Well over a year ago, quite out of the blue, I received a missing from Jorgen Hasselqvist of the respected Stockholm beer and whisky bar, Oliver Twist. As he explained to me in his email, after several years of promoting American craft breweries at the Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival, he wished to bring the same attention to Canadian craft brews. Would I, he asked, be interested in helping make that happen?
I was, but in 2006, at least, it was not to be. This year, however, the Canadian embassy in Stockholm got involved and soon enough we were all on the same page. The challenge I was posed was to choose ten Canadian breweries to represent the country at the fest, with two to three beers apiece presented to the Swedish media and festival attendees. I accepted, agreeing also to accompany the beers to the festival, and set about selecting the Chosen Ten.
It was not an easy task, mind you. First off, the breweries had to represent a geographic cross-section of the country, and a stylistic diversity. Additionally, they couldn’t all be draught-only breweries, since there was no guarantee the kegs could be returned, and there needed to be a mix of approachable styles and “out there” brands. All of the above, I should add, were my own qualifications, save for the approachability of some of the beers, which Jörgen requested of me.
Following much thought, I settled upon a mix of the following:
- Two breweries from British Columbia;
- One brewery each from Alberta and Saskatchewan;
- Three breweries from the country’s most populous province, Ontario;
- And three, as well, from Quebec;
- Plus one from Nova Scotia.
In the end, I couldn’t get a pair from B.C. to commit, and so was grateful when a very worthy brewery from Ontario stepped in to fill the gap. The final list of breweries which follows represents not necessarily the best of Canada, but the finest cross-section I was able to pull together at relatively short notice. Suffice to say there’s not a brewery or beer in the lot I won’t be proud to present to Scandinavia’s beer faithful.
- Spinnakers Brew Pub, British Columbia – Mitchell’s ESB, Twenty, Currant Noir
- Alley Kat Brewing Company, Alberta – Full Moon Pale Ale, Herbstweizen
- Bushwakker Brewing Company, Saskatchewan – Summer Wheat, Palliser Porter, Stubblejumper Pilsener
- King Brewing Company, Ontario – King Brewery Pilsner, King Brewery Dark Lager
- Black Oak Brewing Company, Ontario – Black Oak Pale Ale, Black Oak Nut Brown Ale
- Mill Street Brewing Company, Ontario – Tankhouse Ale, Original Organic Lager, Coffee Porter
- Unibroue, Québec – Brands to be confirmed
- McAuslan Brewing Company, Québec – St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, St. Ambroise Pale Ale
- Dieu du Ciel! Brasserie Artisanale, Québec – Aphrodisiaque, Solstice d’Hiver,
- Propeller Brewing Company, Nova Scotia – Propeller Extra Special Bitter, Propeller London Style Porter, Propeller IPA
It should be a fun show, beginning September 20 and running for two consecutive weekends. Watch this space for reports.
