Being the head brewer at Jasper Brewing Co. has its perks.
“I get to spend my summer time in Jasper making beer,” said Phil Brian, who is six weeks into the job. “It’s an opportunity to experiment with new flavors and find new fruit pairings, and the best thing about it is at the end of the day I get to make something that people enjoy.”
Brian is also the brewing operations manager at Bear Hill Brewery Co., which is the parent company for Jasper Brewing Co., Banff Ave Brewing Co., and Wood Buffalo Brewing Co., so he travels between Banff, Jasper and Fort McMurray.
Before moving to Jasper, Brian spent a year at a Vancouver brewery and has brewed at the Malt Shovel Brewery in his home country of Australia.
“We made the James Squire range of beers. Those were beers that were brewed in honour of the first brewer in the Australian colony.”
Brian has two favourite beers, a Belgian double, which is rich and malty with some fruit taste and mild hop bitterness, and west coast India Pale Ales (IPAs) because they are “super hoppy and aromatic.”
The beer brewing process in Australia is similar to Canada, though Canadians seem to have more adventurous palates, which Brian said makes his job more fun.
He looks forward to experimenting with more brews, like working with a local coffee shop for a coffee and beer collaboration.
“I’ve been dealing with some of the technical stuff on the back end, which means that we can make more beer, which means that we can start experimenting more.”
Right now Jasper Brewing Co. is working on a batch of imperial IPA. “Imperial is usually just a stronger version of an exciting style,” he explains. The IPA will contain about seven per cent alcohol and have a lot of tropical fruit characteristics. It will be ready in two to three weeks.
The Jasper Brewing Co. also has a special weekly brew in English-style casks called firkins. “We take beer which is just finished fermenting, we add any kind of random ingredient that we feel like.” The 40 litre firkins are tapped on Fridays around 3 or 4 p.m. and “once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
This Friday’s (Aug. 9) flavour is a chipotle fireball pilsner, said Brian. “Fireball whiskey is the [go-to] shot at Jasper Brewing Co. and we decided to mix it with real chilies.” Other upcoming flavours are a cucumber heavy ale and vanilla stout.
Sarah Makowsky
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