What's Brewing Spring 2019

Ken Beattie, Part II • Pilsners • BC Beer Wars • Brand Loyalty • Kala and Carly Hadfield • Tale of Two Cideries • U-brews • ISLAND Paradise

OU THE J

VOL.29 ISSUE 1 SPRING 2019 TRADING POST BREWING CO.

RAF B C 'S C F O L R NA

T

M OV E BEER

MENT

THE JOURNAL OF BC'S CRAFT BEER MOVEMENT Let's keep the momentum going in support of independent and artisanal breweries, cideries and distilleries. The campaign has unfinished business. Image: Montevarious

CONTENTS EDITORIAL 06

OPENING REMARKS

09

ON MOMENTUM IN THE CRAFT BEER MOVEMENT

11

BREWING BRAND LOYALTY WITH COMMUNITY

BUSINESS & ADVOCACY 44

A VIEW FROM THE CELLAR: U-BREWS

45

A TALE OF TWO CIDERIES

COMMUNITY 13

EVENT PREVIEW: BECOMING A BC BEER WARRIOR

14

BIOGRAPHY: THE WIZARD OF HOPS

16

COVER STORY: HUB IN THE VALLEY

22

WOMEN IN BEER: KALA AND CARLY HADFIELD

24

A GUILDED EXISTENCE: THE CAREER OF KEN BEATTIE, PART II

BC BEER BEAT 36

SPRING IN THE OKANAGAN!

37

NORTHERN NOTES: CRAFT EXTRAVAGANZA

TRAVEL & TOURING 38

HAVE CAMERA WILL TRAVEL: A CROSS SECTION OF PARADISE

BEER IQ & BREWING

SPRING 2019 What's Brewing Published by Line49 Design Group Inc. 300-1275 West 6th Avenue Vancouver BC V6H 1A6 info@whatsbrewing.ca www.whatsbrewing.ca Social: @whatsbrewingbc Editorial Group Editor & Publisher: Dave Smith Co-Editor: Paul Morris Associate Production Editor: Navin Autar Copy Editors: Wendy Barron, Ivana Smith Contact: editor@whatsbrewing.ca Hopline & Newsroom Associate Editor, Events: Edward Kaye Contact: events@whatsbrewing.ca Associate Editor, Newsroom: Navin Autar Contact: newsroom@whatsbrewing.ca Contributors: Mike Ansley, Adam Arthur, Warren Boyer, Adam Chatburn, Ted Child, Lundy Dale, Kim Lawton, Stewart 'Scottie' McLellan, Jeff Nairn, Mathieu Poirier, J. Random, Brian K. Smith, Paddy Treavor, Carnell Turton, Malcolm Yates Chief Photographer: Brian K. Smith Illustrator: Emile Compion @montevarious Distribution & Booth Operations: Paul Morris, Jack Enwright Web & Admin: Navin Autar, Ligia Margaritescu, Susan Jones

30

TASTING PANEL: SPOTLIGHT ON PILSNERS

43

HOMEBREW HAPPENIN'S: SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM

Advertising & Corporate Sales Vancouver Island: Ian Webb sales@whatsbrewing.ca

46

BOOKS: MOVERS AND SHAKERS: WOMEN MAKING WAVES

© What's Brewing

OPENING REMARKS

KEEPIN' IT GOING

M

omentum. By definition, it's hard to create. But as hard as it is to gain, it's just as easy to lose. It doesn't take much to cause one's foot to falter: lose faith in why you're pushing in a direction, and you'll find you can't push that way much longer.

BREWERY

TOURS

As we publish 2019's first issue of What's Brewing, I can't help but look back on three full years ('volumes', in periodical-speak) in our current format, and compare with where WB was back in mid-2015.

Hint: we weren't anywhere, due to a collapse in momentum that saw our publication—printed for BC's most passionate beer lovers continually since 1990—disappear for a year between 2014 and 2015. It took quite a push to get it going again, but once it did, it was arguably better than ever. Considering this publication is created by a group of beer enthusiast volunteers, it's pretty phenomenal, if you ask me.

– RETAIL, GROWLER FILLS –

TASTING ROOM

& PATIO

CANADIAN BREWERY OF THE 2017

As veteran contributor Scottie McLellan points out on page 9, our current golden age of independent craft beer also took quite a push to create. Its momentum isn't to be taken for granted. That's what the characters on this page are trying to tell you; created for us by our brilliant illustrator Emile Compion (aka Montevarious), they represent the ongoing campaign to keep the momentum going. (PS: congrats to Emile on his Collective Arts label design!)

2155 OAK DRIVE 250.837.2756 MT-BEGBIE.COM

GET SIDETRACKED! COMMERCIAL DR

ADANAC ST

MACLEAN DR

CLARKE DR

PREMIUM QUALITY | DOMESTIC VALUE | GREAT BEER! 1381 Adanac Street, Vancouver, BC | offtherailbrewing.com

6 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

Illustrations: Montevarious

CRAF T BREWED IN

If you're a member of one of those beer advocacy groups that wage campaigns and you think maybe the battles are all over, look closely. As I write this, there's a plan by the world's biggest brewers to combine marketing forces, and it's failing only because of bickering amongst themselves. Like flawed characters in an epic saga, they're losing advantage via selfishness and negativity. All it takes to push forward is a group of people that puts the collective cause before self. I'm pleased that BC Craft Beer, and specifically What's Brewing, has been that kind of team.

COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS Many thanks to these supporters who help bring What's Brewing to you!

Find a printed copy at whatsbrewing.ca/find

BC CRAFT CALENDAR

Ed Kaye, MC of Beer Events

VICTORIA BEER WEEK: MARCH 1-9

Nine days of craft beer tasting, learning and fun! Check out the schedule of events: victoriabeerweek.com/schedule

COQUITLAM BEER FESTIVAL: MARCH 9

45 breweries paired with delicious food from local restaurants and caterers. NEW: Quirky Brews Theme Room. coquitlambeerfestival.com

OKANAGAN FEST OF ALE: APRIL 12-13

Beertown Penticton hosts the province's second-longest running beer festival. www.festofale.ca

FORT LANGLEY BEER & FOOD FEST: MAY 18

A fantastic day with great beer and food, right next to the Fort Langley National Historic site. www.fortlangley.beer

VANCOUVER CRAFT BEER WEEK: MAY 31-JUNE 9

VCBW throws Western Canada's largest beer celebration at the end of each annual Week; this year it's on June 8th & 9th. vancouvercraftbeerweek.com

CRAFT BEER & WILDERNESS: JUNE 8-12

An unforgettable, all-inclusive retreat with star BC brewers at Nootka Sound. Activities based around craft beer + the outdoors. craftbeerandwilderness.com For the latest in BC Craft Beer news, opinions & event listings, follow or subscribe to the Hopline e-news. New issue every Thurs! @whatsbrewingbc | #hopline | www.hopline.ca

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 7

CANADIAN CRAFT TOURS Brewery Tours | Winery Tours | Food Tours | City Tours Vancouver | Victoria | Whistler | Squamish | Kelowna | Penticton | Calgary | Edmonton

GIFT CARDS+TOURS

HOLIDAY PARTIES | STAFF EVENTS | BIRTHDAYS | BACHELOR/BACHELORETTES PRIVATE & PUBLIC TOURS AVAILABLE

www.CanadianCraftTours.ca | www.BcBreweryTours.ca 1-778-320-3409 Info@CanadianCraftTours.ca

OUT & ABOUT | editorial

On Momentum in the Craft Beer Movement

A

>> SCOTTIE MCLELLAN

s long as What’s Brewing has been around, we've been moving beer forward, seeking out choice, taste, flavour, and natural ingredients—in nice surroundings along with a good bite. These things did not always exist.

I started drinking beer in 1967, when the choices almost everywhere in Canada were take-it-or-leave-it draught. Ingredients weren’t listed on the label, no one asked, nor did many really care. Everything to do with beer was controlled by powers far from consumer hands.

At retail, you bought by label. Government stores were alone in the business and they controlled what was available, period. Some people said they could tell the difference between the different-labeled beers in stubbies, but I couldn't, save for the rare dark malted one. In retrospect, the thought that anything could ever change in the beer world of that era was a dream.

By the 1970s, Canadians who travelled learned there was good beer outside Canada, and people began asking why Canadian beer was what it was.

But nothing changed, and we went on as before, drinking what there was to drink.

By the early 1980s, a crack appeared in the armour of the industry. Brewpubs making real beer in small batches allowed likeminded beer lovers to find each other in a convivial location offering a good meal and flavourful beer styles.

Almost 40 years later, you can see the scope of the change in beer in the pages of What’s Brewing and the Hopline. The beer movement is getting bigger and grander in scale, and we perpetuate its momentum with our purchases and participation.

Thanks to all the folks who never gave up demanding real beer and all that goes with it. Thanks to everyone who did their bit for the freedom in beer we have today.

GREG EVANS CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Spinnakers, January 19th 2019, 1-3 p.m. The house was full to the rafters this day, to really share pints, stories and laughs about Greg Evans. Many people spoke and toasted a jar in his honour. It was a great turnout for him. Thanks to Spinnakers, a home port to many of us including Greg.

Scottie McLellan is a craft beer industry veteran and longtime supporter of BC’s Craft Beer Movement. He has written for What's Brewing for over a quarter century.

