Two Canmore-based breweries have won the hearts and tastebuds of judges in the first Alberta Beer Awards held in Calgary on March 14.
Grizzly Paw Brewery and the Canmore Brewing Company captured two medals apiece in the competition, which was hosted by the Alberta Small Brewers Association.
Grizzly Paw Brewery brought home a gold in the barrel-aged category for its Tequila Barrel Aged Barley Wine and a bronze in amber beer for its Rutting Elk Red, while Canmore Brewing Company was awarded silver in the patio beer competition for its 10 Peaks Pale Ale and bronze in the IPA category for Railway Avenue Rye IPA.
“It’s a fantastic acknowledgement for us because despite a lot of feedback from the town and regulars, it’s really nice to win a completely blind test where you know there’s no favouritism being played,” said Brian Dunn, president of the Canmore Brewing Company.
“It’s just one thing that says we have a product here that is a bit artisan, don’t treat it like the standard multinational beer that can sit in a warm room for three months until someone finds it.
“I see beer now as what wine was 20 years ago when everyone was going on their vineyard tours and shopping for award winning wines. Craft beer has come along and done the same thing.”
For both breweries, the awards are a source of pride as well as vindication that what they are doing is working. From pilot project to final product, both breweries see the production of beer as more art than science, and a tremendous amount of work goes into making something people want to buy.
“It’s the wonders of alchemy really … it’s all about starting out with an idea and it’s about bringing flavours together,” said Meesh Lamarche, head brewer of the Grizzly Paw.
“What we’ve often experienced is that one person will have an initial idea, and then we have a pilot brewing program to test these ideas. Then we use our pallettes and experience to test and build upon them,” said Lamarche.
“People think of brewing as exciting and holding glasses up to the window, while 90 per cent of brewing is actually cleaning and standing around in rubber boots in puddles,” said Dunn with a laugh.
The Grizzly Paw Brewery worked for 10 months to bring its Tequila Barrel Aged Barley Wine beer to fruition. The process allows the beer to take on the character of the barrel it’s stored in. The beer is stored in the Grizzly Paw cellar, where conditions must be kept right. Too much air or sunlight can ruin the beer, while the bacteria from other beers fermenting work to give it a unique taste.
“This is a great beer, we’re stoked with it,” said Lamarche. “It’s definitely something to be shared. It’s meant to be a unique celebration beer, maybe not something that you have every night. But on special occasions, if you’re having a nice finisher, it could work really well.”
To Lamarche, Tequila Barrel Aged Barley Wine beer is something that is more of a dessert pairing beer, to be combined with caramelized fruit or to finish off a meal of roasted dark meats. Its prominent botanicals and sweet malt flavours are meant to compliment, rather than contrast.
Their Elk Red however, is meant to directly contrast with spicy food by using the sweetness of the malt to give a refresher to the consumer’s pallet.
“It’s a malt forward beer with a deep ruby tone, some chocolate in there with subtle notes. It’s clean and crisp,” said Lamarche.
Canmore Brewing Company’s Railway Avenue Rye IPA is the company’s idea of a launching point to IPAs, with a slight spice and peppery notes throughout. For them, 10 Peaks Pale Ale is the perfect beer to “pair with sunshine,” which is why they entered it in the patio beer category.
“I’ve always said that making beer is not hard, making good beer is not hard, but making a good beer consistently is art and rocket science combined. It’s the most difficult part; to have the ability for someone to like a beer one day and then a month or two later they still like that beer,” said Dunn.
Both breweries hope the awards give them more recognition in the summer when craft brewery hobbyists tour around and try the different brews available.
Dunn said that although the craft brewing culture in Canmore was healthy already, he thinks the awards will convince more people to plan their trips around the award winning beers the two breweries have concocted.
“There are a lot of craft beer lovers who, hours or days after the awards, knew everybody who had the awards, and they’re heading out to the liquor store the next day to say ‘I want to try this, it just won an award’ and, in some cases, they’d never heard of the brewery before … it’s great that some breweries who are doing a great job are getting some recognition with that,” said Dunn.
