NBC - Nelson Brewing Company

Here's a gem.  On our recent trip to the Kootenay's I was eager to try some of the products that NBC brews.  I had heard good things, and I vaguely remember trying their wheat beer while I lived in Victoria.  Unfortunately I haven't acquired a taste for the wheat beer yet, I know i know.....but it's just not my thing.

Nelson Brewing Company is a small craft brewery situated in Nelson BC, producing a handful of wonderfully flavored certified organic ales using traditional brewing recipes and methods. Their beer is not available at my beer store (Sherbrooke Liquor) so I had to try as much as I could while it was available. 

So the closer we got to Nelson I started to notice that almost every little restaurant and cafe we stopped at had these guys on tap.  Everyone had the Harvest Moon Hemp Ale and some carried the Wild Honey Ale.  That being said, the Harvest Moon Hemp was the first of their beers I sampled.

Harvest Moon Organic Hemp Ale - A German Kolsch style ale, this beer came out bright crisp and extremely refreshing.  Very clean on the palate, with a mild hop attendance.  A favorite of the locals, and only available on tap.  Every time I ordered one I happened to be sitting on some gorgeous patio which added major dramatic effect. (Insert photo of me with giant shit eating grin here)

Old Brewery Pale Ale - This tasty ale was given to me by my good buddy Scott, a resident of Nelson and manager of Little Mountain Liqour Store.  Well balanced, not overly hopped but definitely makes a appearance.  I suppose very typical of an English style pale ale, well rounded flavor with a noticeable bitter bite, and extremely easy to drink.

Paddywhack IPA - Pours a deep amber with a frothy head, medium lacing.  Wonderful on the nose with lots of citrus and pine and caramel notes.  Crisp and clean on the tongue, mildly astringent bitter that lingers.  Very piney, and mild malts.  Lots of hops in this beer. Medium body, but the malty base is slightly over shadowed by those incredible west coast hops. Overall a delightful beer.

Nelson After Dark - A British style mild dark ale, this beer was probably my favorite of all of the NBC beers I tried.  Rich and flavourful, medium body with lots of caramel, chocolate and coffee notes.  Fairly sweet on the tongue but balanced out nicely with a gentle hop hit.  The head is meager, disappears quickly and leaves very little lacing.  Despite how it looks it's not a heavy beer, which makes it quite refreshing.


With such a fantastic line of delicious beer, Nelson definitely stands out of the crowd with all of the rest.  Plus being an all organic brewery they have the upper hand on most, appealing to the earth forward thinkers.  The high quality of the ingredients used in these beers shines through magnificently, something I think all brewers should take into consideration.  I'm sure most craft brewers these days put huge amounts of thought into what goes into their beer, and where it's coming from, but NBC has put these thoughts into action and proudly produce liquid bottles of gold.  It's no wonder the locals are such loyal followers,  they're ahead of the game and they're winning.

Alley Kat Cask Ale Night = Huge Success

Wow, what a night!

Last night was the first Cask Conditioned Ale Night held at The Sugarbowl brought to us by the talented folks at Alley Kat Brewing.  We sampled a cask conditioned version of their staple brew, Full Moon Pale Ale, only instead the beer was dry hopped using Centennial Hops and the second fermentation took place inside the keg.

The keg was tapped at 5 o'clock and served to an army of eager patrons including Alley Kat staff, Edmonton Homebrew Guild members, local beer geeks, and a handful of lucky regulars that happened to be at the right place at the right time.  It was a terrific experience for everyone, who waited patently for the ale to come their way.  Alley Kat brought over their English pump tap for the occasion, which really seemed to slow things down as each foamy pint hand to be carefully pumped from the keg by hand.  But despite the slow pour, the cask was dry in little over an hour.  Unfortunately because of the overwhelming turnout, not everyone got the chance to sample this delightful treat, and the ones who did were only allowed one.

