 2 beers show, the brewers appear to share the philosophy that, yes, you have to be good, but you also have to be resolutely different. That is, worthy of talking to grandchildren about and lots of fun until then.

Swap the Hops Bent Stick Brewing 5% ABV

One of the things I like best about Bent Stick is their nonchalance. They may be beer geeks (what brewer isn't?) but they clearly have no such expectations of their customers.

"Hops may vary" reads the label on Swap the Hops, a pale ale that I understand will be produced on and off as the brewers see fit. I’m fine with this, given that I can’t tell the difference between Citra and Simcoe and am happy to leave such esoteric matters in more capable hands. Knowing it will be hoppy is enough to make me happy.

And there’s plenty of hops flavour in this slightly hazy copper beer, with the sponge-cake head, the colour of antique lace, emitting a good amount of citrus. That carries into the body as well, making this a nice, snappy brew.

There's balance too. Not overpoweringly, the malt manifests in many ways. Or at least 4. 1) Shredded wheat with a dusting of brown sugar. 2) Woody, tasting like wet cedar smells. 3) A bite of banana. 4) A dash of pepper.

The end is refreshing, turning the spotlight back to the hops, which come shining through as fresh-cut grapefruit. It lingers pleasantly given the lack of a completely dry finish. Fantastic.

So, after an introduction involving 2 big, bold beers, is it safe to assume this will be a hop-forward brewery? Probably not. But given the brewers’ intention to proceed with little more than a plan to make beer and sell it, the only thing to expect of this startup is a series of surprises of the pleasant variety.

Spruce Almighty Alley Kat Brewing Co. 5.2% ABV

In my mind, Spruce Almighty solidifies Alley Kat as one Alberta's hardest working breweries. How many do their own harvesting? For this beer, their first “Back Alley Brew,” a series of fresh and creative one-offs, staff hand-picked 80,000 spruce tips from the Edmonton river valley. (How they must have laughed when that idea was proposed.) 

The result is a light copper ale, hazy like dust in a sunbeam. A fleeting head converts to the scent of candied hops, a likely product of the spruce – what – oils? Sap? Juice? Yes, that must be it – the spruce juice.

The malt is mild enough to give the unique flavour of the spruce a chance to be tasted. So you get sourdough toast, subtle and unsweetened, leaving room for the mint, fennel and even hint of ginger that seems to come from the conifer. Overall, it’s bright and cheery, a whistle-while-you-work kind of beer, finishing with an appropriate earthy happiness.

It's also more proof of Alley Kat's persistent pioneering spirit. Releases from this series will be sporadic and of limited run. Which means the only thing we can expect is an unprecedented level of experimentation. Let it never be said you can’t teach an old kat new tricks.

[oneyearalbertabeer]

2 breweries that have never before appeared in One Year of Alberta Beer

Isn’t it great that after more than 6 months into a year of Alberta beer, there are still many breweries that have never appeared on this blog? This is one of the few times in my life where I’ve been pleased to say that much work remains to be done.

I’m getting to the point where I know some of that work will only be accomplished by travel. (Sadly, beer can’t be mailed to just anyone.) In Alberta, brewing can be a very community-focused activity, with brewers taking an admirable (and likely cost-effective) local-first approach.

I think that’s awesome. Frustrating for my purposes, but awesome.

Imagine my surprise, then, when product from 2 breweries I’d never tried before turned up on the shelves at Edmonton’s Sherbrooke Liquor: Grande Prairie's GP Brewing and Bent Stick Brewing, Edmonton's newest brewery as of July. This industry just keeps on giving.

I know it will continue to do so - it just might not be as willing to deliver. Maybe a vacation is in order. A road trip? Sounds like the perfect way to get some work done. In the meantime, I’m happy to hang around for the 2 beers below.

Brick is Red Bent Stick Brewing 5% ABV 

What I like best about this beer is that it has an attitude ("get bent" is actually printed on the label). It challenges you to figure it out, to mull it over and see what you like about it, and even what you don't. Brick is Red is not a quick drinking beer; in fact, it is like nothing I have ever tasted.

This is no straight-ahead red ale, which is great to see of this Edmonton startup's "hello" to the craft beer world.

Brick is unapologetically hoppy. Sure, there's some black licorice and cherry in the scent, but it's in behind a curtain of piney hops. There's roasty malt and, as the beer acclimatizes, rye toast and subdued rum-and-butter sweetness, which is blanketed by citrusy hops. The finish is enduringly bitter.

I feel that to say I wanted more malt is to say I wanted Brick to be an IPA, which wouldn't be fair. There's a place for a brash beer like this because I don't believe anyone is doing another one like it in Edmonton. It’s gutsy.

That's why there's a place for a brewery like this in the city as well. As beer guy Jason Foster explains in his post on Bent Stick, this tiny brewery intends to move through beers month to month, without settling on any mainstay. 

Sounds risky, I know, but it also strikes me as daringly innovative. I may have struggled to figure out Brick is Red, but I don't think that matters. What matters is that this new operation has me excited about my next chance to get bent.

Blow Out Stout GP Brewing Co. 6% ABV

When I took my 6-pack of Blow Out Stout to the till, my first thought, as it rang in at $20 was, There must be some mistake. There wasn't. So my second thought was, This had better be good.

And it was. It was very good.

A sweet, black stout, Blow Out is light on hops throughout, dominated instead by robust malt flavours (and scents, including molasses and burnt marshmallow). Woodsy smokiness accents a grain profile resembling a digestive biscuit, while crisp fizz keeps sips light enough to qualify Blow Out for sunny afternoons.

The sweetness also contributes to that summery feel. That smokey malt is balanced by caramel, almost like espresso with sugar, but with notes of dark chocolate, too. For added richness, there are inklings of raisin and ripe plum, but not enough to unnecessarily complicate the experience.

The finish comes across almost as a final burst of smoke, as if to emphasize the magic in this beer.

In defense of the price, it's worth noting that GP’s approach is to keep beer as fresh as possible by brewing small batches. (What’s more, I later discovered that this is GP’s costliest offering. Their mixed 6 runs just under $14.) In any case, after tasting Blow Out, I believe my $20 was very well spent.