Garrison Brew Wins Canadian Beer of the Year!
Local Halifax microbrewer, Garrison Brewing Co., was
honoured last night with several major awards including “Canadian Beer of the Year” for its
“Imperial Pale Ale”. Head Brewer, Greg Nash, proudly accepted the awards at the nation’s
most prestigious beer competition – The Canadian Brewing Awards in Toronto.
Since its launch at the Seaport Beerfest in August, “Imperial Pale Ale” has garnered
considerable attention and praise for its bold hopping and flavour, and unabashed unfiltered
haziness. “We decided it would be great for the local brewing scene to release an extreme
beer” explains Nash.
Imperial Pale Ale is a robust, medium bodied west coast style ale with a lingering hop
bitterness and malty caramel notes. Copious amounts of the distinctive Cascade hop add
flavour, aroma and a citrusy grapefruit-tartness while making this hands-down the hoppiest
beer in Atlantic Canada. Then, in order to retain the full original flavour, Garrison has opted to
release this brew unfiltered – a process that is unique in the Maritimes. Fresh ale is bottled or
kegged directly off the fermentors without any final filtration. The result is a hazy, fullflavoured
and strong (6.9% alc/vol) version of this extreme beer style.
In a touch of irony, hop prices have spiked recently due to several worldwide issues, nearly
tripling since the summer and becoming scarce in varieties such as Cascade. “This is a major
concern to small brewers”, comments Brian Titus, President of Garrison Brewing Company.
“Scarce hops won’t mean no beer, it will just be harder & more expensive to make interesting
beer”.
Garrison also beat out the competition in several other beer categories:
“Irish Red Ale”
“Nut Brown Ale”
For more information:
Amy Theriault, Sales & Marketing
Garrison Brewing Company
(902) 453-5343
About Garrison
Garrison Brewing Company is one of Halifax’s original independent microbreweries, and has
produced distinctive, unpasteurized, all-natural ales in small batches for nearly a decade. The
unique flavours and robust taste have received widespread acceptance from a broad-base of
locals and visitors alike.
