Canadian Beer Style Guide

Ok, there are some very mainstream Canadian beers that are not represented by the BJCP style guide so I thought I'd write a first draft of the style guidelines. Most of this is just a cut and paste job with a search and replace with Canadian spelling ("flavour" is spelled with a "u"!!!!) and added some marketing copy for the descriptions. Let me know what you think or if I missed anything. ...and yes, this was started as a joke but it probably doesn't have to be.


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Category 29 Canadian Premium Lager
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29A. Honey Brown Lager
Aroma: Little to no malt aroma. Medium-low to no roast and caramel malt aroma. Hop aroma may range from none to light struck. Can have low levels of yeast character (green apples, DMS, or fruitiness). No diacetyl.

Appearance: Golden to amber brown. Foam stand may not be long lasting, and is usually light tan in colour.

Flavour: Moderately crisp with some low to moderate levels of sweetness. Medium-low to no caramel. Hop flavour ranges from none to offensively skunky. Hop bitterness at low to medium levels. No diacetyl. May have a very light fruitiness. Burnt or moderately strong roasted malt flavours are a defect.

Mouthfeel: Light to somewhat medium body. Smooth, although a highly-carbonated beer.

Overall Impression: A somewhat sweeter version of standard/premium lager with a little more body and flavour.

History: Est. in Guelph Ont in 1834 (1988), was originally brewed by pirates and was a popular beer of Al Capone during prohibition.

Ingredients: Honey, Two- or six-row barley, corn or rice as adjuncts. Light use of caramel and darker malts.

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.044 – 1.050
IBUs: 8 – 20
FG: 1.008 – 1.012
SRM: 6 – 10
ABV: 4.5 – 5.5%

Commercial Examples: Sleeman's Honey Brown Lager, Whistler Bear Paw Honey Lager, Big Rock Honey Brown Lager, Granville Island Cypress Honey Lager, Cariboo Honey Lager

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29B. West Coast Dark Cream Ale
Aroma: Little to no malt aroma. Medium-low to no roast and caramel malt aroma. Hop aroma may range from none to light. Can have low levels of yeast character (green apples, DMS, or fruitiness). No diacetyl.

Appearance: Deep amber to dark brown with bright clarity and ruby highlights. Foam stand may not be long lasting, and is usually light tan in colour.

Flavour: Moderately crisp with some low to moderate levels of sweetness. Medium-low to no caramel. Hop flavour ranges from none to none. Hop bitterness at low to medium levels. No diacetyl. May have a very light fruitiness. Burnt or moderately strong roasted malt flavours are a defect.

Mouthfeel: Light to somewhat medium body. Smooth, although a highly-carbonated beer.
Overall Impression: A darker, somewhat sweeter version of standard/premium lager with a little more body and flavour.

Comments: Recently breweries have attempted to rebrand their dark cream ales as "English Session Milds" despite lack of any "English" character and remaining 5% ABV (all beer MUST be 5% abv!!!!!)

Ingredients: Two-row barley, corn or rice as adjuncts. Light use of caramel and darker malts.

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.044 – 1.050
IBUs: 8 – 20
FG: 1.008 – 1.012
SRM: 15-20
ABV: 4.5 – 5.5%

Commercial Examples: Russell Cream Ale, R&B Raven Cream Ale, Big Rock Worthog Cream Ale, Whistler Black Tusk Ale

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29C. East Coast India Pale Ale
Aroma: Low to medium-low malt aroma, which can be grainy, sweet or corn-like. Hop aroma may range from very low to a medium-low, spicy or floral hop presence. Low levels of yeast character (green apples, DMS, or fruitiness) are optional but acceptable. No diacetyl.

Appearance: Pale straw to gold colour. White, frothy head may not be long lasting. Very clear.

Flavour: Crisp and dry flavour with some low levels of grainy or malty sweetness. Hop flavour ranges from none to low levels. Hop bitterness at low to medium level. Balance may vary from slightly malty to slightly bitter, but is relatively close to even. High levels of carbonation may provide a slight acidity or dry "sting." No diacetyl. No fruitiness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body from use of adjuncts such as rice or corn. Highly carbonated with slight carbonic bite on the tongue.

