| Since the Ship & Anchor first opened its doors 13 years ago, it has established itself as a Calgary institution. Not only has it been chosen by Fast Forward readers as the city’s best pub for five years in a row, during that time it has also won the honours for best place to break up, best patio, happiest happy hour, best bar to spend a whole day in, best place to drink alone – you get the picture.
In fact, in the five years since we started the Best of Calgary awards, the Ship & Anchor has won more times in more categories than anything else.
Now the pub is taking on a new challenge with the launch of its own beer, an ale which is now available on tap.
Promotions manager Solange McAlister says the pub has always been committed to serving quality beer from small brewers, and decided to take that one step further to give loyal Ship & Anchor customers their very own beer.
"We’re branching out to find more to offer our customers," she says, adding that they won’t allow big brewers to dominate their taps.
"They still have a terrible monopoly on brews... this gives us a chance to give more to our customers without hog-tied to the big breweries."
The beer is being brewed by Steve Buffel, who worked for the Ship & Anchor several years ago, and then worked at the Mission Bridge Brewing Company, where he started as a brewer’s assistant and later took over the operation. Although Buffel has taken some courses on brewing, he says most of his knowledge has come from talking to people and through his love of beer.
"Beer-making is more just getting intimate with your ingredients and playing with your formulas and seeing what the customers like," he explains.
When James Ballantyne, owner of the Ship & Anchor, and at one time an owner of the former Mission Bridge, decided the pub should have it’s own beer, Buffel says he was happy to get on board. Last year they purchased used brewing equipment in California, but that now sits in a local warehouse, where it will remain until they find a suitable location and increase production. In the meantime, Buffel uses a facility in Edmonton, where he brews the ale himself.
"We kind of went about it a little bit backwards, but the Ship has never been known for doing things the way it should," Buffel jokes.
The formula was adjusted following beer tastings with customers, and the first batch is now on tap. Buffel says it’s brewed in the style of an amber ale, with a deep malt flavour and a smooth finish, but he’s hesitant to get too technical. He explains that the most important thing is that the customers enjoy it.
"I tried to formulate a recipe based on everyone’s comments. It had to fit in with what people are looking for," says Buffel, who plans to make a few adjustments based on their feedback.
"Beer-making is a constant learning process – you’re always trying to fine tune it to come up with the ultimate pint." |
