Who would have imagined that on Day 12 of the beer exchange and Day 23 of blogmas, I would still be sitting here writing? Not me, haha. This consistency has been so good for me! And here I am, watching Thor and drinking the last bits of Beer 12. So… let’s just get right into it, shall we?
Oh my goodness, I am so glad I don’t have to think of creative ways to take pictures of wrapped up beers. But – let me tell you… the fireplace was ultimately a beautiful place to take photos.
Okay, really, I guess I really just liked the little lights I put in the fireplace. So festive! (An important note is that my fireplace is non-functional – the hearth isn’t legally wide enough for fires. So I use it for other things. Like candles and tiny holiday lights.)
Anyway, onto the beer! This beer ended up being oddly appropriate for watching Thor, even though I actually opened it to drink while wrapping presents. (I promise not to turn this into a present wrapping entry, but is anyone else way worse at wrapping presents than they want to be? I’m just incapable of cutting the wrapping paper in straight lines… next time I’m buying the type with grids on the back!)
Okay, me, get back on track! Beer 12 was appropriate for Thor because it was New Level Brewing’s Berserker Blonde! New Level Brewing is a Calgary brewery, located not too far away from my home, and the maker of an excellent Strawberry Milkshake IPA that is amazingly called the Wizard’s Revenge. (They also have a lot of pretty rad sours that I’ve tried at different beer events. And apparently a Dill Pickle Sour that I’m going to have to go try soon.)
The Berserker Blonde is crisp, light, and infinitely drinkable. It was the perfect accidental capstone to the Beer Exchange. After a few crazy flavourful beers, it was a perfect palate cleanser. As you may have guessed from my description, the Berserker Blonde has a 5.5% ABV and a 20 IBU. Which means you could definitely easily have a full four-pack on a hot afternoon.
Well, there you have it, my friends. 12 very different, mostly delicious, Western Canada craft beers. I know that my non-Alberta readers may have gotten very jealous of my selection – let me know if you find any of these in your neck of the woods! Or, alternatively, let me know what your favourite local craft beers are!