Overall Impression: Refreshing and thirst quenching. Those who like it, like it a lot.

Comments: Hop forward versions are not to style and should be entered in Category 14.

History: Originating in Halifax in 1820, marketed as an IPA long after other breweries had stopped using the name and before the modern craft beer movement redefined the style.

Ingredients: Two- or six-row barley with up to 25% rice or corn as adjuncts.

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.046 – 1.056
IBUs: 15 – 25
FG: 1.008 – 1.012
SRM: 2 – 6
ABV: 4.6 – 6%

Commercial Examples: Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale


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29D. Canadian Red
Aroma: Low to medium-low malt aroma, which can be grainy, sweet or corn-like. Hop aroma may range from very low to a medium-low, spicy or floral hop presence. Low levels of yeast character (green apples, DMS, or fruitiness) are optional but acceptable. No diacetyl.

Appearance: A distinctive ruby-red colour. White, frothy head may not be long lasting. Very clear.

Flavour: Up front it layers a hint of brewer's caramel with a light bitterness from roasted malts. But the caramel's sweetness balances out the bitterness to yield a smooth finish with no lingering aftertaste. High levels of carbonation may provide a slight acidity or dry "sting." No diacetyl. No fruitiness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body from use of adjuncts such as rice or corn. Highly carbonated with slight carbonic bite on the tongue.

Overall Impression: Refreshing and thirst quenching, although generally more filling than standard/lite versions.

Comments: Canadian Reds tend to have fewer adjuncts than standard/lite lagers, and can be all-malt. Strong flavours are a fault, but Canadian Reds have more flavour than standard/lite lagers.

Ingredients: Two- or six-row barley with up to 3 roasted malts

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.046 – 1.056
IBUs: 15 – 25
FG: 1.008 – 1.012
SRM: 10 – 15
ABV: 4.6 – 6%

Commercial Examples: Rickard's Red, Alexander Keith's Red Amber Ale

Interesting how you've defined Canadian styles within the ABV: 4.5-6%-ish range, and generally "highly carbonated".

Also, just a formatting point that style 29B (cream ale) the commercial examples are below the break instead of within the style description.

maverick9862 said:

Interesting how you've defined Canadian styles within the ABV: 4.5-6%-ish range, and generally "highly carbonated".

Also, just a formatting point that style 29B (cream ale) the commercial examples are below the break instead of within the style description.

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Thanks, corrected!

and all Canadian beer must be 5% ABV, served cold and highly carbonated. Its the Canadian Reinheitsgebot.

I can honestly say I've never heard of any of those brands. Don't you guys send anything down here other than Molson?

ktblunden said:

I can honestly say I've never heard of any of those brands. Don't you guys send anything down here other than Molson?

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You can live a full and satisfying life without tasting any of the beers in this style guide. I know we send more than just Molson - I've bought Moosehead lager at ABC stores in Hawaii and doesn't everyone in the US love Maudite?

Ah yes, forgot about Moosehead (not much better) and Unibroue (definitely redeeming).

All of the above styles could be considered as Craft Beer for the masses or perhaps a "gateway" style of craft beer to get people into the enjoyment of true craft beer. Sleeman Honey Brown is quite popular, at least out here in the Vancouver area and is usually found in drinking establishments that only serve bland Canadian/ Coors/ Bud otherwise.

HopHoarder said:

All of the above styles could be considered as Craft Beer for the masses or perhaps a "gateway" style of craft beer to get people into the enjoyment of true craft beer. Sleeman Honey Brown is quite popular, at least out here in the Vancouver area and is usually found in drinking establishments that only serve bland Canadian/ Coors/ Bud otherwise.

