The latest legacy of Canada's wildfire smoke? Wisconsin's new beer-and-burger pairing
CTV
Another fragrant, hazy phenomenon is turning heads in the United States -- only this time, beer fans in Canada will happily take the blame.
Another fragrant, hazy phenomenon is turning heads in the United States -- only this time, beer fans in Canada will happily take the blame.
It's one of the newest IPA offerings from G-Five Brewing Company in Beloit, a southern Wisconsin community of about 36,500 people an hour's drive southwest of Milwaukee, a city synonymous with suds.
"Blame Canada" -- what else would they call it? -- is an easy-drinking session India pale ale inspired by the smoke-filled skies that were plaguing much of the U.S. Midwest and northeastern states earlier in the summer.
It was the product of a collaboration with fellow Wisconsin brewers Rocky Reef, a partnership that happened to come together in mid-June when the wildfire smoke was at its worst, said Tim Goers, G-Five's head brewer.
"When you have a business that is cyclical like that, you don't want your patrons to be outside because of air quality, so it does hurt business a little bit," Goers said.
Naturally, that's when the conversation turned to 1999's "South Park: The Movie" and that now-anthemic song-and-dance number, "Blame Canada" -- a riff on the show's tongue-in-cheek fondness for making fun of Canadians.
"We were going to hold on to it for a week, but it was just dumb luck timing that the wildfire haze came back," he said.
