Annex Ale Project aiming for 'butcher shop model' microbrewery

As temperatures rise, patios fill and the city gears up for Calgary International Beerfest this weekend, it's a good time for a pint. Fortunately there's another microbrewery in Calgary's burgeoning craft brewing community — the Annex Ale Project, created by Andrew Bullied and Erica O'Gorman.

Bullied went to brew school in Niagara and moved on to be head brewer at Village Brewery while O'Gorman was head chef at Village Ice Cream. They've been working on securing their own space for a couple of years and finally found it just off Macleod Trail and 42nd Avenue S.W.

• Cheesemaking far from a lost art at Sugo Caffe Italia
• Rouge celebrates Canada's 150th by feeding guests coast to coast

While they got the brewery up and running, Bullied and O'Gorman brewed their own root beer with roots, spices and other botanical ingredients. The creamy pop with a vanilla-mint finish is available at Village Ice Cream as well as in small wine stores and eateries around town. It's also on tap at the brewery for those who want to forego the booze.

"Nobody else in Calgary is making craft soda," says O'Gorman.

"It's hard to get a license to make liquor if you don't have your own space. Considering the time and effort that goes into making the beer, we figured the root beer would be another opportunity."

It's also allowed them to build brand recognition while sorting out the complex details of setting up a brewery. 

When it comes to the beer, the duo favour a bit of complexity there as well. 

"We've always been about applying the Pacific Northwest model to beer in Calgary," says Bullied.

"I'm a huge hops guy, we never wanted a 'safe' beer that was going to appeal to the masses. We've got something that everyone can appreciate, but we don't do a lager or a kölsch or a blonde, that sort of thing. We're not going there. The market in the Pacific Northwest is a little more developed, and you don't need to have that safety net."

Tasting rooms seem to be the place to hang out these days, and on a recent weekday, dozens were gathered in Annex Ale's sunny new space — stylish with whitewashed walls, blonde wood and hanging plants — with growlers adorned with their logo at the ready to fill and go.

Annex has two regular brews on tap, an extra pale ale (XPA) and a bitter and there are four in constant rotation, allowing them room to play.

• Oxbow ditches white linens to become approachable neighbourhood destination
• Bridges on First is Bridgeland's first neighbourhood pub

There are a few simple snacks on the chalkboard — homemade hops-seasoned chips from Bullied's cousin Andrea Harling of Made Foods, and small bowls of salty, stringy, Middle Eastern cheese called jibneh mshallaleh, which comes from Quebec and is studded with tiny black nigella seeds. Pulled into shreds, it's a brilliantly perfect nibble alongside cold beer.

Besides Annex being a relaxing, off-the-beaten-path place to hang out, it wants to be part of Calgarians' shopping routine.

"We'd like to go by the butcher shop model," adds O'Gorman.

"Where you go to the baker for your bread, the butcher for your meat, and the brewer for your beer."