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Garrison Brew Wins Gold & Canadian Beer of the Year - Again!

TORONTO, ON - September 25, 2008 – Award-winning Halifax microbrewer, Garrison Brewing Co., was once again honoured with the prestigious “Canadian Beer of the Year” title for its “Imperial Pale Ale”. President & General Manager, Brian Titus, proudly accepted the award at the nation’s ultimate beer competition – The Canadian Brewing Awards.

This is the second time in a row the impressive “Imperial Pale Ale” has garnered not only the “Beer of the Year” title, but also receiving the gold medal in IPA (India Pale Ale) class. The chic downtown event space was crammed with brewery folk from around the country, media personnel & LCBO representatives. Most of the winning beers were present for sampling & Garrison’s IPA disappeared quickly among the appreciative crowd. “This extreme beer is a pleasure to brew and a greater pleasure to drink” exclaimed Titus during his acceptance speech.

Imperial Pale Ale is a robust, full-bodied ale in the extreme Double IPA style. Copious amounts of the now scarce Cascade and Amarillo hop add an intensely tart, grapefruit flavour, floral citrus aroma and deep lingering bitterness that make this one of Canada’s hoppiest brews. Balance is maintained through the generous use of Caramel and Munich roast malts, allowing a tasty, malt foundation to shine through. Then, in order to keep the intensity of the all this flavour, Garrison releases this big beer unfiltered – a process that is unique in the Maritimes. “Fresh” ale is bottled or kegged directly off the fermentors without any final filtration. The result is a deep-orange hazy, full-flavoured and strong (6.9% alc/vol) version of this special brew.

The fact that this brew was launched and continues to be produced in the midst of an unprecedented hop crisis makes it all the more remarkable. “The sudden scarcity of such distinctive hops makes this beer a constant challenge to produce” states award-winning Brewmaster, Daniel Girard, adding “it is exactly this kind of extreme, specialty beer though that ignites a beer-lovers passion and expands the boundaries”.

A total of 239 beers from all regions of the country were judged. Garrison Brewing was the only Nova Scotian brewery to receive an award.

For more information:
Brian Titus, President & General Manager
Garrison Brewing Company
(902) 453-5343
btitus@garrisonbrewing.com

About Garrison

Garrison Brewing Company is an award-winning independent Halifax microbrewery, producing distinctive, unpasteurized, all-natural ales in small batches. Now in its 11th year, Garrison distributes widely throughout the Maritimes and has doubled sales since moving to the Halifax Seaport three years ago.