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 9

$1 willPerbe donated Bottle to Honour House www.honourhouse.ca Brewed by

@smugglerstrail @ccbeerworks

Why IPA? Because Gordo Said So. That's Why. To learn about Gordo’s story and to find a retailer near you, visit: www.smugglerstrailcask.com

@smugglerstrail @smugglerstrail @ccbeerworks @ccbeerworks

THE BEERRATER | business of beer

BUILDING BRAND LOYALTY

WITH COMMUNITY

T

>> MIKE ANSLEY

here is no doubt the craft beer movement is sweeping the world. Industry statistics worldwide show the number of craft breweries increasing year over year. It’s exciting to watch, but is this growth sustainable? What was an emerging industry is now a growth industry, and the “if we brew it they will come” strategy is no longer an option.

Macro breweries are no longer the common enemy; the battle is now among local brands. So how does a small bootstrapping brewery compete against the ones with deep pockets? The answer is to build community. Every successful brand has one.

Building a community is the single most powerful defence against shift in the industry. If the Hazy IPA trend crashes tomorrow, a strong and loyal community will still be there to support a brewery, because they care.

It’s easy to see which breweries are already working at it and which aren’t. Those that have it sell out of special releases in a day (if not hours), their casks are done before many folks finish their workday, and the beer—regardless how good or bad it is—is posted as the “best in town”. People crave becoming part of this thing even if they don’t know what it is. Fans of a brewery dress in their branded clothing, advocate for their beer, and frequent the tasting room.

The breweries that aren’t working at it brew beers and sell them.

Their customers like the product enough to buy them once and take them home to drink on the couch with their cat.

Numerous studies back up the connection between community and increased sales. Approximately 80% of customers consider themselves “loyal” after three to five purchases. And even a 5% increase in customer retention can boost sales anywhere from 25% to 95%. No matter what the motivation, building community is worth the investment.

Community develops whether a brewery is actively building it or not. The clever ones become the community guide and foster real relationships within it. And it’s never too late to start. Strong community forms around a few core characteristics:

find comfort in things being the same as they were the last time.

Consistent messaging and reliable core beers win more supporters than shifting values and priorities and IPA that tastes different every time.

ENGAGEMENT

Thanks to the digital age, it has never been easier to learn the desires and frustrations of a given group of people. A five-minute search on social media provides invaluable feedback about where a community stands. Paying attention to the customer base’s wants and needs makes it easier and more cost effective for the brewery to engage with that base.

SUPPORT

A community is a two-way street; it requires participation, especially from the leaders. The more effort that is put into the community, the more it gives right back. Building meaningful relationships and thanking loyal patrons for their support is a simple act, but it speaks volumes. Something as simple as a social media post profiling the die-hard members goes a long way and entices others to join. Anything that shows genuine appreciation will not go unnoticed by the community.

As the landscape of the Craft Beer Industry shifts, so must breweries. Making great beer is no longer the only—or a guaranteed—route to success. To fight purely on marketing budgets alone will leave more breweries bankrupt than successful. The most effective tool any brewery can arm themselves with is a strong community to have their back through good times and bad. Those that spend the time now investing in their community will have a fighting chance to still be standing when the dust settles.

Mike Ansley By day, Mike work in marketing (was it obvious?). By night, Mike's alter ego The BeerRater: offers an unfiltered view on the world of craft beer.

MEANING

People like to be part of something that stands for something. When a brewery’s values and standards are loud and clear, even written on the wall, people can easily decide whether to take part. A brewery that builds a reputation for putting community first, making ethical decisions, and providing results that align with their core values makes it easy for the community to advocate for them.

CONSISTENCY

Contrary to many a suburbanite’s living room wall, people do not always like to embrace change. Humans are creatures of habit and S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 11

SEA TO SKY BEER GUY | event preview

BECOMING A BC BEER WARRIOR >> MALCOLM YATES

“Y

ou can’t quit,” barks the coach.

“You can pass out but you cannot quit!”

What madness is this? Have I been conscripted?

Am I in boot camp? Why am I being yelled at and why can I barely hold my arms up?

Questions pinball through my brain, syncopated with the beat of my overstressed heart. It’s day three of BC Beer Wars training and I am struggling. I had thought the training would be hard but manageable. Hah. “Keep those arms out! Keep ’em up!”

Beer Wars is the Eastside Boxing Club (ESB) and Vancouver Craft Beer Week (VCBW)’s fundraising event, where members of BC’s craft beer community can train for three months in the sweet science of boxing. Midway through training (March 9th) is The Purge, a sparring event where we put what we’ve learned to the test. The final test is Fight Night on April 13 at the Croatian Cultural Centre.

But right now, I just want to survive the next two minutes. All I need to do is keep my arms above 45 degrees.

“Don’t drop those arms,” he yells. “Anybody’s arms drop and we’re doing push-ups!”

ESB is a not-for-profit gym whose programs include after-school boxing for at-risk youth, young adult programs, self-defence classes for women and LGBTQ2S+ folk, and a women’s boxing program with childcare provided. I tell people I signed up for Beer Wars because the causes are fantastic, but truthfully, I thought boxing would be a great way for me to get in shape. What a fool. Don’t get me wrong, boxing is a phenomenal way to get fit and I can feel the pounds shedding and my body reshaping into a faster, stronger version. But there are easier paths to fitness than this. There have to be.

Forty-five seconds left and I can’t drop my arms. They’re starting to shake now. My exhalations are loud, stunted whines. Someone is yelling at me but it hardly registers. “Come on, Malcolm! You got this!”

Ten seconds left on the seven-segment display. I punctuate every one with my newly-distressed breathing. Then it’s over.

The immediate aftermath is a blur but I shuffle like one of the Walking Dead in search of humanity: gasping for air, grasping for life.

As my heart rate normalizes, I find myself on a collision course with the coach. He talks first.

“Good job out there tonight.”

“Thanks.” We bump fists and I say, “See you Thursday.” There isn’t a hint of dread in my voice, only anticipation. What madness, indeed?

BC Beer Wars Fight Night Saturday, April 13th 2019 Croatian Cultural Centre www.bcbeerwars.com Malcolm Yates is a guy in the Sea to Sky region who digs beer, BC, and the written word. Check out his musings at the Sea To Sky Beer Guy blog.

Someone’s arms drop below 45.

“Ten push-ups, people. Right now!”

I don’t have ten push-ups in me. We’ve already done uncountable numbers of them, as well as planks, burpees, crunches, and the like. And that was after all the skipping, the footwork, and the jabs.

I simply don’t have ten push-ups in me. I get down and find pushups somewhere.

“Arms up! You can pass out but you cannot quit.”

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 13

ULLAGE & SPILLAGE | profile

Tony Dewald posing in Trading Post's tasting room

THE WIZARD OF HOPS

R

ing there include Harley Smith, now of Nanaimo’s Longwood Brewing, and Shirley Warne, original head brewer at Steamworks and now at Kaslo’s Angry Hen Brewing. Both Amsterdam and Rotterdam had a variety of beer styles on tap, and Dewald was able to learn everything he needed to step out on his own as a head brewer.

>> J. RANDOM

ock star is a term that has occasionally been used to describe certain iconic BC brewers. Trading Post’s brewmaster most definitely suits that label, but unlike others, he is doubly qualified: as a star musician in his youth, and as a star brewer today.

Tony Dewald hails from Montreal, where his parents met after escaping Soviet-occupied Hungary—by walking across Europe—in 1948. After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration at Concordia University, young Dewald sold ads for the campus paper and was generally at loose ends.

One night, while a band was taking a stage break, Tony and his buddy Gerard Van Herk tried out their guitar and drum kit. Within six weeks they were doing shows as The Half Tones with Tony on drums, Gerard on guitar and another friend as lead singer.

After the singer quit they simplified their sound. Gerard modified his guitar, using only four strings, and Tony played a drum kit with no cymbals, resulting in a raw, low-treble punk/rockabilly sound they termed ‘Sludgeabilly’. As Deja Voodoo, they became popular enough to earn a living, tour Europe and America, and 14 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

Tony and Gerard: Deja Voodoo

(eventually) warrant a Wikipedia entry.

But by 1989 they were both turning thirty and Gerard needed to support a family.

Deja Voodoo was no more, and Tony was again at loose ends.

Through a mutual friend, Dewald met a fellow named Joel Manning who is currently head brewer at Mill Street, but at the time was working at Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewing and its sister brewery, the Rotterdam Brewpub. He persuaded Tony to join him as an assistant, unwittingly recruiting one of a few future star BC brewers. Others Tony recalls work-

Seven years later, upon his father’s passing, Tony returned to Montreal to care for his mother. He took a job with Les Brasseurs GMT brewing Belle Gueule, one of the best beers in Quebec. Later, at the expanded Les Brasseurs RJ with Paul Goncalves (now at Trench Brewing), he made styles ranging from Belgian ales like La Chouffe (under licence) to supermarket lagers. In 2001, the brewmaster position opened up, and Dewald was interested—but he was told that, as an “Anglo”, he wouldn’t be considered for the promotion.

Around that time, with his mother moved into a nursing home, Tony travelled to BC to visit Harley Smith in Nanaimo. He was attracted by the west coast craft beer scene and the laid-back lifestyle of Vancouver Island. He had also enjoyed one of the early beer festivals at Vancouver’s Plaza of Nations in the late 1990s. He took the plunge and moved west, at first missing out on brewing jobs on the Island and in the Interior. Dewald was making dough-

ULLAGE & SPILLAGE | profile

Tony with spouse Andra Brown

nuts at Tim Hortons when Yaletown Brewing’s Iain Hill invited him to come work for the Mark James Group (MJG) brewpub chain.

