From beer-inspired whisky to whisky-inspired beer.
May may be familiar with barrel-aged beer, but at Red Deer’s Troubled Monk things are getting even more layered — and delicious.
Garret Haynes, head brewer and distiller at Troubled Monk, used his boundless passion, talent, and knowledge of brewing to start something very special, GrainHenge Whisky.
“Whisky is essentially beer without hops that is then distilled. So the recipe and ingredients can be very similar,” Haynes says.
The first small batch of Meeting Creek Whisky was released in 2021, a new world single malt with notes of caramel, chocolate and coffee that won silver at the Canadian Whisky Awards.
This whisky release’s recipe was inspired by their American Brown Ale, Open Road. “Like Snickers in a glass,” the dark, malt-forward ale won silver in its category at the 2016 World Beer Cup, the first Alberta brewery to win a World Beer Cup Award in over 20 years.
“Before I even made the first small batch of whisky, I knew I wanted to make a barrel-aged beer using our distillery’s own whisky barrels,” Haynes adds.
This April, his idea will finally be brought to fruition. GrainHenge Whisky is releasing their second expression of Meeting Creek, and Troubled Monk releases Open Road Barrel Aged beer; an imperial style beer that was aged in the whisky barrels of the first release of Meeting Creek. It’s a full-circle moment, and one of the only barrel aged beers to ‘keep it in the family’ as they closed the loop.
Meeting Creek No. 2 and Open Road Barrel-Aged beer will be released April 26, 2023.
Join GrainHenge Whisky April 19 on Facebook live to chat about the upcoming release.
GrainHenge Whisky will be live on Facebook this April 19th to celebrate the new release, and you’re welcome to join in as Haynes explains the behind-the-scenes process that brought this special drink to life.
“We had our first virtual tasting last month and it was very well received. We’re excited to share Garret’s knowledge and enthusiasm with our supporters, and to share these new releases across Canada.”
Both Troubled Monk and GrainHenge Whisky are committed to locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and love to pay tribute to Albertan culture with every new release. Each release from GrainHenge Whisky is named for an iconic grain elevator, which, standing or not, are inspiring monuments on the prairie landscape. Check out grainhenge.com to see if your favourite grain elevator has its own whisky pairing.
Order the Meeting Creek No. 2 online at www.grainhenge.com or visit the taproom at 5551 45th St. in Red Deer, to purchase the new whisky and the Open Road Barrel-Aged beer.
