“There’s so many breweries down here that people don’t really know about until they get here and they’re like, ‘Whoa, we need to stay longer,’” said Max Rude, head brewer for Pass Beer Co. in Blairmore, Alta.
Now, there’s a literal map to help beer enthusiasts do exactly that. It’s called the Alberta Ale Trail.
With support from Alberta Tourism and funding from the Federal Tourism Relief Fund, created by the Alberta Small Brewers Association, the map pinpoints each brewery and curates regional trails for beer enthusiasts to follow.
“We’ve seen a drastic increase in beer tourism throughout the world. So we really just want to showcase the amazing grain-to-glass story that Alberta has,” said Blair Berdusco, Alberta Small Brewers Association executive director.
Southern Alberta brewers are drinking in the excitement.
“It’s going to do wonders for a lot of the small breweries in rural areas,” said Rude.
There are currently 150 breweries on the Alberta Ale Trail map, split up into regions of south, central and northern Alberta; Edmonton; Calgary; and the Rockies.
“We really just want to make it easy to discover and enjoy these breweries,” said Berdusco. “We’re really excited to be inviting people to try this liquid gold under blue skies,”
After last year’s launch of the Highway 3 regional trail, participating brewers say they have first-hand experience with the demand for beer tourism.
“We definitely have people coming in saying, ‘I stopped at this place, I stopped at this place.’ They’re doing the trail so that’s really fun to see,” said Danielle Radvak, co-owner of The Pass Beer Co.
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“Each little brewery has their own unique styles and beers they get to release and play with and experiment with so it’s really a cool innovative industry,” said Ayleigh Henderson, co-owner Stronghold Brewing Co., in Fort Macleod, Alta.
Some of these beer makers are able to fully craft their brew using ingredients found within 20km of their breweries.
“We’ve got a whole number of Alberta maltsters these days and some hop growers. We try our best to use Alberta-made products; Alberta grown,” said Darrel Harris, co-owner and brewer of Spectrum Ale Works in Lethbridge, Alta.
“Which is really exciting and kind of reinforces the farm-to-table movement.”
The Pass Beer Co. is doing a summer series of forager casks.
“What we’re trying to do is going out into the bush behind us and picking out spruce tips, fir needles, spruce needles,” said Rude. “We just try to use what we can around here for fun casks.”
The brewers say the local ingredients also ensure there are no duds in their suds.
“We can make the best beer in the world right here in Alberta,” said Rude.
According to the Brewers Association, since 2018, the number of craft brew stops has doubled, and new branches of trails and an app are set for a summer release.
For now, you can learn all about the Alberta Ale Trail on its website.