First can-conditioned beer in Canada on way from Sawdust City

Gravenhurst, ON – Sawdust City Brewing Co. has announced the upcoming release of a new can-conditioned beer in form of a Rye Saison, kicking off its new Saison du Maison beer series which is slated to offer a new Saison for each season.

The brewers believe this is the first can-conditioned beer offered in Canada.

Traditional bottle-conditioning of beer – especially popular with Belgian-style beers – pertains to how the beer is aged and carbonated in the bottle instead of using force-carbonation techniques. Yeast is transferred or added to the bottle, often with added sugar, so that fermentation continues and carbonation occurs in the bottle.

Canning has only recently become very popular among craft brewers in Canada and Ontario, but equipment requires substantial investment.

“We lightly filtered this beer, just to pull out the primary yeast before re pitching a new strain along with the priming sugar to help with the conditioning,” explains Sawdust City Brewmaster, Sam Corbeil. “We’ll now let the beer condition for the next 21 days in our warm packaging hall.”

The first release, Winding Road for 7km, measures at 7% ABV. “It has a rich burnt yellow hue, much like the trees that line the, bent, undulating back roads of Muskoka during the Fall season,” adds Corbeil. “Big and estery, this very dry saison has tons of spicy rye character and a satisfying bready malt body.”

Look for it in 473mL cans in early December 2014 at the brewery’s retail store.