ABOUT ROAD TRIP STOPS OFF THE BEATEN PATH WITH ATB x LINDORK
This blog post is the fourth of five in an Explore Alberta – Road Trip Stops Off The Beaten Path with ATB x LINDORK series to be posted Aug 17-21, 2020. The intent of the blog series is to highlight local Alberta businesses (who also bank with ATB!) that you may not have heard of, who could use your support during the pandemic, as part of ATB Financial’s #ATBGoodnessGrows initiative. These businesses are located in lovely towns and cities “off the beaten path” between Edmonton and Calgary. Supporting local and exploring Alberta are two of my passions, and are topics I’m proud to partner with ATB Financial to highlight during the pandemic. You’ll also get an opportunity to enter for a chance to win an Ultimate Alberta Road Trip Prize Package! Learn more about this sponsored series and read some marketing tips I’ve shared with ATB.
Explore Didsbury and Torrington, Alberta
Part Four of Five in Explore Alberta: Road Trip Stops Off The Beaten Path with ATB x LINDORK
A new blog post in this series will be shared each day from August 17-21, 2020.
Located in south west Alberta, just 50 minutes north of Calgary, you’ll find the little Town of Didsbury.
Didsbury is situated at the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Mountainview County, and is about halfway between Calgary and Red Deer. You drive up to Didsbury through a scenic coulee (like a valley) which will take you right into their cute, historic downtown. It’s in that historic downtown (home to many old timey, western movie style structures), where you’ll find Cowtown Brewing Company.
Unique flavours, nods to both Alberta and India at Cowtown Brewing Co.
Cowtown Brewing Co. is owned by Bhupinder Gill, who describes himself as a farm boy. Originally having grown up in India but moved to Canada in 2005, Bhupinder’s family was involved in the cattle trade and farming. Here in Alberta, you’ll find cattle farms all around. The name of the brewery is a nod to the cows around town, at his family’s farm growing up, and Didsbury’s close proximity to nearby Calgary, nicknamed Cowtown, for its connection to cowboys and cattle producing.
Bhupinder worked in the oilfield for almost a decade as a mechanical QA inspector before deciding to take the leap into the beer industry. His connection to the oilfield is honoured in his craft lager Oilberta.
You’ll find other nods to the province throughout Cowtown Brewing Co., from the tractor seat bar stools and cow portrait hanging inside the small microbrewery, located at 1806 20 St., to the province of Alberta-shaped bar code on all of Cowtown’s beer cans.
Bhupinder’s Indian culture is present at Cowtown as well—you’ll find his motorcycle parked out in front of the brewery, a very popular mode of transportation in India. And there are some lovely connections to the country particularly with Cowtown’s recently released Bombay Chai Tea Beer, which my friend described as the “most exciting beer I’ve tried this year” and Mike found pretty interesting too—it’s rich, malty, and packed with Chai tea flavour. The Chai tea in fact, is a recipe blend from Bhupinder’s grandmother. His Chai Tea Beer has been so well-received that he’s also launched a tea company called Baba Tea Co.
I’ve enjoyed meeting and talking to so many Alberta small business owners as part of this Road Trips Off The Beaten Path blog series with ATB, and the reason why is because each and every one of them—especially Bhupinder—have been SO passionate when telling me about their business.
It’s so exciting, so endearing, to hear people talk about what they truly love doing. In Bhupinder’s case, that’s running a small brewery that focuses on high quality and taste, but also lets him be creative and honour his home country and his home province.
At Cowtown Brewing Co. you’ll find an assortment of lagers, blonde ales, cream ales, Indian Pale Ales, pilsners, and more—plus that very fun and unique Bombay Chai Tea Beer. Cowtown is in liquor stores across Alberta, but their beer can also be ordered online through Craft Tapp and delivered across Canada. And if you’re near Calgary or headed to the area, you can pick the beer up direct from where it’s brewed—in Didsbury, “off the beaten path” just a bit from Highway 2.
Be sure to plan your visit down to the area this summer! Eat, explore, and support local businesses.
If you do visit, ATB also has some incentives for you!!
Visit Cowtown Brewing Co. and get two free cans of beer with purchase!
Thanks to ATB Financial, Cowtown Brewing Co. in Didsbury will be giving visitors two free cans of beer with every purchase if you mention code LINDORKATB during your visit! This offer is valid from August 20 to September 7, 2020.
Enter to win an Ultimate Alberta Road Trip Prize Pack ($1,100 value)!
As part of this Road Trip Stops Off The Beaten Path blog series I’m doing with ATB, I’m also highlighting other Alberta businesses off Highway 2 between Edmonton and Calgary, and giving you a chance to replicate my trip!
Enter to win an Ultimate Off The Beaten Path Alberta Road Trip Prize Pack valued at $1,100 on Linda’s Off The Beaten Path Alberta Road Trip blog, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook posts shared between Aug. 17 to Aug. 23, with winner randomly chosen out of all entries received and announced on Aug. 24.
** GIVEAWAY CLOSED **
Congratulations to Megan W. from Facebook—the winner of the Ultimate Alberta Road Trip Prize Pack!
