I’ve had New York-style pizza in New York, Chicago-style in Chicago, California-style in California, Detroit-style in Detroit, and of course, Boston pizza everywhere but Boston.
by Peter Bailey
Fun fact: the 400+ location-strong multinational chain Boston Pizza started in Edmonton in 1964. The national chain Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria also began in Edmonton, in 2007. Edmonton really is no slouch when it comes to pizza. In 2016, Condé Nast Traveler named Edmonton one of the best cities in the world for pizza, coming in at 8th, between Venice and Florence, Italy. “In an era when artisanal and hipster pizzerias are all the rage, the old-school joints still rule up north in Edmonton,” wrote Daniel Young, author of Where to Eat Pizza.
That was then, this is now. We still have the old-school joints like Tony’s Pizza Palace or Coliseum Steak & Pizza but we’ve seen the rise of new-style places like High Dough, Rosso and Sepp’s. And in a welcome recent trend, we see craft pizza pairing up with craft beer in brewery taprooms, bars and restaurants. It makes sense, for like McDavid and Draisaitl or Taylor and Travis, pizza and beer are a perfect pair. Both beer and pizza have roots in working class and immigrant culture, food and drink for everyday people. Both share the power of yeast and fermentation, the magic that creates beer and pizza dough. In Edmonton, craft beer pioneer Brewsters Brewing led the way, opening Beer Revolution Craft Beer & Pizza Bar in 2013. This year, Trial & Ale Brewing upped the bar, opening Lore Pizza, their taproom and restaurant in the far west end. Co-founder Ryan tells me, “we chose pizza because fermentation is what we do best. The highlight of pizza is the dough and fermented character of the crust.” As with their cutting-edge wild and mixed fermentation beers, Trial & Ale takes a scientific approach to craft pizza-making. They use a long, slow fermentation to produce depth of flavour in their pizza crusts. For their unique Chicago tavern-style thin crust pies, ultra-low hydration dough is cold-fermented for 8.5 days, then cured for 1.5 days in the cooler. This process makes for a light, crackery, but flexible crust. Lore’s giant, 24-inch New York-style pizzas were an instant hit, bringing in more hungry guests than anticipated. On the beer front, Ryan notes that Trial & Ale’s sour and wild beers may not be to everyone’s taste but public response has been great: “Our beers are very approachable. People who have never tried mixed fermentation beers have taken to them. Wine drinkers have taken to them.”
Down in Cochrane, Chris Heier and his family took a go big or go home approach, expanding the small family business, Half Hitch Brewing, into a craft beer and pizza mini-empire. The Mash Craft Beer & Pizza began in Airdrie in 2020, expanding to 10 locations today, including two in Edmonton and one in St. Albert. Chris tells me that their bank noted during Covid that while many were running from the fire, Chris and family leaned in and took it head-on. They created a unique concept, with Half Hitch supplying the beer for all The Mash locations, and with the spent grain from the brewing process used by The Mash in their pizza crusts. Despite the success of the pizza restaurants, Chris is still a beer guy at heart, speaking with passion of special beers he’s made, like smoked saison, chocolate porter and barrel-aged red ale. The key is to bring that passion for beer to running a growing hospitality business. Chris says he’s up for it: “It’s a large beast to tackle, but I’ll do it the best way that I can. One step at a time.”
Perfect Pair Picks
Find great craft beer AND great craft pizza at these Edmonton establishments.
Click images to zoom
Trial & Ale 30,000 Steps, Lore Pizza
Anywhere in the world it’s a rare thing to have multiple different high quality wild and sour beers on tap; how great is it we can do this in Edmonton—with great pizza too! A perfect pairing is 30,000 Steps, Trial & Ale’s pineapple-fruited American sour and wild Ale, with Bromelain is the Secret, Lore’s 24-inch, New York crust Hawaiian-style pizza.
Half Hitch Fire N’ Fury Red Ale, The Mash
The Mash’s bestselling pizza is their unique Dill Pickle and Bacon pizza, made with a garlic butter base with pickles and bacon bits, topped with mozzarella, aged white cheddar and a honey drizzle. Pair it with any of Half Hitch’s malt-forward ales, particularly their Fire N’ Fury Red Ale, made with caramel Munich malts and Cascade hops.
Ale Architect Riff Raff West Coast IPA, Birch & Bear
Hidden inside Ale Architect’s Happy Beer Street taproom is a mini Birch & Bear pizza shop, with their delicious, artisanal, west coast-inspired birch (vegetarian) and bear (meat) pizzas. Riff Raff IPA, a hoppy, citrusy and piney west coast-style IPA, offers a nice counterpoint to a garlicky Potato, Capicola & Truffle Oil or Reuben & Fries pizza.
Odd Company Vienna Lager, Odd Company Ritchie
Odd Company’s original Wîhkwêntôwin (Oliver) taproom has their excellent Animal Burger, now the new Ritchie location has their thing – great thin crust pizza. Their Vienna Lager is malt-forward and bready with notes of pine and resin from the Simcoe and Talus hops, a perfect companion for any of the pizzas.
Campio Light Rail Hazy Pale Ale, Campio
Campio’s pizza is Detroit-style deep dish, with eleven delicious options, from the PB & J (pineapple, bacon and jalapeño) to the Capri (artichoke hearts, prosciutto, olives, mushrooms and arugula). Whatever your choice, the Light Rail Hazy Pale is a good companion, with Citra and Sabro hops bringing the citrus and coconut notes into a soft and delicious ale.
Brewsters Lanigan’s Irish Ale, Beer Revolution
So many delightful choices at Beer Revolution. First, the pizzas, running from the Bánh Mì (braised short rib) to the Alf (roast chicken) to the Armin (veggies). Second, the 24 craft beers, including the likes of Jester King, which you won’t see anywhere else. Try one of the Brewsters options, such as this malty, roasty and biscuity red ale.
Of travel, he’s had his share, man. He’s been everywhere. He’s on X/Twitter
and Instagram as @Libarbarian