What's Brewing Spring 2017

Craft Community Heroes • CAMRA BC • Community brew Clubs • Fathers of beer • Festival Previews • Sea To Sky Brew Tour • Andina

Spring 2017 Vol 27 Issue 1

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BC'S AL OF N R U O THE J

CRA

VEME R MO E E B T F

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Public Service

Heroes of Beer

Team Callis te speak r s

Beer & Family

The

Craft Beer

u m n m ity o C

d Fun ng i Rais

Issue

Brew Club Mania Tasting Panel: Fruit Beer Spotlight

PURCHASE THIS MONTH’S FEATURED PANEL BEERS IN STORE OR ONLINE AT LEGACYLIQUOR.COM I N T H E H E A RT O F FA L S E C R E E K | 1633 M A N I TO B A STR E E T, VA N C O U V E R

Illustration: montevarious

Spring 2017 Contents THE JOURNAL OF BC'S CRAFT BEER MOVEMENT VOL. 27 ISSUE 1

5

Victoria Beer Week

6

Opening Remarks

8

Let's Make CAMRA BC Relevant Again

10

Ullage & Spillage: A Decade of Community Service

16

Callister Brewing: the Community of One

28

Community Spotlight: Heroes Of Beer

19

Women In Beer: Diana McKenzie

34

Fathers of BC Brewing

36

Andina Brewing: Yeast Van's New Splash of Colour

38

Sea to Sky Vacation Adventure

42

The Hopbine

43

Out & About: In the Community

46

Books In Review: Macro Beer Apologetics

20

Brew Club Corner

22

Homebrew Happenin's: Craft Community Crossover

12

Beers, Beaches & Breweries: Ten Hoppy Years

23

A View From The Cellar: The Importance Of Clean Lines

14

Fest of Ale 2017: Behind the Scenes

24

Tasting Panel: Fruit Beer Spotlight

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Victoria Beer Week 2017 In its impressive fourth year, VBW kickstarts March with 9 days of events Victoria Beer Week launched in 2014 with 14 events in venues throughout Greater Victoria. Heading into its fourth year, the festival keeps getting bigger and better. From March 3–11, 2017, more than 3,000 people are expected to attend 16 events.

Many popular events will return, along with some exciting new options. The festival kicks off on March 3 with Friday Night Casks at the Victoria Public Market, featuring 25 cask-conditioned beers from breweries throughout BC. Another cask night will take place a week later, featuring an entirely unique range of beers.

Returning on the opening weekend is the Brewmasters Brunch with the BC Craft Brewers Guild, which gives ticket buyers the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of BC’s best brewmasters while lining up for bacon and eggs at the buffet. It takes place at Swans Brewpub on Saturday, March 4 at 11:00 a.m.

That afternoon, VBW launches brand-new event All About the Wood, which features barrel-aged beers from 13 of BC’s best breweries, including Category 12, Driftwood, Four Winds, Powell Street, and Strange Fellows, among others. Also on Saturday, March 4 is the Definitive Victoria Brewery Crawl. This fancy-shmancy tour using limo buses visits four local breweries.

Saturday evening sees the return of a popular event from last year: Fishing for Beer at the Victoria Public Market.

Beer School takes place at Swans Brewpub on the afternoon of Sunday, March 5. Two classes will be offered, including one by Greg Evans, Victoria’s renowned beer historian. Also on Sunday is the Homebrewers Workshop at Category 12 Brewing.

Monday, March 6 offers the choice of pizza or trivia. Beer, Pizza, More Beer returns to Pizzeria Prima Strada, but this year it’s at their Fort Street location with two seatings (5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.) to accommodate demand (it sells out quickly!). That night, the Northern Quarter has the Ultimate Craft Beer Quiz, featur-

ing the renowned quizmaster Benji Duke. The winning team will take home a prize package from Hoyne Brewing.

Taco Tuesday is a brand-new event that celebrates Victoria’s delicious taco scene paired up with craft beer at Fort Common from 6–9 p.m. on March 7. Also that evening is Drink in the Story at Harbour Air Seaplanes at 7:30 p.m. This year’s lineup features an all-star cast of BC craft beer legends telling their own stories: Iain Hill (Strange Fellows), Gary Lohin (Central City), and Matt Phillips (Phillips Brewing). It’s sure to be an epic evening.

Beer, Cheese, More Beer returns to the Victoria Public Market on Wednesday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. Simply put, this is an all-youcan-eat cheese extravaganza. Last year, it was the first event of 2016 to sell out and this year it’s sure to sell out early as well.

Pucker Up moves to the Victoria Public Market on Thursday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. This sour beer showcase will offer a dozen tart and tasty beers from some of BC’s top breweries. Also on Thursday evening is Cooking With Beer at the London Chef, a cooking class where all the recipes feature craft beer. And the second offering of Friday Night Casks returns to the VPM the next night at 7:30 p.m.

Closing out VBW2017 is Lift Off, which was a huge hit when it launched last year, becoming Victoria Beer Week’s most successful event ever with more than 550 people in attendance.

The idea of the event is simple: we ask 12 BC breweries to launch brand new beers that day and serve them up to you at Centennial Square. A pop-up liquor store on site offers attendees the opportunity to buy those beers first before they are sold anywhere else.

All in all, there is something for everyone from folks who are new to craft beer to hop-heads and sour fanatics. The full schedule is available at victoriabeerweek.com. Tickets, including combo packages, are on sale now at vicbeerweek.ticketrocket.co.

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OPENING REMARKS Developing a world-class craft community

I

businesses you see in this magazine and on our website. The two dollar price tag added nothing to the bottom line of our cause, which is to serve craft beer lovers. We've removed the barrier for those readers who'd like to take home our mag.

Also, we touch on a couple of milestones for craft community leaders. What's Brewing contributors Monica Frost and Kim Lawton both found their craft calling in 2007 and are still going strong in 2017, making a difference working and volunteering in the industry.

Where this can go

n this issue, we celebrate the BC Craft Beer Community— an intangible entity but one whose force has attracted thousands of devoted members for many different reasons. With stories and features, we try to pin down what Community means to many of the people in it. To that end, we've invited some of the many community-minded brewery folks we have the pleasure to know, to tell us more about their relationship with their local community, and within the brewing community as well. You'll find their thoughts and actions spotlighted in the following pages.

By the way, celebrating this culture and community also means being inclusive of our craft cousins like cider and spirits too. Big picture, any campaign that creates better and more authentic lifestyle choices, including food and beverage, is all part of the same movement.

This issue's carbonated cover could be interpreted as a metaphor for how the community moves upwards together. You know, the rising tide floating all boats kind of thing. It is *not* intended to imply that we're currently experiencing any type of craft beer bubble. Crap, I said it out loud; ignore that. We just want the kind of bubbles that end up creating nice foamy lace on the inside of your glass.

Change In Direction Speaking of the cover, you might notice something odd about the $2 price tag on the front of the magazine this round. It's missing. Sort of. We've made a change for 2017.

The whole "retail our magazine" thing was not really up our alley, but we experimented with it in 2016 for two main reasons: 1. out of respect for and solidarity with another BC beer publication, and 2. because we knew we couldn't keep up with demand for free printed copies when we relaunched What's Brewing in its current format in Fall 2015.

18 months later, we're more embedded in the community and fortunate to have had a steady amount of support from the

Š 2017 What's Brewing The Journal of BC's Craft Beer Movement Published by Line49 Design Group Inc. 300-1275 West 6th Avenue Vancouver BC V6H 1A6 info@whatsbrewing.ca www.whatsbrewing.ca Social Web: @whatsbrewingbc

Speaking of that, if you're reading this online and would like to grab a paper copy, you'll find a spiffy new map page featured prominently on our website where we keep a running list of partner outlets that might have a printed copy for you: www.whatsbrewing.ca/find

BC now has a world-class craft community, and it deserves beer news sources including a full-blown magazine much like those in other prominent beer communities. Case in point: San Diego, home to as many breweries as we have in all of BC, and also where your humble editor will soon be winging his way.

Aside from the beer, on the agenda is a meetup with the publisher of the mighty West Coaster, their pre-eminent local craft beer journal. From that magazine and their scene, we might take some cues regarding where a close-knit craft community can go with communications tools including things like What's Brewing.

So, let's go Enough with the monologue; festival season is warming up and it's time to Spring into motion. As of this writing, it's time to head to Victoria for Beer Week. In April, it's Okanagan Fest Of Ale in Penticton, then in May the Great Okanagan Beer Festival in Kelowna. Every month on the annual calendar has at least one such major event. So ladies and gentlemen, tap your casks and start your beer engines...

Dave Smith, Editor

Communications Director: Monica Frost monica@whatsbrewing.ca

Team & Contributors: Warren Boyer, Adam Chatburn, Ted Child, Lundy Dale, Jack Enwright, Kim Lawton, Chad McCarthy, Chelsea McDowell, Lynn McIlwee, Stewart 'Scottie' McLellan, Mallory O'Neil, J. Random, John Rowling, Brian K. Smith, Chloe Smith, Jeremiah Thunderfoot, Paddy Treavor, Joe Wiebe

Advertising & Corporate Sales: sales@whatsbrewing.ca

Chief Photographer: Brian K. Smith Illustrations: Emile Compion (montevarious)

Editor & Publisher: Dave Smith Associate Editor: Paul Morris Copy Editors: Ivana Smith, Wendy Barron Contact: editor@whatsbrewing.ca

COMMUNITY PARTNERS Illustration: montevarious

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Community

Let's make CAMRA BC Relevant again

T

he Golden Age of Beer in British Columbia is alive and well. The craft beer industry in BC has exploded beyond the expectations of even the most optimistic beer lover. The industry and all things related to craft beer are firing on all cylinders.

But there is a critical player on the craft beer scene that, in my opinion, has been struggling and is perilously close to collapse. 2017 could be a make-or-break year for the Campaign for Real Ale Society of British Columbia (CAMRA BC).

>> Paddy Treavor

Member apathy, and lack of connection to the Provincial level Society, is an issue. CAMRA BC’s Annual General Meeting and executive elections were scheduled in the Lower Mainland in hopes that they would be well attended. The AGM was held Sunday, February 19th at Yellow Dog Brewing, close to a SkyTrain station. Only 25 of the approximately 1000 members who live in the area came.

Photo: D. Smith

CAMRA BC was founded in 1985 and re-established under its current registration in 1990 as a consumer advocacy group.

It has five active branches and almost 1,300 members. Most branches are active organizing festivals and holding member events. Some are even offering some great craft beer education. But the society has been quiet on the advocacy front for several years.

CAMRA BC was instrumental in getting the tied-house laws changed to benefit craft breweries and consumers. The Vancouver branch fought to get on-site tasting lounges opened in Vancouver. CAMRA BC presented ten recommendations about liquor policy during the stakeholders’ consultation. The BC government adopted nine of them.

The most significant recent campaign CAMRA BC engaged in was probably the effective but polarizing “Fess Up to Serving Sizes (FUSS),” aimed at getting licensees to disclose the sizes of their draft beer pours and deliver on those advertised sizes.

FUSS fizzled out in 2013 because of friction between CAMRA and the hospitality industry, who did not appreciate having their serving practices called out. While it put us in the bad books with some licensees, it put us in the good books with consumers tired of getting short-poured. FUSS also brought CAMRA media coverage.

But now the mainstream media no longer asks branch and provincial presidents for their thoughts on liquor policy. CAMRA BC is no longer invited to contribute to proposed liquor policy changes. Nor is the BC government concerned about any noise CAMRA may make about policies that hurt the craft beer consumer.

CAMRA BC has lost its fight, its focus, and much of the momentum built up in past years. Without the focus on consumer advocacy, CAMRA BC has become a social group whose members join mostly to socialize at events and get discounts at craft beer events and certain licensees. Members interested in the advocacy side are far outnumbered by those who are just here for the beer.

Consumer advocacy groups will sometimes clash with those providing a product, because what is good for the consumer is not always good for the bottom line of the craft beer and hospitality industries. But some members don’t want CAMRA BC calling out the craft beer and hospitality industries. They don’t want to annoy or upset the craft beer establishments, and threaten not to renew if CAMRA BC takes that route.

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Martin Williams, Paddy Treavor and Glen Stusek Before that, on February 10th, just hours before advance nominations for executive positions were set to close, there were no nominees submitted from well over 1300 BC members. Having no provincial executive could have resulted in a 32-year-old society being deregistered and dismantled. At the last minute, a few of us stepped up and threw our hats into the ring, and were subsequently elected as officers by acclimation at the AGM: former Vancouver branch President Martin Williams (as Vice President), Victoria branch Past President Glen Stusek (as Secretary), CAMRA Victoria newcomer Dave Garton (as Treasurer) and me, as the 2017-18 President.

