beauslogoI have long respected Beau’s All Natural, a fast-growing Ottawa-area brewery. On a trip to Ontario a number of years ago I got to try their flagship Lug Tread Lagered Ale (which really is a Kolsch in disguise) and quickly fell in love with it. The proof lies in my review of it which you can read here.

Every time I went to Ontario I sought the beer out, plus also picked up whatever seasonal they had on offer. I have yet to be disappointed. There are a number of breweries where that is the case, but not that many. I actually don’t think I am going out on a limb by describing Beau’s beer as consistently well made and interesting.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, as I mentioned a couple months back (here), they have recently entered the Alberta market. I, personally, find this a significant event – especially in light of the mark-up controversy. Here we find a prominent Ontario brewery entering Alberta despite the current mark-up regime. It does say something around that – but that is a topic for another day.

Today I mention all this because a few weeks back I made Beau’s the focus of my regular CBC column. The posting of the column was delayed, for various reasons, but finally took place a few days ago. You can listen to the full column here.

What I really wanted to do with the piece was highlight not just the beer, but also all the environmental, economic and political work the brewery does. Part of my respect for Beau’s lies in their environmental commitment (being fully organic), their forward-thinking vision (becoming a B-Corp, and sponsoring a brewery in Rwanda), and their commitment to their workers (they are transitioning into an employee-owned operation).

I respect that for some consumers all that stuff is beside the point – they just want to drink good beer (something Beau’s succeeds at as well). You are allowed to just enjoy your beer. However, I find knowing that a brewery is engaged in good works is nice bonus. It doesn’t forgive bad beer, but it makes drinking good beer that much better.

Which is why I wanted to highlight Beau’s and their arrival in Alberta. They make good beer AND they do good things. That works for me.