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Yeah, most of the "style guide" is a joke and digs at beers like Alexander Keith's and Rickards Red (the guideline is a cut and paste of the american lager guidelines) and the weird black cream ales that breweries in BC make...but a legitimate case for "Honey Lager" could be made. Its a distinct lager syle but just the numbers of commercial examples is reason enough for it to be represented in the style guide - classic american pilsner has no commercial examples. ...and the number of times I've offered to bring a keg of homebrew to a party and I ask them what they want. If they aren't beer people, they ALWAYS say "Honey Lager". ...so is skunkiness a feature of the style or a flaw? I grew up southern ontario and had never had a bottle that was skunked. Here in vancouver every bottle of sleeman's I've had is in rough rough shape.

...and a good argument could be made for Alexander Keith's IPA to be its own style.

Since subcategory 29A is the only lager and the rest are ales, it doesn't seem appropriate to call the category "Category 29 Canadian Premium Lager." I like the concept though.

ktblunden said:

I can honestly say I've never heard of any of those brands. Don't you guys send anything down here other than Molson?

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Canadian Brewing laws are wierd, lots of local brews you can only get in the provinces that can't be exported even to other provinces much less, the US.

My dad has a place NFLD, and I've travel to some of the other provinces.

WesleyBrewViking said:

Since subcategory 29A is the only lager and the rest are ales, it doesn't seem appropriate to call the category "Category 29 Canadian Premium Lager." I like the concept though.

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no...its appropriate to call Alexander Keith's and Rickard's a premium lager

Nice work! Appreciated the humour, but the thought, and the food for thought, in your guidelines.

Keith's was my gateway beer into IPA's...not that it's much of one, but the name alone got me into hoppier, maltier beers.

So...here I get all super-Canadian...I was at the Tragically Hip at MTS Centre on Saturday. There's four beers on tap, Kokanee, Keith's, Bud, and BL. My buddy brings me a big, cold beer, I take a big sip, and thought, "wow...hops were involved at some point in the making of this beverage! There is detectable bittering!" I turned to him and said, "This is Keith's, right?" He shook his head, and said, "man, you really do know beer!".

Cheers, eh?

BorealBrewer said:

Nice work! Appreciated the humour, but the thought, and the food for thought, in your guidelines.

Keith's was my gateway beer into IPA's...not that it's much of one, but the name alone got me into hoppier, maltier beers.

So...here I get all super-Canadian...I was at the Tragically Hip at MTS Centre on Saturday. There's four beers on tap, Kokanee, Keith's, Bud, and BL. My buddy brings me a big, cold beer, I take a big sip, and thought, "wow...hops were involved at some point in the making of this beverage! There is detectable bittering!" I turned to him and said, "This is Keith's, right?" He shook his head, and said, "man, you really do know beer!".

Cheers, eh?

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Its a popular hobby these days to rip on Keith's and proclaim "its not an IPA!". I usually play contrarian and argue that its been called an "ipa" far longer than any of the current craft brewed examples - its the american craft breweries and BJCP who have redefined/reinvented the style, they are the ones who are wrong. ...and its mentioned in Mitch Steele's IPA book therefore it must be an IPA I'm not a fan, but given the choice you had I would have picked it too. I've only seen the hip once and that was in the US.

ktblunden said:

I can honestly say I've never heard of any of those brands. Don't you guys send anything down here other than Molson?

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We keep all the good stuff for ourselves, eh?

I saw the Hip a few years back at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. It's a Canadian thing to see the Hip at least once; that and Rush :rockin: I think the first time I had a Keith's "IPA" was after I was into craft beer and other IPA's for awhile. I ordered it off a menu (limited beer selection) and after having a sip I called the waiter over and said there must be some mistake as I had ordered an IPA. He told he had indeed brought over a Keith's IPA.
It's not my thing but yes there are many up here who love it. Put a Keith's beside a Driftwood Fat Tug IPA and you be the judge

HopHoarder said:

It's not my thing but yes there are many up here who love it. Put a Keith's beside a Driftwood Fat Tug IPA and you be the judge

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I wrote that into the guideline for East Coast IPA under the comments. "Those who like it, like it a lot"

I've had Keiths Ipa before on a trip to Halifax....it's good, but as far as everyone getting too hung up on the fact that it's not a true IPA. Why worry about it, appreciate it for what it is, no point getting snobby. Its a competently brewed, sessionable pale ale. Probably a good step or two above the average mass produced fizzy stuff.........maybe we could assign it a new title CPA Canadian Pale Ale.