As President, along with a strong and experienced executive, I hope to guide CAMRA BC back to being an effective voice for craft beer consumers in BC. The 2017 executive will champion their cause, even if it means ruffling a few feathers. I hope that existing members will join us in our pursuit of this purpose. I hope that lapsed members will rejoin, and that new people will discover us for the first time. By the end of the year, we hope to have more members interested in supporting CAMRA’s true mandate: consumer advocacy.

Paddy Treavor, a self-described hophead and craft beer advocate, has previously been President of two different CAMRA BC branches. Read more from Paddy on VanEast Beer Blog.

Community

a decade of community service Ullage & Spillage

W

hen I think about pillars in the BC craft beer community, the first person to emerge from my random-access memory is What’s Brewing’s very own Monica Frost, who is known by many for her critical and ongoing contributions to our volunteer-based initiative. I am sure many craft fans have seen this smiling face at beer events around Vancouver over the years, often playing a role in the background. In 2017, she celebrates ten years of craft community service. Here’s how she got her start.

Having discovered a very small community of fellow beer lovers centered around weekly cask nights at the now-defunct DIX Barbecue & Brewery, Monica joined the Vancouver branch of CAMRA BC (the Campaign For Real Ale Society of British Columbia) in 2007. Wasting no time, she took over its Corporate Liaison role in 2008. That meant recruiting breweries, brewpubs, liquor stores, and craftbeer-focused restaurants to join the cause, and then working with them to build relationships. Given CAMRA Vancouver’s modest membership base at the time, corporate sponsorship helped expand activities and created broader recognition among craft breweries. Discounts from corporate sponsors also attracted regular members.

>> J. RANDOM

BC (the parent society) in 2011, then returned to handle CAMRA Vancouver’s Communications from 2012 to 2014. Between 2009 and 2015, she took the newsletter distribution from the low hundreds to over 2,000 recipients. That played a huge part in CAMRA Van’s membership surge during that period. Monica was named CAMRA Volunteer of the Year in 2014.

In 2013, Ms. Frost joined the BC Beer Awards team as a Director, contributing to another key facet of the BC craft beer community. BCBA works with volunteer judges, many of whom are BJPC-certified homebrewers belonging to VanBrewers and other clubs. At its annual event, BCBA hosts groups such as CAMRA Vancouver, BC Craft Brewers Guild, BC Ale Trail and What’s Brewing in its Community section.

Monica has also applied her beer knowledge and organizational skills to her position as Operations Coordinator at Vancouver Brewery Tours, coordinating their social media presence and publicity at beer festivals. Besides her day job and many volunteer roles, Monica runs her own consulting company, Socially Monica Communications, which coordinates social media for, among others, Vancouver Craft Beer Week and starting soon, the Great Canadian Beer Festival. She is also a blogger for the BC Ale Trail, having written three stories to date, the most recent being "Homebrew-

In 2009-10, Monica moved over to the role of Communications Director, where she Monica Frost: CAMRA BC's 2014 Volunteer of the Year had an even bigger impact. ing is Booming in BC".

Notwithstanding her self-characterization as an “overt-introvert”, there is a significant personality clue in her online name In 2015, CAMRA Vancouver’s decision to cut back its e-news“Socially_Monica” (if she has another, more like “Incommuniletter from weekly to monthly, as well as a year-long hiatus in cado Monica”, I’m not aware). CAMRA Van’s weekly e-newspublication of CAMRA BC's then-newsletter What’s Brewing, letter became one of the few e-mails I would eagerly watch created an opportunity for a community initiative based for, popping up in my inbox at work late on a Wednesday around craft beer writing, publishing and communications. afternoon. It would heavily influence my social plans for the Shortly after the revival of What’s Brewing, our editor apfollowing week. proached Monica to reprise her weekly news with a broader Monica moved up to the Communications position at CAMRA viewpoint, and so the HopLine was born. Not only does it cover 10

Contd. on page 44

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Community

South Okanagan collaboration: Bad Tattoo's Rob Theroux, Tin Whistle's Jeff Todd, Firehall Brewery's Sid Ruhland and Cannery Brewing's Ross Thompson

Beers, Beaches & Breweries >> Kim Lawton

I

Ten Hoppy Years

was excited to learn that the theme of the Spring issue of What’s Brewing Magazine would be BC’s craft beer community. It’s a timely topic for me; as this goes to print, I am days away from celebrating 10 years of being a part of this wonderful community. When I started with Cannery Brewing in March 2007, I worked four hours a week. Today, I work about 20 hours a week, and I love every single one of them.

to the team and family with open arms. At the time, their son Ian was a teenager. Today, Ian is also an owner of the brewery and recently became a father. I think there were about six or seven people on the team when I started; today there are more than 20. Back then, we called Cannery Brewing a micro-brewery. I don’t think the term “craft brewery” came in until later.

The main reason I love working in this industry is the people.

Patt and Ron Dyck, owners of Cannery Brewing, welcomed me

The Okanagan had Cannery Brewing, Tin Whistle Brewing, the Barley Mill Brew Pub and Tree Brewing long before the “craft

12

beer revolution.” We had the Okanagan Fest of Ale well before craft beer festivals were popular. Today the Okanagan has an exciting craft beer scene, though it’s still an undiscovered gem of a craft beer region for the rest of the province and the country.

I remember the anticipation of my first Okanagan Fest of Ale, in 2007. It’s hard to believe that on April 7 and 8, I will be participating in my eleventh. It’s one of the busiest weeks of the year for me, but also one of the best. It’s an honour to welcome craft beer lovers, beer writers and bloggers, beer judges, and fellow breweries to Penticton and the gorgeous South Okanagan.

The 22nd Annual Okanagan Fest of Ale promises to be the best yet, with a record 62 craft breweries and cideries participating. It takes a whole community to put on Okanagan Fest of Ale, as my beer-loving friend Chelsea McDowell’s behind-thescenes look in this issue shows. Those of us connected to the craft beer and cider scene, those in tourism, and those who love the Okanagan all show up to help put on one heck of a great craft beer fest.

Community brings us together. Our breweries don’t see each other as competitors, but as collaborators, friends, and colleagues who enjoy sharing a beer together and helping each other. We’ve worked together a number of times to create collaboration ales. The first one I recall was in 2013, when Cannery, Firehall and Tin Whistle collaborated on a cask for a special event with Joe Wiebe for the launch of the first edition of his book, Craft Beer Revolution. Since then, these collaborales have also included Bad Tattoo Brewing and Barley Mill BrewPub. Sid Ruhland from Firehall took the lead in creating a South Okanagan collaboration ale for the Oliver Cask & Keg Festival, which helped raise funds for CAMRA SO (Campaign for Real Ale South Okanagan). Bad Tattoo has collaborated with Torchlight Brewing in Nelson. Firehall has collaborated with Canuck Empire Brewing. Cannery and Firehall have each done collaboration brews with Parallel 49 for their Brews Brothers features.

I’m sure future South Okanagan collaboration ales will include Summerland’s newly opened Detonate Brewing and Penticton’s Highway 97 Brewery.

In March, many of our local breweries will participate in the 3rd Annual Microbrews for Microphones campaign. This light-hearted competition between local breweries helps raise awareness of local volunteer-run Peach City Radio station, which currently broadcasts music and local content online 24/7, with the intent of broadcasting on the FM dial within the year. To date, the campaign has raised over $1,500.

Whether supporting each other, our local beer festivals, charities, CAMRA SO, or campaigns like Microbrews for Microphones, the Okanagan craft beer community stands united.

I’m sure there have been difficult times in my 10 years in the BC craft beer industry. But as I look back through beer-coloured glasses, I have only the hoppiest of memories.

To find out more about the South Okanagan craft beer scene, head to the CAMRA SO AGM and monthly meeting on March 13th at Craft Corner Kitchen in Penticton.

Kim Lawton is a craft beer fan, a longtime supporter of the craft beer movement, President of CAMRA South Okanagan and the Marketing Director at Cannery Brewing in Penticton. Kim can be reached via Twitter @DogLegMarketing

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Fest of Ale 2017: Behind the Scenes >> Chelsea McDowell​

Some of the Fest Of Ale directors with Joe Wiebe (centre)

I

’ve been attending the Okanagan Fest of Ale for over 10 years. It wasn’t until last year, when I was invited to be a judge, that I ever thought about what goes on behind the scenes to produce one of the largest and longest-running beer events in BC. Curious to learn about the organization behind the festival, I sat down with Event Coordinator Ginger Budinski and Marketing Director Simon St. Laurent for a beer.

The Okanagan Fest of Ale Society (OFOAS) is a non-profit society run by a board of nine volunteers who meet once a month.

Ginger is the only paid employee; she does something festival-related almost every day of the year. Sub-committees work on various aspects of the festival—brewery selection, finance, entertainment, etc, adapting to changing needs and environment. This has enabled the festival to evolve according to the trends in the industry.

At its founding in 1996, the intention was to showcase Penticton; the decision to have a beer festival was somewhat arbitrary. There was a desire to draw people into the region and it just happened that there was an interest in beer. The Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria had started not long before.

Local businessman Martin Lewis (who later co-founded Bad Tattoo Brewing) and first Penticton brewery Tin Whistle were integral in getting the festival off the ground, and continue to be very involved.

It started off as a grassroots festival. Then, going with the tastes of the times, big brands and coolers dominated. But there were always microbreweries and local breweries exhibiting. The festival grew when craft beer grew.

Kim Lawton has been involved with OFOAS for 10 years. She notes that “the festival used to be very commercial for a number of years, but a smart decision was made to respond to 14

craft beer at the right time and the right people got involved - including lots of support from Cannery and Bad Tattoo. They were able to become strategic in the approach to craft beer.”

She feels what makes OFOAS special is its ability to keep changing to meet demand. “They used to run out of beer early on in the day, but now the process is managed much better.”

“Last year was really magical” Kim recalls. “We have been learning and improving, and we have a new process that works well now.”

OFOAS works hard to attract breweries to the festival and tries to make it enjoyable for both exhibitors and attendees. There are breweries attending that have been in business for one year, and some for 25 years. There will be 62 exhibitors this year, and organizers have had to turn some away. “They love coming here,” Ginger says with a laugh. “The brewers are customers too. We want to make sure they are well looked after.

They like coming here, the timing and the overall experience, the reception is fabulous. They get to test new products for the spring and summer.”

The organizers are always looking for ways to improve. The addition of the outdoor area was very well received, and the crowd loved the buskers that were added last year. Also in 2016, volunteer token-takers were eliminated, so consumers were served directly by the brewery team. This made for a more intimate experience and increased the brewery staff’s interaction with the public. This year, changes to the token distribution process will provide easier access. “The board tries to respond to consumer needs,” Simon says. “This is a collaborative effort of brainstorming and building on each other’s ideas.”

The festival wants to attract all types of beer drinkers: people new to craft beer and people who are already knowledgeable.

“We introduced casks a few years ago, and it really excited the seasoned craft drinkers as well as brewers, who bring what they like: something exclusive to the festival or something new they are testing,” says Ginger.

Kim doesn’t have an official position on the board, but is a key member of a judging organizing committee which also includes Judging Chair Warren Everton, Chantal Cloutier, and a recent addition, Eric Hanston. In addition to a lot of advance prep work prior to the event, the judging organizing committee spends much of Friday and Saturday together. Kim laughs, “we work together well. We each have a big job to do and we each take responsibility for our own parts, so I hope this current crew will continue to work together for a while.”

Judging evolved from two people tasting every beer and making their own subjective decisions to a panel of nine industry experts. Simon notes that judging adds credibility to the festival. Although it’s hard to quantify whether award recipients see increased sales, Ginger agrees that judging and awards do carry some weight. “Participating...is value added for the brewers”, she says. “We want to be as popular with brewers as with consumers.” The People’s Choice Award is also important to the brewers.

The festival gives back to the community that supports it.

OFOAS has raised more than $577,000 in charitable contributions over the last 20 years. “The charity aspect is a big factor, as it increases the available amount of volunteers and is crucial to the success of the festival over 20 years”, Kim says. “The change to reduce token-taker volunteers was sad for some people who had been doing it for 20 years, but overall volun-

teer support for the festival is huge. There are many volunteers who keep this festival running, too many to count.”

“The whole community is working together to host the festival, and it is one of the most recognizable events that puts Penticton on the map in the province.” Even the hotels are a huge support for the festival by helping to keep affordable rooms set aside for breweries and judges, as well as providing some rooms for promotional contests.

Simon also feels that Okanagan Fest of Ale puts Penticton on the map as a craft beer destination, and wants to retain this title and keep improving. “We are craft beer oriented, and were that way before many larger, more connected communities became hooked on craft beer” he says [he’s looking at you, Vancouver and Kelowna – Ed.]. “Penticton has a history of craft beer which coincides with the festival; Cannery Brewing, Tin Whistle and Barley Mill have been making beer for a long time, we have a longstanding relationship with beer in Penticton. It’s amazing we have so many things like this in such a relatively small population [of 35,000].”

So next time you are at a beer festival, consider toasting to the organizers who spent countless hours planning, the legions of volunteers who worked tirelessly, and the community that gathered together to put on a celebration of delicious craft beer just for you!

