About
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.
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.
Part of the group
5.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 5
Tried on my first visit to Moxie’s, right before seeing Tron 3D at the theatre. Pours a clean amber colour with a shot lasting head, but good lacing and a 1mm coat over the brew. The smell is of grainy malt, and after breathing a bit, honey comes out of it. Nice grainy taste with very mild caramel. Smooth mouthfeel and quite refreshing. Does what it has to do: Please a mass market, but still a notch better over mass beers.
Tried
on 15 Feb 2011
at 23:06
4/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 3
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4
Bought this one at The Beer Store in a variety 12-pack. XO, giving the impression of aged (like cognac), but not really. Talks about this on back label but does not mention anything about how long (so not really important and credible). Small white head, not lasting long, with a few wet spots of lace. Golden colour with little carbonation. Smells like wet hay and pee. Wet mouthfeel, wishing it was at least crisp (for a lager). Nope. A little bit of grass is felt to save the day, in the taste. Other than that, not much else. Short finish and overly boring.
Tried
on 26 Jan 2011
at 22:29
5.1/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
Got this one at The Works in Ottawa, on tap. Another brewer doing the light lime beer I see. Kind of weird to have this in the middle of winter. Anyways, had to try one. Poured a decent golden colour with average carbonation, but not much head and lacing. Light lime smell with a crisp refreshing mouthfeel. The lime tastes more like real lime juice than syrup (like most bigger brewer doing a light lime beer). So, better than most, and has more of a normal beer taste than a light beer. Kudos for that !
Tried
from Draft
on 26 Jan 2011
at 21:12
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5
A red copper ale with a thin off white head. In aroma, sweet caramel overlayed with cinnamon hearts. In mouth, a smooth nutty malt, torrefied, with sweetish cinnamon, cloying in the end. Bottle via probstk, thank Karl.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jan 2011
at 07:32
3.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 3
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 4
Can, 355 ml, gift from Karl Probst (danke!), savoured on August 5 2010; eye: golden, extra clear, slight effervescence, white head that turns into a tiny ring, no lacing; nose: malt, grain, corn, slight lime; mouth: malt, grain, corn, slight lime, finale in grain with slight presence of lime, really light body, average carbonation, refreshing; overall: disapppointing FRANÇAIS Canette, 355 ml, cadeau de Karl Probst (danke!), savourée le 5 août 2010; œil : dorée, extra claire, très légère effervescence, mousse blanche qui se transforme en un petit anneau, pas de dentelle; nez : malt, grain, maïs, très léger lime; bouche : grain, malt, maïs, très léger lime, finale en grain avec très légère présence de lime, corps très léger, carbonatation moyenne, rafraîchissante; en résumé : décevant
Tried
from Can
on 05 Aug 2010
at 13:22
4.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4
Can, 355 ml, gift from Karl Probst (danke!), savoured on August 2 2010; eye: copper, extra clear, minimal effervescence, light ring of tan head, average lacing; nose: grain, caramel; mouth: grain, caramel, slight nutty, finale in grain with presence of caramel, light body, good carbonation, rather sweet, thin and cloying texture; overall: once is enough FRANÇAIS Canette, 355 ml, cadeau de Karl Probst (danke!), savourée le 2 août 2010; œil : cuivre poli, extra claire, effervescence minime, léger anneau de mousse fauve, dentelle moyenne; nez : grain, caramel; bouche : grain, gros caramel, très léger noix, finale en grain avec présence de caramel, corps léger, bonne carbonatation, plutôt sucrée, texture mince et collante; en résumé : une fois c’est assez
Tried
from Can
on 02 Aug 2010
at 11:37
5.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
Pale golden coloured body with a thin white head and nice bubbles coming from the bottom. Pleasant subdued aroma of wheat, coriander seed and a bit of spices. Medium-bodied; Nice mild wheat and yeast flavours with some other spices noticeable and a bit of a fruityness at the end. Aftertaste is a bit funky with some odd wheat coming through and no sweetness or anything else pleasant. Overall, a good beer and an interesting drink to have in the middle of winter at a Mexican restaurant in Banff!!! I sampled this beer on draught at Magpie & Stump in Banff, Alberta on 30-December-2008.
Tried
from Can
on 18 Jun 2010
at 23:11
5.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5
Draught at Raven Pub, North Vancouver
Copper-amber color. Very light aroma. Some caramel flavor, very simple, sweetish, that may be due to the honey. Correct bitterness. All said: simple sweetish Ale.
Copper-amber color. Very light aroma. Some caramel flavor, very simple, sweetish, that may be due to the honey. Correct bitterness. All said: simple sweetish Ale.
Tried
on 19 May 2010
at 10:59
3.6/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 3
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
Can, pours a pale golden. Aroma and flavour of wheat, grain and citrus. Decent.
Tried
from Can
on 20 Mar 2010
at 17:46
3.5/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 3
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 3
Can, pours a light copper. Aroma of caramel, malt and wheat. Flavour is much the same - pretty standard beer. Drinkable.
Tried
from Can
on 20 Mar 2010
at 17:45