Alley Kat Brewery - Edmonton’s Beer
Update: I have found out where you can buy beer from Amber’s Brewery. I have edited this entry accordingly.
Edmonton is a beer drinking city. For evidence of this, one need look no further than, well, pretty much any restaurant in town.
Nearly every self-respecting restaurateur has a couple of brews on tap. The average bar, of course, has a wide variety on tap or in the cooler.
The range of beer that can be found in Edmonton drinking establishments is quite impressive. As well as the standard domestics—Molson Canadian, Kokanee, and Coors Light—you’ll usually find a number of imported suds. Heineken, Carlsburg, and Guinness are among the most common imports found in River City.
You’ll also find Big Rock beers, brewed in Calgary, in a number of fine establishments. Big Rock makes damn fine beer—I’m quite fond of their new XO Lager—and the fact that it’s brewed in Alberta makes it that much sweeter.
However, it’s not brewed in Edmonton.
Thankfully, Edmonton does have a beer brewing industry. It’s small, and there have been some unfortunate setbacks (the Maverick Brewing Company went under in 2006), but it’s starting to grow.
The main player (and, for a while, the only player) in the Edmonton beer industry is the Alley Kat Brewing Company.
I’m a huge fan of Alley Kat Beer. If you’re a beer drinker, and you haven’t tried any of Alley Kat’s microbrews, you’re missing out.
My personal favourite is Charlie Flint’s Original Lager, named after one of the founder’s of the Alberta brewing industry. It a crisp, refreshing blond lager made from Alberta barley and Czech hops.
The Amber is an excellent, slightly sweet ale, that I’m also quite fond of. It’s a reddish-brown ale with a fairly malty flavour. It’s best enjoyed with rich foods, but I find that it goes down quite well on it’s own, too.
The newest player in the Edmonton brewing industry is Amber’s Brewing Company, which is currently available at Sherbrooke Liquor Store (11819 St. Albert Trail). I haven’t tried their beer yet, but I’ve heard some good things about it. I’ll probably pick up a 6-pack of at least one of the 4 brews they make and try it over the holidays.
The one unfortunate thing about Edmonton’s two breweries is that their beer is not being served in a particularly large number of establishments in the city. In fact, I can think of only one place that serves either brand.
Hulbert’s is the only local eatery I can think of where Alley Kat is available.
In a beer drinking city like Edmonton, why aren’t our locally brewed beers being served everywhere? Excepting those places who have exclusive deals with Molson-Labatt’s, Edmonton-brewed beers should be available in just about every licensed place in River City.
It’s a shame that our local drinking holes don’t support our local beer. There is a way to fix this, though.
The next time you’re in your favourite bar or restaurant, ask the server if they serve Alley Kat or Amber’s. If they don’t, ask them to start. If enough people ask for it, the management will recognize the demand, and start providing the supply.
So, take action, Edmonton! Demand local beer in local establishments today!
I have got to visit: love beer and love hockey.
Lewis Green
17 Dec 07 at 1:42 pm
Thanks for stopping by and commenting on the blog, Lewis.
Edmonton is definitely a good town for beer and hockey. Regardless of how the Oilers may be playing, the passion for hockey in this city is always very high.
Adam Snider
17 Dec 07 at 2:01 pm
you can get Alley Kat at Dadeo, Blue Plate Diner, the Crown and Anchor, and now at all the Elephant and Castle pubs in Edmonton.
Desmond
17 Dec 07 at 7:09 pm
Great! Thanks for the info, Desmond.
I knew there had to be more places than just hulbert’s, but it was the only place I knew that served it for sure.
Adam Snider
17 Dec 07 at 7:16 pm
The Century Casino on Fort Road had Charlie Flint on tap until about a month and a half ago, but now it has been replaced by some generic big brand. Too bad as it is hard to find Alley Kat on tap anywhere in town.
Too bad more pubs don’t stray a bit and feature more micros on tap and the selection in Edmonton tends to be decent, but very standard.
Don
18 Dec 07 at 10:55 pm
I agree with you, Don. While some bars do stray from the norm, and offer some great beers (Kasbar has Innis & Gunn, for example, which is amazing, and hard to find, even in the liquor stores), most of them do have a pretty typical selection.
I think it’s a good selection, but it does tend to be the same 4 or 5 main beers in every place, and then 1 or 2 “wild cards” that vary from place to place.
It really is a shame that more places don’t support the local microbrews, or even some “non-standard” selections from outside Edmonton. The only way to change that is to keep asking for it.
Adam Snider
18 Dec 07 at 11:02 pm
A friend and I pestered the Glenora Original Joe’s bar (our local) until they put in a Alley Kat Full Moon Pale Ale tap. Full Moon is a world class hoppy pale ale. OJ’s has many taps, including Steam Whistle (Toronto), Wild Rose (Calgary) and some BC ones.
The big sinner in beer selection is Boston Pizza. They started in Edmonton, are entirely ubiquitous in Alberta yet have no Alberta draft. A beer rep told me BP is owned out of Toronto now and all decisions made nationally (ie. Ontario)
Libarbarian
19 Dec 07 at 12:31 pm
Pete, I can’t say much positive about Full Moon, to be honest. It’s not that I don’t believe it’s a good brew, it’s just that the 6-pack I bought a few weeks ago seemed exceedingly bitter—more bitter than it should have been. I suspect it may have been sitting in a stockroom too long before finding it’s way into my fridge, though, so I’ll give it another chance in the future.
