The Best of Alberta
by Tom Firth
We are in a unique spot here at Culinaire; we are never short of good things to say about Alberta’s locally made craft wines, beers, and spirits (along with a few things that don’t quite fit neatly into those other categories), but we also run the Alberta Beverage Awards – a beverage competition we’ve been running for 12 years now – and so year after year at Alberta’s largest beverage competition we are seeing all these products right up close, and – importantly here – we are in a position to make some claims about the quality of those beverages, and actually put out a list that we are calling “The Best of Alberta.”
Every July, in Calgary, we run the ABAs with some of the best palates in the province. We use independent judges who are not agents or importers, or otherwise representatives of producers, distributors, or have a financial interest in these products, they are beverage educators, sommeliers, journalists, and buyers for restaurants and retail operations. Everything is tasted blind, which means that every sample is presented to the judges free from influence of price, label, producer, and origin. We don’t even let the judges see or touch the bottles or cans. It’s entirely about the liquid in the glass.
The results are published in the October edition of Culinaire, but since we are naturally proud of the overall quality of drinks Alberta is producing, we felt it was high time – if not past time – to put together a list of the very best, of those bottles and cans made in Alberta in one place, to showcase and celebrate these remarkable products.
All the products on this page are either Best in Class in their category, or a Judges Selection at the 2024 Alberta Beverage Awards, but more importantly, here we’ve identified all these products by score. It’s rather new for us to publish the scores, but scores out of 100 seem to resonate with consumers of fine beverages, and also seem to work for the people making these drinks, and wanting to share their achievements with their clientele and distribution partners.
The Best Beers in Alberta
Annex Ale Waste Land
West Coast IPA
CSPC 898046
$20-22 (4-pack cans)
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Blind Enthusiasm
Dry Hop Series:
Galaxy and Saaz
CSPC 104776
$30-32 (750 mL)
Jasper Brewing Co.
Crisp Pils
CSPC 793110
$17-19 (6-pack cans)
Vaycay Brew Co. El Hefe Dry Hopped Hefeweizen
CSPC 886513
$18-20 (4-pack cans)
Blind Enthusiasm Buffalo Meadows
CSPC 104651
$13 (375 mL)
Good Mood Porter
CSPC 813154
$16-18 (6-pack cans)
Marda Loop Marda Station
West Coast IPA
CSPC 827788
$18-20 (4-pack cans)
Trail & Ale Writer's Blanc
CSPC 868986
$19-22 (4-pack cans)
Brewsters Original Lager
CSPC 102531
$29-30 (12 pack-cans)
Banded Peak Microburst Hazy IPA
CSPC 841941
$17-20 (4-pack cans)
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Brewsters
Oh My Quad!
$20 (4-pack cans)
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Polyrhythm Brewing Hurdy Gurdy Blackcurrant Blueberry Mulled Sour
CSPC 101798
$20-21 (4-pack cans)
Atlas Brewing
Blood of Hel
CSPC 103913
$19-20 (4-pack cans)
Blind Enthusiasm Spontaneous Manifesto
CSPC 896672
$27-29 (750 mL)
Grizzly Paw Rundlestone Easy IPA
CSPC 883809
$17-18 (4-pack cans)
Ol' Beautiful Fingers Crossed NEIPA
CSPC 886874
$14-16 (4-pack cans)
Village Binge Watch
Pale Ale
CSPC 866772
$18-20 (4-pack cans)
Bottlescrew Bills
Italian Pilsner
Brewery
$16-18 (6-pack cans)
Banded Peak Plainsbreaker Hopped Wheat Ale
CSPC 841962 $18-20
(4-pack cans
Buffalo 9
Fighting Season
Pale Ale
CSPC 854365
$18-20 (4-pack cans)
The Establishment Brewing Company
Jam Rock
CSPC 854365
$18-20 (4-pack cans)
Banded Peak
Summit Seeker
Amber IPA
CSPC 842027
$17-20 (4-pack cans)
Fahr Hefe
CSPC 823885
$16-17 (6-pack cans)
Long Hop NEIPA with Experimental Hop
HBC 586
CSPC 108284
$18-20 (4-pack cans)
Prairie Dog
You're Beautiful
Brewery $18-19
(4-pack cans)
XhAle Brew Co.
See Ya Next Tuesday
Aussie C-olsch
CSPC 893274
$18-20 (4-pack cans)
The Best Spirits in Alberta
Alberta Pure Vodka
CSPC 1073
$23-26
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise “Untamed” Rye Whisky
CSPC 892128
$45 (200 mL)
Pivot Spirits Weatherhead
3 Year Old Whisky
CSPC 100351
$75-80
Two Rivers Distillery Merlot Cask Single Malt Whisky
Distillery
$95-105
Eau Claire Rupert's Exceptional 3 Year Old Canadian Whisky
CPSC 832043
$36-40
Park Distillery Flora and Fauna Gin
CSPC 888120
$55-60
Pivot Spirits 4 Year Old Triticale Whisky
CSPC 103743
$75-80
Wild Life Rye Whisky
CSPC 886180
$78-85
Silver Devil Vodka
CSPC 874901
$45-50
Bridgeland
Single Blend Whisky
CSPC 893609
$62-67
Bridgeland Gewurztraminer Brandy, Berbon Finish
CSPC 111870
$59-64
Romero 5 Year Old Cask Strength Sherry Cask Finish Batch 002
CSPC 894444
$99-105
Broken Oak Brulee Bliss
CSPC 890382
$42-45
Eau Claire Stampede Canadian Rye Whisky
CSPC 858674
$40-44
Pivot Spirits Amber RUMination
CSPC 858348
$40-45
White Lightning Wildman Whisky
Distillery
$75
Bridgeland Innisfail Whisky
CSPC 103104
$59-63
Wild Life
Single Malt Whisky
CSPC 752142
$100-110
District Red Light Vodka
CSPC 882488
$16-23
Pivot Spirits Feedlot Alley 4 Year Old Whisky
CSPC 103745
$80-85
Phantom Vodka
CSPC 875495
$39
Doege's Orchard Rum
Fuzzy Peach
CPSC 101104
$45-48
Highwood Centennial
10 Year Old
Canadian Whisky
CSPC 387209
$28-35
Pivot Spirits Raspberry Gin Liqueur
CSPC 883074
$48-50
Wild Life Wheat Whisky
CSPC 881267
$76-80
Buckle Vodka
CSPC 899726
$28