Phillips Brewing Company has launched a special "benefit brew" in Alberta to support the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) which was involved in the recent rescue of 200 dogs in Milk River.
According to the Victoria-based brewery the seasonal release is part of an annual project in which it creates a beer for a not-for-profit organization chosen by the community and donates all proceeds from the sales — estimated at about $10000 — to that cause. This is the first year an Alberta-based organization has been selected and Phillips now plans to extend the program into Alberta permanently.
The beer itself is called Alberta Animal Rescue Dunkleweizen. Dan Reid of Phillips Brewing says the beer’s name comes from "dunkel" which means dark in German and "weizen" which means wheat and it’s a popular style in northern Germany and Austria. "I can vouch for this because I just got back from there two weeks ago" he adds.
Reid describes it as being similar to a Hefeweizen the popular light and hazy summer beers brewed with wheat and barley but a Dunkelweizen uses dark roasted malt which gives the beer more colour and body. "Subtle notes of caramel and chocolate are balanced with the lightness characteristic of wheat beers producing a complex and refreshing beer" he says.
Alberta Animal Rescue Dunkleweizen is available at liquor stores for a limited time.
