It's The Most Wonderful Time For Beer!
Thank you for purchasing this year's Village Advent. We have some exciting beers for you to try in the next 12 days, plus a few welcome surprises along the way. As we make our way through the next days we will meet some new beers and encounter some familiar favourites. For those beers you may not know well, we have prepared tasting notes, recommended pairings and fun facts to help guide us. Below are the 12 Village Beers of Christmas, in order that we will encounter them, so no peaking ahead!
Love one of these brews? Follow the "Where to Find This Beer" link under each beer description to find which retailers, pubs and restaurants carry each beer.
Want to share one of these beers with a friend, family member, colleague or some one you know that deserves a beer. Find out how to send beers with Village Sociables.
...........................................................................
DAY ONE
Village Wit
Our first beer is the Village Wit White Wheat Ale. A light refreshing unfiltered Belgian style wheat ale. A fruity nose with notes of orange peel and coriander. The Village Wit comes in at 4.5% Alc./vol and 13 IBU.
The Village Wit was first released in 2012 as the first official Village Brewery summer seasonal. It's widely positive reception made it quick to enter the core lineup of Village beers and has become a favourite since. Enjoy!
Alc./Vol: 4.5% | Bitterness: 13 IBU
Hops: Willamette, Cascade, Imported Saaz.
Malt: Alberta Two-Row Premium Malt, Malted Wheat
DAY TWO
Village Neighbour
The Village Neighbour Canadian Pale Ale is our second beer! The Village Neighbour is a classic pale ale, ripe with hop flavour without a strong bitterness to it. Featuring Citra and Ella, this beer is for hop lovers. The notes of lemon, tangerine can be attributed to Citra while the tropical notes of melon, pineapple and mango are from the Ella. The backbone of this beer is the definition of biscuit. The Victory Malt stands tall and demonstrates a different type of malt characteristic from what most are familiar with. The Carastan and Crystal add some light caramel and toffee notes without overpowering the profile. The Neighbour is a light copper Canadian Pale Ale.
Alc./Vol: 5.1% | Bitterness: 26 IBU
Hops: Galena, Cascade, Citra, Ella.
Malt: Rahr Two-Row Barley, Victory Malt, Carastan, Crystal Malt.
DAY THREE
Unity Brew 2020
The Village Brewery Version of the 2020 Unity Brew (Scotch Ale) is an approachable, malt-centred beer. The noble hoping of Fuggle and East Kent Golding provides some traditional grassy notes but compliment the locally inspired malt profile. Rahr 2-Row provides the backbone of the base malt while the Origin adds some highlights of a more complex malty character. What really makes our version standout is the addition of the Beechwood Smoked Malt. The subtle smoky characteristic pairs well with Red Shed’s base malt. The CMG Oat Malt provides some velvety smoothness to the mouthfeel to round it out nicely.
Alc./Vol: 6.0% Bitterness: 20 IBU
SRM: 16.84
DAY FOUR
Village Blonde
Day four brings us to the Village Blonde, Natural Golden Ale! A clean, crisp golden ale. The Village Blonde has a dry palate with a slight hop characteristic followed by a smooth finish.
Did you know the Blonde was the first beer ever produced at the brewery? It was the first character of all those in the Village, and the label features Jim Button's Mom!
Alc./Vol: 4.5% | Bitterness: 15 IBU
Hops: Galena, Willamette and German Tettnang.
Malt: 100% Two-Row Alberta Premium Barley
DAY FIVE
Hooch Lime
You've found the Hooch! Hooch is one of our newest products, a Natural Hard Seltzer flavoured with natural lime. Admittedly, Hooch pairs great with the patio, but we have recently found that it also does extremely well with the ski hill and out door rink! 95 calories, 5% Alc./Vol. Fresh Lime. Enjoy the Hooch!
DAY SIX
Village Nomad
The Village Nomad is our new full-time hazy IPA. The malt bill for the Nomad is clean and simple, we don't want to tread on the hops. Some Rahr 2-Row and malted wheat achieve this just fine. Some Red Shed Kananaskis malt was added for just a hint of complexity. The hops are an all-start lineup: Galaxy, Mosaic and Citra. The boil has no hop additions, the whirlpool is Galaxy and Mosaic while all three are added for the dry hopping. We didn't want to leave anything to chance, so we are producing this with RO water, as such we can build our own water profile, which aims to push the hops forward and not interfere with any harsh mineral flavours. The final character in this story is the yeast, Escarpment's Foggy London Ale. When fermented a touch higher than usual, we can get a nice fruity ester formation. Overall, the Nomad is not a light-bodied and sessionable beer for all, but it packs in the hoppy flavour you would expect from a hazy IPA. We hope you love it!
