Big Rock Brewery

Regional Brewery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada 🇨🇦
Associated with 3 Venues

Established in 1985

Contact
5555 76 Ave SE, Calgary, T2C 4L8, Canada
Subsidiaries
Description
Proud Early Bird of Craft Beer - The Big Rock Story
17,000 years ago, a glacier carried a huge rock onto the Alberta prairies where none like it had been before. This "big rock" is the glacial erratic we take our name from, as no doubt, our founder's notion of creating a craft brewery in 1985 was a bit erratic at the time.
The rooster represents our early arrival as craft brewers. It's also a bit of a nod to the "cock of the walk" bravura that Ed McNally had when he started Big Rock Brewery.
We craft our beer with our brewmasters’ skill and imagination, utilizing local ingredients and innovative processes, all rooted in Ed McNally's original passion for excellence and in doing things differently and better.

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7.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Draught at the brewery
Cloudy blond colour, compact head. Fruity and spicy, strong hop character, but also bold malt base, with strong hop resins and quite astringent in the final. It goes back to the old style IPAs. Many elements here, rough, but good.
Tried on 08 Feb 2019 at 17:24

6.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Draught at the brewery
Black colour, small creamy head. Mild dark ale with some caramel and some sugars; there is a light infection that adds a dimension, without the infection it would be terribly boring and in a short while this could be undrinkable, but today it's quite pleasant.
Tried on 08 Feb 2019 at 17:24

6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Malty and fruity notes. Clear copper with a decent white head. Caramel, toffee and a touch of wood.
Tried on 03 Feb 2019 at 23:49

5.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 6
On tap. Darker medium brown clear body and a bit of foam. Lots of cardamom and cinnamon on the nose. Flavour is soft malt notes witb mellow cardamom. Finish is a little watery for a beer like this, could be fuller. A very middling winter ale.
Tried from Draft on 15 Jan 2019 at 00:41

6.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6
On tap at the brewpub. Has a medium clear gold body with minimal head. Aroma is lots of lemony grain. Flavour is bright grains and some soft hoppiness closer to a lager than a pilsner, but nonetheless okay. Medium mouthfeel. A standard style commercial brewpub drinker.
Tried from Draft on 15 Jan 2019 at 00:33

6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6
Clear copper brown body with a hint of foam on top. Very peachy on the nose. Flavour is muddy malts with oranginess on the aftertaste. Medium finish. Okay, rather fruity.
Tried on 15 Jan 2019 at 00:21

7/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
On tap at the brewpub. Has a clear gold body and modest foam on top. Sweet hop aroma, well balances and appetizing. Flavour is sharp hops with some mellow peppery grain behind it. Dry finish. Quite nice though also rather heavy.
Tried from Draft on 15 Jan 2019 at 00:06

4.1/10 Appearance 2 Aroma 5 Flavor 5 Texture 2 Overall 4.5
355ml can. Pours crystal clear with a slight yellow-green hue and a very thin, fizzy, short lived, white head that fully dissipates. Sweet aroma of pear juice. Sweet flavour of pear juice overpowering apple juice with a dry finish. Light body with a thin, watery texture and lively carbonation. Too sweet for me.
Tried from Can on 28 Nov 2018 at 04:51

5/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 6 Flavor 5 Texture 4 Overall 5
355ml can. Pours a clear orange-amber with a very thin, fizzy, short lived, white head that fully dissipates. Sweet aroma of artificial peach (just like fuzzy peach candy) that overwhelms a mild apple note. Sweet flavour of fuzzy peach candy, sugar and apple juice with a dry, acidic finish. Light body with a sticky texture and lively carbonation. Too sweet and artificial for me. It's like someone dumped a peach soda into some apple juice.
Tried from Can on 23 Nov 2018 at 05:11

5.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 5
Can with a big Holiday Cheers in the middle of it, so looks like a new label this year. Clean deep amber colour with a big frothy, very light beige head, good retention and some wavy lace. Not liking the wet-sock smell from the yeast I will say. Overpowers the spices, and just not pleasant. The taste is more like it with the spices shining. Well, lets just say they are present. Everything seems a little too mild, watered-down. Wish the aromas were better and the taste, punchier.
Tried from Can on 23 Nov 2018 at 00:50