In August 2002, Dewald started brewing part-time at MJG’s Dix BBQ & Brewery, while also working part-time at Spagnols (the beer kit manufacturer) and Storm Brewing under brewer James Walton. It was a pivotal era in the development of Vancouver’s craft beer scene. Monthly cask nights had just started up in July and a small crowd of beer geeks was beginning to gather. The Vancouver branch of CAMRA BC held its first AGM at DIX in January 2003, and it quickly became the place where people would find and join the beer enthusiasts’ group. In July, along with CAMRA Vancouver, Tony and DIX bar manager Mark Andrewski organized Caskival, the first in a series of cask festivals.

Weekly Thursday casks commenced the following month. Walton brought his ‘fetish crowd’ friends along to DIX, and Thursdays became party night.

As a former punk star, Dewald was accustomed to life in the public eye. He was a major presence at Thursday cask nights, at Caskivals and at fundraising events. He was also happy to greet anybody who showed up on brew days and knocked on the glass wall of the brewery. Tony can switch from boyish zest for life to intense technical discussion of brewing minutiae, and back, in the blink of an eye.

Tony began evolving a Northwest IPA at DIX which attracted, and became highly influenced by, an ex-Californian couple named Adam and Gillian Gile. They pushed Tony further toward the huge Southern California-style IPA (see their table of Cask Night dry-hopping rates). As BC’s brewers and industry attended cask nights and Caskivals, more and more of them realized Dry Hopping Rate: Gillian’s IPA #2 , at DIX there might be a substantial market for really big, hoppy IPAs in BC. Tony and his partner Andy were subletting an apartment from Keith Lembke, who was working for Chicago’s famed Siebel Institute brewing school. When Keith finally committed to Chicago, Tony and Andy decided to take on the rural lifestyle they had always wanted. They rented a farmhouse at the end of an unmarked, dark, tree-lined track across the road from the Doppler Radar station in Aldergrove. It was a ramshackle old place, covered in hops and kiwi vines and with owls in the barn. Tony would greet visitors from the hop-festooned porch, looking for all the world like the Wizard of Hops out of uniform.

Commuting to DIX from Aldergrove was a pain, so Tony asked to swap jobs with Derrick Franche and take over MJG’s Big Ridge Brewing in Surrey. Big Ridge was a lot quieter than DIX, so he was soon pulled away by an attractive offer from Dead Frog Brewing, fifteen minutes’ drive from home on a bad day. Tony used his experience at Les Brasseurs RJ to help set up Dead Frog’s new bottling line. When his views no longer aligned with management’s, Tony took a break from the brewing industry and made wines at Lotusland Vineyards for three years, until that business got into financial trouble.

A call from Dead Frog, when they were also brewing beers for Steamworks and exploring a partnership arrangement, brought Tony back to the craft beer industry. After a year, he moved on to Old Abbey Ales, which took him back to his Belgian-style brewing origins. Cost control constraints then made him open to an offer from Trading Post (which leads into our cover story, next).

During his years brewing south of the Fraser, Tony has been a mentor many of the brewers now working in the Valley craft beer scene.

Today, when asked to name the beer of which he is most proud from his long and varied career, he slowly smiles and admits it’s still that DIX IPA. Its ghost, the Spirit of DIXmas, is now reproduced annually at Brassneck Brewery in collaboration with veteran brewers Conrad Gmoser and Derrick Franche, on the very brewing equipment which formerly created Dewald’s legendary brews at the now-defunct DIX. J. Random is a former VP of CAMRA Vancouver, beer fan for 4 decades and occasional homebrewer. Has been penning the Ullage & Spillage column for What's Brewing since 2003.

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 15

HUB IN THE VALLEY

WHAT'S BREWING BIOGRAPHY | profile

HOW ONE FAMILY’S PIONEERING SPIRIT CREATED COMMUNITY FROM CRAFT

T

>> DAVE SMITH

rading Post Brewing Co. might be flying under the radar for some BC beer fans, but it’s become a hub for the burgeoning Fraser Valley beer scene. Their third anniversary party in early February 2019 bore testament to that, as members of a handful of Valley ‘brewcomers’ including Northpaw Brewing, Fraser Mills Fermentation, Smuggler’s Trail, Farm Country, Camp Brewing (and its point of origin, the Full Barrel Brew Club) filed in to pay homage to what, by contrast, feels like a veteran brewery after only three years. TP is well positioned, right at the centre of what promises to become South Fraser's answer to Port Moody— with neighbouring breweries imminent, a Skytrain extension in planning and Langley itself blowing up.

Images: Brian K. Smith, Dave Smith

Mind you, "Trading Post" isn’t just a brewery; it’s a hub in another sense. It’s the brand name at the core of a growing number of initiatives undertaken by Fort Langley’s Verhoeff family based around brewing, hospitality and events in the latter half of this decade. These include a respected brewery, two (so far) brewery-supplied “Eateries,” partnerships with two pro sports teams and a famous restaurateur, as well as a large annual beer festival which, in turn, spawned a spanking new events production company.

The history of modern brewing includes numerous stories of families creating small businesses with varying levels of success.

Langley’s Trading Post is quietly one of the best examples you’ll find in BC. That alone is enough for a compelling narrative, but our story isn’t just about success in business for the benefit of one family.

It’s about the contributions that family is making to their community in the process, and the determination it has taken to make that happen.

SETTLERS IN A NEW LAND

“My Mom and Dad were born in Holland,” shares the driving force behind Trading Post, the relatively youthful Lance Verhoeff. “They both came from big families.”

The odd thing about the first meeting of Lance’s Dutch progenitors, born within a year of each other, is where it happened.

Decades ago, but also within a year of each 17 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

other, the families of both father Paul and mother Cobi independently emigrated to the same city in Canada. Inevitably, these families connected, which led to Paul and Cobi’s introduction. Overcoming a rocky first impression, the couple eventually dated and would start a family in their adopted hometown of Calgary.

“My family was very hospitable,” Lance continues. “Every Sunday after Church, they would invite people over for lunch.”

Paul Verhoeff tells us how he’s always loved bringing people together to share food and beverage, to enjoy conversation.

“I put myself through university by working in restaurants as a server,” he reminisces. “I enjoyed it for all those reasons.”

But that’s not the direction the elder Verhoeff’s career went, and not how he would make his money. He recalls, “I was studying business, and I knew that the hospitality industry was going to be too all-encompassing at a time when I wanted to be with my growing family. But I always loved the idea.” Instead, Paul and his brother Stephen would create two successful flooring firms and eventually found the Verhoeff Group of Companies, a collection of family enterprises. As Paul put in the work to become a successful businessman over the years, the notion of working in the food and beverage trade remained dormant, waiting for a special idea to awaken it.

HITTING THE WESTWARD TRAIL

When Paul and Cobi’s brood of four children approached the age of higher education, the family considered two faithbased colleges in Canada before leaning toward Langley’s highly-regarded Trinity Western University. A small migration to British Columbia began as Lance’s older sister Lies arrived in 1999, followed by Lance in 2006 and his brother Rudy the year after. Aside from its curriculum, the school was attractive for its advanced athletics program.

With considerable height inherited from their tall father, the Verhoeff offspring were naturals at sports. Lies and Rudy would become known for their volleyball prowess, with both becoming national team members and Rudy an Olympian. As for Lance, his six-foot-nine frame would serve him well as he became a standout in basketball (he still holds the school record for

most blocked shots in a single game) and a passionate TWU Spartan. In the process he became generally infatuated with his new West Coast surroundings, and particularly so with a fellow student named Marissa he was starting to see a lot of.

After studying corporate finance and graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2011, Lance took jobs in sales with technology and tool firms. Although working in his father’s businesses may have been an obvious path, Lance didn’t apply his degree in that way. “A lot of my classmates went to work at banks, or became accountants,” he shares. “I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

What he did know is that he wanted to run his own business. Exactly what sort of business was an open question for a few years. During this period, Marissa was studying at UBC so the couple took up residence closer to school in Kitsilano. That’s when Lance was introduced to beer.

To be accurate, Lance was only 13 years old when he was originally introduced to beer. As a youngster of Dutch heritage, he was handed a Heineken by his father at a relatively tender age, and drank what most would consider “regular beer” through college age and beyond. “My buddy called me up one night and said, ‘Hey, what are you doing this Friday? Let’s go out to the breweries.’” ‘Breweries?’, Lance thought.

He recalls being completely unaware that people could make an activity of visiting the places where beer was manufactured.

Of course, this was the dawn of a golden age in what had recently become known as Yeast Van. Verhoeff found himself fascinated by the experience of the tasting room and became a big fan of Brewery Creek notables Brassneck Brewery and 33 Acres. The community aspect in these gathering places resonated with Lance’s family memories and ticked certain boxes for him.

Meanwhile, parents Paul and Cobi were travelling frequently between the kids’ newly adopted BC base and their home in Calgary, until the pull of the West Coast won out and they settled in Fort Langley.

Eventually Lance and Marissa ended their time in Vancouver and joined them nearby.

Our brewery-struck business grad immediately noticed a void in his surroundings.

“Where are the breweries in Langley?” he Continued on page 18

WHAT'S BREWING BIOGRAPHY | profile

thought, and it was only a matter of time before the aspiring businessman set his mind to the pursuit of his first venture.

In that endeavour, Lance demonstrated a real dedication to seeking out and picking the brains of people in the famously collaborative craft brewing industry. He made it a goal to visit every brewery in the Fraser Valley and find out how they worked. That’s how he made his first critical connection in the industry.

John Ohler, a chef by training, was a natural to lead the charge. Lance opines, “He was the perfect storm for us because he had the culinary background to help us open a kitchen, create a menu and pair beer with food.” He also had well-formed ideas as to how to properly open a brewery. This would be key to getting the Verhoeffs off the ground.

But first they needed a brewer, and for this Ohler provided the best connection of all.

