Calgary’s Best of Kin Brewing needs to improve to stand out from the pack

Location: 1059 14 St SW, Calgary

Phone: 825-413-4233

Website: bestofkin.ca

Price: $5-$30

Kitchen: Globally inspired pub food.

The atmosphere: Restrained casual.

Drinks offer: Craft beer, cocktails, wine

Best Bets: Best of Kin Burger, Double Smoked Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Summer Crush (Radler)

Vegetarian friendly? Yes.

Additional Information: Open seven days a week and also offers weekend brunch.

With well over 50 breweries in the Calgary area and about 180 breweries across the province, the craft beer scene has never been busier…or more crowded. Being a newer kid on the beer block these days means you have to be extra confident and bring something interesting to the table to capture what small slice of the market is left.

There are many reasons why Best of Kin — one of the city’s newest breweries — looks good on paper.

It’s the third brewpub to open in Calgary’s Sunalta neighborhood since last year (first Tailgunner Brewing, followed by Two House Brewing Co.), and offers dining options in a neighborhood that was previously virtually non-existent. It has no shortage of events from quiz nights to live music and everything in between, and its dog-friendly patio delights the ears of dogs and their owners alike.

All of this is embedded in a heartwarming, age-old story of the owners quitting their day-to-day jobs to pursue their passions. What’s particularly interesting is that the brewery got its start by encouraging people to buy large-denomination gift cards (over $500) that include various offers. Sort of like GoFundMe that seemed to give them a head start from the start.

In terms of interior design, however, Best of Kin feels like it’s having a bit of an identity crisis. On its narrow southern wall is a black and white mural of a cartoon living room. An ode to the brewer’s minimalist can illustrations (which are pretty cool and help set the beers apart from the competition on liquor store shelves), it’s a shame this design choice doesn’t extend throughout the space’s color scheme.

The seating is a hodgepodge of old kitchen tables and mismatched kitchen chairs in all sorts of colors. Along the back wall is Best of Kin’s main bar and next to it is the kitchen built into a shipping container.

There’s a battle going on here between monochrome and warm and cozy that feels like a black and white film only half brought to life. Maybe that’s the point?

Let’s talk beer before we dig deeper and deeper into table service and food quality.

As we’re raised about warmer weather, there’s nothing wrong with sipping Summer Crush, Best of Kin’s version of a Tangerine and Blood Orange shandy. The Barley Pop is a crisp ale and the Dad Beer (a lager ale) is similarly refreshing.

After two visits here I would describe the service as fairly indifferent. Not rude, but not friendly either.

This feeling is perfectly summed up in an interaction when a few dishes arrived at our table. After noting that we were sharing everything, the waiter remarked, “Even the burger? OK.”

She left before we could ask for a real knife to cut with. Oh well.

Aside from the burger, which was delicious in its two-patty glory with shredded lettuce, white cheddar, “secret” sauce, and house-made pickles on a brioche bun, the food offering at Best of Kin leaves a lot to be desired.

The mezze platter comes as a bewildering mix of overly smoky lentil hummus, overly garlicky olives, homemade herbed ricotta (sort of), homemade pickles and pickled onions, 1-inch thick crostini, and a pile of pizza bread.

Then there’s a trio of corn dogs that are good enough on their own, but a spicy beer mustard on the side makes things memorable for all the wrong reasons. The house-smoked chicken wings are similarly let down by their seasoning, a homemade barbecue sauce that tastes more like a tomato sauce with chili powder than anything else.

We don’t fare much better with “Hamburger Helper” — a concoction of store-bought serpentini pasta wrapped in a short rib bolognese, topped with basil pistou and parmesan, nestled in a healthy helping of smoked carrot puree. But Why?

Pizza is as dangerous a game as Alberta’s craft brewing, with a plethora of top-notch options all around, and the small pizzas here just don’t cut it. The double-smoked bacon and kale pizza was almost inedible, thanks to a floury cream cheese base. As you chew, it’s hard not to remember that Acme Pizza Co. is just a few blocks down the street.

Some redemption can be found in the brewery’s mac ‘n’ cheese variant. Served hot in a cast-iron skillet, Best of Kin opts for the same corkscrew pasta here, but the sauce is creamy, the salty bacon bits are plentiful, jalapenos add a nice, subtle heat, and the marc crumb on top makes for nice texture.

Not every brewery can serve good food, we know that. So if you stop by Best of Kin, stick to a liquid diet and your time here will be comfortable enough.