Also to our cousins from the North......could you please come take your Geese back.....they all seem to have taken up permanent residence in my state, and like bad house guests, they make a huge mess

We have plenty of resident geese up here as it is, so unfortunately you're stuck with them ;-).

I don't mind Keith's, and I don't really care that it's called an IPA. I do think that it could be terribly disappointing for someone who has never heard of it to order an IPA in a pub and receive an AK. It's just not what most people expect when they think of IPA.

It might be more appropriate to call it an ISA - India Session Ale. It's definitely a very sessionable beer, as I had no trouble putting away three jugs of it with not much buzz at our last Christmas party.

One possible additional category: Canadian Ice Beer, à la Labbatt Maximum Ice, Molson Black Ice, etc.

None of them belong in the 5D Eisbock category, so it could be its own official style.

Canadians are funny and hockey is my favorite sport to watch live.
I like you guys way more than our other neighbors.
Cheers eh

Yes I could see ISA as a more accurate way of describing a Keiths IPA. As for the ice beers, do they really need their.iwn.category? It's basically what teens look to as cheap beer that gets you drunk a little quicker. Kinda like Colt 45.

Only sig. better than colt 45

HopHoarder said:

Yes I could see ISA as a more accurate way of describing a Keiths IPA. As for the ice beers, do they really need their.iwn.category?...

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This:

gbx said:

Yeah, most of the "style guide" is a joke and digs at beers like Alexander Keith's and Rickards Red (the guideline is a cut and paste of the american lager guidelines) and the weird black cream ales that breweries in BC make...

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Only in keeping with the tongue-in-cheek, somewhat self-deprecating humour of the OP. I really don't care for cheap ice beers.

HopHoarder said:

...It's basically what teens look to as cheap beer that gets you drunk a little quicker. Kinda like Colt 45.

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Come to think of it, I haven't touched those beers since my teens. Even then, I usually preferred Olde English High Gravity 800 - it's hard to beat $4.00/40oz of 8% abv swill if your only objective is getting hammered on a budget. The domestic ice beers were about $7-8 for a forty, if I remember correctly.

patthebrewer said:

Also to our cousins from the North......could you please come take your Geese back.....they all seem to have taken up permanent residence in my state, and like bad house guests, they make a huge mess

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I think we have all your bald eagles right now. But they just hang out in the trees around rivers looking cool

WesleyBrewViking said:

One possible additional category: Canadian Ice Beer, à la Labbatt Maximum Ice, Molson Black Ice, etc.

None of them belong in the 5D Eisbock category, so it could be its own official style.

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Yes! and the weird canadian 40ouncers like Extra Old Stock. ...and then there is the tabernac belgian styles.

Being Canadian I feel obligated to comment on this thread. I agree that AK should be in a category of its own, that being said I like "Canadian Pale Ale" as to me it is like the "Bass" of Canada. All the other specialty beer listed that are not Molson or Labatts are like Michalob type craft wannabes

You guys still driving around on square wheels up there?

i didnt know canadians came up with any original ideas (including beer) that were not invented and perfected by americans

America! F*** Yeah! Haha

Edit: not trolling, all in good fun to our northern neighbors eh

i didnt know canadians came up with any original ideas (including beer) that were not invented and perfected by americans

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Ah you could google Canadian inventors as one example. We also invented baseball and let's say it was perfected during the 1992 and 1993 World Series.
Incidentally, Molson Canadian is the oldest Brewery in North America.

HopHoarder said:

Ah you could google Canadian inventors as one example. We also invented baseball and let's say it was perfected during the 1992 and 1993 World Series.

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You would be entirely wrong about baseball. It was invented by an american, Alexander Cartwright.

Sorry, I meant basketball