Brew patriot love

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/04/2025 (351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In normal times, this space tends to be devoted to reviewing beers (mainly local) about once a month.

It’s only been two weeks since the last beer roundup, but these aren’t normal times — and a new local brew is part of a national, patriotic beer campaign.

Glorious and Free: A Trans-Canada Brewery Collaboration was initiated by Ottawa’s Dominion City Brewing Co. It encourages craft breweries to hop on board by brewing an IPA with a specific recipe and using Canadian ingredients, with a portion of proceeds from the beer going to a local, worthwhile cause. (For more on the initiative, including a list of participating breweries — and the recipe, for the home brewers out there — see gloriousandfree.beer.)

Manitoba is represented by the Kilter Brewing Co. Glorious and Free Hazy IPA (Winnipeg — $4.85/473ml can, brewery and beer vendors), made from Manitoba malt as well as Chinook and Centennial hops before being dry-hopped with El Dorado, Centennial, Sasquatch and Chinook hops from Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Kilter’s entry is pale straw and hazy in appearance, with herbal, lime and lemon zest as well as floral aromas coming with hints of tropical fruit and malt. It’s dry and light-plus bodied, with mimosa-ish citrus notes along with tropical fruit and grassy flavours that show well, light herbal and sour candy flavours bringing up the rear, modest bitterness and, at 6.5 per cent alcohol, a slightly warm finish.

Fifty cents per can and 15 per cent of draft sales of the beer go to Sunshine House. Enjoy with elbows up. 4.5/5

Brewed in honour of the Pembina Highway’s brewery’s eighth anniversary, the Brazen Brewing Co. 8 Atta Weizen (Winnipeg — $4.69/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is pale gold and hazy in appearance, and aromatically offers bright banana candy, bread dough, clove and subtle spice notes — pretty typical for a wheat beer.

It’s just a touch off-dry and light-plus bodied, with some lively, peppery spice accompanying the malt, bread dough and banana candy flavours, virtually no bitterness and, at 4.7 per cent alcohol, a modest finish.

A nice example of this style, and just in time for spring. 4/5

The Sookram’s Brewing Co. Pine Pixie IPA (Winnipeg — $4.59/473ml can, brewery and beer vendors) was brewed by the women who work at the Warsaw Avenue brewery in honour of International Women’s Day; it’s a West Coast-style IPA that’s pale gold and modestly hazy in appearance, while aromatically it brings slightly bitter grapefruit rind and resinous notes from Chinook, Cascade and Columbus hops along with fresh malt notes.

On the light-plus bodied palate there’s a pronounced pine note that works well alongside the citrus rind and grassy, resinous hop notes, with enough underlying malt for a richer backbone. It’s 5.7 per cent alcohol, which along with the bitterness from the hops some kick on the finish.

A portion of the proceeds go to the North End Women’s Centre. 4/5

Visually, the Torque Brewing Co. Symphony (in C Minor) Vienna Lager (Winnipeg — $4.19/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is a deep and intensely orange-copper in colour and clear; aromatically, the Vienna lager offers vibrant malt aromas as well as more subtle caramel and bread dough components and an underlying resinous note.

It’s dry and medium-bodied, with the toasty malt and bread notes front and centre and coming with a citrusy, slightly unexpected hit of hops that brings a touch of bitterness (it’s 25 IBU) — more than expected, but it kinda works.

The 5.5 per cent alcohol seems just about right. 3.5/5

The Low Life Barrel House Double Times Double IPA (Winnipeg — $4.79/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is the Daly Street North brewery’s first foray into the punchy, boozy double IPA category; made with Columbus, Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo hops, it’s medium copper and slightly hazy in appearance, bringing malty, resinous, citrus rind, floral and grassy aromas.

It’s dry and medium-bodied, with pronounced biscuit and oat notes coming before the citrus, herbal/grassy and resinous flavours from the hops, the underlying malt backbone, lingering bitterness and, at 7.9 per cent alcohol, a long, warm finish.

An old-school style but comes with a dash of Low Life’s adventurous nature. 3.5/5

Last but not least, the Barn Hammer Brewing Company Cold Black Heart Cold Black IPA (Winnipeg — $5.25/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts) is deep coffee brown in appearance with an off-white head, bringing dark malt, pine resin, dried fruit, roasted coffee and, interestingly, smoked meat notes on the nose.

It’s full-bodied and dry, with that smoky, meaty note persisting with the resinous, hoppy notes (from Azacca, Mosaic and Columbus hops), medium bitterness, dark malt, dried fruit and black licorice flavours and, at seven per cent alcohol, a long, warm and peppery finish.

It’s a compelling, complex brew — try next to a fire while contemplating the meaning of life. 3.5/5

uncorked@mts.net

@bensigurdson