Chelsea McDowell is the communications manager for CAMRA South Okanagan; more of her writing can be found at www.brewtifulbc.ca.

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Cover: Community Spotlight

In the brewhouse with Nathaniel Senff, Adam Chatburn, Phil Spurgeon, Kent Courtice, Erin Manning, Chris Lay, Diana McKenzie and Ryan Seller

The community of one

I

n an issue of a magazine dedicated to the topic of Community, and featuring a battery of public-minded businesses who manage to stand out in an industry replete with community-oriented owners, there should be no simple way to single out one brewery as the focus of a lead story. But there is. In fact, it was one of the easiest tasks in compiling this periodical. Because in all of British Columbia, there is only one craft beer business which encompasses a commercial brewing community within its walls.

Billed as "Canada's First Collaborative Brewery", Callister Brewing Company made its much-anticipated debut in 2015 after a building phase during which beer-loving pedestrians on East Vancouver's Franklin Street were teased with the promise brewing within a strikingly-coloured red building.

Many brewery businesses are born as the result of two people with a shared passion answering a sometimes-gruelling calling. At its core, that happens to be the case with Callister, but those two people—life partners Diana McKenzie and Chris Lay—navigated a different path towards brewery ownership than their craft community peers. They saw an opportunity to do something different, something that nobody had tried in a brewery, possibly anywhere in North America.

The closest thing may have been a short-lived "co-working brewery" in Houston TX, sunk by brewers playing a game of nude Twister. The more serious approach developed for Callister would showcase a group of "associate brewers" sharing a brewhouse, taproom and resources in a combined effort to 16

>> Words: Dave Smith Images: Brian K. Smith

create a sustainable operation containing multiple brewing partners.

Ink has been spilled about this by many a beer writer, so the introduction ends there. Now, 20 months after its genesis, Callister continues its experimental journey, bravely pioneering an approach that almost certainly will be studied closely by others far or near considering how to mitigate the risk of entering an industry that can demand fairly massive startup investment. Here's what I learned from the people involved in the venture's second year.

The Vanbrewers connection As Nathaniel Senff of Lightheart Brewing says, one can't really discuss Callister and community without talking about the Vancouver Homebrewers Association. Although it's not officially accurate to say that Callister's commune-like workgroup is a direct spinoff of Vanbrewers, it's not far from the truth. It's where the brewers involved met and built the trust necessary to take the leap into a much more meaningful working relationship than simply sharing homebrew recipies.

Not that they've left Vanbrewers behind. Matter of fact, right up until this past AGM in February 2017, leaders of the various Callister co-brewers were doing double duty with key positions within Vanbrewers. Nathaniel has long served as an administrative and IT coordinator for the club, while former

CAMRA Vancouver president Adam Chatburn, now known as Real Cask Brewing, was Membership Director and Meeting Director. Kent Courtice of Boombox Brewing was also handling Events in the past. Working within the brewing community context is not new to these people.

For the aforementioned fellows, joining a brew club provided not only a network, but inspiration to brew more and better. Kent recalls the epiphany he experienced when a friend brought him to his first Vanbrewers meeting in the back warehouse at Parallel 49. Nathaniel was sharing his smoked Baltic Porter. Kent was blown away; he remembers thinking that it was as good as any pro beer he had sampled. He had gone in thinking "my beers are this good" (gesturing with hands fairly wide apart). After participating for a while, he knew he had to up his game, and judging by popular and critical response to Boombox, that's exactly what has happened.

The VB connection continues out of both friendship and practicality. Both Adam and Nathaniel, who are more or less solo, have had various Vanbrewers (and other local brew club members) come in, help out and get commercial brewing experience.

Learning the ropes Of course, they're still getting commercial brewing experience themselves. Nathaniel, who watched from the sidelines then jumped in for Year Two, says "I thought I had the advantage of knowing what to expect. But brewing on that scale...it kicks your butt. Your first couple of brew days, you’ll be feeling like you ran a marathon”. Leaning on his Armed Forces leadership experience, he says that "sometimes you just have to suck it up".

The guys agree that there’s always something that comes up when you are brewing, and it rarely goes completely smoothly. Kent confides, "To find the process that fits what we brew, it took us the first seven months." Considering that the stated timeline extended right up to about a week before this interview was held, you get the idea that despite Boombox's acclaim (snagging a couple of trophies at the 2016 BC Beer Awards) these people are not taking anything for granted.

Building their own brands The opportunity presented by Chris and Diana has enabled the three Co-Brewer groups to turn pro with far less risk than would otherwise be possible. But has it helped establish them as brands that are recognized on their own?

Nathaniel says that they're starting to get people coming in who ask for their specific brands. "I had people come in and ask 'Where's the Citranaut?'", he relates. "When you run out of beer, that's when you find out that people appreciated it."

The Co-Brewers sign on for a year at a time, starting July 1.

Diana and Chris are open to the idea of managing Callister to some extent as a brewery incubator, annually providing a potential launchpad for participants. No doubt, those who do really well here will eventually need to leave to grow. Of Boombox, Kent says, "We are looking for our own space. With all the new breweries popping up, finding our own place has been the biggest challenge."

Can these brands endure after leaving the Callister nest? So far, the only example to study is Year One's Machine Ales, who left to brew out of South Vancouver's Dogwood Brewing.

Callister Year Two is: Callister Brewing: Chris Lay & Diana McKenzie Real Cask Brewing: Adam Chatburn Lightheart Brewing: Nathaniel Senff, with partners Brendan Bonfield & Kiyo Godo Boombox Brewing: Kent Courtice, Phil Spurgeon & Ryan Seller

Year One alumni: Superflux Brewing (formerly Machine Ales): Adam Henderson & Matt Kohlen Brewery Creek: Chester Carey and friends

Rebranded as Superflux Brewing, they are well respected but are essentially a part-time enterprise. Time will tell whether Callister gives birth to a series of successful progeny.

Not everyone needs to leave to consider the experiment a success. For his part, Adam says "I could never have a brewery on my own. My focus [English Ales, including milds] is too niche."

Like a craft beer food fair Which brings up one of the great benefits of visiting Callister.

The four distinct parties creating beers have different brewing styles. Like sours? Maybe you're a hophead? Just want something sessionable? With twelve taps (three each from four different brewing teams), chances are that there'll be something for you, and since this is currently a non-packaging brewery, the lineup is always changing.

Adam, whose focus most clearly lends itself to sessionability, says that "Not having core brands makes it different and kind of exciting. Sure, I try to keep the Bitter coming back fairly consistently, but month to month you'll get a different slate."

Nathaniel notes that this is "a big thing about the Callister community experience." Their size makes it possible to have no core brands, increasing the ability to experiment. He estimates that maybe a third of returning drinkers want the same beers they know, while the majority come to seek out new beers each time.

17

Callister Crew Q & A What's Brewing asked Callister team members what they thought about the following topics.

Callister is a unique operation. Do people understand the concept? How much explaining goes on each week?

Diana McKenzie: Yes. We get new people in all the time, but it only takes a few moments to explain the board menu and that everything is made on-site.

Adam Chatburn: I'm always happy to explain our unique nature, I can usually explain it in 2 sentences but could go longer. People are fascinated by the story of the little brewery that got by with a little help from its friends.

The owners' perspective As do most couples who mix home and business life, Diana McKenzie and Chris Lay play different and complementary roles when at work. Chris handles the beer side, while Diana runs the business. Of course there's overlap, as Lundy Dale uncovers in her Women In Beer spotlight on Diana in this issue.

They pursued the Co-op concept both out of desire and necessity. "Wanting to work with other brewers in this concept was our idea from the beginning", Diana notes. "Delays to get permits and licensing are very long, so that eats in to your budget very fast" she adds, confirming that startup costs were definitely eased due to the model of having Associate Brewers buy in up front. Chris notes a side benefit of the business model: from a marketing perspective, the brewery stands out more in a crowded scene than it would have otherwise.

As with the other brewers, he was amazed by what he found at Vanbrewers, seeing it as an "untapped resource" with a huge number of highly talented hobbyists. "They need access to the world, and vice versa, the world needs access to them".

This influenced their decision to create a “community of brewing—not just a brewery, but a community”.

Of course, they could simply have set up a brewery, aligned themselves with a club like Vanbrewers and had a rotation of amateur brewers cycle through as interns. They realized early on that they wanted involvement to be a professional commitment. "We wanted it to be an actual pursuit, and not just an extension of their homebrewing”, Diana asserts.

Asked what they've learned from the first year that they can apply to their current second season, Chris talks about learning how to share space. "You have to have respect for each other" he says. Part of that is keeping the space ready for others, because it affects their work. "At other breweries, you might be able to get away with cleaning up later (ie, tomorrow). but here you have to clean up right away so the space is ready for someone else".

Regarding the previous point about variety in styles between brewers, Chris notes that he has "not yet brewed an IPA, because the other brewers are already doing an excellent job at that". He feels his style is " more European or experimental beers", and likes the freedom to brew what he wants. As long as there are other individuals who can see the benefits of Callister's model, he'll be brewing to suit his whims for some time to come.

18

Is it a marketing benefit to have multiple brands under one umbrella? Do people even realize in advance that this is available?

AC: People don't often know about us before they come in and we do't have much of a marketing budget but if one of the breweries gets some buzz then it benefits us all.

Chris Lay: I felt we really needed to stand out [in a crowded brewery market]. Honestly, who cares about just us [Chris & Diana] opening a brewery?

DM: We get people coming in only for cask ales and we have others who come in only for the IPAs so we can reach a wider audience with the variety we offer. People love that there's always something new.

How do the four constituents work together to keep things harmonious, efficient and interesting?

DM: The brewing space and equipment is booked by each brewer as they need it. Ingredients are each brewer's responsibility but we share shipments and try to coordinate orders as much as possible.

AC: We regularly share some ingredients and equipment, but like good room-mates we ensure that we ask and return anything we use. Brewing space is set up on a Google calendar so we can book our day in advance. Most of us brew on a regular day of the week so clashes haven't happened.

I love taking shifts at the tasting room, people are always surprised to meet a brewer pouring drinks and have the opportunity to ask difficult questions that might stump the tasting room staff. It's also great to get your feedback directly from the customers- more brewers should consider doing this every now and again.

Profiles: women in Beer >> Lundy dale Callister's Diana McKenzie

I

first met Diana McKenzie at the Central City Winter Cask Festival in January 2015. This was Callister’s first event, well before their opening, so there was plenty of excitement around their cask. When Diana and her partner Christopher Lay arrived together, it was Chris that everyone wanted to talk to and congratulate, and Diana took a step back. I don't think that this is what she expected, as she came to the event as one half of the Callister team.

At any beer event I always scout around to meet the fellow women in the industry. I saw Diana a bit later and we chatted and bonded over the challenges of being a woman in the industry and I was really excited to learn more about the whole concept of Callister brewing and the work involved in making it happen.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to get to know Diana better and even asked her if she wanted to create her very first cask at one of my Pink Pints Women In Beer dinners. She did, and it was delicious! She will be creating another one as part of our International Women's Day dinner. I can hardly wait!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN YOUR POSITION? About 3.5 years.

WHAT ROLE DID YOU PLAY IN THE CONCEPT OF CALLISTER? WHAT ROLE DO YOU PLAY NOW? I wrote the business plan and figured out how to make it happen. Now, I keep the business running behind the scenes mostly, but I also do some shifts in the tasting room on Saturdays and I make our sodas and tonics for our non-alcoholic and cocktail options.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING A MINORITY FEMALE PRESENCE? DO YOU FEEL RESPECTED IN YOUR ROLE?

Diana, alongside artwork featured at the brewery

Mostly yes. It’s nice to stand out and immediately bond with other women over beer. People are sometimes a bit surprised when they find out that I’m one of the owners.

of things like making my own cheese, growing mushrooms, and fermenting sodas. My partner Chris was keen on home brewing so we started there, got involved with Vanbrewers, and kept going.

ARE THERE ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES OF BEING A WOMAN IN THE INDUSTRY? I don’t think the industry presents any gender-based advantages or disadvantages. It’s a very inclusive community.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU INTO THE INDUSTRY? A love of beer, and a desire to build something that was our own.

I’ve been working in professional education for almost 10 years and I still work at UBC full-time. A few years ago, I was trying to decide what my next step would be, so I took the program in sustainable agriculture with the UBC Farm. I love growing vegetables and being outside but I didn’t feel like running my own farm business was for me. I still wanted to do something food-related and build a local business. I was trying all kinds

The jobs we’ve had before weren’t really where we wanted to be. The people and the community in the beer industry confirmed that it was the right choice for us.

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER YOUR PASSION FOR BEER? I used to tour the Okanagan wineries in the summer with my dad and we stopped in at Tree Brewing a couple of times. I think that’s when I realized I actually liked beer because it was the only “craft” beer, outside of Germany, I’d ever had.

