Lara KmechA pretty radical change is brewing in the city’s beer community.
Since 1995, Alley Kat has been providing Edmonton with some of the most delicious craft beer in Canada. From the hoppy Full Moon to the grapefruit-infused Main Squeeze and everything in between, Alley Kat is changing the way Edmontonians drink beer.
“People are paying more attention to the beer they’re drinking,” says Alley Kat co-owner Neil Herbst. “They’re realizing the breadth of the stuff that’s available.”
As two beer enthusiasts, Herbst and his partner Lavonne Herbst knew exactly the right time to start a craft brewing company in Edmonton.
“We were both homebrewers, so we thought there was an opportunity to brew tastier beers than what’s available and hopefully make a living doing it,” says Herbst.
Since they first opened their doors 20 years ago, they’ve won dozens of awards, including Canadian Brewing Awards for Alley Kat Amber and their top-selling apricot beer Aprikat.
Just like the company’s modest beginnings, each batch of beer comes from humble sources. Every ingredient comes from the nearest possible farm, which helps keep their carbon footprint low and supports the local economy.
The process of brewing beer allows for two batches to be produced each day. First, the grains are boiled, and then hops are added. The more hops that are added to a batch mean that the beer will be more bitter. After an hour and a half of boiling, the “wort” is then sent to the fermenters, where it spends the next two weeks sitting in giant tanks. After fermenting and clarification, the beer gets bottled on site on a simple bottling line.
Those bottles get put on shelves all over the city, where you and your friends can buy them and drink like respectable citizens.
As for the assortment of beers that are available, they change all the time with the trends that come and go in the beer community.
“Right now the big fads are hoppy beers,” says Herbst. “I think that’s going to start to level off, and my suspicion is we’re going to see more interesting malty beers.”
Of course, trends stem from all over the place, and it’s important to keep a finger on the pulse in order to stay relevant.
“We look around to see what else is out there, travel and drink lots of beers, all for research,” says Herbst.
If you’ve ever been interested in drinking craft beers but don’t know what to look for, Alley Kat is a great place to start. With classic examples of popular types of beer like IPAs and amber ales, there’s a beer that is fit for people of any palate. Herbst notes that with such a thriving beer community in Edmonton, it’s easier than ever to become a beer enthusiast.
“It’s a pretty good community, and it’s getting better. People are paying more attention to the beer they’re drinking.”
