By Canadian Press

Dr. Cronk's Sarsaparilla Beer

Calgary brewery recreates 19th century brew, ‘Cronk” sells out quick

Aug 20, 2020 | 10:43 AM

CALGARY – A mysterious beverage from the 1800’s that was revived by a Calgary brewery sold out within a day.

Paul Fairie, a community health researcher 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 yesterday.

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There was a lineup soon after the brewery opened and the tap room ran out in less than 12 hours.

More bottles should be available online soon.

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 an herbal liqueur that’s diluted and fizzy.