More recently, the explosion of the craft beer scene really opened my eyes to all of the different styles and what is possible. By taking up home brewing, we started gaining an appreciation for the process, the subtleties and how complex it really is. I really love the variety and diversity and the creative possibilities.

Contd. on page 45

Community

Brew Club Corner

VanBrewers AGM 2017 A hardy group of Vancouver Homebrewers Association (VanBrewers) members navigated deep slush and marooned buses to attend the Association's 2017 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, February 4th in the Roxanne Room behind 12 Kings Pub. The executive reviewed the club's 2016 highlights, which include another VanBrewers' major regional homebrew competition, live brewing demonstrations at the Vancouver Craft Beer Week festival, providing the certified judge backbone of the BC Beer Awards, another impressive list of educational guest speakers, and a truly incredible homebrew advent calendar.

Next up were the executive elections. Scott Butchart continues as club President and David Haywood as Treasurer. Matt Anderson continues in his longstanding role as Competitions Director, and Corey Baker returns to the executive as Admin & IT Director. New faces include Graham Ballantyne as Secretary and Alvaro Reyes as the Meetings Director. Finally, new Membership Director Jeff Tichbourne also won the Best Advent Calendar Label for his beer The Big Lebrewski.

Best Advent Calendar Beer went to Marc BC's Berry Christmas Berry Brown Porter.

A social event followed, featuring kegs of members' fabulous beer, cider, soda, and other beverages, and food catered by 12 Kings. The party eventually migrated to 12 Kings proper, for those with a hankering for more craft beer and tater tots.

Full Barrel Brew Club takes the Best Amateur award at the Tri-Cities Winter Pro-AM Cask Festival As Chad mentions, homebrew clubs like Vanbrewers have really hit their stride lately. As Monica Frost writes, BC is now seeing record interest in learning to brew, and it's reflected in the growth and prominence of clubs like those listed here.

Vancouver's suburban areas north and south of the Fraser are particularly active in recent years. Congratulations to Langley's brand new Full Barrel Homebrew Club. Their first-ever contest entry—into the already-prestigious Tri-Cities Winter Pro-AM—not only won first place for Best Amateur entry, but beat all commercial entries except for Best In Show Fuggles & Warlock. Nice accomplishment.

The Pro-Am fest itself is a relatively new development that showcases how homebrewers and commercial brewers can cross over. The Tri Cities are home not only to a swiftly-growing brew club, but a cask festival Society with amazing ambition.

Look for their ad in this issue for their next event, the Siris cask festival, celebrating the women of craft beer.

See also Warren Boyer's column on page 22 for his thoughts about pro-am crossovers and homebrew club relationships.

VanBrewers has really hit its stride as a club, comprising members from novice homebrewers to many who have become professional brewers. The club is looking forward to supporting and advancing the craft of homebrewing in 2017.

- Chad McCarthy

- Editor

Homebrew Club Listing 1.

Brew Westminster (Google Group)

2.

BrewVic: Website | FB Group

3.

BruBC (FB Group)

4.

Cranbrook Brewing Culture (FB Group)

5.

Fraser Valley Fermentalists (FB Group)

6.

Full Barrel Homebrew Club, Langley (FB Group)

7.

Royal Canadian Malted Patrol (FB Group)

8.

Stonehouse Brew Club, Maple Ridge (FB Group)

9.

Ten Corners Homebrew Club, Fraser Valley (FB Group)

10. Tricities Brew Club (FB Group) 11. UVic Wizards of Beer (FB Group) 12. VanBrewers: Website | FB Page | FB Group

If we missed your club: write editor@whatsbrewing.ca 20

E K A M

R E T T E

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Community

Fraser Valley Fermentalists visit Fuggles & Warlock

Homebrew Happenin's >> Warren Boyer

Craft Community Crossover: when home brewers visit the pros

A

t 7 a.m. on January 13, 2017, the Fraser Valley Fermentalists homebrew club gathered at Fuggles & Warlock for a collaboration brew. The beer was a twist on our award-winning Drunken Pig mesquite-smoked bacon bourbon porter, the beer that earned us this opportunity to brew with the big boys. We used the same porter recipe, but switched the mesquite-smoked malt out for peat-smoked, and omitted the bacon and bourbon.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day for the club. Some of our members have brewed professionally and others are considering it or working towards it, so we were all excited to brew with some pros who have made a name for themselves in the BC craft beer scene. We weighed out the partial bags while pouring 25 kg bags of malt into the mill. When the hopper above the mash tun was full, we added water to hydrate the crushed malts to fill the tun. Waiting for the 60-minute mash, we set up a loop to sanitize the fermenter, hoses, and pump that we would use later in the day. When that was running, we were ushered into the tasting room for samples of their delicious beers.

After a nice break, we were back in the brewery to lauter and sparge. When we had collected our wort, we heated for the boil and emptied out the mash tun. As soon as the boil began, we added our first hops and headed back to the tasting room.

After another round of tasters, we went back to the brewery for the aroma hop addition before cooling the wort through a heat exchanger and moving the beer into a conical fermenter. We pitched the yeast and retired to the tasting room for a celebratory pint.

Fuggles & Warlock were amazing hosts. They really stepped back and let our club members get some hands-on experi22

ence with a commercial size brewery. Thanks to Dan, Tony, Mike, and the rest of the crew for embracing the home brewers and inviting us into their brewery for the day.

This is not the first time I have brewed in a commercial brewery as a prize from a home brew contest. The first few times were at DIX Barbecue and Brewery, where I was lucky enough to have my own IPA recipe served to DIX patrons. Tony Dewald was the brewer at that time and he was happy to show me the system and explain his methods. He stood back and pointed while I did my best to understand the unmarked manifold and move liquid around the brew house. At the end of a very exhausting day he told me, “you could do this.� For the next month when I visited DIX, I drank pints of the IPA that I created, and was filled with pride and accomplishment. I also won an opportunity to brew with Timmy Brown at Mission Springs in a Vanbrewers contest, and years later, a chance to brew my winning beer at Parallel 49.

Most of the brewers I have met are amazingly generous people who are passionate about what they do and are excited to share their knowledge with others. I have learned almost as much about brewing from talking to brewers as I have from brewing. Many of my close personal friends are people I have met through the beer community and I am incredibly thankful to have them in my life.

Now go make some beer, and make some friends too!

Warren Boyer is an award winning homebrewer, Certified Beer Judge, Past President of CAMRA Vancouver, and and occasional Professional Brewer. Reach Warren at homebrewboy@shaw.ca

A View from the Cellar >> Adam Chatburn The Importance of Clean Lines

T

he hoses that connect beer kegs and casks to taps—the lines—need regular cleaning. Dirty lines adversely affect the flavour of beer. Contamination in the lines can also lead to foaming the beer and unexpected hangovers. Things like mould, calcium oxalate (beerstone), hop particulate, yeast, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), diacetyl, proteins, and bacteria build up and thrive in dirty lines. But these issues can be dealt with easily. Cleaning is a simple process, but it can be time consuming, wasteful, and inconvenient.

the case when those lines carried sterile macro lagers.

Craft lines should be cleaned at least every two weeks. The taps also need to be disassembled and cleaned. This doesn’t necessarily need to be done every time, but cleaning the taps at every other line clean is a good routine. I recommend additional cleaning after a strong-tasting beer or before a busy event, too.

At Callister, I brew every 10–14 days, and I still clean my lines on brew days, usually before service starts. (After closing is arguably better, so any delays won’t affect service and/ or cleaning standards, but this adds time on to the end of your work day.) Because of the serving setup at Callister, my cask lines are wide gauge and quite short, so this seems to be enough. Generally, cask lines should be cleaned slightly more frequently but with a weaker cleaning solution; heavy abrasives can damage the engines.

You can, of course, pay someone to clean your lines. There are a number of line cleaning companies in BC. I’ve used some of them and found the quality to vary wildly, so I now take care of line cleaning in house.

There’s a lot of discussion about how and when lines should be cleaned. This is how I like to do it, Cleaners and Supplies based on my training and what has The main chemical you should use is a comchanged with the craft beer revolution. mercial line cleaner. There are a few on the market Line cleaning is often easier with two people: one to attach the cleaner and one A cleaning can with multiple heads that are variations on oxy-style powder cleaners.

My favourite is made by Hydrochem Industries, a to pull it through. Mobile phones have family company in North Vancouver whose proprietary blend made this much easier; there’s less need for running up and hasn’t let me down. Never use bleach, soap, or any scented down stairs shouting. wash; these do not clean lines adequately and can leave noticeable residue that may take weeks to get rid of.

Scheduling

Scheduling is important because line cleaning is an easy job to put off. Many places, like my old stomping ground, 12 Kings Pub, post their line cleaning dates at the bar and on social media. When I was there, I cleaned the lines every Friday. Friday was brewing day, so I took care of the lines and made sure the casks and kegs were all set for the weekend while I waited for the mash and boil. My policy is to never clean lines during service. This is mostly precautionary, so no customer is served a glass of anything other than what they ordered (#fuss), especially if it could be oxy cleaner.

I cleaned lines every week because cask lines need more frequent cleaning than keg lines. Cask lines are more exposed to hop particulate, proteins and yeast due to the massive increase in craft beer styles. Hoppy beers can quickly create hard-to-remove stains in the lines, and you are now more likely to find yeast and/or particulate in craft kegs, which was not

You will need a cleaning can for keg lines and a bucket for cask lines. Add the powder to cold water (never water to cleaner) and give it a good shake or stir to mix. Wear protective gloves and goggles; once mixed it isn’t necessarily harmful to skin but always take precautions. Cans can be plastic with one keg connector or steel with multiple heads for the different types of connector. Sankey “D” connectors are the most common in North America but most European kegs, nitro and Guinness all have different connectors.

Process 1. Fill the cleaning can with water.

2. Flush lines with water.

3. Add cleaner to the can and shake or stir to mix.

4. Fill lines with cleaner.

Contd. on page 44

presented by

Warm Weather Beers Part I: Fruit Beers What is a spring beer?

As of this issue's publication date—March 1st—snow is on the ground in Southern BC. After the winter we've had, it may seem impossible that there is ever going to be warm weather again, but it's coming. If it's not, this issue's Fruit Beer Spotlight feature will be pointless, and here at What's Brewing we don't do pointless stuff. Much.

Spring differs from other seasons in that there is a very short list of styles historically released during this time. In fact, only one stands out: Bock, a German tradition. Since a bundle of BC bock bottles can be tough to snag, we're choosing fruit.

The Easter Bunny tempted us with chocolate beers, but that's really a winter thing.

We're confident that you'll be out on the patio in shorts with a fruit beer in your hand before you know it.

24

What is a fruit beer?

Judging contests and beer categorization systems often feature a category named Fruit Beer. This segment is sometimes combined to include beers that involve other produce such as pumpkins, vegetables, or herbs. Fruit Beer is not strictly a style in the sense of a traditional brewing approach with a single historical root like Pilsner, Dortmunder or the like. It's a class of beers that employ fruit as an additive in order to obtain flavours (and sometimes mouthfeel) that wouldn't be possible through yeast selection alone.

North American fruit beers are often wheat-based. Certain fruits lend a tart character and residual body matter that pair well with a hazy, unfiltered wheat ale. The refreshing result becomes addictively drinkable in warm temperatures.

Keep this list handy for reference right through summer, when we present Part II.

Paul

Lynn

Chelsea

Our Judges Our five volunteer beer experts are: Warren Boyer, BJCP-Certified brewer & community leader

Julia

Warren

Our Beers This round's submissions include five fruit beers: 1. Bridge Brewing: Blood Orange 2. Fernie Brewing: What The Huck

Julia Hanlon, Head Brewer, Steamworks (why yes, we did name her our Brewer of the Year for 2016)

3. Fuggles & Warlock: Last Strawberry Wit

Lynn McIlwee of Hops Canary: experienced beer event judge and homebrewer

5. Postmark: Mandarina Wheat

Chelsea McDowell of Brewtiful BC: experienced beer event judge and homebrewer Paul Pyne of DrinkSmarter: Certified Cicerone®, beer tutor, and good guy everybody knows. See page 7.

How judging is done Our unsanctioned competition uses a Zagat-like 30-point rating with a weighted scale based loosely on the BJCP Scoresheet. Panellists are instructed to give an honest rating, so don't expect a sugar-coating.

Note: neither What’s Brewing nor Legacy Liquor Store bear responsibility for the opinions expressed within, which are solely those of the individual panelists..

4. Old Yale: Mango Wheat

BONUS BEER We missed the boat on Moon Under Water's Oranje Maan Wit. Crap! Instead, we continue the summery trend by adding in their Light Side of the Moon lager, brewed with lighter rice malts and sweet orange peel.

Winner is...

Our Spring champion, for Last Strawberry Wit, is Fuggles & Warlock—no stranger to winning beer contests.

They earn themselves a shiny new Stan Lee No-Prize (and they're just the guys who might actually get that reference). Well done!

