Last week, an article in the Edmonton Journal, regarding the possibility of a new Edmonton brewery, was brought to my attention. The company is the brainchild of local entrepreneur Ryan Kohler.
The idea of a new local brewing company is rather exciting, especially considering that Kohler has recruited some of the talented beerfolk who were involved in the now-defunct Maverick Brewing Company.
Maverick made a damn fine lager—possibly the best that’s ever been brewed in our fine city—and were it not for some distribution issues it’d probably still be on tap and in liquor stores around Edmonton.
The idea that Kohler Brewing Company‘s first brew—to be named Kohler Lager—might be Maverick under a different name is exciting. Unfortunately, it’s likely not true.
Mark Suits, the beer guy at the Journal, shared a report from a reader on his blog that suggests that Kohler Lager is likely to be a very underwhelming beer:
[...] all of the three lagers had a generic, better than Molson, but more like basic Big Rock, taste profile. One was supposedly ‘honeyed’, the second ‘hoppier’, and the third a combination of the first two. They all had a slight honey sweetness, but nothing much more than that. I was left wondering if this was really the same people who made Maverick Lager a few years ago – not at all the same level of taste or quality as that unfortunately ill-fated venture.
That’s not exactly a positive report.
A craft brewer needs to do something unique in order to distinguish itself from the big macro-breweries, especially because economies of scale often allow big breweries to charge less for their product.
If Kohler Lager is as unimpressive as Suits’ informant suggests, I don’t see the company lasting long enough to make a mark on Edmonton’s beer scene.
That’s unfortunate, because the idea of a new brewing company in Edmonton—especially if they could make a lager as good as Maverick was—is very exciting.
Thankfully, Edmonton already has two very good micro-breweries in the forms of Amber’s Brewing Company and Alley Kat Brewing Company. Both of these beer-makers produce high quality, craft beer that does Edmonton proud.
Regardless of what comes from the Kohler Brewing Company, Edmonton’s micro-brewing industry will continue to produce damn fine beer. That said, I’m still hopeful that Kohler Lager will turn out to be a beer worth drinking.
One Comment
I was also at the tasting and I was not impressed at all…simply another low quality..almost putrid smelling beer that I will certainly not be drinking ever again.