This black-as-night imperial coffee stout is my fave beer of 2022

You just can’t beat serendipity.

So, we’re in Canmore’s Angry Bear Growlers, sampling a healthy number of the 60-odd, mostly regional, beers on tap and having a grand time with our pourer, Euan.

Euan poured us multiple samples at Angry Bear Growlers in Canmore

In walks a sales rep from nearby Canmore Brewing Company to replace a spent cask. He happens to mention a new beer the brewery and Lacombe’s Blindman Brewing have concocted. It’s an imperial coffee stout—three magical words to my ears—so it takes no convincing for us to toddle a few blocks over to the brewery to pick up a four pack.

Blindman Brewing in Lacombe, Alberta is a partner in this mad concoction

It’s called Brewers’ Breakfast and, should you heed the morning admonition, this oat-laced stout has got enough wallop to propel you out the door or back to bed, your choice.

Not surprisingly, it’s labelled a “strong beer”, weighing in at 8.5% alcohol. In the brewers’ words, it contains a “truckload of roasty, toasty and chocolatey malts from Red Shed Malting (Red Deer County) and an overzealous dose of freshly roasted Mocha Java coffee from Eclipse Coffee Roasters” (Canmore).

I might call it a thick sweater to coat and roll around your tongue on a frosty winter’s day, when the long nights are as black as this brew. Indeed, late in December, I think I’ve found my beer of the year for 2022.

If you fancy a brew with full-on intensity, you might want to pick some Brewers’ Breakfast up while this seasonal ale is in stock.

Angry Bear is happy to seal anything on tap in cans for takeway

Canmore Brewing Company
1460 Railway Avenue, Canmore, Alberta
Taproom opens at 1 pm daily except closed Tuesday
403-678-2337

Angry Bear Growlers
105, 304 Old Canmore Road, Canmore
Opens at 3 pm daily except closed Monday
403-675-9910
Note: Besides growler sales, Angry Bear will seal any beer on tap in 16-ounce cans.