Jun. 09, 2010 - Issue #764: Hot Summer Guide 2010
To the Pint
Two-wheeled pub crawl
A human-powered way to enjoy a brew all over the city
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I also love, from time to time, to end a solid ride by stopping for a quick beer to quench my thirst and celebrate a great day outdoors. However, there is nothing worse than fighting with busy traffic to reach a decent pub to take the glow off a river valley ride. So, I have learned to spot a few good beer spots that are within reach of the river valley trails, requiring minimal interaction with cars. So, allow me to take you on a virtual bicycle pub crawl.
A good place to start is at the northeast end of the city, at Hermitage Park. The reason we start there is because the beer pickings are slim in that area of town, and you won't want beer until you complete a few miles. The first seven or eight kilometres take you up to Rundle Golf Course and back down to the busy sister parks of Rundle and Gold Bar. At the Gold Bar bridge, I suggest you stay on the south bank, but if you are really desperate for a beer, you could cross the river and pop out of the valley at Ada Boulevard and pedal a few blocks of residential streets to Culina Highlands (6509 - 112 Ave). It is known more for its food but the beer list is not half bad.
Along the south bank awaits the best options. The ride will take you out of the valley to Capilano—a pleasant, gentle climb—and then quickly back down as you head to Riverside Golf Course, only to give you what I consider the worst hill in the city up to Forest Heights. You don't get to stop yet, even though you have put on about 13 kilometres at this point (I am going to make you earn that beer).
At the Muttart you have a fork in the road. Go south up Mill Creek Ravine and you can end up at the funky Blue Chair Café (9624 - 76 Ave), which has Alley Kat on tap, and listen to some cool live music. Keep heading west, though, along the winding paths of Skunk Hollow and behind the Kinsmen to the High Level bridge and you hit what is undoubtedly the best beer list in town—and a great patio as well—the Sugar Bowl, which is just a short, but intense, climb from the Kinsmen. Pop out at the west side of the High Level and pop in for any of your favourite beer from around the world, there are about 75 on the beer menu. Blanche de Chambly hits the spot after that last climb, or maybe a bottle of Dieu Du Ciel Peche Mortel if the weather has turned wet on you.
After all the south bank climbs, you might want some easier riding, so head north across the High Level and meet up with the bike path that runs parallel to 109 Street (an amazing little secret of a path, right downtown but surprisingly quiet). After one long light at Jasper you reach Ceili's Irish Pub (10338 - 109 St). It is mostly a standard faux-Irish Pub, but has a couple of pleasant surprises, with both Mill Street Tankhouse Ale and Fuller's London Pride on tap, both with enough hops to give you an energy burst for the last legs.
You have ridden 22 kilometres or so now, so if you are tiring you can take one last short trip by backtracking to the north end of the High Level, and then hang a right and ride along the top of the river bank to 120 Street and swing north to 102 Avenue. A few short blocks on that road finds you at Original Joe's (12520 - 102 Ave). The appeal of Original Joe's is its commitment to microbreweries: you will find Alley Kat, Amber's, Yukon Brewing and Wild Rose all on tap, plus a decent selection of imports in the bottle. The patio is not the best—looking onto their parking lot—but it has a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.
If you have some energy left, however, you could head all the way back to the south side of the High Level bridge and hook up with Saskatchewan Drive as is snakes across the north edge of the University campus. It then meanders into a posh neighbourhood until Groat Road, where you can hook up with a bike path taking you back into the valley via the old Keillor Road. Ride past Whitemud Park and its anglers and head to Fort Edmonton Park, where a pleasant destination awaits you—Edmonton's only pub in the river valley.
I'm talking about the historic Mahogany Bar at the Selkirk Hotel in Fort Edmonton. This bar is a recreation of a 1920s stand-up saloon. The place oozes history, class and a leisurely pint. They only have Alley Kat and Amber's on tap and a small selection of imports in the bottle. Half the fun is imagining yourself in roaring 1920s Edmonton, enjoying a glass of ale from Edmonton Brewing and Malting (original inhabitants of the now-defunct Molson plant). Of course you will need to pay admission to the park on top of your beer cost, but, think of all the money you saved by riding your bike across town.
Six great beer destinations in about 35 kilometres. Just watch your consumption, because you are going to have to ride home once the beer glass is empty. V
Jason Foster is the creator of onbeer.org, a website devoted to news and views on beer from the prairies and beyond.
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