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P A C I F I C / P R A I R I E December 2016 | Vol. 22 | No. 6
N AT I O N A L
C O V E R A G E
regional
F O C U S
$ 5 . 9 5
Bottling The
Beast A Fort McMurray brewery is harnessing smoke from the infamous wildfire to celebrate the city.
THE ONWARD HISTORY OF DEANE HOUSE RIVER CAFE FOUnder revives landmark
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WING-N-IT HEADS WEST
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A NATURAL MENU TRANSFORMATION FOR A&W
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A NEW APP MENU FRESH tech to help simplify YOUR operation
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By Bill Tremblay
Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40010152
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — A once-in-alifetime Canadian whisky will celebrate Fort McMurray’s community spirit. When the massive wildfire, dubbed The Beast, triggered the evacuation of the city in May, the Wood Buffalo Brewing Company was forced to leave a pallet of grain on their patio. “It had been on my mind during the evacuation, I had just ordered that pallet,” said head brewer Spike Baker. In preparation for returning to the downtown brewpub, Baker mentioned the abandoned barley to the master distiller at Bear Hill Brewing, the parent company of the Fort McMurray brewery. He was told the barley may not have been lost and may even be enhanced. As soon as staff was allowed to return to the brewpub, Baker checked on the grain. “We sent some of it off right away to get it tested,” Baker said. “Everything came back perfectly safe.” While the 1,000 kilogram pallet of malted barley escaped the flames, the smoke that blanketed the town flavoured the grain. The ingredient was earmarked for whisky production, a new beverage program for the brewpub. “The actual grain is drastically different than the original product,” he said. With wildfire-smoked malted barley in hand, Baker began the distilling process.
Head brewer Spike Baker. “It was originally a heavy peat malt, so it’s got a lot of that sweet flavour coming through,” Baker said. “Then there’s a campfire-like smokiness. There’s a lot of spruce and poplar flavours coming through, and there’s some mint notes in there as well.” Baker named the final product The Beast in honour of the wildfire and the community’s resolve to escape safely. While The Beast whisky will be aged for five years before it is released, its creators auctioned off dibs to the first 10 bottles in October. Funds from the auction were donated to the Friends of Fort McMurray Firefighters. The first bottle sold for $7,100. In total, the 10 bottles raised more than $40,000 for the charity. “It was a surreal night for sure. It’s ever so exciting as a distiller,” Baker said. “I’m not surprised by the generosity of the Fort McMurray community. It’s just a terrific example of how
much people are willing to step up for their neighbours.” The Wood Buffalo Brewing Company creates its own draft beer as well as vodka. Baker is in the process of introducing a house whisky and rum as well. For The Beast, the company is working out the price and details on how to distribute the spirit. “We want to make it available to people in the community and firefighters, as well as keeping it a special product for the auction winners,” Baker said. “We want to use it to raise as much money as possible for the firefighters.” The wildfire smoked enough grain to create upwards of 300 bottles of The Beast. “This is a once in a lifetime product and experience,” Baker said. “We want to use it to remember the good stuff that happened out of the situation, like everyone working together to get out safely.”
Foodservice equipment dealers Hendrix and Russell merge BROCKVILLE, Ont. — Canada’s two largest foodservice equipment dealers have become one company. On Nov. 21, Hendrix Hotel & Restaurant Equipment and Supplies and Russell Food Equipment announced the two companies are merging, and will operate under the name Russell Hendrix Foodservice Equipment. The move follows the announcement that private equity firm Blue Point Capital Partners acquired a controlling interest in Hendrix. In late 2015, Blue Point acquired Russell Food Equipment. “Across the board, there’s a lot of excitement in both the Hendrix and Russell teams,” said Larry Vander Baaren, chief executive officer of Russell Hendrix. Hendrix, founded in 1981, is based in Brockville, Ont. Since its creation, the company has expanded
nationwide, with nine locations and three distribution centres. Russell, founded in 1938, is based in Vancouver. It operates out of 14 distribution and three manufacturing facilities located across Canada. Russell offers an assortment of equipment, supplies, parts and services to more than 20,000 foodservice operators through its 14 showrooms nationwide. The creation of Russell Hendrix makes the company four times larger than its next competitor. “The complementary geographic exposure, product diversification and sales structure is game changing for our current platform investment in Russell,” said Mark Morris, a partner with Blue Point. “We expect this merger to be transformative for both companies.” Starting in Ontario and Halifax, the newly formed company will begin rebranding its locations.
The previous head offices in Vancouver and Brockville will maintain their roles, with both companies sharing resources. Vander Baaren expects the rebranding process to take about 10 months to complete nationwide. “In some cities we’re consolidating where we have a Hendrix and Russell branch,” he said, noting six municipalities are home to both brands. “At the end of the day, we’ll end up with 17 branch locations.” For the merger, Vander Baaren explained Russell brings its manufacturing capability as well as a parts and service network at the majority of its locations. Hendrix adds a large customer roster of arenas, convention centres, hotels and quick service restaurants. “We didn’t really step on each others’ toes very much, it’s a great fit that way,” Vander Baaren said.