HIRING THE HANDS

John Ohler is a hospitality and brewing industry veteran who made his name managing 1990s start-up Howe Sound Brewing. By 2015 he was working with Abbotsford’s Old Abbey Ales, and that’s where he was when keen young Lance Verhoeff walked in. As the visitor sipped beers and asked question after question, they struck up a friendship.

Creating a brewery in Fort Langley itself had proven to be problematic, since the village is isolated by the river, away from the main transportation links. But that didn’t mean the Verhoeffs had given up on owning a restaurant in their home enclave. Even while planning for the Langley City brewery was underway, they had their eye on a building that would be absolutely perfect for their dream outlet: a wooden edifice built in the 1980s as a replica of a pioneer-era trading post.

This one wouldn’t come easy, as the ownership made it clear the building wasn’t available for their restaurant project. But only a week after being rejected, Lance was scouring want ads in Craigslist when he stumbled across something remarkable: there was the very same building he had just enquired about—and it was listed for sale.

Paul & Lance Verhoeff at Trading Post's three-year celebration

“Walking in to (Portland’s) Hair of the Dog and seeing their taplist… it was wild,” Lance recalls. Standing outside afterward, they met the head brewer, who took them in the brewhouse and showed them around. As it had for so many others, the call of craft beer worked its magic on the business-minded visitors.

Veteran Tony Dewald had been working with John to help start up Old Abbey. He lived just down the road in Langley and was receptive to the idea of reducing his commute. After a wooing period, Tony gave notice on his birthday in September 2015, and the family had their star brewmaster.

The idea of getting into a beverage business also awakened the senior Verhoeff’s long-dormant notion to get involved in the business of hosting people, and for him that meant food as well as beer. The idea of a brewery and restaurant near their home base, the village of Fort Langley, began to crystallize. Paul Verhoeff says, “When Lance came along with this, I said, let’s go for it. We hired industry experts, and relied on people that knew brewing and hospitality.”

They also needed a name for their brewery, and for this, Lance would turn to advice from someone closer to home. He had known for some time that the business would theme itself around celebration of “local” as well as pay tribute to Langley’s colonial heritage. “The original idea was to call it Historic Brewing,” Lance admits.

Fortunately, he would do better with the help of his wife. Reading up on the background of Fort Langley, Lance picked up that it was a Hudson’s Bay trading post— which is to say, a place of gathering. This dovetailed perfectly with the vision he

18 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

Ohler’s experience and professionalism would shine through when opening day impressed all visitors with a great team and great presentation in February 2016.

TURNING OVER STONES

Verhoeff says of Ohler, “He was someone who was so open, so willing to help, and wanting to see someone like me succeed. I was so fresh and didn’t know anything about brewing, but he had all this experience. We started having more and more conversations.”

By this time, Lance had bounced the idea of a brewery business off his father.

The elder’s first reaction was, “Why don’t we make wine instead?” The beer bug hadn’t bitten because Paul hadn’t yet acquired the exposure to craft culture his son had, so Lance’s first hurdle was to convince his father that a brewery was the right idea. Lance addressed this by leading his Dad and Uncle on pilgrimages of discovery to East Van and then Oregon.

was trying to encapsulate. Marissa said sensibly, “Why don’t you just call it ‘Trading Post Brewing’?” Certain that the name would have been claimed, Lance Googled the name and found to his delight that it wasn’t. Beverage brand studio Dossier Creative worked their magic, and a very solid brand was established.

Lance, bearing the want ad, returned to the landlord who was obliged to admit that the family had had a change of heart in the space of a week. This time there would be no rejecting the young businessman, and a lease agreement was struck. In a case of perseverance creating luck, Lance Verhoeff’s diligence was rewarded handsomely and the family had the perfect spot for what became the Trading Post Eatery. It launched later in 2016, serving beers trucked in from the brewery.

That drive to turn over rocks was also how Lance found his mechanical contractor. Early on in his research phase, while working as a salesman for Milwaukee Tool, he summoned up the courage to stop in at Dageraad Brewing in Burnaby.

“I’ll just go talk to them,” he thought. As he stepped out of the branded truck in his branded work clothes, the first person he shook hands with was tradesman Allen Vidovic of A&D Plumbing. He listened to Lance’s plan and eventually helped build out his brewery.

The layout is an “open concept” design.

“I wanted people to experience the brew-

WHAT'S BREWING BIOGRAPHY | profile

ery—from visually seeing it, to smelling it and hearing it,” explains Verhoeff. “I was frustrated with breweries where the brewhouse is closed off and you can’t see it. You might as well be in a pub.” The end result has two levels, including a second floor mezzanine that allows visitors to watch Dewald’s brewing process like symphony-goers in their balcony seats.

eight are on tap at any given moment.”

But those experimental brews weren’t all hits, and Trading Post learned quickly that there’s a limit to how far into esoteric beer territory Valley residents can be led. For instance, their launch-day Brett IPA was quietly retired. “We realized that we were shooting three feet over people’s heads,” Dewald says somewhat ruefully.

BEER ON THE FRONTIER

Tony and Lance have concluded that setting up a brewery and telling people what they should drink isn’t as smart as listening to what they want. Dewald is a proud Langley resident but he pragmatically refers to TP as an “outpost brewery” due to its distance from East Van’s nexus of urban and hipster culture. “There is a fine balance between what people want and what we want to be brewing,” he warns. “We think we’ve gotten there over the years, and our Rye Amber exemplifies that.”

Brewer Dewald and owner Verhoeff are quite different personalities, but with Trading Post they were able to combine visions to create a brewery experience and beer list that appeals to their visitors. Right out of the gate, their taplist was a smart balance of accessible yet not predictable styles. For instance, instead of presenting a “lager”, they taught the citizens of Langley what a Helles is. Instead of your standard dark beer, they went with a sharp coffee stout. For a fruit beer, they came up with a tart cranberry ale (in winter, alternating with a raspberry in summer). Each of these is still on their menu board, some sporting names that evoke Langley-area heritage. Their popularity is in no danger.

The pair’s original stated influence was Brassneck, a brewery where there are innumerable distinctive beers that rotate over time. Tony says the plan was, “There might be fifty beers to draw from, but only 19 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

That beer is a good example of Dewald’s approach to creating new brews, because the recipe started out as a variation on something he had made for his previous employer. As Tony says, “There have been so many thousands of brews over the years; from the ashes of one beer comes something completely different.”

He compares it with his days as half of the famed 1980s ‘sludgeabilly’ duo Deja Voodoo. “Our hit song was something called

Cheese & Crackers by Rosco Gordon. We changed the chords, changed the chord progression and changed the words.” Dewald looks at designing beers with as a similar exercise, like a jazz musician taking a musical standard and riffing on it.

“I’m such a process-driven guy; I have that part down,” he shares. “There are ruts in the concrete from me walking back and forth. But I try not to be set in my ways, I try to be open to influences, and I get to stretch out. You come into the business as a fresh-faced newbie with an idea how you want beer to taste, then over time your ideas change and you want to f*** with things.“ That includes ingredients. “You can buy different things now that weren’t available for any money not long ago,” Dewald offers, with a nod to the skid of Weyermann floor malt he’s pictured atop of on this issue’s cover. Tony lives in a rural setting with wife Andy, grows crops and identifies as a Langley farmer, but he’s realistic. “I would love to use all local ingredients, but not everything can come from here. With real German floor-malted grain, hops and yeast, and local water that is very similar to Munich’s, I think I can make something that rivals the true flavour and intensity of German beer.” As it happens, Helles is their biggest seller by a wide margin.

Continued on page 21

30 Breweries | Food Vendors | Live Music Free admission to the Fort Langley National Historic Site

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JOIN US th MAY 19 12-6pm AT T H E F O R T L A N G L E Y NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

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WHAT'S BREWING BIOGRAPHY | profile

ti restaurant in South Surrey, as well as a shared tour of India for Opportunity International.

Trading Post also sponsors an annual scholarship for a deserving student in Brewing and Brewery Operations at Langley’s Kwantlen Polytechnic University, given in the name of John Mitchell, the godfather of BC craft beer.

Making charitable contributions after such a short time in business is a stunning feat.

Asked how all this squares with what he set out to achieve, son Lance opines, “I see beer as a vehicle toward what we’re trying to accomplish in the community.”

Behind the tasting room counter

A COMMUNITY HITCHES UP TO THE POST

One quiet but significant development early on was Trading Post’s contract to provide beer to Vancouver Giants games at the Langley Events Centre, recently followed by a contract to do the same at Abbotsford Centre for the soon-to-debut Fraser Valley Bandits pro basketball team. Paul Verhoeff explains, “We’re not really into beer distribution as our model; we just do it to get exposure and get our brand out a little.’”

In 2017 the company broke into the events business when it kicked off the Fort Langley Beer + Food Festival, a full-blown outdoor event in partnership with the Fort Langley National Historic Site. The team hoped for 500-1000 attendees in its first year; they netted 1500. They sold double that the second year. This year, capacity was expanded to an impressive 4000 and Early Bird tickets went quickly. The events side has gone so well it’s spawned a new division of the Verhoeff Group.

“We love hosting people, and we love celebrating life,” Paul shared with us. “So we’ve decided to set up a separate organization called Red Door Events.” They’re planning to present a three-day music festival called Summerset on the September long weekend at the same Fort Langley NHS site, as well as a Fort Langley Oktoberfest, a Christmas Market and another big Christmas event in Calgary.

In late 2018, TP debuted an Abbotsford eatery as its third outlet. Of this stunning growth, Lance admits, “I’d be pretty foolish to sit here and say that I did this on my own. It was a family effort, with my Dad and my Uncle [and his wife and sister pitching in along the way].”