Fruit beer category: overall scores

Meet Jordan Knott, craft beer expert at Legacy Liquor Store Got questions about craft beer? Talk to Jordan!

Legacy Liquor Store 1633 Manitoba St, Vancouver, BC 604.331.7900 info@legacyliquorstore.com

Online Order Desk

www.legacyliquorstore.com/shop

Fruitastic photography by Chelsea McDowell

25

Bridge Blood Orange 2/3

Note: Chelsea's scores were submitted via a different process this round for technical reasons

21 20 19 9/10

4/6

20/30 2/3

5/8

Hazy. Malty fruity sweetness finishes with orange zest bitterness A pretty tasty beer, but not one I could drink a lot of.

Smells like the box of mandarin oranges mom used to buy, minus the green wrap.

This isn't too sweet, which helps it avoid becoming cloying, keeping me interested the whole way through. The orange is present without being overdone Quite a dry finish to it, with remnants of bourbon in the mouthfeel without being cloying. Stands up beautifully to some Szechuan fried rice and ginger beef

20

Old Yale Mango Wheat 3/3

26 23 17 9/10 26

4/6

23/30 2.5/3

6/8

Hazy, complex, creamy. Grainy smooth fruity mango. Balanced I liked this beer. It tasted like fresh tropical fruit, though I couldn't tell you if it was mango if it wasn't on the label.

Fruit smoothy blended into your beer. Over-ripe fruit sweetness masks any other flavours from coming through.

You can tell real fruit was used, not a flavour concentrate, as there is a lot of depth of flavour, as well as quite a smooth and creamy mouthfeel, reminds me of a mango lassi!

A well made hef with mango to add texture and balance. Would do well with a grilled salmon dish or a big ol' plate of nachos.

Fernie What The Huck 2/3

16 24 22 6/10 23

4.5/6

Very malty. fruit comes in

Sweet berries but a tart fi what huckleberries taste l

I admit I had to send ou huckleberry actually is. Jo

The flavour is heavier tha ry flavours were a bit mur

A patio or boat beer, with and fruits. I would like to t

Postmark Mandarina 2/3

20 13 14 10/10 21

3/6

Clean. Bright.

This beer is drinkable b yeast or hop character sh Not a flawed beer, but it and thus, was bland.

Mandarina is a nice tw with hops by being de space for the malts to sh

Juicy like a tangerine, w herbaceous lingering qu

21/30 3/3

Fuggles Last Strawberry 2.5/3

5.5/8

n the finish

finish that's pretty good! I have no idea like, but I guess this is it!

ut Huckleberry Hound to tell me what a oking aside, it's a good fruit/wit.

an assortment of meats, cheeses, breads, try this as a float in a Sangria recipe.

2/3

17/30

25 25 22

Thick haze creamy thick head. Sweet fruitiness leads to slight tart finish

10/10

It's easy to see why F&W have a cult following for this beer. The flavours play so well together it's impossible to stop drinking until the bottle is empty

26

Light and refreshing. The strawberry is the star and it's not as sweet as I would have expected with the lactose. The lime citrus character is a nice surprise. This beer screams for a good Ceviche.

Like a creamsicle. Just enough lactose to create creaminess without too, too much sweetness A well-made wit. It lands on the sweeter side of beers, which isn't my preference. Enjoyed the real fruit in this rather than the fruit roll-up taste some beers have

Light Side of the Moon

4.5/8

7/8

2/3

3.5/6

20/30 2/3

5.5/8

Julia

Wheat

2.5/3

Warren

an I was expecting. I felt the malt and berrky

5/6

25/30

Lynn

didn't have any distinguishable flavours

with a low acidity. A carbonic finish with a uality.

Appearance

Highly carbonated. Slightly hazy. Fruit is subtle On point example of a light lager, with a bit of a twist (literally).

It's a well-made lager and macro lager drinkers should move over to this one.

This is highly sessionable, you'll need the whole 4-pack. This would pair well with softball games, relaxing on the beach or summer BBQs An easy drinking lager with a slightly sweet zing to it. I see this standing up to a lemon tart or other citrusy/bready dessert.

Aroma

Palate/Mouthfeel

Flavour

Paul

wist on the aggressive citrus associated elicate and almost floral, and it leaves hine through

Chelsea

but bland. Neither the fruit, the spice, the hine though.

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Community Spotlight

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HEROES OF BEER

A 3-point Q&A about what Community means, with:

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n celebration of our BC Craft Beer Community, we invited some of the many public-minded BC brewing indutry folks we have the pleasure to know, to tell us more about their relationship with their local community, and within the brewing community.

Their responses were voluminous and passionate. We've excerpted them here. We welcome yours too.

But if the exploits of some of these community superheroes leave you feeling like your cape has a hole in it, you're not alone.

After reading through these submissions, your humble What's Brewing editor is exhausted, impressed and humbler than ever.

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O8 b²ËF²bÉ u¢O O8 b²ËF²bÉ u¢O O8 b²ËF²bÉ u¢O

1. community acceptance and integration How has your brewery been accepted by, and become part of, the local community since opening?

Adam Chatburn, Callister/Real Cask We've been embraced by the locals, both customers and industry; the list is too long to print here. We hope that we put back into the community at least as much as we receive.

Darren Adam, Cumberland Brewing Co. The brewery has been accepted by the community because we intentionally created it as a gathering place, safe for all people and families to be, and because of our support of community initiatives (that do not involve minors). We created a true Public House in the British sense, and it has been embraced perfectly.

Abi Moore, Fernie Brewing Co. Fernie Brewing Co. is a much-loved part of the community, and we are grateful for this every day. Fernie BC is an amazing and eclectic community filled with long standing multi-generational residents, as well as seasonal visitors and a passerby who “come for the winter and stay for the summer” then subsequently never leave. We truly believe “you’re only as strong as your community".

Michelle Zutz, Townsite We get to live, work and play in this amazing region with such a diverse group of people to call neighbours and friends. We buy our homes here, pay our taxes, spend our dollars, our kids go to school here, take driving lessons, swim and dance classes. Our customers see our faces in the community supporting both personally and professionally and that makes all of us feel connected.

Our community is proud of our accomplishments as well. City councillor CaroleAnn Leishman relates a story about being away at conference. When she mentioned she was from Powell River, instead of the usual “Mill Town” comment, she was overjoyed to hear "You guys have that great brewery and all the biking trails! I've heard all about Powell River! I want to come there for a visit soon!

Kim Lawton, Cannery Brewing One testament to acceptance by the community is that our beer is now available at the local arena (South Okanagan Events Centre) alongside the traditional macro products.

Guests who want to see a concert, a sporting event or attend a festival or conference now have a choice to drink local.

Sid Ruhland, Firehall Brewery We have been accepted graciously by our community, Oliver BC. Our social lounge, the Beer Shop & Social, was made possible through a successful crowdfunding campaign, which involved the participation of the community.

One of the core tenets of the craft beer movement is to support local. We've been able to serve as a force resisting homogeneous, sterile, and invasive Big Business. Now, we've become a local staple for community events, municipal initiatives, weddings, birthdays and staff parties.

Legions of other young locals have left town for city bustle or Northern pay. The town is excited to have a young man like me stick around to pursue an entrepreneurial idea. At first, craft beer was foreign here, so it took a lot of work to educate local folks about what craft beer is and what it means.

Anne Farmer, Moon Under Water Yes I like to think that our success is pretty much 100% because of our community and family support. We pride ourselves on putting our customers first, catering to their specific requests.

We have a policy of never closing for a private function; our regular customers are our number one priority.

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Abi Moore, Fernie Brewing Co. Last summer we set up the “FBC Trail to Ale Challenge”, which challenged locals and visitors to come play on our amazing trail network, then be rewarded with a beer and medal at the Brewery!

Participants must climb three peaks on bike or foot within a 24hr period. Fernie folk like to work hard and play hard, that’s for sure!

Fernie Pets Society, a Cheers To Charity! beneficiary

Beer It Forward: an example of the taproom culture at Cumberland Brewing

Kim Lawton, Cannery Brewing Cannery Brewing features free live music every Sunday night. Gives locals a place to perform, gives guests a place to support local musicians and enjoy live music for free.

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2. Community programs and events Are there any recent or ongoing activities, programs or events which relate to a Community theme that you would care to share with us?

Diana McKenzie & Adam Chatburn, Callister

Abi Moore, Fernie Brewing Co.

We have a homebrewer highlight series that usually features members of VanBrewers who get to brew a pilot batch with Chris, then put it on tap in the tasting room. We are also part of the East Van Culture Crawl, Yeast Van Brewers association, East Van Running Club, a pick-up spot for a local CSA Farm, and we feature local artists' work in our space.

We feel fortunate to do business in the Elk Valley, and wanted to find a way of giving back to our local community. As a result, our “Cheers to Charity!” program has been in operation since December 2013. For $5, visitors to the FBC Tasting Room can try four of our eight beers available on tap. Recipients rotate every six weeks to three months. With every cent taken going direct to the current recipient project, event or life-changing measure, FBC have successfully raised just shy of $50,000 since its inception.

Kim Lawton, Cannery Brewing Cannery Brewing regularly donates items for silent auctions, sponsors teams and supports events in the community. We support Penticton's local Survivorship Dragon Boat team, have donated toward Literacy Now and we help raise donations for the South Okanagan Children's Charity.

In the works is a Craft Beer Trail Mile co-hosted by Stag Leap Running Co. We’re the perfect town for such a challenge! More details to come.

We provide our brewery as a venue for meetings, AGM's, community fundraisers, networking events, and sell tickets to events happening in the community.

Our business model changed drastically, for the better, with the addition of our crowdfunded Beer Shop & Social. Since I'm from Oliver, I know what it's like to want another place in town to hang out.

Having the space for it was a matter of fortune, but it was the communal need that made it happen.

A number of Cannery Brewing beers help support important causes/organizations in the community. For instance, Wildfire IPA brings awareness and financial support to the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Beers in our Artisan Creations line-up bring exposure to local artists.

Cannery and the other local breweries have been instrumental in helping us set-up and establish CAMRA BC's South Okanagan branch, letting them use the space for events, making casks, providing educational opportunities for members, and donating prizes for CAMRA events.

Darren Adam, Cumberland Brewing Co. We have three main community initiatives that are the core of our support output, but we do much more.

1. We support the Cumberland Community Forest Society, which purchases private timberlands on the edge of the Village, and gifts it to the Village with strict covenants to maintain it as forest in perpetuity. These lands are on the watershed, and help to protect the future of the great water we enjoy, to make great beer.

2. We support the United Riders of Cumberland, which have secured a land-use agreement which legalizes mountain bikers access on private timberlands, and gives the Village the ability to promote itself as a mountain biking destination. Game changing stuff.

3. We support the Museum of Cumberland, which tells the ongoing unique story of the culture that our Village represents.

We also have commissioned artwork over the past 24 months, which will continue. To date over the 25 months of our business we have contributed, or supported these efforts to the tune of over $25,000 and counting. We also partner with any Village business we can, in order to strengthen our relationships with local owners.

Sid Ruhland, Firehall Brewery

The Beer Shop has had steady business throughout the "slow season", which can be a struggle for many small businesses in Oliver. I believe this success reflects a deep-seated need for real social interaction in today's culture.

Anne Farmer, Moon Under Water We do at least two burger and beer fundraisers for the community each month. We are active in supporting animal rescue and have held a number of fundraisers for them. We support two ball teams, three dragon boat teams, two soccer teams, and more recently a curling league. We also have 4 staff members participating in the 2017 Beer Wars boxing event supporting under privileged kids.

Michelle Zutz, Townsite Our “Growler Program” supports local nonprofits and their initiatives within our region. Not only do they receive $1 from the sale of every growler and refill sold, we also work with them in promoting their individual programs. We make our tasting room and space available to them to use to sell their tickets, promote their fund raisers, even have additional products available for sale to our customers. See our website for this year's recipients.

Recently, our one-day “Spinathon” fundraiser with Coast Fitness raised in excess of $9000, to be shared between three local nonprofits. In addition, we sponsor many events throughout the year locally, including the Banff Mountain Film Festival, Movember, Powell River Film Festival, Logger Sports, Powell River Girl Guides, CAMRA Powell River and local sports.

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Photo by: Raven Eye Photography, Fernie BC

OFF SEASON iS NOT A SEASON. ferniebrewing.com

3. Craft Community camraderie Regarding the craft beer community: what’s your take on kinship amongst the BC breweries and craft beer industry types? Is it as strong as it’s often portrayed?

Adam Chatburn, Real Cask Brewing

Darren Adam, Cumberland Brewing Co.

Honestly, I think it's even stronger than people might suspect.

The level of co-operation and sharing of knowledge, ingredients and encouragement is quite incredible. Did you know that the brewers in the Yeast Van area get together once a month? We plan events, help the new folks and find ways to maintain our position as the brewing capital of Canada.

We have also helped anyone who has come into our brewery or reached out with a free meeting to explain our business model and what makes it different and effective.

