Happy 30th birthday to The Tomato! It’s a minor miracle that a print (and online) publication devoted to Edmonton’s food and drinks scene is still thriving in 2026. No, scratch that, it’s a miracle, full stop. Actually, scratch that too; The Tomato existing in 2026 is not some deus ex machina wonder, it’s the result of years of hard work, resilience and relationship-building by The Tomato publisher Mary Bailey. Mary’s work with The Tomato has played a key part in the growth of a vibrant local food community. Congratulations Mary!
But what about beer? Put it this way: how many publications in Alberta have a dedicated beer column? I can tell you it’s only one: The Tomato. I began writing about beer for The Tomato in 2009, but The Tomato recognized beer as a respectable beverage since its 1996 launch. And 1996 was a special year for beer. The mid-eighties were the first wave of the craft beer revolution, with the founding of Calgary’s Big Rock (1985) and Edmonton’s Strathcona Brewing (1986). 1996 was the second wave, with the founding of Tree Brewing in Kelowna, Wild Rose Brewing in Calgary and most importantly—Alley Kat Brewing in Edmonton (in 1995).
I moved back to Edmonton in 2001, after years in Ontario exile. To be honest, in terms of beer I thought of Lou Reed singing, “There was nothin’ goin’ down at all / Not at all.” But, there was Alley Kat Brewing. For many years Alley Kat founder Neil Herbst was the lonely evangelist for craft beer in Edmonton. He knew that Alley Kat was ahead of the curve and that much of his job was education. As Neil said more than once, “beer for a long time in Alberta was blonde and fizzy.” In the early years people would send back their glass of Alley Kat Full Moon Pale Ale, claiming it was off or that it tasted of soap. We’re talking about a world class American-style pale ale here, with a modestly hoppy 35 IBUs (bitterness units). Neil’s importance to Edmonton craft beer is legendary, from hosting the Edmonton Homebrewers Guild, to founding the Alberta Small Brewers Association, to hiring and training many of the brewers you find brewing throughout Alberta and the west. It was an honour to feature over 30 different Alley Kat beers in The Tomato since 2009, including a half-dozen times for Full Moon (in its various iterations). Pioneers are sometimes underappreciated, so it was a delight to see a packed house leap to their feet at the Alberta Beer Awards in 2019 to applaud Neil accepting the Alberta Brewery of the Year award for Alley Kat.
But back to the early days, when progress toward great local beer was slow. Early Beer Guy columns featured beers and breweries from other places, where the craft beer revolution was in full swing. Visits to beer towns like Portland, Victoria, San Diego and Vancouver gave me hope. Edmonton had all the pieces in place: the world’s best brewing barley, quality local water, a growing community of local food fans, and knowledgeable local beer geeks. And then it happened: 2013, the Year That Craft Beer Broke, the year the Alberta Government eliminated the minimum brewing production quota of 500,000 litres (thank you Alison Redford). It meant new breweries could start small and then grow carefully. It changed everything. Add in the start of the Olds College Brewmaster program in 2013 and the opening of craft beer palaces, the Underground (2012), Craft Beer Market (2013) and Beer Revolution (2013) and a movement was underway. Alberta boomed from a handful of breweries in 2013 to over a hundred in 2019. Today there are around 130 breweries in Alberta.
It took a village, a city, a community to build a thriving craft beer community in Edmonton and Alberta. The Tomato has been an essential part of that community for 30 years, boosting brewers and growers and beer heroes of all kinds. I’m proud to have featured over 600 beers over the years in the pages of The Tomato. And yes, I’ve tasted them all. Here’s to the next 30 years!
Hike and bike six pack
Six favourite Alberta beers picked from the over 600 featured by the Beer Guy from the past 30 years of The Tomato.
Click images to zoom
Alley Kat Full Moon Pale Ale, Edmonton
My very first beer pick in my very first beer column for The Tomato in 2009. Launched in 1996, Full Moon was the quintessential new-style west coast American pale ale, based on the classic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale model, using Pacific Northwest hops Cascade and Centennial. We hope Alley Kat brings it back as a seasonal.
Jasper Brewing Crisp Pils, Jasper
Jasper life got better in 2005 when local Brett Ireland and pals convinced Parks Canada a brewery in a National Park would be a good idea. It was indeed a good idea and Ireland went on to create Banff Ave, Last Best and Campio breweries. Crisp Pils is a great drinkable pilsner wrapped in retro Parks Canada iconography.
Blindman Dark Shadows Cascadian Dark Ale, Lacombe
Something special happened when Hans Doef, Kirk Zembal, Shane Groendahl and Dave Vander Plaat got together to launch Blindman Brewing in 2014. Always innovating, never sitting on their laurels, in 2018 they created a delicious Cascadian Dark Ale for Edmonton’s Next Act Pub, which has made its way into regular rotation.
Apex Black Spruce Porter, Edson
Could craft beer work in Alberta’s lager-loving small towns? Andrew Kulynych and Bench Creek Brewing, off in the woods near Edson, showed it could, launching in 2016. The Alberta craft beer scene was missing a solid porter or stout until this porter arrived. Now under the Apex Brewing brand and merged with Calgary’s Born Brewing.
Cabin Super Saturation New England Pale Ale, Calgary
Cabin was launched in 2016 by Calgarians Haydon Dewes, Darrin Sayers, and Jonas Hurtig. They quickly showed they knew their stuff, with fantastic beer, great branding and a cozy taphouse. Super Saturation was an early NEIPA (New England IPA) that has stood the test of time, with super-popular variations.
Ale Architect Riff Raff West Coast IPA, Edmonton
Back to the future with Edmonton’s Ale Architect, founded in 2018 but launching as a taproom on Edmonton’s Happy Beer Street in 2022. Here they glance back to Alley Kat and craft brewing heritage with a retro but modern west coast IPA, brewed with Centennial and Simcoe hops.