WHAT YOU’LL WIN:
- $100 gift card to spend at five featured Alberta businesses (valued at $500 total)
- A 1-night night hotel stay (valued at $200)
- Car rental for your road trip (valued at $200)
- A $200 Visa gift card for extra road trip spending!
HOW TO ENTER:
You can do one, some, or all of these entry methods on one, some, or all of my ATB Alberta Road Trip posts shared between Aug. 17-23 for more chances to win!
- Blog Entry: Leave a comment on any of my ATB Off The Beaten Path Road Trip blog posts saying who you’d take on your Alberta Off The Beaten Path road trip and what you’d most like to do.
- Facebook Entry: “Like” (be a Page Fan) of Lindork – Linda Hoang and ATB Financial, and leave a comment on any ATB Off The Beaten Path post tagging a friend you’d go on this road trip with. Include what you’d most like to do on the road trip.
- Instagram Entry: Follow @lindork + @atbfinancial, and leave a comment on any ATB Off The Beaten Path post tagging a friend you’d go on this road trip with. Include what you’d most like to do on the road trip.
- Twitter Entry: Follow @lindork + @atbfinancial and quote any of Linda’s ATB Off the Beaten Path road trip tweets (retweet with comment) saying what you’d most like to do on the road trip and tag a friend you’d go with.
Check back throughout the week as new blog and social posts are shared, giving you more chances to enter and win!!
AND WIN BONUS PRIZES BY DOING YOUR OWN ALBERTA ROAD TRIP OFF THE BEATEN PATH + SHARING ABOUT IT!
If you go on your own Alberta Off The Beaten Path day trip / road trips from Aug 17 – Sept 7, 2020, there are various incentives you’ll get at different businesses featured in this series PLUS if you share about your visits on social media, ATB will be randomly surprising road trippers with Visa gift cards! Share about your trip on social media using #ATBGoodnessGrows and tagging @ATBFinancial + @lindork for a chance to win!
While you’re in the area, explore Downtown Didsbury and Olds!
I was given a heads up about a Didsbury Instagrammable Wall in the alley around 1912 20 St. (above). The Vintage Coffee Bar in Didsbury is also just around the corner from Cowtown Brewing Co., along with a cute looking vintage shop called Modern Mercantile.
The Town of Olds is located less than 20 minutes from Didsbury and is also home to some great small town shops as well! You really need to plan for more time to browse both areas while you’re there.
Round out your visit with a stop at the Gopher Hole Museum!
And you can round out your visit to this part of the province by stopping in the little hamlet of Torrington, Alberta, located just 30 minutes east of Didsbury, and home to the very popular Gopher Hole Museum. This museum is one of those quintessential roadside attractions that you always wish you could make time to stop for. In this case, plan to stop!
This little museum features stuffed gophers (Richardson ground squirrels) posed in 47 different anthropomorphic scenes. Find (and photograph) gopher hairdressers, preachers, even a bride and groom. You can check out my friend Sharman’s blog from when she visited back in 2015.
According to Sharman, on the day she visited (August 2015), she had been told it was a “slow day” at the museum—only 85 had come through. That seems like a LOT of people to both of us, but this little, wacky museum is really quite popular. Admission is just $2 and due to COVID, there are some new guidelines in place to read before you visit (like mandatory masks, and only small groups allowed inside at a time). Their Facebook Page describes them as “World Famous,” and it really is! This museum has been operating since 1996 and features a visitor map filled with pins from visitors all over the world.
Thinking of checking out the Gopher Hole Museum? As they say… Gopher-It!!!
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Those are just some of many Alberta businesses worth a visit this summer. As you plan your day trips and road trips, see if some of my other Alberta Travel Guides might help you round out your trip.
And follow along for the rest of this blog series with ATB!
See all stops on ATB + LINDORK’s Road Trip Stops Off The Beaten Path:
- Explore Leduc & Nisku, Alberta (Prestigio Bakery + Rig Hand Distillery)
- Explore Millet, Alberta (The Butterfly Boutique + Altar Yourself)
- Explore Lacombe & Red Deer, Alberta (Eastside Eatery + Red Hart Brewing)
- Explore Didsbury & Torrington, Alberta (Cowtown Brewing Co. + Gopher Hole Museum)
- Explore Crossfield, Alberta (The Diner at Shorty’s + Enjoy Garden Restaurant)
Check my blog and social media every day from Aug. 17-21, 2020 as I release daily travel guides + Alberta business features and ideas to help you plan your Alberta road trip while supporting local businesses!! You’ll also get more opportunities to enter for a chance to win the Ultimate Alberta Road Trip Prize Pack each day.
- Learn more about this sponsored blog series
(and read small business advice I shared with ATB) - Read “Five rural Alberta entrepreneurs share COVID-19 small business lessons”
- Learn more about #ATBGoodnessGrows
Linda
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Disclaimer: This blog post is part of a sponsored blog series partnership with ATB Financial. This does not impact opinions stated in this post. As I’ve shared repeatedly, I love supporting local businesses and exploring my province. After doing different, smaller, support local initiatives in Edmonton over the last few months of the pandemic, this travel / support local partnership felt like such a perfect pairing! Thank you ATB for working with me to highlight some amazing Alberta business owners and great Alberta towns and cities outside of Edmonton and Calgary.