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 and stay tuned for more features as beers are released.
Spark Beer has been proudly brewing hoppy, sour and all-around fun beers in Ottawa’s Chinatown since 2020. In addition to their beers, they’re well known for their pizzas and just last year launched Ottawa’s Craft Beer Week. To learn more about their release of Glorious and Free, we connected with co-owner and brewer John Sproull by email.
Apt613: Why did you decide to participate in Glorious and Free?
John Sproull: Since our inception, we have been passionate about using as many local ingredients as possible here at Spark. We have our ‘local IPA’ Leisure that uses Québec Hops and local malt so when we heard about Dominion City’s amazing beer we jumped at the chance to participate and brew our own version.
What has been the reaction to Glorious and Free?
We had our launch party on Friday April 11 and it was a great success! People from all over Ottawa stopped in to try the beer and everyone has really enjoyed both the beer and the idea of using as many Canadian/local ingredients as possible.
Can you tell us about the Canadian ingredients you are using in the beer? Any tasting notes to share about your release?
Spark Beer’s release of Glorious and Free is made with pilsner malt from Mississippi Mills Malting Co. (Pakenham, Ontario), El Dorado, Centennial and Cascade Hops from Houblonnière Lupuline (Chateau, Québec), Foggy London ale yeast from Escarpment Labs (Guelph, Ontario), and oats and wheat from Alberta.
The beer has some very nice citrus and stone fruit notes plus some restrained grassiness from the hops, in addition to a creamy mouthfeel from the wheat and oats. A nice hazy IPA in our opinion!
Photo: @spark.beer on Instagram
Can you tell us about the organizations you’re supporting as part of this project?
We will be supporting the Somerset West Community Health Centre. They do such amazing work in our neighbourhood and we try to support them as much as we can.
Have you made any new connections or learned anything new as a result of this project?
Thanks to Dominion City, we were introduced to Lupuline Hop Yard who produce some amazing local hops. We have started working with them and will be using more of their hops in the coming years.
Has this project influenced you to change any practices in the brewery moving forward?
Yes! We are certainly looking to source even more local ingredients such as local oats. We are also re-considering the use of some of the American hops we use in our IPAs. Outside of the great local hops we have, there are other options including great New Zealand and Australian hops.
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Is there anything you’d like Apt613 readers to know?
We are also involved in another Canadian beer campaign called the “Canadian Pilsner Project” that is the brainchild of True History Brewing in Toronto. Breweries all over Canada are making their own version of this crisp 100% Canadian Pilsner. Our version has Mississippi Mills Malting Co. pilsner malt, Escarpment Labs lager yeast and local Galena hops from Battle House Hops in Almonte.
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. Spark Beer is located at 702 Somerset Street West and is open Tuesday through Sunday.
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