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Canada's oldest microbrewer brings seasonal to Ontario

Granville Island Brewing's Robson Street Hefeweizen
Granville Island Brewing's Robson Street Hefeweizen, crafted in Vancouver, received a silver medal at the 2010 World Beer Championships. (Supplied)

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If I were to tell you that craft brewing in Canada started under a bridge you might get the wrong impression, but it's absolutely true.

In 1984, Granville Island Brewing opened its doors in Vancouver, under the girders of the Granville Bridge. The first beer the company produced was Granville Island Lager, which has remained in its lineup to this day.

The brewery has grown and expanded from that initial brew over the last 28 years in interesting and unexpected ways, going through changes in ownership up until its eventual purchase by Molson Coors subsidiary Creemore Springs in 2009.

The last decade has marked significant expansion with a new, larger brewing facility in Kelowna, B.C., where the majority of Granville Island's beers are now produced. While the original brewery is still there, it's currently used mostly for brewing seasonal and speciality beers. It also hosts three tours daily, enlightening craft beer fans and tourists alike.

The focus on seasonal and specialty beers has become prodigious, more than doubling the number of year-round offerings produced by Granville Island. When I spoke to brewmaster Vern Lambourne, he was in the midst of mashing in a Cascadian Dark Ale, the next of the brewery's limited-release series. Typically, the mash is one of the best times to talk to a brewer, who would otherwise be occupied by staring thoughtfully into the distance while the brew day gets started.

Currently, Granville Island is experimenting with wider distribution interprovincially. Their English Bay Pale Ale, which had previously been available in B.C. and Alberta, launched in Ontario to little critical reception in 2010. Possibly, this was due to the large number of Pale Ales already available in Ontario. The style is a craft brewing staple and one additional example, even if it's a good one, will not grab the market by the lapels and shout "drink me."

This time around the company is bringing one of its seasonal offerings: Robson Street Hefeweizen, which received a silver medal at the 2010 World Beer Championships.

"Most of the flavour comes from the yeast," said Lambourne. There are clove and banana flavours, as are to be expected in a Bavarian wheat beer, but also a subtle hint of orange. It pours a cloudy light orange colour with a fluffy white head. The cloudiness is due to the protein from the substantial amount of wheat used to brew the beer. It hovers between sweet and mildly tart on the palate, with a dry finish.

In terms of pairing with food, it goes well with such brunch dishes as eggs benedict and stands up to foods with a smoky flavour.

"It's especially good with lox," said Lambourne, and spicy Thai food as well. If you were a Bavarian, you might want to try it with weisswurst and sauerkraut.

The arrival of Granville Island's Robson Street Hefeweizen in Ontario signals an interesting willingness to experiment with expansion without resorting to the use of flagship brands. While Granville Island has won several awards for its regular lineup over the last few years, this does not seem to be an attempt to anchor a brand permanently on the shelf in Ontario. It's a summer listing which will be available for a limited time.

This is a good sign because it means that we may see other specialty beers from Granville Island in Ontario in the near future. Their specialties are already available in Alberta, but this is a much larger leap of faith, which adds to what is becoming a far more diverse representation of Canadian beer across the country.

Granville Island is building a bridge instead of just sitting under one.

Jordan St. John writes about beer at Saintjohnswort.ca.

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