“I have a father who was able to financially help and had the entrepreneurial spir-

it,” he continues. At 63 years old and in a position to retire, Paul Verhoeff still “can’t really help himself,” Lance says. “I don’t know if my Dad will ever wind down.”

The elder Verhoeff reflects, “People talk about their 'BHAG': that big, hairy, audacious goal. I think our BHAG is a local brewery making good beer as a hub, with spokes—maybe three, four, five Eateries at the most—that we feed beer to from the brewery. Abbotsford has been phenomenal. If that continues, we can duplicate it [with changes to keep things local] in Calgary, Edmonton and wherever else.”

Paul explains, “My father and mother were not business people. But I thought of my own father as a social entrepreneur.

He would see what was needed in the community, and try to help start that and get it rolling. Not for money, but for the good of society. We’ve applied that to our business life and our charitable life.”

His principal accomplishment on the charitable side is the Spartan Foundation, a not-for-profit that Verhoeff founded in order to support the athletics program at Trinity Western. From an original goal to raise $100,000 per year, the events-based initiative has grown to the point it raises $1M per annum for TWU. Paul also sits on the board of Opportunity International Canada, a charity that the family supports through their flooring businesses. It helps people in developing countries bootstrap themselves via small business loans. It resonates for Paul because it reminds him of the faith others showed in loaning him the money to start his own first enterprise. It’s also led to another Trading Post connection.

Through his work with that charity, Paul happened to meet Vikram Vij of Dragon’s Den fame. Their friendship led to the creation of Vikram’s Weissen for Vij’s My Shan-

“We have a good balance between not being a big brewery and not being small,” Verhoeff feels. He’s pleased to report that between the brewery and their two restaurants, there are about 150 people on staff.

“That’s a lot of people advocating for the company,” Lance feels. “It’s eye-opening how rewarding a team experience can be.”

“The piece of paper I earned in business school helps me with reading financials” he continues. “But what really helped me at Trinity Western are the relationships that came out of it. That’s what I tell students in basketball: the friendships that you’re making and the interactions with the people you’re meeting along the way are the most valuable.”

When asked if, as a family of faith, there was any hesitation in entering the beverage alcohol industry, Paul Verhoeff shares, “The beer and food are just a catalyst to bring people together.”

As he says, “You won’t find TVs in our outlets; you won’t find a reason to stay forever. We don’t stay open really late and we don’t run a bar where people come just to get drunk. Everything is better in moderation, better when there’s balance.”

Lance has a small family and is doing his best to find the right work/life balance, Paul notes. “A lot of people say that’s not possible, but it’s possible with the right decisions.”

With the brewery closing at 8 PM, Marissa is happy that Lance can come home at a reasonable time most nights. “We have one little son, and another baby on the way” says the young husband.” It’s a stage of life where everything’s a bit chaotic. Why not add in self-employment for a little more chaos.”

“As long as we’re still doing what we set out to do, which is to bring people together and create community, I think we’ll continue to see success,” Lance reflects. “I’m just holding on for the ride. I’m excited for what’s next.”

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 21

WOMEN IN BEER | profile

FAMILY TRADITION:

I

>> LUNDY DALE

f you know about beer in BC, you’ve heard about Spinnakers, the 35-year-old brewpub in Victoria. Maybe you’ve Kala Hadfield been there on more than one occasion. Owner and publican Paul Hadfield’s hard work created the first brewpub in BC and Canada, and it has thrived throughout the exponential growth of the BC microbrewery industry.

Paul is not the only member of the family who is a part of the beer world. His two daughters, Kala and Carly Hadfield, have followed the family tradition, with Kala working at Spinnakers and Carly owning a pub in Castlegar. Let's get a word from both of them.

KALA HADFIELD, BREWERY OPERATIONS MANAGER & CIDER-MAKER 1. How long have you been in the position? Have you worked your way up or did you jump right in?

KH: I started in the brewery on the packaging line and doing deliveries in 2010, and have worked my way up over the years, through cellaring and brewing to a management position.

2. Did you choose the job or did the job choose you?

Or maybe a push of support from your Dad? KH: Working front of house was never my passion and it was at the suggestion of my Dad that I transitioned into the brewery when a position became available.

3. What were you doing before?

KH: Before starting in the brewery, I was spending my summers bartending at Spinnakers, and my winters teaching scuba diving.

4. Did you take any specific training for your role now?

KH: I took courses through Siebel and through OSU, but for the most part learned hands-on.

5. How did you discover your passion for beer?

KH: Beer was always around growing up, including setting out IPA with the cookies for Santa, but it was spending a bunch of time in Portland in 2010 and getting a taste for big west coast IPAs that ignited my passion and drove my desire to move to the brewing side of the operations and be able to have influence on the beers we were producing.

6. Are there advantages or disadvantages to being a woman in the industry?

KH: As long as you are physically capable to do the job and passionate about the industry, I believe that advantages/disadvantages are more individual than gender-specific.

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 22

7. Do you have any suggestions for women wanting to get into the industry?

KH: Just do it. Be prepared to start at the bottom, work hard, and get dirty.

8. How do you feel about women-only beer groups like "Pink Boots"?

KH: Organizations like the Pink Boots are great for networking and are really welcoming to women regardless of your skill and knowledge level. I joined in 2010 and have attended Pink Boots meetings at the Craft Brewers Conference over the years and it has been really cool to watch the growth in attendees.

9. What is your favourite beer of the brewery and why?

KH: My favorite beer changes with the time of day or the weather. Right now, my favorite is our Oyster Stout because I love the rich brininess. It is so seasonal, with only one batch brewed per year.

10. What is your favourite beer outside of your brewery and why?

KH: Any ice-cold beer on a sunny tropical beach, because what beats that?

11. Favourite female in the industry?

KH: My favorite female in the industry would probably be Teri Fahrendorf. Her passion for the advancement of the careers of women beer professionals is very inspiring and the knowledge base she shares on her website is something I have turned to on more than one occasion.

12. It has been 3-4 years since you last took part in a Pink Boots brew. What made you decide to lead one this year?

KH: The number of female brewers in Victoria has more than doubled since the last time we participated, and it seemed like a great opportunity to get everyone together.

Lundy Dale Among her other contributions to the BC beer scene, Lundy is a founder of CAMRA BC's Vancouver chapter, Barley's Angels' Pink Pints Chapter and BC Craft Beer Month, and Past President of CAMRA BC.

WOMEN IN BEER | profile

KALA & CARLY HADFIELD Carly Hadfield

CARLY HADFIELD, CO-OWNER, LION'S HEAD SMOKE & BREW PUB 1. How long have you been in the position? Have you worked your way up or did you jump right in?

CH: You could say we jumped in. My partner Troy and I purchased The Lion's Head in the late spring of 2009.

The pub had been closed for about eight months at the time.

We had the doors open for business three weeks later. We created a BC craft beer–focused tap house in what felt like the heart of Bud country and worked hard to build our own reputation and educate our patrons on craft beer, as it was a rare thing in the West Kootenays at that time.

2. Did you choose the job or did the job choose you?

Or maybe a push of support from your Dad? CH: There was just something about The Lion's Head.

The high vaulted ceilings reminded me of Spinnakers; I could see the potential for this place to become what it is today. I had practically grown up in Spinnakers and when I moved to Castlegar I missed having a pub that felt like home. A place where everyone felt welcome, a place that served good food and great local beer. We had joked about buying The Lion's Head for a few years and bringing craft beer to the West Kootenays, and then one day everything worked out and we did.

3. What were you doing before?

CH: Before we purchased the building, I was a student at Selkirk College in the Business Administration program, ran a small landscaping company called The Grass Master, worked up at Red Mountain during the winter seasons, and waitressed in between.

4. Did you take any specific training for your role now?

CH: It has mostly been a hands-on learning experience. We were so fortunate to have my Dad as a mentor when we first started, and still continue to learn and grow all the time as the place evolves and trends change.

5. How did you discover your passion for beer?

CH: I was lucky enough to be born into really good beer, so I don't recall when I discovered my passion for beer. It was just always there.

6. Do you feel respected in your role?

CH: Yes, absolutely. I have a great team behind me here at The Lion's Head and have had great support from the community.

7. Are there advantages or disadvantages to being a woman in the industry?

CH: I am happy to say that, in my work environment, gender doesn't matter.

8. Do you have any suggestions for women wanting to get into the industry?

CH: Do it! It is a fun industry to be part of.

9. How do you feel about women-only beer groups like "Pink Boots"?

CH: I love the idea of Pink Boots. It is great to get like-minded women together to support one another. I am not currently a member but would happily join.

10. What is your favourite beer on tap?

CH: One of my favourite beers on tap recently is Operis from Four Winds.

11. What is your favourite beer otherwise?

CH: One of my all-time favourite beers is a vintage brew from Spinnakers that hasn't been made in a long time, The Fog Fighter.

12. Favourite female in the industry?

CH: Call me biased but, my sister Kala. Not only has she brought some fun creativity to their brewery there, but she has been a wealth of knowledge on all things beer-related when I need a hand with my establishment. I've got a great supportive family.

13. Biggest achievement to date?

CH: Even though it is a few months away, our biggest achievement is our upcoming 10th anniversary this July 1, on Canada Day. It feels like such a milestone, and I am proud that we have made it this far.

14. What made you decide to create a BC craft-centric pub experience in the Kootenays?

CH: We had such a great opportunity with The Lion's Head.

