| In certain respects, Wild Rose Brewery's new location near the Calgary Farmers' Market is the exact opposite of its former location. In other respects, it's exactly the same.
Unlike the old location, the new location, at AF23, 4580 Quesnay Wood Drive S.W., is visitor-friendly. The former location was a mishmash of old equipment, dusty relics and prominently featured a wall of graffiti from its many not-so-illustrious visitors. Its primary design feature was functionality. On the other hand, the brewery’s new home is much more visible and therefore has been made to be more welcoming. Featuring a taproom and kitchen, Wild Rose now welcomes those who enjoy finer local products on a daily basis, not merely when the nearby Market is open.
In other respects, Wild Rose has remained true to its history. The new brewery and taproom still looks like a manufacturing facility. The exterior wall is consumed by a garage door, while the opposite wall is consumed by an equally large cutout that frames Wild Rose's beautiful copper brewery, visible from anywhere in the taproom.
Utilizing industrial design features (translation: recycled materials), the furnishings and design elements include tables made from pressboard and piping, a chandelier made from old pony kegs and a huge circular table made from a resurrected wire spool. The bar itself is made from old brewing vessels.
Despite all this and a bare concrete floor, the taproom does have a certain elegance to it. Call it "industrial chic" or "mechanical mode" – it brings the taproom a certain charm. Most importantly, it gives the brewery a face and a showcase for its products.
And finally, for the beer lover, it brings back two of Wild Rose's retired beers, the Alberta Crude Stout and the Wred Wheat Ale.
Alberta Crude is dispensed through a creamer tap, the same sort of nitrogen-driven tap that gives Guinness its famous white cap. But that's where comparisons to the Irish stout end. Alberta Crude Stout is a sweeter oatmeal stout and does not have the sourness that makes Guinness an acquired taste. Instead, Alberta Crude is much more accessible, and instantly pleasing. It features a solid graininess that forms the foundation upon which lightly roasted coffee and smoky flavours are built. Visually, the beer stops just shy of being opaque black, but instead allows blood red highlights to flash at its edges when held up to light.
The Wred Wheat Ale is a beer like no other. From the moment the beer is poured, you can't help but be enamoured with its colour. Amber, but flashing hints of yellow and pink, and capped by a tight, white head, this beer is a delight for the eyes. But to enjoy this beer with but one sense would be almost senseless. While the nose is light in strength, it features a cocktail of aroma. The flavour is balanced to the sweet side with a hint of caramel, but is not at all cloying. The flavour of gluten from the wheat gives the beer more substance in the mouth and the use of some darker malts provides a hint of biscuits.
Also available in the taproom is Wild Rose's regular line-up of beers: Brown Ale, Wraspberry Ale, Velvet Fog and Industrial Park Ale, as well as Special Old Bitter (or S.O.B. for short), which is not bottled and has only limited distribution throughout the city. Six packs of the regular line-up are available from the store, as are party pigs (small kegs) of any of its beers, which are essential for a Wild get together. |
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