Forget the Double IPAs and Chocolate Porters, all we wanted at Alberta Beer Festivals‘ Jasper Craft Barley Summit was…a beer

I’m a beer dork.

Not a beer geek, mind you—that would require knowing something about the beer brewing process. I’d need to learn about different fermentation vessels and particular yeast strains, for example. Or at least know what a mash is.

Being a beer dork simply means I like to drink different, dorky beer. Milkshake IPA? Sounds sweet. Oyster stout? Shuck yes. Pickle sour? Brine not? Even if I don’t always fall in love with these strange brews, I certainly enjoy the tasting and trying of unorthodox creations. 

But after taking a month off the sauce in January, by February 1, when the Craft Beer and Barley Summit set up at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge for the second year, I wasn’t yet ready to give my palate such a weird workout. I didn’t want my brew to be hickory-smoked, bourbon-aged or jalapeño-infused. I just wanted a beer.

All of this was just fine for my festival buddy, Pete. For one thing, Pete’s taste buds aren’t as beer-curious as my own—he’s not dying to try the hoppiest trends in hipsterville. For another, he’s diabetic. If he puts too much sugar in his body, say, in the form of a mega-malty coffee porter or a super strong double bock, he’s putting his health at risk. Our plan, then, was to avoid the lure of the most brazen beers and instead turn our attention to the unsung studs on which the entire beer industry has been built. We called it: Operation Lager.

Fast-walking down to the Jasper Brewing Co. to catch a shuttle to the JPL, Pete and I were arm-swinging like two soccer moms talking about their a-hole bosses. Our hurried pace betrayed the fact that we were leaving the kids with the wives and could hardly wait to take that first sip. Did I mention I hadn’t touched a beer in a month?

Staying true to our mission, while we waited for the bus, Pete asked the barman at the pub for a Crisp Pils, his go-to light lager from Jasper Brewing. I, being the self-professed beer savant, was immediately lured in to trying the Brew Pub’s latest creation, an east coast style IPA. I was slightly disappointed in the beer’s lack of haziness, while Pete was disappointed in my lack of commitment to our cause. I promised I’d try harder.

When we arrived at the lodge, we were immediately greeted by the folks from Apex Predator Brewing, out of Edson. These folks have made a big splash in the strong beer world, and again I felt the irresistible siren song of a full bodied ale steering me off course. Thankfully (because after a month off the booze my alcohol tolerance was lower than a teenager’s), they were showcasing their amber lager, an authentic Czech-style beer that tastes lighter than it looks. With a fair bit of caramel and a maltiness, however, we figured this beer qualified as more of a welterweight. We thanked our hosts and made our way into the grand ballroom, on the hunt for the Manny Pacquiao of pints. 

For the second year in a row, the Jasper Craft Beer and Barley Summit saw a dozen or so breweries and product representatives from across Alberta brave brutal winter roads to set up two nights of beer tasting booths adjacent to a bonanza of pub food, prime rib and oversized parlour games. During the day, beer-themed seminars and high profile guest speakers quenched guests’ thirst for industry knowledge. At night, it was a spectacle of sampling. Patrons had the option of ponying up for an all-weekend beer geek extravaganza with an added-on Superbowl event, or they could do as Pete and I did and poke our heads in for one night of the party. 

After trying a half dozen lighter beers, such as the Hay City wheat ale from Olds College Brewery (clean with coriander), the Juniper Bock from Folding Mountain (bold, piney) and the Dirty Bird Black Lager from Last Best (roast-forward, dry), Pete and I were still on the hunt for that perfect, pale pint. We’d been to most of the sampling stands when we discovered, at the very back of the room, the guys from Legend Seven. Legend Seven’s branding emits a Game of Thrones-type vibe. In a beer world oversaturated with goofy puns and spartan, minimalistic labels, Legend Seven’s art is simply spellbinding. Although my inner beer dork desperately wanted to try the Temptation IPA, sticking with the game plan meant asking for the Serpens Pilsner. It turned out to be a very good move.

Serpens Pilsner is the beer your lager-swilling dad, your radler-sipping wife, your triple IPA-swishing brother-in-law and your Guinness-drinking grandma can agree on. It’s crisp, it’s smooth and it’s nuanced. It has just enough body and mouth feel to give beer snobs something to write about in their tasting journal, yet is light and refreshing enough to warrant chucking a sixer in the golf bag. 

As Pete placed a mug of this prize-winning beer (Gold Medal: 2018 World Beer Awards) up to his lips, his eyebrows arched knowingly. Here, finally, was the light lager we were looking for. Milkshake IPA dorks, eat your heart out.

Bob Covey // https://bob@thejasperlocal.com