We wanted to do something different and bring something different to the area. It was a bold decision to exclusively pour BC Craft Beer, and I am so happy that we did. It's what makes our place unique. It's also been exciting to see all the growth in the West Kootenays beer scene in the last few years, and although we aren't brewing, I am happy that we are a part of that growth.

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 23

Ken Beattie. Photo: Brian K. Smith

WHAT'S BREWING BIOGRAPHY | profile

A GUILDED EXISTENCE The Career of Ken Beattie, Part II

From Part I: A kid from Vancouver’s South Side grows up to run some of the biggest sales territories in Canada for Molson and Sleeman. His career path is set for life until, after a quarter century, he's downsized and out of the industry. Here’s how, in the space of a year, he gets back in the saddle with a new purpose: leading the charge for the BC craft breweries taking a big bite out of Big Beer.

>> DAVE SMITH

PHOTO: BRIAN K. SMITH

D

uring his twelve years with Sleeman Brewing, Ken Beattie had attained the type of position that he had envisioned rising to as a young man with Molson. But after 25 years in the industry and at the age of 50, with two kids aged 10 and 12, there would be no going back to the Met Hotel. This time, he knew he had to reinvent himself.

The first thing the family did after receiving the severance package was something the family had pre-planned but in hindsight didn’t help: take off to Hawaii for three weeks. Once he got back into town and got his head together, Beattie started to reach out and get some career advice.

Job search professionals told Ken he had to work in “beverage alcohol” the rest of his life, because that’s what he always did. It wasn’t a question of “what do you want to do?” It was “do you want to sell spirits, wine or beer?” Hardly inspiring.

Ken freely admits that the industry had been everything to him to that point. “It was good to me and my family, but I was looking for something else,” he remembers. Still, he kept getting the message that he was pigeonholed, and a career change wasn’t in the cards.

One sunny day, travelling on the SeaBus from his North Shore home to a downtown-Vancouver job-search coaching appointment, he saw the gleaming building housing Simon Fraser University’s downtown campus on the opposite shore. Ken had attended SFU in his twenties, and was two electives short of graduating with a diploma in Media and Communications, with a minor in Sociology, when he accepted a full-time job offer with Molson.

He had planned to go back and finish up, but 25 years of life got in the way.

Something twigged as Ken reflected on this, and right then and there he knew 25 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

what he was going to do. When he stepped off the ferry, he went straight to SFU and requested his quarter-century-old transcript. Upon arriving at his appointment with the job counsellor, he shocked her by declaring he was going back to school.

The prodigal student completed his two remaining courses at night school, earning his diploma (Ken now has BA in Applied Science), and demonstrating to his two children that it’s never too late.

THE BEGINNINGS OF AWARENESS Back in his college days, one of Ken’s long-term goals had been to go into in business in some way. With a lifetime of sales and marketing experience, Ken had accomplished that—just not for himself.

Along the way though, aside from all the mastery of negotiations and numbers, Ken had unexpectedly begun developing another attribute that would lead to his next career move. He had a palate for beer.

When Ken worked at Molson, his job was to sell lifestyle. You never talked about the product. But counter to what the company would likely prefer, he was always trying the competition’s beers, especially the occasional new and interesting ones from smaller companies.

In the late 1980s, there wasn’t much to choose from, but the beer that first really turned him on was Shaftebury Brewing’s Cream Ale. At the time, Shaftebury was a start-up East Van brewery well before any of those around today. He’d walk into one of his accounts and spot their tap on the row. “Hey, is that that Shaftebury Cream Ale? I’ve heard of that!” went the opening volley. “Yeah, you want to try it?” “Sure!”

He’d do that all up and down his line of pubs.

A taste for beer—in the sense of quality, not just quantity—wasn’t required for employment at Molson, which marketed primarily on lifestyle. Later, working in Sleeman’s Okanagan Spring Brewing

division, Ken found it a little more balanced; the marketing wasn’t purely “I Am Canadian”-style hype. Around that time, “There was some regulatory stuff. We had to figure out how to sell beer without discounting it”, Beattie recalls.

As one of the Big Three in Canada by that time, Sleeman was coming into direct competition with Molson and Labatt.

Ken liked the business spin Sleeman was able to put forward without using payola: how much more can Sleeman make you over your Molson, because you can charge more for it. The budget tricks no longer mattered.

Ken thought, “it should be about what’s coming in over the bar, not what’s coming in the back door.”

Ken recalls that when Sleeman took on Unibroue, “That was a game changer. It was all about the liquid, not the lifestyle.”

The reps and managers would require some training to handle this strange new Belgian-influenced product from Quebec.

THE BIRTH OF EUREKA BEER GUIDE Back in 1997, Roger Mittag left his career at Interbrew Canada (Oland, Labatt, etc.) and founded a company called Thirst for Knowledge. He set up a beer sommelier program called Prud’homme Beer Certification, billed as the first comprehensive online beer education program in the world (the Chicago-based Cicerone Certification Program debuted a decade later).

Sleeman was one of Mittag’s clients, so he provided some basic training to the people in Okanagan Spring, and helped handle the Unibroue coaching. “I was enthralled by this guy’s presentation,” recalls Beattie. “When I first saw Roger teach, before the first coffee break, it was like, this is unbelievable. How have I been in this industry so long, and I know so little about this? I was an old dog learning a new trick, and I completely embraced it.”

It’s apparent in hindsight that Ken at Sleeman was one of Roger’s best students.

Continued on page 26

WHAT'S BREWING BIOGRAPHY | profile

They weren’t close friends, but there was some kind of connection, because after Ken lost his job, he reached out to the beer sommelier.

“We had never talked about him expanding his business out here, but we just got along,” Beattie relates. “I called Roger to let him know [about the career change].

Roger says, ‘I know what happened, and I’ve been waiting for you to call.’” Eerie.

But before long, Ken became certified as a Prud’homme Beer Educator, and became Mittag’s Western Canadian representative.

Mittag said, ‘I know what happened, and I’ve been waiting for you to call.’

His new company was called Eureka Beer Guide, an homage to the moment of epiphany so many craft beer enthusiasts have experienced when they realize that beer—something they’ve been drinking for years—doesn’t all have to taste the same. Beer education made sense to Ken once he realized he liked presenting seminars and sharing the information he’d learned. It represented a new direction, and a new investment of time, energy, and expense.

But Ken’s new life as a self-employed entrepreneur had its drawbacks. Beattie understates that trying to make a living as a beer educator was “tough sledding” compared to his comfortable income at Sleeman. As he confessed, “I probably took a 75-80% hit in wage in the first year.” That meant no holidays for the family that year. But the Beattie family included two kids, and their lifestyle wasn’t going to completely change, which meant expenses for things like hockey and dance.

Ken spent a year working away at this new project, all the while knowing its limitations and keeping the big picture in mind.

STARTING OVER, PART II

One day in early 2013, Beattie put in a sales call to Don Gordon who was National Sales Manager for Whistler Brewing.

Ken knew Don well because back in the day, Don (with Big Rock) and Ken (with Sleeman) competed in the Kitsilano territory daily. Now Whistler was a division of Northam Beverages, and a perfect candidate for Prud’homme training.

Don didn’t necessarily take Ken up on the education front. It was a hard sell. But it 26 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

turns out that before too long there was another reason for Ken to talk to Don that was more conventionally profitable.

Whistler’s BC Sales Manager Megan McKay Hall was about to go on maternity leave. Ken had been putting a lot of work into Eureka but was feeling the effects of leaving corporate life, so he considered covering Megan’s beat to supplement his income.

Ken figured the job involved what are known as “key accounts,” meaning only the cream of the crop business relationships, not your garden variety pubs and hole-in-the-wall bars. Ken thought, “hey, no problem, I can do that”: dealing with head offices, not “in the trade” out at some bar at 11:30 at night. By then, Ken was in his fifties and no longer interested in being “that guy.” He reached out to Whistler again and talked to Don about covering the beat.

Don knew Ken had the chops to handle any sales territory, but he instantly assessed the situation and realized Beattie had made a mistake. Before the conversation went any further, he asked, “Did Megan tell you about the other 50 accounts she has?” Ken didn’t know. Don did. “She has Granville Street, your old territory. She has the f**king Roxy.” Ken’s face turned white.

Don Gordon knew that dialling back the clock 20 years was not in the cards for Ken and wasn’t about to let him take Megan’s beat. Fortunately, he had something better up his sleeve for the struggling beer educator.

“I sit on the board of the Craft Brewers Guild,” said Don. “What’s that?” responded Ken. Don, taken aback, busted Beattie’s chops for being a BC craft beer educator and yet not knowing about the Guild. Then he explained: “Do you remember the CBA?” Yes, Ken knew what that was.

THE PERFECT MATCH

Back in June 1993, What’s Brewing reported that six smallish breweries were forming an industry group known as the Micro Brewers Association of BC, with Mark Simpson, Granville Island Brewing’s classic brewmaster, as the founding chair. As we wrote then, conspicuous by their absence from the MBABC’s expected founding membership was Okanagan Spring, which, according to Simpson in

1993, no longer considered itself a microbrewery. By the following year, the fledgling MBABC was up and running with just over 3.5% of the BC beer market. By around the turn of the century, the organization would rebrand to use a cutting-edge new term: Craft Brewers Association of BC. In 1996, John Sleeman set out to create a cross-Canada brewing empire. His first step was to purchase that same “not a micro” Okanagan Spring Brewery in little Vernon, BC. In 1999, he acquired former Beattie favourite and MBABC/CBA member Shaftebury. In 2000, Ken Beattie was hired by Okanagan Spring, and therefore Sleeman, as part of their BC sales team.

Ken ultimately became aware of the little industry group these formerly small, independent Sleeman divisions had been associated with. That’s how he came to know what the CBA was.

