Central City Brewers & Distillers - Red Betty IPA

Red Betty IPA presents a pretty golden amber hue, capped with a crop of sticky, lacing, foam. As soon as the beer tumbles into the glass, the aroma bursts forth: big, resinous, pine-infused citrus, some tropical fruit, and herbal spiciness, all overlaying more than a little caramel malt. As it hits the palate, this Pacific Northwest-style IPA delivers plenty of citrus zest intensity bolstered by those pine and herbal spice notes. As it evolves across the mid-palate, the malts offer up deep caramel with a toasty edge that, in concert with the hop bitterness, gave some of us a bit of a char-like impression. Look for a touch of residual sweetness to offer a bit of a counterpoint, but it’s impossible to deny this is a bombastically-hopped brew, with Magnum bittering hops providing plenty of alpha acid punch. Medium-bodied, the beer finishes with a lingering hop bitterness that just clings and clings without letting go. Considering it weighs in at 80 IBUs (twice that of its I.S.A. sibling), it’s no surprise. Enjoy this bold brew with equally bold foods that can stand up to it. Hot and spicy dishes are a natural, or try a char-broiled burger with sharp cheddar and spicy mustard.

With the craft beer revolution in full swing here in the U.S., it’s sometimes easy to overlook the revolution happening for our neighbors to the north. Canada is not simply the land of Molson and Labatt; there are numerous excellent beers there that, thankfully, make their way across our shared border in varied amounts. Many of these beers originate in Quebec, such as the fairly easy to find offerings from Unibroue, the harder to find beers of Dieu du Ciel!, and the much rarer brews from Les Trois Mousquetaires. This month, however, we’re excited to feature a brewery from the other side of the continent – Central City Brewers & Distillers. Named “Brewery of the Year” in 2010 and 2012 at the Canadian Brewing Awards, and winner of dozens of medals – including dozens of gold medals – across numerous local and national competitions, Central City is definitely a brewery to watch.

Central City was founded as a brewpub in 2003 by Darryll Frost, who left a partnership in another company to start the new venture. Situated in Surrey, in the southern part of the Vancouver metro area, the brewpub benefited from Frost’s significant brewpub management experience, as well as that of Brewmaster Gary Lohin, who joined him as a partner. With many years of brewing experience including stints at British Columbia’s Whistler Brewing Company and Okanagan Springs Brewery, as well as the founding of the Vancouver area’s first brewpub in 1994, Lohin helped guide the brewery to much initial, and subsequent, success. A canning line was added in 2005 to allow the brewery to sell their beer beyond the brewpub and their bar and restaurant draft accounts. Over the succeeding years, on the heels of numerous awards, Central City expanded their distribution into several other Canadian provinces.

More recently, Central City has ventured into the arena of distilling. Single malt whiskeys were first distilled and laid down for aging in 2013, while the less maturation-intensive spirits, Seraph Gin and Seraph Vodka, have already hit the market. Central City currently operates their Surrey brewpub as well as a second location on Beatty Street in Vancouver, and they distribute limited quantities of their canned beer in three U.S. states.

Hoppy brews define their core “Red Betty” brand beers, and they are very much on their game with these styles. We’re excited to offer two of them this month… a study in hops, if you will. We hope you enjoy comparing and contrasting the super-flavorful but laid back and easy drinking character of their session ale with the more aggressive and bombastic IPA which really captured the attention of the hop heads on our selection panel. For more info, visit them at www.centralcitybeer.com.