Food & Drink

Canada’s best new craft beers

With fresh brewing talent setting up shop in Canadian cities and towns every year (we’re up to around 800 craft breweries, microbreweries and brew pubs nationwide), this golden age for hopheads is showing no signs of going flat. And while it’s admittedly tough to keep up with every creative twist and top-notch take on staple suds, we’ve quaffed our share in an effort to round up the eight new and noteworthy beers featured here, all worth keeping in mind for future travels.

1 YUKON HOLIDAY KÖLSCH | Yukon Brewing, Whitehorse

A pale German Kölsch-style ale that plays on the film title Roman Holiday (Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn even appear on the label). Bracing but lightly hopped, it’s perfect for warm summer evenings.

2 NECTAROUS DRY-HOPPED SOUR | Four Winds, Delta, B.C.

Proof that sours aren’t just for beer snobs. With a delightful citrusy tartness balanced by bushels of peach and nectarine flavours, this is arguably the best sour brewed in Canada in recent years.

3 LONG JOHNS SALTED CARAMEL ALE | Alley Kat Brewing, Edmonton

Light, creamy and perfectly restrained in its use of caramel, vanilla and sea salt, this ale is also brewed eco-consciously. Alley Kat relies on clean energy, recycles water and turns spent grain into livestock feed.

4 WHEAT BURST | Black Bridge Brewery, Swift Current, Sask.

A crisp wheat ale with a taste as bright as the Prairies — and a real fun side. It’s a split between a delicately citrusy wheat beer and a hoppy IPA, but backed up by tropical notes of pineapple and guava.

5 TIGER MILK | Waller Street Brewing, Ottawa

We’re certain the only reason Waller Street hasn’t won a Canadian or international medal yet is that their beers are too convention-defying for rigid award categories. All of their brews are knockouts, but our new favourite is Tiger Milk, a rich and creamy white stout made with fresh-roasted cocoa nibs and coconut.

6 PIVOT IMPERIAL IPA | Picaroons, Fredericton, N.B.

There are a dozen delicious iterations of Picaroons’ new “interactive” Pivot Imperial IPA. The Canadian barley and toasted wheat foundation stays the same, but the hops change with every round. By-the-batch info is at picaroons.ca/pivot.

7 GOSE IPA DU BARACHOIS | Pit Caribou, Anse-à-beaufils, Que.

German gose-style beers are traditionally a bit sour, seasoned with coriander and salt, but perhaps something like the Gaspé’s “barachois” (sandbars forming small coastal lagoons) this hopped-up and tasty one is chock full of life.

8 LIESSE TABLE BEER | 2 Crows Brewing Co., Halifax

Opened in 2017, 2 Crows’ beers are already Maritime craft scene standouts. Their Liesse Table Beer, which verges into Belgian territory, is refreshing and smooth, with a late hint of spice and a big taste for 3.5 per cent ABV.

Did we miss your favourite new craft brew? Let us know @Cangeo_travel.