‘Cronk is the drink’: Calgary brewery revives 19th century beverage
Posted Aug 20, 2020 6:24 am.
CALGARY – A mysterious beverage advertised in a newspaper from the 1800s is available for sipping once again.
Paul Fairie, a community health research at the University of Calgary, regularly peruses old digitized newspapers and posts on Twitter the oddities he comes across.
In June, he found an 1883 edition of the Calgary Herald with the phrases “buy Cronk,” “Cronk is the drink” and — simply — “Cronk” interspersed between news articles.
Social media users began posting photos of antique Cronk bottles and someone unearthed a recipe for Dr. Cronk’s Sarsaparilla Beer.
Cold Garden Beverage Company decided to try brewing the drink, and 1,800, 375-millilitre bottles went on sale Wednesday.
There was a lineup soon after the brewery opened.
Brewer Trevor Cox says it took two tries to get the taste right because the wrong kind of molasses was used the first time.
Cox says Cronk tastes like a herbal liqueur that’s diluted and fizzy.
