BUZZARD BREATH ALE

Two seminal events for beer lovers occurred in Calgary in the middle of 1985: Big Rock Brewery was established as one of the first microbreweries in Canada and Bottlescrew Bill's Pub opened its doors in the old Press Club building in downtown Calgary.

From the beginning, Bottlescrew Bill's specialized in beer, starting with four import draught lines, twice as many as any other pub in town (this was 1985, remember!) Within months, Bottlescrew Bill's two main competitors installed two more draught lines for imported beer and Bottlescrew Bill's moved to six. By Christmas 1985, the competition had six lines and Bottlescrew Bill's felt obliged to install another two, making a grand total of eight draughts, all imports, which was fairly radical for the time.

Alas, the competition soon responded with eight lines themselves and Stuart Allan, the owner of Bottlescrew Bill's, began to search for ways to distinguish the pub further. After stocking as many bottled imports as he could, he talked with Big Rock Brewery's Alistair Smart, who at that time was attempting to install draught beer lines in various pubs, but meeting some resistance as bar owners were reluctant to remove successful domestic draught products and replace them with an unknown.

In 1986 Stuart, Alistair, and Big Rock Brewmaster Bernd Pieper experimented with a new and hitherto untried method of dispensing draught beer - through a soft drink cold plate - and after much manipulation with gas pressures and hose diameters, the excessive foaming problem was solved. Suddenly, unpasteurized beer could be stored at room temperature under the bar, rapidly cooled/chilled through a cold plate in the ice bin and served cold to thirsty customers. This breakthrough resulted in an additional four lines of draught beer (all Big Rock) at Bottlescrew Bill's and the consequent installation of Big Rock products in the other major pub-style bars in Calgary.

As 1986 moved towards 1987, Stuart began to ponder the possibility of having a beer in his pub that could not be copied by his competition. As a sideline, Stuart had been writing a weekly wine column for the local newspaper since 1982, and he utilized his experience as a wine taster to create the perfect beer. He wrote down a complete organoleptic description of what his ideal beer would be like: aroma, appearance, colour, carbonation, alcohol level, bitterness, maltiness, weight, mouth-feel, finish, etc. Armed with this, he approached Bernd Pieper, who after much thought and pipe-chewing, allowed as to how he (Big Rock) could not actually brew a beer from scratch like this, but if Stuart was prepared to commit to a certain volume (10 kegs a week was finally agreed upon) then we might be able to come close to the taste profile by blending different beers that they currently brewed.

So, for three consecutive weeks in March 1987, Stuart Allan, Alistair Smart and Bernd Pieper gathered in the tap room at Big Rock every Wednesday afternoon. Mixing flasks and graduated cylinders at the ready, the process evolved from a general discussion of style to a more specific search for flavour and balance. By the end of the third week, the tasters had settled for an approximately 60 - 40 blend of the then Pale and Traditional Ales, but Eureka was finally called with the addition of a small quantity of McNally's Extra which worked out to a 6-pack poured manually into each keg before hammering in the bung.

In May 1987, Buzzard Breath Ale was released with much fanfare and proved itself almost immediately by becoming the top-selling beer in Bottlescrew Bill's inventory, a position it has maintained to this day.

In the intervening decade, demand grew to such an extent that Big Rock eventually decided to brew it from scratch, although the taste profile has remained essentially the same over the years.

AVAILABILITY

Marsh Forrester of Alehouse Distributing near Seattle, Washington had been importing Big Rock beer since 1988 and by 1989 was looking for a new seasonal beer for the summer. Big Rock owner Ed McNally suggested that Marsh take a look at B.B.A., although he thought the label (created by Sherry Ward in Calgary using a Vance Rodewalt cartoon of a cowboy-styled buzzard) might not work. ("Godawful" was Ed's comment!)

Marsh thought it different enough to try it out, the response was favourable and the rest, as they say, is history!

Stuart Allan had already registered the name and the label with the trademarks office in Canada (and, optimistically in the U.S. and Australia as well) and eventually negotiated a licensing agreement with Ed McNally, allowing Big Rock to brew the beer in Calgary for distribution and sale in the United States.

Sales increased steadily and B.B.A., along with Big Rock's own brands is now distributed fairly extensively throughout the western U.S. by G. Raden Co. of Seattle, Washington.

Go to Buzzard Breath Ale page.

Buzzard Breath Ale Brewed by Big Rock Brewery (Calgary, Alberta) available at Bottlescrew Bill's Pub and at Buzzards Cowboy Cuisine buzzardbreathale.com (You are here.)

See also Buzzards Cowboy Cuisine cowboycuisine.com Bottlescrew Bill's Pub bottlescrewbill.com

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