A Black Diamond blonde is turning heads in Alberta.
Hard Knox Brewery’s Black Diamond Blonde was named Best in Class for blonde, amber and cream ales in Culinaire magazine’s 2019 Alberta Beverage Awards.
Co-founder Pamela Lyken, who operates the brewery with brother Cory, said the blonde is one of the top sellers in the taproom.
“It’s got some body to it where quite often the lighter beers that drink like a lager are often what we refer to as thin,” said Lyken. “It’s very crisp and it just has a subtle note that gives it flavour as opposed to being just another light beer.”
Culinaire magazine author Kirk Bodnar described it as “very light and approachable, though possessing a subtle complexity with a pleasant malt breadiness and just a hint of yeast character.”
Lyken said she learned about the award in an email last summer. The results of the Alberta Beverage Awards were announced and published in Culinaire this month.
“This was our top award we’ve ever received,” said Lyken. “It’s pretty exciting that it’s all published in that magazine.”
Lyken said the blonde is new and improved, thanks to the skills of the brewery’s new head brewer.
“David Karran, who is behind our recipe, is an Olds College graduate from the brewery program,” she said. “He has certainly elevated our products because we have three awards under him.”
Karran, who lives in Okotoks, said Black Diamond Blonde had been a flagship for the brewery since day one.
When Karran was hired as the head brewer six months ago, he decided to revise the recipe and processed it to suit what he looks for in a blonde beer.
“It just needed a little bit more pop,” he said. “A blonde beer is a fairly light easy drinking everyday patio beer and I was looking to get something that appealed to a lot of the non-craft drinkers. It’s sort of our introduction to craft beer, in a way.”
Karran said he’s ecstatic that Hard Knox Brewery received the award in a category that’s often not celebrated.
“Blondes aren’t really an outdoor beer so they don’t get a ton of thought,” he said. “It’s a category that doesn’t get much love. The blonde beer is tough because there’s not a lot to hide.”
Hard Knox Brewery staff are on a high this year after receiving two awards for products last spring.
Grunt Work, a Vienna lager style beer, won bronze at the Canadian International Beer Awards in May. Lyken said it’s Hard Knox Brewery’s overall top seller both in the taproom and Alberta bars and restaurants.
“It’s definitely overall our top flagship beer,” she said. “Four restaurants in Okotoks have it on tap, as well as in Grand Prairie, St. Albert and Edmonton. It’s a light amber with quite subtle malt flavor and it drinks like a lager.”
Hard Knox Brewery’s Burning Fuse, a pineapple jalapeno IPA, won bronze at the Alberta Beer Awards for spice beers in April.
It was originally released as a one-season beer, but Lyken said it became so popular that they brewed it for three seasons. It just went off the market for winter.
“It’s exciting times for us,” she said. “As a business, the reason awards are so great is it gives you these opportunities to market your name. There are so many breweries out there that people have perhaps never heard of you and all of a sudden you’re in a magazine or a newspaper or podcast. It helps your brand.”