By the time Beattie called Don Gordon in spring 2013, the Association had just rebranded again to adopt a term used by others similar groups across North America: they were now known as the BC Craft Brewers Guild. And they were looking for a new Director.

As Don described the Guild and the potential position he had in mind, Ken asked, “Does this job pay money?” Don’s response: “It pays part-time.” Ken asked whether the Guild would have a problem with him continuing to pursue Eureka at the same time. That was exactly what Don had in mind; it was the beer education aspect, along with the industry experience, that convinced him Ken was the man for the job.

Ken took the position of Executive Director with the Guild in July 2013, at a pivotal moment in BC beer history.

At that point, the Guild’s priority was to consolidate its membership base and drive new growth. A new website was commissioned with a more sophisticated appearance. A mix pack of BC beers was marketed in Ontario to try to give certain members some exposure there. More significantly, they also had a plan to engage a political lobbyist because there were rumours of an upcoming major liquor policy review that could affect and benefit BC microbreweries. The changes eventually recommended paved the way for the brewery tasting room model, opened the door to many small new breweries, and a golden age dawned in BC beer.

Continued on page 29

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28 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

Continued from page 26

WHAT'S BREWING BIOGRAPHY | profile

A TSUNAMI OF CHANGE

LOOKING BACK

After being hired, Ken got the opportunity to meet the Guild’s members en-masse in September 2013 during Great Canadian Beer Festival weekend in Victoria, upstairs at Vancouver Island Brewing.

What made Ken the right person to head the Guild? “I worked day to day in the business for 25 years, so I come from the perspective of someone in the industry,” he says. “The street is a fight. Whether you work for big breweries or small breweries, the ability to sell and market and promote your beer is the same. The strategy of figuring out how to get a [wholesale] listing: I’ve lived and breathed that my whole career.”

“I walked around the first day of the festival and told people to come to the meeting the next day. People had no idea who I was,” Beattie relates. The previous leaders of the Craft Brewers Association had been from the craft beer industry, and he wasn’t. “I stood up in front of a hung-over room and said, ‘I worked at Molson and Sleeman and Okanagan Spring. But I’m not the Antichrist.’”

2013 was an amazing time to take on leadership of BC’s craft beer sector. “You couldn’t have dreamed it up better,” Beattie says. “We hit a tsunami of love.”

The Guild did indeed engage the planned lobbyist, a person by the name of Craig Jangula who worked with Ken to develop his relationships and contacts within industry and government. As part of trying to effect change, Beattie began to learn “government speak.” Working alongside Jangula helped, because as Beattie notes, it’s not just about knowing the people the public have heard of; in order to pull strings: “You need to know who the Assistant Deputy Minister’s secretary is.”

The Guild gained momentum very quickly. “I spent the first 18 months raising my hand and asking people to talk to us,” Beattie relates. “Eighteen months later, we were picking and choosing who we would talk to and the projects we would support.”

What makes the Guild important to government leaders? “We’re a job creation machine,” Beattie explains. “We’re in 60 communities across the province. So, it’s not just one area. Wine is pretty much in certain regions only; high tech might be concentrated in certain areas. Beer is everywhere around the province, creating jobs.” To government, jobs are key to the economic success of the province, and so Ken found out to his surprise that “five jobs at a brewery in Valemount is a really big deal to [former Minister of Jobs] Shirley Bond.”

Within a couple of years, Beattie’s “parttime” job had become his full-time occupation, and the Eureka effort was more and more a fond memory.

By the time Beattie got to his current position, craft breweries—the “weeds in the garden” his former boss at Molson had threatened to pull out—were spreading violently and starting to affect the cash crops that Big Beer had relied on for so long. “[Craft beer’s] market share was 11% when I came on board, and that included Pacific Western,” he recalls. “Now our market share is over 25% without PW. That’s the strongest in Canada.

But still, that means 75% of the market is drinking something else.”

dian Brewing Awards & Conference]. It’s got a good scene. But it’s not like walking down Powell Street and around East Van. It’s not like Brewer’s Row. Two breweries in Smithers. Three in Sooke. The concentration [in some parts of BC] is crazy, and so is the expansion.”

He attributes this to the sense of community that breweries deliver in their individual communities around BC. “They’re community hubs,” he opines. “I’m not going to the coffee shop, I’ll meet you at the brewery now. Just by virtue of how they’re set up and the rules around them.

Long tables. No TVs. No table service. If forces people to interact, to share.”

Ken, who used to sneak pints of ShafteKen presenting beer education at Victoria Beer Week bury while on the beat for Molson, likes this underdog aspect. He He draws up a hypothetical tasting room enjoys watching the growth happening scenario. “A conversation starts between a in craft beer. “This is a real legacy time. local and a visitor from out of town. They People will talk about what happened tell each other what they’re drinking. since 2000. When Matt (Phillips) decided They get to know each other. Advice and he was all in, he kind of pushed things tips are shared. This type of thing hapover the edge. Suddenly, the snowball pens a thousand times around the provstarted to happen. I’m not selling the beer ince every day. From a big brewery point anymore, but I’m watching craft beer do of view: you can’t compete against that.” that.”

How else have things changed since he started out? “Back in the day, we weren’t fighting over 60 taps [at certain taphouses]. You couldn’t always get draft beer everywhere; we were fighting for two taps, four taps. This place (our interview was held at Darby’s Pub in Kitsilano, one of Beattie’s old accounts) used to have just four taps. So, people’s perception of what they want has expanded, and the taps have expanded along with that.”

How would Ken compare what we have in BC with other regions? Last year, he said, “I was just in Halifax [for the Cana-

Talking about his competition—people who do what he used to do—he confides, “I can’t imagine what a Big Beer rep does in Kits these days. How do they compete?

What do they do all day?”

He shares a recent anecdote. “I happened to have lunch with one of them the other day. He used to work for me. We’re at Parallel 49 on a Tuesday afternoon. We look around at all the young mothers that are there every weekday. P49 jokes that they’re going to have to get a stroller valet. I say to him, ‘Dude. You’ll never beat this. Ever.’”

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 29

A BITTER PIL Pilsner spotlight

presents:

FROM THE OLD WORLD...

...TO THE NEW

Ah, the angels are calling you to join them in a glass of perfectly fluffy, foamy světlý ležák, which is to say, Czech light lager. It is so fragile to transport that to fully appreciate it, you have to visit the former Bohemia to taste it fresh.

OK, let's get real. You have to accept substitutes because you can't get to the Czech Republic anytime soon, maybe ever.

Plus, it's not 1842 anymore and "Pilsner" means a lot of things in our craft-crazed society. There are Imperial Pilsners, Dry-Hopped Pilsners, Hazy Pilsners... we sense that Josef is Grolling over in his grave.

If the lager is from the main brewery in the town of Plzeň, (a town the Germans call"Pilsen"), then it's in the original ("Urquell") style created in 1842 by Josef Groll, bittered with the famous hops of Žatec (aka "Saaz"). All drinks called Pilsener or Pilsner are named in direct or indirect homage.

So be it. It's a brave New World and BC brewers make a wide range of Pils. Czech out what the Panel has to say about our six hand-picked BC bevvies on the following pages. Spoiler alert: our bona fide No-Prize goes to Parkside Brewing's Dawn Pilsner for high score. Well done Vern & team!

Honourable mention to Bomber's reliable Pils for scoring almost as well.

Pilsners came to dominate the world of beer due to their light but rich gold color, full-bodied maltiness yet a distinct bitterness from generous Saaz hopping, generally 30 IBU or more.

German varieties, often spelled Pilsener, might be lighter in body and semi-sweet to off-dry. Accept no substitutes.

Beer photography by Paul Pyne

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THIS ISSUE'S TASTING PANEL

WARREN

TED

PAUL

Warren Boyer: BJCP Certified home and commercial brewer, and past President of CAMRA Vancouver.

Ted Child: Recognised BJCP beer event judge and homebrewer.

Reviews beers for BeerMeBC.com and books for WB

CATEGORY SCORES A general overview of how these beers did as a group. Notice the bicuity malt, the grassy hop and the general drinkability of these beverages.

HOP PROFILE

MIKE

Paul Pyne of Drink Smarter: Certified Cicerone® & beer tutor Carnell Turton of Breward Inlet: if the beer isn’t good he’ll say it Mike Ansley, The BeerRater: offering an unfiltered view on the world of craft beer

HOW JUDGING IS DONE Our unsanctioned competition uses a Zagat-like 30-point rating with a weighted scale based loosely on the BJCP Scoresheet. One of the great things about this format, as opposed to a simple 5-star blogger rating, is that it forces panellists to put more work into evaluating details of the flavour, balance and overall impression before scoring each category.

CARNELL

PRODUCTS REVIEWED The beers evaluated this round included:

ABV

1.

33 Brewing Exp Hazy Pilsner

4.8%

2.

Bomber Pilsner

4.8%

See Review

3.

Hoyne 'Hoyner' Pilsner 5.3%

See Review

4.

Moon Under Water Potts Pils

5.2%

See Release

5.

Parkside Dawn Pilsner 4.9%

See Release

6. Slow Hand Pilsner

5.2%

MALT PROFILE

SCORE BREAKDOWN Panel scores include these five categories. For a full list of individual scores, turn to next page.

BALANCE: MALT VS. HOP

DRINKABILITY

BeerMeBC

WB SPRING TASTING PANEL RESULTS. MAXIMUM SCORE = 30

33 Brewing Exp Hazy Pilsner 2.4/3

22 23 25

4.4/6

2.2/3

22.2/30 5.8/8

7.4/10

I was expecting something, well, experimental but this is a surprisingly reverential kellierbier. I think the use of "hazy" in the name, although accurate, might be misleading.

