When exploring the craft brewing and distilling industries in Alberta, common phrases such as “locally sourced ingredients,” “Alberta Proud,” and “local Industry,” are prevalent when talking with producers.

With multiple breweries and distilleries in the region, there are many options to suit any enthusiast of craft beer and spirits – and their vocab! Blindman Brewing and Old Prairie Sentinel Distillers sit side by side in Lacombe’s industrial park, sporting fabulous tasting rooms to showcase their great assortment of beverages and also showcase their fun promotional products. If you are feeling adventurous, create your own “Tasting Tour” through Central Alberta and visit a few or all of our local brewers if you can wager it.

1. Blindman Brewing

Blindman Brewing is based in Lacombe, in the heart of barley country. Their founders have a diverse range of backgrounds including brewing, farming and engineering. They believe in creating innovative, quality and flavourful craft beer, using the best local ingredients and supporting the place they live and the people that live there.

2. Old Prairie Sentinel

Proudly Albertan and staunch supporters of local industry. For that reason, only the finest locally sourced ingredients are selected for Old Prairie’s spirits, which they hand-craft in small batches using traditional methods and a stubborn devotion to detail to ensure palate-pleasing superiority every time. In honor of working-class Alberta they emphasize premium quality without exception and value without apology.

3. Drummond Brewing Company

A craft brewery in Alberta with the mission to “do what we do.” Drummond specializes in light lagers, including a brown-cardboard clad generic Beer Beer. Kevin Wood and Cody Geddes-Backman, who have no connection to the original brewery, bought the brand name and started up a new operation in 2009. Drummond recently launched a craft beer line, under the brand Something Brewing. Packaged in unique can four-packs the Something Brewing line is intended to honour craft traditions.

4. Troubled Monk Brewery

Troubled Monk is a whimsical reference to the long forgotten passion of a young brewer who joyfully crafted excellent beers through the alchemy of fermentation. The Troubled Monk of today strive to make excellent handcrafted beer with the same enthusiasm as its totem namesake, boasting multiple beers made in-house at their Red Deer brewery. Along with the brewery itself, each beer is brewed with a story behind it. Try their Pesky Pig Pale Ale, based on a beloved village pig that escaped his grim fate for 5 months.

5. Something Brewing

A small brewery in Red Deer, Something Brewing is a unique brewery with a British inspiration. Try their ‘Delicious Dark Side Schwarzbier,’ inspired by the Star Wars franchise or their ‘Gimme that Nutt Brown Ale.’

 

6. Olds College Brewery

Olds College Brewery not only makes excellent beers, but they’re training new brewmasters too!
Their state of the art 2,000 square foot facility is dedicated to teaching students the art and science behind brewing possible. Their brewing equipment is tailored for small commercial production with six 1,000 liter commercial fermenters. They sell cans, bottles and kegs at their on-campus beer store and leading liquor stores and restaurants across the province, with the revenue from beer sales going toward supporting education and the brewing industry.

 

7. Siding 14

Grow a better beer – that’s the idea that brought together a barley grower, a hop grower and a brewer to form Siding 14 Brewing Company in Ponoka. They start with their own craft-grown ingredients, highlighting their quality and character with an expert brewer’s attention to detail. Their goal is to create a solid core of mainline beers that are perfect for every day and offer a wide variety of Roundhouse offerings to keep your interest piqued.

 

8. Snake Lake Brewing

Snake Lake Brewing is the passion project of a rig hand, an instrumentation technician, and a mechanic. They paid their dues and are now serving a new boss: beer fans in Sylvan Lake and those in need of a great drink. Snake Lake aim to be your after-work beer and your days-off drinks with friends.

 

9. Stone Heart Distillery

Time passes differently on a farm. Seasons roll by. Harvests come and go. Good things — they just keep getting better. Since 1884, four generations of family have worked the land at Stone Heart. They’ve planted the seeds, grown the crops, and harvested the grains. These days, they don’t stop there. They mill their grains, then mash, ferment, and distill them. They add crystal clear water drawn from mountain valleys. They blend in natural flavours using other farm fresh ingredients. When all is said and done, got bottles of Stone Heart spirits. Produced start to finish, by good people on a stretch of land in the heart of Alberta.