Glorious and Free is a trans-Canada brewery collaboration spearheaded by Dominion City Brewing Company that features 100% Canadian ingredients and is being brewed from coast to coast to coast. In this new series, we’re chatting with local breweries to learn why they decided to participate in this unique opportunity. Read about Dominion City Brewing Company here, Spark Beer here, and stay tuned for more features as beers are released.
Photo provided by Bicycle Craft Brewery.
Making beer worth the ride (you can find a map of a bicycle friendly route to the brewery on their website), Bicycle Craft Brewery has been a staple of Ottawa’s craft beer scene since they opened in 2014. In addition to their impressive selection of IPAs, goses, and pilsners, Bicycle Craft has a great non-alcoholic called Fresh that (in my opinion) everyone should check out. We connected with Laura Behzadi, co-founder of Bicycle Craft, by email to learn more about their release of Glorious and Free.
Apt613: Why did you decide to participate in Glorious and Free?
Laura Behzadi: We have been concerned about the dialogue coming out of the US for some time and had been looking for ways to incorporate more Canadian grown ingredients into our beer. When Dominion City reached out, we thought it was a fun project.
What has been the reaction to Glorious and Free?
The response has been great! Our customers were really excited to try something that was brewed using only Canadian ingredients and support charities at the same time. We’ve come across a few customers that are seeking out other Glorious and Free beers to try them all and that’s such a great thing!
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Can you tell us about the Canadian ingredients you are using in the beer? Any tasting notes to share about your release?
We’ve used pilsner malt from Mississippi Mills Malting Co. (Pakenham, Ontario) that we use very regularly and Quebec grown Cascade and Centennial hops. We brewed the beer as more of an in between West Coast style IPA and NEIPA that we felt really highlighted the qualities of the Canadian ingredients.
Can you tell us about the organizations you’re supporting as part of this project?
We’ve decided to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO) who support immigrants and refugees through the journey of making Canada home. Our co-founder, Fariborz, immigrated to Canada as an adult and this particular charity is one that we feel passionate about. We’re also donating to the Terry Fox Foundation as we really feel that Terry Fox is such a powerful symbol of Canada and the foundation does so much amazing work for the community.
Have you made any new connections or learned anything new as a result of this project?
We were happy to collaborate with our friends at Dominion City on this beer. We’ve both been around for some time but have not had the chance to work together so this was a fun collaboration. We also got to know so many breweries across Canada and Canadian hop growers and malsters. In fact we connected with Hayhoe Hops in Aylmer, Ontario and we’re excited to use some of their hops in our beers.
We’ve always prided ourselves on sourcing local ingredients when possible… This project has inspired us to do more of that and seek out new collaborations. Only when we work together can we really build up small business and the community that they bring together. During uncertain times, it’s crucial.
Has this project influenced you to change any practices in the brewery moving forward?
We’ve always prided ourselves on sourcing local ingredients when possible. For example, in the past we’ve worked with Hidden Harvest to use locally grown elderberries in our beer, as well as local hop farms, coffee roasteries, etc. This project has inspired us to do more of that and seek out new collaborations. Only when we work together can we really build up small business and the community that they bring together. During uncertain times, it’s crucial.
Are you a brewery or home brewer taking part in Glorious and Free? Let us know! Interested in trying Glorious and Free? Find a participating brewery near you from the list online. Bicycle Craft Brewery is located at 12 – 850 Industrial Avenue and is open Wednesday through Monday. Their taproom is dog and family friendly.