Diana McKenzie & Adam Chatburn, Callister Yes, there is a strong bond between breweries. The local brewing industry and the homebrewing community have been incredibly supportive. From brewers or other owners taking the time to answer our questions, to sharing supplies and resources while we wait for a shipment to come in, the whole experience has been really incredible. People are really interested in what we're doing and the impact we're having on the future of the industry.

It's partly that, as owners, we get to commiserate on how hard the journey can be, and partly that, in spite of it all, we keep going and are pursuing something we're really passionate about. That excitement draws people together and makes us all want to see each other succeed. We're stronger together than on our own.

Anne Farmer, Moon Under Water We make sure we have at least 4 or 5 guest taps on at all times to support other breweries. We have done numerous collaborations with other breweries, and were one of the first in Victoria to hold a tap takeover. Employees from other local breweries frequent the bar regularly.

Kim Lawton, Cannery Brewing 100% yes, Our breweries don’t see each other as competitors, but as collaborators, friends, and colleagues who enjoy sharing a beer together and helping each other.

Abi Moore, Fernie Brewing Co. I think it’s very strong, and the portrayal in the media is spot on. As much as each of us wish to succeed, we’re all in it together. For us in the Kootenays, farthest from the craft hubs like Vancouver or Victoria, it’s really exciting!

Sid Ruhland, Firehall Brewery When we first got into the industry, we were relieved to find we had chosen well. We didn't know about craft brewer kinship until we were already in the construction phase, when we visited small breweries in BC and Québec, and felt a form of solidarity: we're all in it together against the Big Boys.

Contrary to the norms of competition, we wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for the generosity and support from breweries like Cannery Brewing Co, Tin Whistle Brewing, Bad Tattoo Brewing, Crannog Ales, and many others.

From our perspective, it is very obvious which breweries are authentically heartfelt organizations, and which are merely responses to an economic trend. This may not be so obvious to the average consumer. Anyone who really cares simply needs to penetrate past the marketing and meet the people within, to find out where brotherly and sisterly love exist in this business.

Michelle Zutz, Townsite Absolutely; we are proud of our #friendsinbeerplaces. We all realize as breweries that essentially we are competitors, but we are also aware that we all will benefit from a growing Craft Beer presence. I have friends in the business I call upon to shoot some ideas around, look at new opportunities and sometimes just bitch about Voldemort (aka, the entity that shall not be named)!!

Anne Farmer, Moon Under Water Darren Adam, Cumberland Brewing We received such amazing help from Townsite before we opened, that we will remain fast friends with those folks as long as they walk the earth.

Now, we are consulting with new breweries, like Twin Cities in Port Alberni, to help them copy our model

Yes it is definitely as strong as it is portrayed. We never think of them or the other pubs as competition more as team mates. Our priority has always been with the craft beer industry and never just our own business. I feel that our brewer Clay Potter has been a major influence in this.

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Community

The Fathers of Brewing

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>> Chloe Smith

have noticed a trend in articles written about women in the beer industry, and it falls into an archetype that I don’t think entirely applies anymore. When we talk about women, we almost always talk about motherhood.

As a woman and a mother, I see nothing wrong with this, except that we don’t acknowledge men and fatherhood in the same context.

SM: I’ve heard brewing for a living described as a lifestyle career. We work long hard hours for not a lot of money. At one point I was working two brewing jobs about 65 hours a week and drinking the remaining hours. For me, this job is a large part of my identity. I think that I would still be working that hard if I didn’t have a child. One 40-hour-a-week brewing job and a toddler is way harder. I’ve had to slow down on work.

I believe in equality in the workplace, and I see the craft beer industry support that. There are a lot of amazing women doing great things in our industry and I celebrate them and recognize their achievements. But I find women are often singled out as caregivers and parents, while our men and fathers are just not discussed in the same way.

RT: I have always tried to look towards the future but the nature of our jobs has us looking season to season, fermentation to fermentation. But now being a dad, I find the decisions I make in my career now require me to examine the impact it will have on my little girls’ life, whether it is tomorrow or 10 years from now.

Jen Wint’s recent article in Taps magazine, “The Mothers of Brewing”, got me thinking about this. Why don’t we talk about our industry’s men as fathers? How would their answers to Jen’s questions be different? How would they be the same? So I posed the same six questions to five brewers who are also fathers. Their answers were sweet and thoughtful and a great reminder that all parents struggle with the work and life balance, not just us moms.

The Dads Matt Smith, Brewer, The 101 Brewhouse and Distillery Dad to Hazel (18 mths) Jorden Foss, Owner/Operator, Steel & Oak Brewing. Dad to Jude (1) Michael Lewis, Owner/Operator, Three Ranges Brewing. Dad to Isadora (4) and Keslin (5) Scott Martin, Head Brewer, Townsite Brewing. Dad to Hugo (3) Ross Thompson, Head Brewer, Cannery. Dad to Nora (22 mths)

How has fatherhood changed your career?

MS: I now work a slightly different work schedule to allow me to spend one weekday with my daughter. I don’t go to as many beer events anymore.

JF: It’s helped me to put things in perspective. Issues that always come up when you run a small business don’t seem as large as they once did.

ML: Dealing with the mayhem. Having never really been involved in the brewing industry, I didn’t understand how quickly things could change in all aspects of the business. The rapid attitude change of a child is similar. My girls have taught me the patience I need to properly react, or not react, to those changes.

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What experiences in craft brewing have prepared you for your role as a father?

MS: You can’t really speed up or slow down a batch of beer.

You can’t reason with yeast. But you can create the conditions where it will do what you want it to. Kids can be a bit like that.

JF: I’m pretty good at troubleshooting technical issues at the brewery. I can also now troubleshoot a baby’s toy or clothing that doesn’t fit properly.

ML: I was a father before I started brewing. I would say my children prepared me for the complexities of dealing with different personalities in one environment while trying to get both to go in the same direction. When you’re trying to get different products ready on a schedule and each requires a different level of care and attention, it reminds me of my girls every time.

SM: None. Other than I used to work shifts and the lack of sleep is nothing new to me. Also, in brewing, you can logically fix almost any problem that arises and it feels good when that is accomplished. With a baby, you often need to sit in shit, literally and figuratively, until the moment passes and move forward.

RT: Well, we are all really a bunch of children chasing our hobby/dream so working with like-minded individuals has really given me insight into how children think and function.

What is the biggest challenge of raising a family while working in this industry?

MS: A big challenge is just holding off on suds until you get things squared away with the little ones. Not too hard though, and probably better for my health.

JF: Events. Events are evenings and weekends and often I’m away from home. This can be a touch hard on my wife but on

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1. Matt Smith reading Hazel a truly useful bedtime story 2. The author with the Dauchot family: Hugo, husband Cédric, and Béatrix 3. Another Hugo, with father Scott Martin 4. Ross Thompson and Nora 5. Keslin and Isadora with dad Michael Lewis 6. Jorden Foss with Jude the positive side I sleep insanely well while I’m on the road. It’s not just a 9–5 job, and that can be difficult when you’ve got a baby who relies on routine.

ML: As a start-up brewery, the hours are the challenge. Knowing that one of your babies has to be fed, and the other ‘baby’ (your brewery) is what feeds them creates difficulty in managing your time. It takes a lot of time dedicated to establishing a brand in the market and ensuring you’re putting out a consistent quality product. Those kids require just as much or more time to maintain a close relationship. Luckily, as they get older, my wife can spend more time at work and I can spend more time at home with them.

SM: It’s challenging raising children. I’m sure it’s hard no matter where you work.

RT: I find the hardest part to be the amount of time spent away at events, festivals and even late nights in the taproom. Also, none of us are ever ready for the crazy onslaught of summer and the time required to get through it.

What’s the best part of being a dad in the craft brewing industry?

MS: The best part for me was when Emily was on mat leave, she would show up at the brewery with Hazel for a visit or to bring me my lunch. Or just thinking about them throughout the day and feeling happy.

JF: Bringing my son to the Tasting Room and pulling pints for customers. Nothing brings people more joy than a baby behind the bar. I’m fairly confident my liquor inspector would be chill about it too.

ML: Exposing my girls to a product I’ve created and showing them what pride in craftsmanship is all about. Establishing a sense of a work ethic in your kids is hard to do if they never see you at work. My girls get to come and spend time at the brewery with me, they see the operation, they see how it’s made, and they see the people enjoy it in a responsible manner.

SM: It’s fun to see my son want to learn what I do and how all Contd. on page 44

The amazing mural adorning the distinctive yellow Powell Street building. Source: Instagram (Andina Brewing)

YEast Van's new splash of colour

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visit to the newly opened Andina Brewing Company is like walking into a friend’s house. The ambience is lively with music and conversation and you are welcomed with open arms, a passionfruit black IPA, and a snack of plantain and yucca chips. Sounds like a delightful way to spend an afternoon, doesn’t it?

Inside the big yellow building on Powell Street, owners Andrés and Nicolás Amaya have built a brewery that combines their passion for beer with their love of music, family and friends, their Colombian heritage, and Latin America’s rich and diverse culture.

The brothers came to Canada 19 years ago and were hooked when they tried beers from Quebec. They tried new beers every week, talked about them over cigars, and began to dream of opening a small brewery. That vision grew steadily, in ideas and in size, until they decided to turn the dream into reality.

Even after learning about the challenges involved, their family stood behind them 100% and joined the brothers in the brewing industry.

Their brand was carefully crafted, starting with naming the brewery. The name Andina represents their history and culture: una Andina is a woman from the Andes, the mountains in Colombia. The Spanish words for beer (cerveza), malt (malta) and mountains (montañas) are all feminine, and “Andina is feminine, innovative, majestic, vibrant, and friendly,” the perfect name for the brewery.

Head brewer Andrew Powers collaborates with Nicolás on recipes that include fruit found only in South America, panela (brown sugar made from the juice of sugar cane) from Chile, and malt from Chile’s Patagonia Malt, cultivators and malters of barley since 1896.

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>> Lynn McIlwee Andrew is Siebel-educated and trained in Germany on the classic styles of beer. He plans to curate the perfect balance of new and classic styles, using high-quality ingredients from around the world. The goal is to make unique, flavourful beers rather than perfectly fitting into style guidelines. Case in point: using panela; to their knowledge, this sugar has never been used in beer before. After some experimentation, Andrew determined that pairing panela with certain malt enhances the malt’s natural flavour and shortens fermentation time. One of their flagship beers, Melcocha Andean Mild Ale, is brewed with panela.

Seasonal beers will be released every couple of months and will often focus on fruit from South America. The first seasonal is Maraca, a passionfruit black IPA. Next up, maybe a gose or ISA using lulo (green pulp with a citrus flavour). Trial batches are in progress and will continue until Andrew finds the perfect combination for this unique fruit. There are, of course, challenges to importing the fruit, but it is important to the Andina family to use ingredients from their homeland, so it is worth the trouble. What other fruit will be used for their beers has yet to be determined, but you can bet that flavourful beers will showcase each one.

The distinctive and tasteful Latin American theme is everywhere at Andina. Traditional Andean art, crafts, clay pots and woven baskets accent the tasting room. The tasting paddle for flights is shaped like a chicha, the traditional jug for carrying water. The names of the beers are inspired by elements from the family’s culture—be sure to flip over your beer coaster and learn a new Spanish phrase. The music in the tasting room is

The brand new tasting room an important component of the experience, too. Right now it’s recorded Latin American tracks, but the owners plan to bring live performers in to entertain in the future.

The care and attention to ingredients does not end with brewing; the food is 100% organic and ocean-friendly. You will be treated to a perfect fusion of eight kinds of ceviche (seafood, vegetables and fruit “cooked” in citrus juice rather than with heat), based on traditional recipes from Mexico, Peru, and Colombia and created by Andrés. Other choices include fried green plantain and yucca chips served with a Colombian sauce that is an interpretation of salsa, and homemade arepa, which are corn patties and cheese served with hogao, a warmed Colombian sauce.

Ceviches It will come as no surprise that the merchandise also embraces their culture. In addition to the usual growlers, shirts, toques, and hats, they will also offer a beautiful sombrero-style hat, bracelets, and a tote bag. The hats and bracelets are made from organic material, hand crafted especially for Andina.

The goal, for the Andina family, is to provide perfect customer service. As Claudia Liévano-Amaya, Andina’s communications & marketing director and Nicolás’ wife, says, “we want you to come as guests, stay as friends, and leave as members of our family.”

Lynn McIlwee is Director of Human Resources at First Key Consulting.

On Hops Canary, Lynn writes about our beer related travel around the world, beer festivals, local beer events and other beer topics of interest.

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Sea to Sky Vacation Adventure 1. Mile One Eating House 2. Pemberton Valley Lodge 3. Whistler Brewing 4. Howe Sound Brewing 5. Avis Nissan Rogue at the Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside 6. Whistler Brewhouse 7. Coast Mountain Brewing 8. Fall colours 9. Amazing Coastline 10. Pemberton Distillery

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e in BC are blessed with one of the most spectacular scenic drives in the world. In the early years of my travels to Whistler, Highway 99 North was known as the most dangerous road in the province. After many upgrades, including the pre-Olympic mega-upgrade, the Sea to Sky highway is now a marvel of engineering that leaves you free to appreciate the beauty that surrounds you.

