If you’re a NowMedia reader outside of the Okanagan, you might have missed my story from this past week.
Slackwater Brewing in Penticton announced that their taproom will be permanently closing at the end of the month due to “financial and operational challenges.”
While the closure is especially sad news for Penticton beer drinkers, the good news is that Slackwater will continue to produce and sell their fantastic creations around British Columbia and beyond.
And since I have yet to feature Slackwater in this column, I figured it was the perfect time to shine a spotlight on the brewery and encourage you to support them during this transitionary time.
I’ll start with one that you should be able to find in a lot of BC Liquor Stores around the province in the award-winning Idleback Amber Ale.
This bad boy is a staple at Slackwater and has won a pair of honours at the Canadian Brewing Awards – gold in 2021 and silver in 2022.
Brewed with west coast cascade hops, this malt-forward yet balanced and approachable ale comes in at 5.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) and 25 IBU (international bitterness units).
You may even be able to find the Idleback Amber Ale inside Slack Pack mixer, which features four of the brewery’s most popular creations.
The eight-pack, with two tall cans of each beer, also contains the Tight Lines Helles Lager, Party Wave Hazy Pale Ale and Intruder IPA.
(FYI -- Slackwater will be replacing this mixer pack with a new fall/winter one soon, so be sure to scoop it up if you can track it down at your local liquor store!)
The Party Wave is perfect for those who enjoy a juicy, citrusy IPA, and it’s certainly crushable at 4.5% ABV and 22 IBU.
If you’re looking for something around that ABV but don’t love the hoppy beers, you could try to track down Slackwater’s Headwaters Pilsner or Lo-Tide Light Lager.
And if you’d rather have a juicy IPA that has a more typical ABV for that kind of beer, look no further than the What The Fog? New England IPA that will smack you with a 6.8% ABV and 39 IBU.
Whatever your beer of choice is, keep an eye out for Slackwater products when you head to the liquor store this weekend or in the near future.
While it’s sad to hear that such a great part of Penticton’s brewery scene is closing, it’s exciting to know that BC beer drinkers can still support Slackwater as they pave a new path.
Josh Duncan is the NowMedia news director and a craft beer lover. Reach him at josh@nowmediagroup.ca. His beer column appears every Saturday afternoon in this space.