Sometime in the next couple of weeks, bottles of a new Yukon seasonal series will be hitting store shelves in Alberta. the new line is a three-times a year run of one-off brews. The plan is to make them original and creative. They are calling it their Brewers’ A.D.D. Series (as in Attention Deficit Disorder). The first one is out and it is unquestioningly unique. It is a Birch Marzen. Don’t go looking in the BJCP Style Guidelines for that one, kids. It may be the first of its kind.

It is a Marzen (more commonly known as Oktoberfest) with an addition of birch syrup, a traditional north of 60 replacement for maple. I got my hands on an advance bottle and cracked it open recently.

It pours a light orange and produces a thin white head. It seems less carbonated that I might expect. The aroma has a soft breadiness, a wisp of biscuit, touches of honey and a piney character, like pine needles. The pine seems to construct an earthy undertone that cuts the bread sweetness.

Upon the sipping, I find it starts life as a lighter-end oktoberfest; light bready malt sweet with a touch of biscuit.I also pick up some grassy honey as an accent. Then the beer takes a gentle left turn. I can’t quite name what I detect. It is sharp with some tannin quality and seems almost, but not quite, like a bit of pine.It is earthy and spicy, but doesn’t overwhelm the malt. My tongue is a bit flummoxed so my brain steps in to explain the situation. This is the birch syrup, it notes, sighing impatiently at the tongue’s thickness.

In my tongue’s defence, I have never tasted birch syrup before, so am not sure what to expect. It appears to offer a soft honey sweetness countered by a resiny, spicy sharpness that can be mistaken for pine. What I think I like about birch is that it offers the advantages of something like spruce or pine – the distinct resin character – while being more subtle about it. I find beer made with tree product can lack nuance and become too overpowering. But it also offers up a honey aspect to the beer which is quite inviting.

As I work my way through the glass I find myself wishing there was more birch in the beer. I would like to really taste it and see how it alters the beer. That might be a mistake, however; one of the nice things about this beer is how quiet the birch accent is. It makes this beer more than a marzen but it doesn’t become a birch beer, if you know what I mean. As a first go at a new one-off series it is a good start – original, tasty and curiosity inducing. I think I want to try brewing with birch syrup now. But that might take a trip to Whitehorse.

It leaves me looking forward to the next installment of their A.D.D. series.