Brewery, for beer tasting, appetizers, and dinner, and were excited to try many of the regular beers and special releases. The gourmet food that accompanied the delicious beers was perfect. The brew pub’s vaulted ceiling and large picture window perfectly frame a wonderful view of the Stawamus Chief. Rumor has it that a few more breweries are opening in 2017—we might need to return for a Squamish weekend!

I recently took a four-day craft beer trip from Vancouver to Pemberton. Here’s how it went.

Day 2

Best Times to Travel: Late March to mid-May, mid-September to mid-November (aka, the ‘shoulder seasons’ on either side of the Summer peak)

Another day of sightseeing and exploring craft breweries awaited. We drove past Brackendale and turned left at the Squamish Valley road/airport light, to Fergie’s Cafe in Paradise Valley for a memorable locally-sourced gourmet breakfast in the rainforest on the banks of the Cheakamus River.

Day 1 No need to start at the crack of dawn; a 9 a.m. departure is perfect. We loaded up our rented Nissan Rogue from Avis. It was perfect for our trip: four-wheel drive, but relatively compact and easy on the gas. In four days of travel, we only used one tank of gas.

Our first stop was breakfast at Trolls in Horseshoe Bay. I have enjoyed their west coast menu for years and still rate their breakfast as one of the best in the Lower Mainland. Between Horseshoe Bay and Squamish are quite a few sights worth taking the time to check out. This 45-minute drive can easily take more than six hours if you’re being a tourist.

The old ferry dock in Porteau Cove, just off the highway, offers amazing views down Howe Sound south towards Anvil Island, Horseshoe Bay and Bowen Island. There is also a provincial campground at this site.

Further up the highway is the historic Britannia Mine Museum, where you travel into the mine on an electric train for a guided demonstration about methods of mining used over the 70 years the place was an active copper mine. It is easy to imagine the miners’ toil and suffering. The beautifully restored 11-story main building is now a National Historic Site. Check out the historical memorabilia and try your hand at gold panning before you leave.

Further up the road is Shannon Falls, the third-highest waterfall in British Columbia (335 meters). The flow is usually higher in shoulder season than in summer or winter. It is easy to get breathtaking photos from many viewpoints along the short trail that takes you to the lookout. Parking is free and there is no admission charge.

A short distance up the highway is the Sea to Sky Gondola, where the 12-minute ride to the top is incredible no matter what the weather. The cafeteria at the top is fully licensed, with Howe Sound craft beer on tap. Howe Sound Brewing created a beer just for them and named it Sky Pilot after one of the peaks above the gondola. Tina Legacie, guest services manager notes, “there is so much to do on top, no matter what the season!

Try the suspension bridge and many trails.” If you really fall in love with the top of the mountain experience, pick up a season or year pass. It is only a 45-minute drive from Vancouver.

Late afternoon is beer time in Squamish. We stayed at the cozy Howe Sound Inn, which has comfortable rooms, a brewery, and a great pub with excellent food all under one roof. Call ahead to see if you can book a brewery tour. This is truly a prolific brewery with many special releases on top of their mainstays every year. We met with Leslie Fenn, co-owner of Howe Sound

Next stop on the road north, the beautiful Brandywine Falls flows in the middle of a major volcanic landscape. A 15-minute walk from the parking lot through lush forest brings you to the viewpoint overlooking the falls. Further on, at the southern end of the trail, is a wonderful viewpoint overlooking Daisy Lake, with many illustrated displays that tell the story of the fiery 34,000-year past in the surrounding Garibaldi volcanic belt.

Twenty minutes north, we checked in at the Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, in the centre of Whistler Village. During shoulder season, you can get a wonderful suite for half the price of winter or summer, including a buffet breakfast.

Lunch at the Whistler Brewhouse was an important part of the day. Brewmaster Derrick Franche has been producing excellent beers for many years; be sure to try his seasonal. We had a very tart sour that was just right for my midday palate! The lunch menu is excellent. After the Brewhouse, we backtracked south to Function Junction, for some afternoon tastings at Whistler Brewing and Coast Mountain Brewing. There is so much beer to sample at Function Junction, I recommend leaving the car parked in the Village and taking a taxi or local transit.

The name Whistler Brewing has a long history, and the people behind it today have stepped up its quality as a craft brewery. Head brewmaster Matt Dean is sure to have some great seasonals for you to try along with one or two appetizers in the taproom. Just around the corner is Coast Mountain Brewery, where Kevin and Angie Winter produce amazing small batch beers. The saison on tap during my visit was possibly the best I have ever had.

Our day wasn’t over yet; we got a taxi back to the village and had dinner at the Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub. They have a great selection of craft beer to enjoy with your pub food, and there is usually live music on the weekends. And from there, back to the hotel to for some R&R before another full day.

Day 3 After the complimentary buffet breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and investigated the world-class Audain Art Museum’s wonderful display of privately collected West Coast native and contemporary art that has been gathered into the unique building at 4350 Blackcomb Way, right behind Whistler North Village. The current exhibition of internationally renowned contemporary photographer Fred Herzog’s “Shadowlands” is on until May 22, 2017.

Back on the highway with a growler or two of beer in the trunk, we decided to do a little back-country sightseeing before con39

tinuing north to Pemberton. There are many options, depending on the season. We went to Callaghan Lake; the turnoff is south of Whistler, and Callaghan Valley Road is paved all the way to the turnoff just before Whistler Olympic Park. We had some snow on the road near the lake, but otherwise it was an easy drive. Heading north again, 20 km past Whistler is Nairn Falls. The double waterfall is guaranteed to be dramatic in shoulder season, when there is a high volume of water. Be sure to stay on the trails and within the fenced areas; the rocks are extremely slick year-round.

The formerly sleepy town of Pemberton is a happening place these days. With two new breweries slated to open this year and a solid distillery already established, it looks like a good place to spend a few days. The beautiful lush valley, hemmed in on all sides by towering mountains, has a very cozy feel.

Twelve kilometres west of the town is Across the Creek Organics, the 500-acre potato/wheat farm where, in the summer of 2016, owner Bruce Miller grew 20 acres of barley for the first time. Why did a potato farmer grow barley? His wife, Brenda, is an avid home brewer and had a dream of having a brewery once their six boys were grown up. Part of having that brewery is growing their own barley. (During our visit, Brenda was apprenticing down at Coast Mountain Brewing ahead of opening her own organic brewery this year.) While visiting the farm, be sure to pick up a bag of German Butter Potatoes. Chefs from all over the Lower Mainland make the 2.5-hour trip to the farm to fill their vans with these golden gems.

In the late afternoon we returned to town and stocked up on some deli food for a quiet evening in our suite at Pemberton Valley Lodge. Our living room balcony had a wonderful view of Mt. Currie, and we sipped our golden liquid treasures from the day before in front of a glowing fire as evening fell.

Day 4 We picked up some muffins and coffee in town and headed east to meet Tyler Schramm, distiller and owner at Pemberton Distillery. Their flagship products are the world’s only organic vodka, gin, absinthe, schnapps and liqueurs made from Pemberton Valley potatoes (sourced from— you guessed it—Bruce’s farm 16 km away). If none of those tickle your fancy, there is also whisky and brandy. Tyler is proud that Pemberton is the only distillery in the world whose products are all certified organic.

Our last stop before heading south was back at the highway junction in Pemberton. You must have lunch or dinner at the Mile One Eating House. The owners have a background in five-star restaurants in Vancouver and BC resorts. Owner/manager Cindy Yew says the goal for Mile One is “to be the culinary base camp of your day: get fueled up before you go out for a day of work or adventure and then return to sit around and share and relax at the end of the day.” The food is reasonably priced and uses top-quality locally sourced ingredients.

Make sure you try their buttermilk bread and buns from the adjoining market bakery.

For value and enjoyment, this was an amazing trip. We met so many wonderful people, experienced gorgeous sights, great beers, and delicious meals. When you travel in the shoulder season, people actually have time to stop and talk..

Brian K. Smith, MPA is an accredited member of the BC Association of Travel Writers. He is a member of Professional Photographers of Canada with a Master of Photographic Arts designation, and is the Principal Photographer for What's Brewing Magazine.

The Hopbine >> John Rowling

Spinnakers Opens 9 Days After Fire

P

aul Hadfield doesn’t take no for an answer. When Victoria’s Spinnakers Brewpub caught fire on Wednesday, November 23, 2016, the insurance company told him that there was no way they could do an evaluation, settle the claim, and pay out for at least three months. Paul bustled back to Victoria from his vacation in Hawaii, mustered the troops, and declared, “we’re going to open in nine days.”

The fire started in the upstairs fireplace; its firebrick base failed, and the floor underneath caught fire. General manager Claire Radosevic sent a maintenance worker up to the roof to check the fire while she and chef Ali Ryan quickly got the staff and patrons safely out of the building. It looked bad from the outside, with flames coming from the roof next to the chimney and smoke pouring out the soffits. The Victoria Fire Department put the flames out quickly, preventing major damage to the building. But other than the fireplace area, most of the damage was from water and the smoke that spread under the upstairs floorboards and travelled up the insides of the exterior walls to the soffits.

Paul sent an announcement immediately to all 93 members of staff, confirming that everybody was still employed and they would still get paid. He asked everyone to be creative in finding special talents that might help the team get on the fast track to reopening. About two dozen staff were dispatched to local liquor stores to give away samples of Spinnakers beers.

Paul rented a nearby warehouse and put a group to work refinishing damaged furniture. He hired contractors to work around the clock to get the work completed before his deadline. He publicized that the pub would be back in business at 4 p.m. on December 2, 2016, and many faithful patrons (including yours truly) were there to see it happen. We also saw a very tired group of staff who had worked through the night to make it happen.

Paul showed me around on reopening day. The fireplaces had been removed and rebuilding plans were already underway; Paul treated the fire as an opportunity to make some needed improvements. Exactly four weeks after the fire, the kitchen and dining room also reopened, with a fresh new look. The food was up to the usual standards. Ali was delighted to be back in the kitchen working with her close-knit group of staff again—her family. The local farmers who supply Spinnakers’ kitchen are also glad to see Spinnakers back.

The “Black Wednesday fire” is now shrugged off as just another event in the storied history of Spinnakers. Paul Hadfield started in the 1980s by lobbying to open what would become Canada’s first in-house brewpub. He had to get federal regulations changed to allow beer to be brewed and served on the same premises. He has since had multiple run-ins with both provincial and federal regulators. His determination to get things done when needed is what has Spinnakers back in business again so quickly. Let’s all raise a glass to Paul, Claire, Ali and the whole crew!

42

Mary and Paul Hadfield with the heroes of the Spinnakers fire: GM Claire Radosevic (2nd) and Chef Ali Ryan (3rd)

A Tale of Two Festivals The Christmas Craft Beer Show was held the first weekend in December at Victoria’s Memorial Arena. It was a popular event, and with the band at one end of the arena floor, the noise level made it next to impossible to discuss beers or, indeed, anything at all. The standout beer was a cask of Ol’ Iron Tooth Absinthe Stout: a blend of Stoutnik Russian Imperial Stout from Nanaimo’s Longwood Brewery and Baba Yaga Absinthe from Arbutus Distillery, cask-conditioned with fennel, lemon, mint, and Anise Physsos. As Longwood’s head brewer Harley Smith put it, “the result is huge beer coming in at a ‘delicate’ 13 percent ABV!” In contrast, the Fifth Annual Winterbrau, held at Canoe Brewpub in Victoria in December, was a beer lover’s delight.

Bučan Bučan, a local high-energy folk-rock Balkan brass marching band, played as the crowd enjoyed winter ales from 18 breweries. Favourites included Steel & Oak’s Beechwood-Smoked Honey Doppelbock (7.9 ABV), Moon Under Water’s Blackberry Copper Kettle Sour, and Category 12’s Wild IPA, fermented with Saccharomyces “bruxellensis” Trois yeast, which gives an interesting tropical fruit aroma. Axe & Barrel’s new brewer, Andrew Tessier, had a very smooth traditional Irish Stout, and Bridge Brewing were pouring a port-barrel–aged Belgian Red IPA. Spinnakers had a cask of Sour Plum Fairy, the 2015 Bière de Noel aged in red-wine barrels with backyard plums, that was rich and delicious.

John and Carol Rowling of Real Ale Productions are pioneers of the BC craft beer movement and founding members of CAMRA BC. Read John's column in Celebrator magazine.

Out and About

>> Scottie McLellan

In The Community Housekeeping item from last issue: I did have a wonderful 2 days in Muskoka ON at the end of the summer, and want to say here that we visited Sawdust Brewing in Gravenhurst; Muskoka Brewing in Bracebridge and did wonderful samplings at both. We were treated very respectfully by both breweries’ staff. We also tried a cross section of craft beers on offer at the LCBO store in Bracebridge and the selection is excellent.

