‘Pivotal year’ as Wyrd Bier gains traction outside of Edmonton

Breweries in Edmonton are offering their latest renditions of wacky and unconventional beers for Wyrd Bier Quest.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for beer enthusiasts who are looking to wet their whistle with something a little more funky than the average brew.

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Wyrd Bier returns for its fourth year, featuring 19 breweries from the Edmonton area, each with their own strange concoction.

“I think it’s a real pivotal year,” said Analog Brewing’s director and brewer Bryan Launier. “We’re starting to see it take traction outside of our own province. For the very first time we’ve seen people actually copycatting us which is fantastic.”

This year, Wyrd Bier is taking a slightly different and more fun approach with a classic monster movie theme.

Analog’s creation is called Creature from the Baklava-Goon, a baklava black lager.

“This is classic to us where we will come up with a name of a beer before we actually come up with the beer,” said Launier. “We couldn’t help ourselves.”

Longtime Edmonton staple Alley Kat Brewing Company developed a melon yogurt ale for Wyrd Bier called Soju Bomb that pours toxic green.

Bent Stick Brewing, located on Happy Beer Street, has participated in Wyrd Bier since it launched in 2023.

“Every year after Wyrd Bier ends we start to think about what we’re going to do the next year,” said Coe Boyd, one of Bent Stick’s owners.

In 2025 the brewery featured a potato lager, and in 2026 they’re sticking with root vegetables in its 24 Carrotene Belgian strong ale, brewed with turmeric, ginger and 150 lbs. of carrots.

Other strange brews include Longroof Brewing Company’s California roll lager, Manual Labour’s cerveza with Mexican crickets, and Irrational Brewing’s tropical ice cream IPA made in partnership with local creamer Kind Ice Cream.

While many take January to refresh their livers after some holiday cheer, Wyrd Bier has helped local breweries keep momentum during a slow down.

“The fact that we’ve been able to build something to get people excited about going out for a beer in January is huge for all of us,” said Boyd. “We’re expecting a lineup today, and that’s great for us.”

Wyrd Bier runs from Jan. 7 to Feb.1. Those looking to participate in the festivities can pick up a passport which each establishment will stamp after the purchase of a weird beer. A prize for the first 100 people to fill out their passport is a limited edition “Wyrd Bier Chalice.”

Passports are available at all participating breweries and Co-Op Liquor stores.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Sean McClune