Alc./Vol: 6.5% | Bitterness: 60 IBU
Hops: Galaxy, Mosiac, Citra.
Malt: Rahr 2-Row, Rahr Malted Wheat, Red Shed Kananaskis Malt, Best Acidulated Malt
DAY SEVEN
Village Cider
Ingredients: Apple Wine, Decaffeinated Earl Grey Tea
DAY EIGHT
Village Blacksmith
Day Eight brings us to the flagship Village Blacksmith. This Alberta Black Ale has been in the Village family since 2011, and was the second Village beer ever created along side the Village Blonde.
Village Blacksmith is a dark flavourful ale with notes of chocolate, espresso and licorice. This award-winning beer is known for its exceptional balance of dark malt and medium bitterness.
We recommend pairing the Village Blacksmith with burgers, brisket and all things beef! It also pairs well with chocolate, nuts and pretzels. For advanced usage, the Blacksmith has been known to be an ingredient in BBQ sauces, marinades and brines. But this cans best for drinking.
Alc./Vol: 5.4% Bitterness: 33 IBU
Hops: Galena and Cascade.
Malt: Premium Alberta Pale Malt, Imported (UK) Caramel Malt, Black Malt.
DAY NINE
Village Squeeze
The Village Squeeze is balanced with light additions of lemon zest and fresh raspberries. It has sweet malty notes and herbal hop aroma. It is a beer first and foremost, with subtle compliments from the fruit.
The photo on the Village Squeeze can features Village team member Nicole Romanow's parents on the night of their engagement. This photo reminds us here at Village of the importance of holding your squeeze tight.
We hope you enjoy the beer!
Alc/Vol: 4.8% Bitterness: 16 IBU
Hops: Halena, Saaz.
Malt: Canadian Pilsner Malt.
DAY TEN
Hooch Mango
Day Ten brings us to our second Natural Hard Seltzer, the Hooch Mango! Hooch Mango is a Naturally flavoured Seltzer that is light, and bubbly. Tropical Mango flavour with a slight malt finish give Hooch a clean, crisp flavour profile. 95 calories, 5% Alc./Vol. Fresh Lime. Enjoy the Hooch!
DAY ELEVEN
Village Cider Black Currant
DAY TWELVE
Village Monk
The last of our Village advent beers is the Village Monk Chai Winter Porter. This dark ale has complex flavours from a rich array of caramel and chocolate malts, and a unique, spicy finish brought by a spice blend provided by Inglewood Spice Merchants.
The Village Monk pairs perfectly with all things chocolate, and will be perfect for holiday baking and desserts!
The first frost heralds the arrival of the Monk, a jolly, black brew with a stout body borne of copious chocolate and caramel malts. If you are a genial soul, the monk will sing you ancient notes of cardamom and clove, ginger and fennel, mint and peppercorn. Amen.
Alc. /Vol: 6.4% Bitterness: 23 IBU
Chai From Silk Road Spice Merchant
Congratulations on completing the Village Advent! We hope you enjoyed the beers, tried some favourites and found some new beers. For those that may be interested in starting January off on a more moderate foot, we have included our line of Non-Alcoholic beers to be enjoyed across Dry January! Enjoy, and thank you for participating in this year's Village Advent, 12 Days of Village Beers!
Village Locals
Village Local Non-Alcoholic Pale Ale
The Village Local is our first low alcohol offering. This brand was designed to be a pale ale that appeals to everyone. It has some nice balanced sweetness from the caramel malts while the low-moderate bitterness comes from two whirlpool additions of Citra and Ella. Due to the very low amount of malt in the Local, it has a very light and refreshing mouthfeel and body.
Alc./Vol: 0.3% Bitterness: 15 IBU
Hops: Citra, Ella.
Malt: Rahr Two-Row Malted Barley, Caramel Malt
Village Local Non-Alcoholic Stout
The Village Local Stout is a silky, smooth Stout with bold chocolate and coffee notes from Alberta black malt and subtly notes of noble hops. Available to be enjoyed Anywhere, Anytime.
Alc./Vol: 0.1% Bitterness: 22 IBU
Hops: Gelena
Malt: Rahr Two-Row Malted Barley, Caramel Malt, Black Malt
Village Local Non-Alcoholic Blonde
We can't get too much of the Local. This cool, carefree brew is always welcome, anywhere, anytime. The Local delights us endlessly with the full flavour of sweet Alberta caramel malt and hops that hint of citrus zest. Then instructs us to drink local, for craft's sake.
Alc./Vol: 0.4% Bitterness: 20 IBU
Hops: Galena, Willamette and German Tettnang.
Malt: Rahr Two-Row Malted Barley