Ontario Craft Beers: Muskoka trip

S

ince the first issue of What’s Brewing, we have been out and about, looking for good beers, local restaurants and bars carrying the micro breweries of their time, giving rise to new employment and business opportunities in the local community. Here we are now into the third month of 2017 and the beer communities in our province continue to grow stronger by the day.

This current winter weather was, and is, a pain for breweries as it can be a detriment to store sales and brewers must find as many innovative ways they can to keep brewing and selling. Sales slow down so added-value events, such as tastings, pairings with meals, music nights, cask events, tap takeovers, are all ways to keep the brewery name out in the community. For the retail stores, almost all give as much space as they can to breweries who can offer them what they’re looking for in products. As we know, new beers come onto the shelves continually in our communities. Selection is fabulous for us in most places.

As craft breweries continue to open province-wide we encourage everyone to shop local, buy local, and support your local craft breweries, providing locals jobs and excellent choice for all communities involved.

If breweries plan to do sales at the retail level throughout all the province’s communities, a continued presence is required to build brand loyalty and of course the ever-necessary media buzz. Not to be confused with a craft beer buzz.

A new festival named the Christmas Craft Beer Show joined the scenes December 2nd & 3rd, 2016 in Victoria at the Save on Foods Arena. There were 44 exhibitors in the large arena and, because of the Christmas spirit, guests were in a happy and upbeat mood. The band was upbeat as well. Patrons were keen and enthusiastic, eagerly sampling the many great beers on the menu. A few craft ciders were here as well. It is now a must-do for new craft brewers to get to these events to showcase their beers and create recognition via social media.

To get a foothold in the industry is no easy task today. Thanks to organizers for putting on this event; it’s always great to see everyone in the beer community.

We now know that many people now recognize the yellow What’s Brewing t- shirt when we attend events, and many folks love to talk beer. Good to see you all. We keep a lifeline for the beer aficionados so they never miss a thing in our movement.

See Monica’s What’s Brewing Hopline for everything going on everywhere in our grand craft beer community overall.

If you’re in any business our advertising rates are exceptional.When you see us in the field at events lets us know you’ve seen our publication

Scottie has written more columns for What's Brewing than anybody else.

He is a longtime supporter of of BC’s Craft Beer Movement.

Fathers of BC Brewing cont'd the machines work.

RT: The craft brewing industry in BC is full of amazing, driven people. I am excited for my daughter to grow up surrounded by these types of people, no matter how weird we all are.

What’s your secret to getting through the workday after a sleepless night?

MS: A lot of the things I do at the brewery are things I have done over and over, so you develop routines. Your hands just know what to do after a while. But it’s always good to double check things before you start opening valves.

JF: I have a couch by my desk and come in early to catch up.

Oh, and we have coffee on all the time. In fact we drink more coffee than beer.

ML: Luckily, my wonderful wife dealt with most of the sleepless nights. However, when it was my turn, it was caffeine and adrenaline the next day. The passion for my work and the desire to make a great business that my kids could be proud of and take over someday, if they choose, is always my motivator.

SM: They are the same thing. Work or home; things need to get done. Just keep going until you run out of energy.

Ullage & Spillage cont'd weekly events, it provides alerts on special beer releases, beer festival ticket releases, community issues and interesting beer news. Now I keep a close eye on my in-box on Thursday afternoons. If you are not already in the loop, sign up for this information-packed e-mail at whatsbrewing.ca/hopline.

When I asked Monica what her motivation has been in doing all of this was, she replied "To build a craft beer community in Vancouver and bring like-minded folks and businesses together in celebration of that."

This past Christmas, underscoring the awareness that the beer community has of her contributions, ten local breweries enthusiastically joined in on a gift pledge to treat our Communications Director to her own custom East Van beer tour. They made it clear that she is appreciated by more than just us. So, the next time you see the above face in and around a beer event, give Monica Frost a smile of appreciation for all she’s done for BC’s craft beer community.

J. Random has been writing from Vancouver for What's Brewing since 2003. He otherwise does exist, but only randomly.

RT: One word: coffee.

What career advice do you hope to pass onto your children?

MS: You spend so much of your life at work. Try to do that in a place that brings you happiness. And put your tools away.

JF: Do what makes you happy in life and find a job that you love. I left a job that I liked to start a brewery, which I love.

Every day, even the bad ones, are still a joy and as long as you’re doing something you’re passionate about.

ML: Hard work and dedication pays off. Always treat people fairly and with respect. Most importantly, make a quality product that you love, and people will see your passion for it. That will sell more than your words ever can.

SM: Find a career that keeps you curious and passionate about learning.

RT: Never quit improving yourself and always surround yourself with lots of great, intelligent people (and lots of craft beer).

I

t is time to change our language around parenting.

The fathers in our industry deserve recognition for their roles as parents and caregivers as much as the mothers do. Writing this article, I was struck by the emotional responses of the men I interviewed. It opened my eyes to my own narrow view of fathers in brewing. I believe that if anyone can make a societal shift happen, it is craft brewers. We are the kings and queens of outside-the-box thinking, after all. To make gender equality a reality we can start here and now.

Chloe Smith is General Manager of Townsite Brewing, and mother to Béatrix (5) and Hugo (3). Note that Townsite claims the most Hugos per capita in BC brewing.

Many thanks to Cody Gregory for helping with this article.

44

A View From The Cellar cont'd 5. Wait 10–15 minutes, then pull cleaner through.

6. Repeat step 5.

7. Flush with water (ideally with a few drops of sanitizer added).

8. Pull through to beer.

If you start with a water flush and your lines are 20 feet or longer, the beer you pull through the line at first could be diluted with water so should not be sold, but is fine to drink or cook with. It might be interesting to save that sample and compare the taste with another sample after cleaning.

You can leave cleaner in the line for up to 40 minutes without a problem, but longer than that could affect seals, depending on the concentration. However, a long soak isn’t as effective as periodically moving new cleaner through. Oxy-cleaner has a slippery feel when dissolved so you can tell if it’s still in the lines or has been rinsed out. You can also get indicator powder that you add to your rinse water that will change colour in the presence of proteins in the line. This is a useful tool but far from essential.

I hope you find these articles interesting! If you have any questions or comments, please contact me @realcask Next issue, I’ll be looking at my favourite style of beer and asking why the name turns so many people off.

Adam Chatburn is Associate Brewer at Real Cask Brewing in Vancouver and a former President of CAMRA Vancouver.

Women in Beer cont'd WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB AND THE INDUSTRY? We get to be creative and solve problems and do things our way. I also get to work alongside my amazing partner, Chris, and we even agree on things most of the time! We get to spend time with great people and make awesome beer in an incredible community. The people in our professional network have become personal friends so going to events is really fun because it means we get to catch up with everyone.

Everyone is so supportive and helpful.

HOW WERE YOU TRAINED? We’ve learned everything ourselves along the way, starting with home brewing and a massive amount of support from the brewing community (both professional and home brewers). I did a lot of things myself that people don’t expect – like incorporating our company or drafting our own legal agreements or brokering shipments – you just put your head down and go figure it out. We didn’t have a lot of money to hire other people so we just did everything, and we still do.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BEER AT THE BREWERY, AND WHY? Callister’s ‘Round 2 Rye Ale’ was actually the second beer Chris ever brewed and it remains one of my favourites. I love the rich spicy character of rye and the amount of hops made it almost an IPA, which balanced those notes with a bright bitter finish.

would bring it back. Also Doan’s Rye Stout. I like keeping it local and supporting friends.

FAVOURITE FEMALE IN THE INDUSTRY AND WHY? Lundy Dale, because she’s been a strong advocate of supporting other women in the industry and she works so hard to create opportunities to showcase the diversity of talent. She hosted a women and beer dinner shortly after we opened and encouraged me to brew a beer for it. I brewed my first beer and it was an awesome experience.

BIGGEST ACHEIVEMENT TO DATE? Opening Callister! Really, just everything that it took just to open that front door to the public was huge. That, and also staying open. I’m really proud of Chris and all of our brewers and the high quality of beer we make. It’s been great right from the start.

GOALS FOR YOURSELF OR THE BREWERY? My goal for this year is to get more involved in brewing and operations. I’ve done a few small pilot batches but I would like to do more brewing and possibly introduce a few different styles to Callister’s lineup. We’re also going to start bottling!

We’ll have bombers for sale in the tasting room this year – plenty of work ahead!

YOUR FAVOURITE BEER OUTSIDE OF YOUR BREWERY? Wow… so many to choose from. Bomber’s Red Rye IPA collab with Stone Brewing is near the top of my list – I wish they

Lundy is Past President of CAMRA BC. founder of CAMRA Vancouver, Barley's Angels' Pink Pints and BC Craft Beer Month.

You love drinking great beer.

We love brewing great beer!

#13 #13 -- 3033 3033 King King George George Boulevard, Boulevard, Surrey Surrey BC BC 604 560 6430 | whiterockbrewing.ca 604 560 6430 | whiterockbrewing.ca

Books In Review On Macro Beer Apologetics: responses to a craft beer backlash >> Ted Child

In this issue, Ted takes on the authors of some questionable magazine articles. - Ed.

R

ecently, I had a pint with someone who used to work in a brewery in the 1980s. He told me how, at a certain time of day, their bottling line would stop. Labels would be switched, and then the bottling line would start back up, filling bottles with the exact same liquid.

He recounted how he’d listen to guys at a pub swear by their beer brand—insisting that another caused greater hangovers or made them sick—before he would tell them that it was the exact same beer. Let us hope that beer will never be so poorly looked upon by its makers, nor beer drinkers so unaware, as during those dark ages.

In any society that supports freedom of opinion, even the most positive cultural change will cause some sort of backlash. Most people would agree that the craft beer revolution is positive, if only in that it supports other artisanal campaigns such as craft spirits, cider and even the slow food movement. However, we all know traditional beer drinkers who, while they may not be downright hostile to craft beer, are certainly apathetic or mistrustful. They are happy with their mass produced adjunct lager, both its flavor and its economics, and although they might occasionally try something new or strange, they don’t plan to convert to craft anytime soon.

Alongside all the attention Craft Beer has is a disturbing minor trend, something that might be seen as the inevitable reactionary backlash of macro brewers’ defensive apologetics. The macros would love to portray themselves, and their steadfast drinkers, as the underdogs, as the persecuted, as the “real” drinkers. An example of this is the Budweiser Super Bowl commercial that actually made fun of serious beer drinkers with an ironic poke at Pumpkin Peach Ale. A relatively benign article appeared in the May/June 2015 issue of Taps magazine, entitled “What is Your Lawnmowing Beer?” In it, author Craig Pinhey admitted to routinely slugging back a Moosehead or two after his rec hockey games.

He then noted that he always has a better beer waiting for him at home.

Another article, this time in a mainstream magazine, was titled, “Craft Beer Comes Back to Earth” (William Bostwick, Esquire [26 Mar 2016]). The implication here is that craft beer 46

should stop attempting to make quality, high character, bold beers. Instead, beer should be simple and approachable. Craft beer should get off its high horse, and should make beers for the rest of us.

The last article which I will highlight also appeared in a beer magazine and was the most blatant defense of a macro beer I have yet encountered (Jim Dykstra. The Beer Connoisseur [Holiday 2015, Issue 21]). Clearly, there is no point in denying that Budweiser's greatest strength is its consistency. If macro has given beer one good thing it is this. The article features a Bud brewer and notes that she is just as dedicated as any craft brewer. Before that, however, the writer states that he has no taste or moral issue with drinking Bud. That he holds this viewpoint as a beer writer is somewhat alarming, not just because his position might make his integrity suspect, but also because his position, knowingly or not, plays directly into the hands of the macros and their huge advertising machines’ newest party line.

If, in all this discussion about the future of beer, we subscribe to the view that this is the best it will get, that there will be an inevitable leveling-off of the craft beer explosion, then the economic practices of the macro should be of great concern to us.

If we think that the battle is won, then we should be prepared for another Dark Ages of beer.

The last thing we need is writers telling drinkers that the macros aren’t that bad. Go ahead and drink your Bud or your Coors.

I might even have one with you if I’m desperate enough. Go ahead and write an article or a blog or even a book about how great it is. But don’t suggest that it, and only it, is what a real beer should be.

Only when the macros have been diminished enough that they have to concede that beer is something more than just the product they have been peddling, when they have to play the game on craft’s terms of creativity, exploration, character and depth, may the battle be won. When Budweiser stops putting out commercials attacking beer nerds, when the macros have been reduced to a market share that is reasonable, when, in the words of Stone Brewing’s Greg Koch, they stop using predatory tactics of “purchase, control, obfuscate.” and start competing through beer, then we can talk.

Read Ted's full version on our website at www.whatsbrewing.ca/spring-2017