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Musician David Finkelman’s parents Steve Finkelman and Jane Cardillo are now leading the charge for pedestrian safety in Edmonton. Jeremy Simes/Metro
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Craft beer thriving across the province — despite recession Matt Kieltyka
Metro | Edmonton
‘WE LOST OUR LIFE’ Parents of Edmonton musician advocate for pedestrian safety in memory of their son metroNEWS
The growth of Alberta’s craft brewing scene despite recession elsewhere has not gone unnoticed. The niche industry was propped up as a success story in the province’s throne speech last week, being singled out by government as an “emerging sector.” That came as no surprise to Ian McIntosh, the director of operations at Edmonton’s Yellowhead Brewery. “When we started in 2009, there was only one other brewery in town. I think we started with four people and at our last staff party, we had 22,” McIntosh said. There were 18 licensed small breweries across Alberta in 2014. Now there are over 50 and at least 29 more are planning to open soon, according to Terry Rock, the executive director
of the Alberta Small Brewers Association. Six craft breweries currently call the Edmonton area home, and Rock says five more are on the way. While the industry still lags behind British Columbia and its southern Pacific neighbours in the U.S. (crafting brewing in Oregon State is a $4.5 billion industry that employs 31,000 people), Rock said it is primed for growth in Alberta, where much of the industry’s barely comes from anyway. “We grow the world’s best barley, that’s a benefit (other jurisdictions) do not have,” he said. “That’s something that no one else can really offer, and then we can maybe build a tourism infrastructure around that. You have all of the conditions in place here and you can see the growth potential for how big it can be.” The exponential growth in breweries is attributed to the province easing minimum production requirements for breweries in 2015. But McIntosh and Rock say local brewers are still handicapped by Alberta’s open market and outdated regulations around alcohol. “I think we can be a lot better off as a province fostering and helping our craft beer scene grow,” Rock said.