The task of the first pour was given to local beer aficionado Jason Foster of onbeer.org.  That's me with the big shit eating grin just over his shoulder.  I was excited, to say the least.

How'd it taste you ask....well, delicious.  My boss slyly snuck a pint into the kitchen for me and another chef to share in the basement, so we savored our splash of beer happily knowing we were lucky to even be tasting it.  Firstly the dry hopping added a huge fresh citrusy floral nose, with nice fruity notes.  The flavor was full and sweet, with a rich malty base and mild bitterness.  Because it was conditioned in the cask and not artificially carbonated the bubbles were extremely muted and barely present.  You could see them rising in the glass but they quickly disappeared once it hit your tongue.  It was a heavy beer, without the carbonation.  I saw it as a glimpse into the past of what beer was, before highly carbonated lighter beers took over the earth.

With this night being such a huge success, it's been decided that Alley Kat Cask Ale night will be a monthly event to take place at The Sugarbowl (joy!).  The next event planed for the evening of June 24th.  Stay tuned.

Photo borrowed from onbeer.org

Corporation Brewpub.

Last night ended with a quick stop at Edmonton's one and only brewpub, Brewsters. It feels like your typical Alberta corporate restaurant only this restaurant has a gorgeous brewery built in the middle of it. I was accompanied by my friend Karl who used to serve, manage and even spent some time as the Brewmasters assistant at this particular location (Oliver Square).

Edmonton boasts a whopping five Brewsters locations, thirteen in total, the others being in Calgary and Regina, Saskatchewan (Regina being the birthplace). The Oliver location is actually the only Edmonton restaurant with an actual brewery, which apparently brews and shares a smaller amount of beer with the other locations. The rest of the beer being brewed in a large facility in Calgary and shipped around the province. They have an impressive amount of brews for such a small space, all available fresh from the tanks. Hand crafted by a talented German brewmaster. From what Karl tells me, this gent is the "creative brain" behind the Brewsters seasonal beers, and the most consistent brewer in the Alberta sector of Brewsters.

The restaurant itself is a cliche Alberta corporate eatery (this being a large building run by fresh faced post-teens, multiple dinning areas, two bars, Flat screen TV's everywhere, loud obnoxious pop music, and uninspired North American style bar food). But the beer....is actually decent.

I had the Brewsters sample platter consisting of five 5oz draft pours of my choice. I decided on: Czech Pilsner, Flying Frog Lager, Rig Pig Pale Ale, Lanigan's Irish Ale, and The Shaughnessy Stout. My seemingly 17 year old barkeep poured my platter, and I dove in. I brought a notebook with me to write stuff down, but between my conversation with Karl about beer and our current lives, I soon realized that my investigatory journalism skills are lacking and I was more into the drinking than the drink. Although, the beers that did stand out in my platter were 1) The Rig Pig Pale Ale. It had a potent hops punch right off the bat with a delightful full flavor and floral nose. Pale Amber in color, and a finish that decided to stick around for a while so you didn't lose interest in coming back for more. 2)The Shaughnessy Stout. Now, this stout isn't amazing, but its a smooth drink. A beginners stout if you will. Medium body with a nice mouth feel, not to complex. Creamy, dry and finishes fast and clean. The hops barely make an appearance. She's easy.

There are plenty more beers to try at Brewsters in the future. Next time I'l try to be more focus on the beer, but this trip was all about the good company. The sample platters are great when you want to try everything they have quickly, but the tiny glasses don't let the beers show their true colors. Its nearly impossible to agitate any life out of the brew, so getting a good deep breath of the aroma is tough. And they get warm fast, so if you want a crisp fresh drink at number 4 or 5 you must act fast.

Overall, since it's Edmonton's only brewpub you take what you can get. Try to block out the annoying kids and tv's in the background and admire the beautiful copper fermenting tanks behind the glass. The beer is fresh and extremely drinkable. They have a large patio in the summer so bring a friend and enjoy!