Bottoms up: New company offers tours of Edmonton's best breweries

Edmonton beer lovers can now satiate their liquid obsession with a guided tour of the city's thriving brewery scene.

Edmonton Brewery Tours offersbehind-the-scenes access to some of the city's most successful beer-making operations.

It's a way to showcase the growing diversity of Edmonton's craft brewing sceneand maybe even convert a few swill drinkers into a love of the finer draughts, said lead tour guide Michael Evans.

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"We've recently been fortunate enough to see a huge surplus in breweries pop up across the cityand really all over the province," said Evans in an interview Wednesday with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

'From grain to glass'

"We really wanted people to be able to visit all of these and see how different they all are. Each one of of the breweries that we take you to is very unique in their own right."

Those who sign up will hop on a professionally chauffeured bus for boozy tours and tastings at Bent Stick, Situation Brewing, Blind Enthusiasm, Brewsters and Yellowhead Brewing.

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The tours offer lessons on yeast, malt, hops,unusual ingredients like coffee and spices, andeven the importance of water in the brewing process.

"While we take you to thesebreweries, each one will tell you their own story but also focus on a different aspectof the brewing process," said Evans.

"Our goal is to take people on a trip that will show what Edmonton has to offer but also how beer goes from grain to glass."

'Great beer scene'

Samples, a hearty lunch and ample bottled water are included in the $150 admission.

The tours, launched at the end of June, will runSaturdays until the weatherturns cold or business slows, Evans said.

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"If there is someone who is trying to get into beer for the first time, we'd love to have them," he said.

"And for those beer geeks, they're really going to enjoy it, because they're going to get that one-on-one time with the brewers.

"I'm hoping everyone comes out Edmonton has a great beer scene," Evans said.