Garrison Brew Wins Canadian Beer of the Year!
(November 22, 2007) TORONTO, ON - - 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 not one, but four 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, full-flavoured 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”.
In all Garrison took home the following awards;
“Irish Red Ale” -Bronze
“Nut Brown Ale” - Silver
“Imperial Pale Ale”-Gold
“Imperial Pale Ale”-Beer of the Year
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.
For more information:
Amy Theriault, Sales & Marketing
Garrison Brewing Company
902-453-5343
