Turner Valley is officially home to the world's best Hefeweisen.

Brauerei Fahr in Turner Valley was awarded the accolade at the world beer awards, along with a handful of "Country Winner" titles for several of their products.

Canadian beers best were first judged in Toronto, after which the best were sent to London to be judged on an international level.

President and Founder, Jochen Fahr says it came as a shock and still hasn't really set in.

"I looked at the email and thought 'Oh that's cool we're the country winner twice in a row with the Hefe, that's amazing!' Then I look at it again, and it said 'World's Best Bavarian Style Hefeweiss.' I had to do a triple take on that one."

It's not Fahr's first recognition from the World Beer Awards, with their Hefe having been the Country Winner last year, and their Pilsner having won silver in its category.

He says it's certainly a step up.

"This year, our Hefe made best in Canada, our Pilsner made Best in Canada, our Copper Lager made Best in Canada, and our non-alcoholic beer made silver, and then our Hefeweisen went on further and beat our all the other country winners for Bavarian Style Hefeweisen."

Though the thought of Turner Valley, Alberta being home to a world-class German beer may sound strange, Fahr says it's not such a stretch.

"When I started raising money for our own brick and mortar brewery I was thinking 'Where do I go? Do I want to be in Calgary? There'd be a lot of people for sure, the benefit would be there,' but at the same time, I grew up in a 300 resident village in the foothills of the alps, so Turner Valley was kind of like a calling from home. When you look at pictures of where I grew up and pictures of Turner Valley, they're almost interchangeable."

He says the Foothills may have been oft-overlooked in the past, but the talent and beauty in the area continues to receive more and more recognition.

"People are starting to look at what is more local here. We're 25 minutes outside the city limits of Calgary and it feels like we're in a different country. There are rolling hills, it's a beautiful drive. People want to get to a place in the most relaxed way possible, have a relaxed atmosphere, and leave happy. That's how you become a destination, right?"

Additionally, over the weekend, Brauerei Fahr's Munich earned gold in the European Style Amber to Dark Lager category at the Canadian Brewing Awards, with their Copper taking the silver in the same category, and their Hefe earning bronze in the German-Style Wheat Beer category. 

 

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