Dageraad Blonde (7.5%)

Ben Coli, the co-founder of and visionary behind Burnaby, British Columbia’s Dageraad Brewing, once told me that Dageraad Blonde was the main reason he opened a brewery in the first place. And tasting it back then, it was easy to figure out why.

At a time when Belgian-inspired beers were mainly a Québec thing, Coli and Dageraad flew high the Belgian flag in B.C., championing such styles as the blonde ale (obviously), wit, saison, and even the low alcohol table beer, or as the Belgians know it, tafelbier. And while other, non-Belgian styles have  by necessity crept in to the portfolio over the years, it is the Belgian-inspired section of Dageraad’s line-up that draws me continually back to the brewery.

So I was delighted to find on a recent visit to Vancouver that not only is Dageraad Blonde now available in a can – as it has no doubt been for several years now – but it is found with relative ease in the city’s liquor stores, or at least in the handful I managed to visit between Olympic Village and Kitsilano.

While I appreciate and actually prefer the aesthetics of a bottle for a beer such as this, there is no denying the convenience and portability of a can. (Particularly when packing a few cans for a flight from Vancouver to Toronto.) While the Blonde wasn’t the only reason I checked my carry-on luggage for my return flight, it certainly figured highly.

The pour produces a sandy, hazy golden beer with a solid collar of pure white foam, so the change from bottle to can hasn’t had any negative impact in that regard. On the nose, as one would expect of a beer of this style, the yeastiness arrives first, spicy with accents of nutmeg and white pepper, followed by fruity notes of fresh apricot, preserved lemon, and even a faint hint of canned pineapple.

It is on the palate that the Blonde really shines, though. While my one critique is that it is a bit flat tasting in the front, with  perfumed maltiness that doesn’t quite come fully alive, that is more than compensated for on the mid-palate, which offers a compelling mix of clean, slightly caramelly malt, yeasty spice, lemon drop, candied lime peel, a touch of candied almond or marzipan, and a slight, balancing bitterness. The finish is likewise most satisfying, with warming alcohol and lingering peppery spice.

Overall, this is a beer that can stand proudly beside any of the Belgian originals that inspired it, and frankly would likely defeat many in a blind tasting. When I wrote from Vancouver on Instagram that this was the “still the BC GOAT,” I had my tongue semi-planted in my cheek. But tasting this critically in my office, I have to believe I really wasn’t that far off.

94 ($3.75/473 ml)