I’ve actually never been to Original Joe’s, I must admit. I’ve heard many good things, and driven by it dozens of times, but never gone inside. Glad to hear that they’re supporting local microbrews, as well as other Canadian microbrews (I seem to remember Steam Whistle being pretty good, but I’ve only had it once).
You’re right about Boston Pizza, but they do, at least, have Grasshopper (and Traditional, I think) in bottles. That counts for something, I suppose.
Adam Snider
19 Dec 07 at 12:42 pm
Ironically, I actually went to Original Joe’s tonight and was really pleased to see about 20 beers on tap without any of the national brands out on display. They had Guinness, Kilkenny (I believe) and then the rest were Canadian micros: Alley Kat, Wildrose, Yukon, some BC breweries, Sleeman’s (the most national of the beers) and some Big Rock.
I didn’t mind the Full Moon I had there, but it is a very bitter beer to begin with so I went in with eyes and palate wide open.
If there other recommendations of good places supporting micros on tap, please let me know.
Don
19 Dec 07 at 10:34 pm
Full credit also to the New Asian Village that features about 250 different beers. They are opening a new restaurant in the old Stone Pony location in Manning Crossing in the far north-east, so hopefully their broad beer selection tags along to their new location.
Don
19 Dec 07 at 10:39 pm
Don, you’re right about Full Moon. It is a very bitter beer, from what I’ve heard, and I expected that. But, I honestly think that the batch I tasted had gone bad. Perhaps it is supposed to be as bitter as it tasted (in which case, I guess I just don’t like the taste of Full Moon; not necessarily surprising, since I’m not usually a huge fan of pale ales), but it seemed a bit skunky, as well. I’ll have to give it a second chance before I write is off completely.
As for New Asian Village, I’ve never been. It’s another place that I drive past all the time, and always hear good things about, but never actually go inside. I’ll have to change that sometime soon, if only for the extensive beer selection.
Adam Snider
20 Dec 07 at 8:42 am
Adam, while it is possible that the Full Moon 6 pack you bought is “off”, you should know that Full Moon is indeed a very bitter beer. I consider it more of an IPA (India Pale Ale), which are even hoppier than classic pale ales. (Let’s not talk about Alexander Keith’s appropriation of the term IPA for their watery lager/ale). Compare Full Moon to Wildrose Brewing’s IPA (Industrial Park Ale) or Tree Brewing’s Hophead IPA. Full Moon is Alberta’s representative in the Pacific Northwest pale ale revolution that began with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Oregon, Washington and BC are full of in-your-face hoppy ales - but the revolution has had a hard time getting over the Rockies to here!
Bitter, heavily hopped beer is an acquired taste certainly, but aren’t many of life’s great tastes acquired?
Libarbarian
20 Dec 07 at 10:26 am
Pete, I certainly agree that bitter, heavily hopped beer in an acquired taste. If, in fact, the Full Moon I bought wasn’t “off,” I suppose I just don’t like the taste of it. Although, I’m becoming more and more a fan of various pilsners, which tend to be fairly bitter in their own right, so I can see myself coming to appreciate bitter beers like Full Moon in the future.
Adam Snider
20 Dec 07 at 10:33 am
Pete and Adam,
Lively discussion about perky hoppy ales. The Pacific NW IPA definitely has been the standard of the strongly hopped ales from our continent of late. Portland Oregon and its string of micros and a number of US micros that I have sampled are all along that track. My latest samples are Snake Dog IPA from Flying Dog Brewery (Denver, CO), Tankhouse Ale from Mill Street (Toronto ON), Brooklyn IPA (NY,NY) and Amber Pale Ale (Edm, AB). Good to see Amber doing another local shot at Pale Ales, albeit not as hoppy as the “real” IPAs.
Pete, good call on that nationally promoted brand that uses that reference IPA in vain. Shame, shame on the lack of hops and flavour from our brewing friends in Dartmouth, NS. It has probably turned off a lot of folks who likely think these other IPAs are really bitter and not their cup of tea. Those who really like it, like the good stuff a lot!!!
ON, BC, QC and NS are all producing lovely micros including some good IPAs and bitter beers. Alley Kat and Amber are making a go of it here in town, and Grizzly Paw (Canmore) and Jasper are producing some good varieties in the mountains. I chatted with folks from Grizzly who said that they might start bottling their IPA in Kelowna with their other two brands that they currently bottle. It would be good to see another micro home grown IPA product on the market in Alberta. It would be good to see this whole industry grow here in AB.
Until then, supporting the micros!!
Don
Don
20 Dec 07 at 10:44 pm
Don,
Thanks for adding even more to the conversation. I wasn’t even aware of any micros from the mountains. I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on some of them.
By the way, if anyone is interested or was wondering, I have found out that Amber’s beers are available at Sherbrooke Liquor Store. I probably should have assumed that from the beginning. They have the largest selection of beer of any store in the province. If it’s brewed, odds are good that they stock it.
Adam Snider
21 Dec 07 at 7:46 am
Adam and others,
Hoppy New Year!!
I would also put in full credit to Sherbrooke as its stock just continues to impress. They have even redone their shelves to start to stock by category, so if you like a particular style, there are likely some there you have not tried yet.
Expect to spend some quality time in the walk in cooler though, it is worth the gander.
Don
Don
18 Jan 08 at 10:28 pm
Don,
Thanks for your comment! They’re redone the shelves at Sherbrooke? I’ll have to take a look, as I haven’t been in a while. And, organized by category rather than region and brand? Interesting. That’ll definitely help people check out new beer, as they can see: Oh, this brand is in the same category as this brand that I’m fond of, maybe I’ll try it. Very cool.
Adam Snider
19 Jan 08 at 12:16 am