Doesn't look like a pilsner but it tastes like one. Balanced with a bitter finish.

Fuller body with floral and grass notes to compliment the grain bill.

Healthy bitterness that's carried by the carbonation.

17

While I enjoyed taking the time to learn about Kellerbier from BJCP notes I still feel this sample strays away from the intended profile. I found some of the flavours, including a pronounced apple flavour, overbearing and, even though intentional, unpleasant. That said, with some recipe refinement I think this beer could be pretty enjoyable.

24

Points go out to creativity for this brew. Hazy Pilsner? are you kidding me? I recommend everyone gives this a try. It doesn't nail the style, but that's not the point. Creativity is where this one succeeds. I think it's close to where it needs to be, but a little refinement is still required.

Moon Under Water Potts Pils 2.0/3

16 24 20 13 22

3.4/6

2.2/3

19.0/30 5.2/8

6.2/10

This is "fresh, local brewpub" pilsner, not "import, travelled halfway round the world" pilsner. That said, maybe a little too off the cuff.

Balanced. Crisp. Quite tasty.

Effervescent and crisp. Firm bitterness with a soft grain palate.

Not what I'm looking for in my lagers. The standard flavours of a lager are there but it is a case of too much & too little. Too much body, too little crispness, and the dry hopping seemed to muddle it all.

The most unique of the pack, a pilsner for sure, but also it has distinct flavours that give it some personality. The warmer the weather, the more approachable this brew will be. Not a brew for everyone, but definitely a brew for people of discerning taste. Your Dad will probably not like this one...in a good way.

Ted

Warren

Paul

Carnell

Mike

Bomber Pilsner 2.8/3

21 25 24

4.4/6

The most authentic Czech s ble hops perceived. Well m

Balanced aroma. Not as bal

Grass and hay notes with a style; light, refreshing, and

26

Wow, the Craft Lager I was I'm looking for in a Pilsner: was something else. The fla nice hop spice.

21

If this brew had a human Carl. Carl's not going to o any compliments. But you always going to be everyon cast, he doesn't have enoug

Parkside Dawn Pilsne 2.8/3

18 26 23

4.4/6

A safer, more malt forwar fermentation, a little bitter light Noble hoppiness on

Leans towards the bitter s

Herbal and grainy with b gering bitterness. Perfect w

25

My hometown boys are c Althugh not as flavourful ner is what I want from a highly crushable.

26

The closest to style in the brewers review it as "just the anytime. Whether you fans, hang out on a Friday retary's Day, this is the be

SEE WWW.WHATSBREWING.CA/TASTING-PANEL FOR FULL SET OF SCORES

23.4/30 2.6/3

6.0/8

7.6/10

style of the bunch, with little to no non-Nomade and safe.

lanced in the flavour. Leans to the bitter.

a grainy subtlety. Very traditional Bohemian easy drinking.

sn't sure existed. The baby has all the things : crisp, clean, clear... and the head retention avours were pleasant, and the Saaz adds a

name, it would be Carl. Good old reliable offend you, he's also not going to give you always invite Carl to every party, and he's ne's friend. But don't ask Carl to host a podgh personality.

er 2.6/3

23.6/30 6.4/8

7.4/10

rd take on the style. Clean rness for balance and some the finish.

side. Crisp with a bitter finish.

bready notes. Smooth and light, with no linwith your favourite pizza.

coming in hot with this crushable number. l as the Bomber offering, the Parkside Pilsa lager...clean, crisp, a small hop bite, and

e pack for me. My good friends @brandedt bloody lovely" and I agree. It's a beer for u're looking to onboard some new craft beer y and drink a bunch, or even celebrate Seceer for that situation.

Hoyne 'Hoyner' Pilsner 2.8/3

12 25 21 23 25

4.2/6

21.2/30

2.4/3

5.2/8

Hoyne makes some great lagers. However, the relationship between Hoyne Pilsner and I has been highly antagonistic. Since I am likely in the minority I will not rant here.

Balanced. Bigger malt flavours balance out the hop bitterness. Refreshing yet bold and flavorful.

Crisp and grainy. Easy drinking and light with refreshing quality.

A beautiful looking beer with great head. This one was among the best but it might just have a little too much flavour for my taste.

This beer does not get enough credit. I have used it time and time again as a intro to craft beer. Not too hoppy, not too malty, it tastes just as you expect it to. Kind of like going on a date with my friend Greg, he's nice, you'll have a good time. He's a true gentleman. He's just not what you want when you want to get a little naughty.

Slow Hand Pilsner 2.8/3

25 21 20 24 17

6.6/10

3.8/6

21.4/30 2.2/3

5.4/8

7.2/10

Delicious floral hoppiness is impossible to miss. A well-made pilsner with a definite West Coast interpretation. The long lagering time serves this beer well.

Far too bitter and hoppy for a pilsner, but I like it.

Light and floral with a slight bread aroma. Light body with a mild sweetness up front.

This is among the better example of craft lager I've ever enjoyed.

Even so, I find myself wanting a crisper and cleaner finish. I would pick this beer up for the right price!

Maybe it's the night, maybe it's the grouping that I'm drinking it with, but this time, Slow Hand Pilsner just didn't do it for me. The flavours seemed forced and the nose was a little unrecognizable. I have enjoyed this beer in the past, but now it seems like an M Night Shyamalan movie where I don't quite understand the ending.

Appearance

Aroma

Palate/Mouthfeel

Flavour

CanneryBrewing.com

COMING SOON TO KELOWNA

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 35

in the Okanagan! g n i r Sp

BEERS, BEACHES & BREWERIES | regional

I

>> KIM LAWTON

love the early spring. It’s a great time of year to throw open the patio doors, soak up the sunshine, and get out and play on the trails. There is a sense of excitement and renewal in the air as we prepare for the spring and summer tourism season.

Okanagan Fest of Ale is the start of the tourism season. This year, we’ll be celebrating with craft beer lovers on April 12th and 13th at the 24th Annual Okanagan Fest of Ale alongside a record number of craft breweries that will be flocking to Penticton. Seventy craft breweries and cideries will be serving up a selection of over 200 craft beers, cask ales and artisanal ciders. Fifteen of them are new to the event this year, so you have lots of new reasons to come back again this year.

In addition to great craft beer and cider, look for some delicious eats from our local restaurateurs, including craft-inspired twists on their dishes, a brewing education station, photo booth, on-site liquor store, and live entertainment, both indoors and out.

Visit the Okanagan Fest of Ale website for some sip-and-stay getaways. Plan to spend a few days here, because there are lots of other craft-beer-themed events in town that week. “Every Beer Has a Story” according to Joe Wiebe, the Thirsty Writer, who will share stories and samples of some of his favourite BC beers at Bad Tattoo Brewing on April 11th, followed by the annual Strange Brews event at Craft Corner Kitchen. Also, on the same date, Highway 97 Brewing is hosting their 1st Annual Fest of Ale Brewers Tailgate Party in their parking lot with live music, cask beer and food.

The Barley Mill Brew Pub & Sports Bistro will have beer-themed karaoke on April 12th and 13th, and the annual Murderers Row Cask Event will be at the Kettle Valley Station Pub at the Penticton Ramada on April 13th. Recover from the Fest at the “Hair of the Dog” buffet brunch at the Barking Parrot Bar, and extend the weekend with free live music at Cannery Brewing on Sunday, April 14th.

Definitely leave time in your schedule to visit our local breweries.

Download the BC Ale Trail app so you can collect and redeem points. Be sure to also pick up a Penticton Ale Trail passport and get it stamped as you visit the breweries, then enter your completed passport into a draw to win a quarterly prize package.

In new-beer news, the folks at Bad Tattoo Brewing are launching their new Variety Pack in March. This eight-pack of 473ml tall cans includes three of their Flagship beers, Los Muertos Cerveza Negra, Vagabond Pilsner, and Tramp Stamp Pale Ale. Then, each season they will rotate in a Brewer's Choice beginning with the return of Bike Barn ISA. Highway 97 Brewing is launching three new beers this spring and summer. Bad Gas Travels Real Fast is their first sour. All Canadian ESB highlights the love of maple syrup and back bacon. And Provincial Park Pale Ale is a New England style Simcoe-hop-inspired pale ale.

Watch for all three new beers in 473 ml cans from the brewery and select stores, and on tap at select pubs and restaurants.

Over at Cannery Brewing, watch for the release of Ceres, a fundraiser beer where partial proceeds support the Pink Boots Society.

36 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

Coming soon: Liam Peyton, co-founder of Hatchery Brewing, announces the upcoming opening of Penticton’s newest brewery.

The women of Cannery Brewing brewed this limited release Hazy ISA named after Ceres, the Roman Goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility, and motherly relationships. This limited release will be launched on March 8th on International Women’s Day in fourpacks of 473ml tall cans and on draft.

We’re all stoked here in Penticton for the opening of two new breweries, both located downtown. Renovations are well underway at Hatchery Brewing, which will open in early summer with a two-story, 250-seat tasting room and lounge plus a rooftop patio bar featuring a killer view.

Just a short walk away, towards Bad Tattoo, is the new home of Neighbourhood Brewing. They have an impressive pedigree, as this brewery was created by the same founders as Yellow Dog Brewing and some new friends. Demolition of the buildings on the property has been completed, and building of the new brewery is expected to begin shortly. It’s looking like a late summer, early fall opening for Neighbourhood.

On your way to or from Penticton, plan a stop at Firehall Brewery in Oliver and try their new Coffee Blond Ale, a collaboration ale brewed with Oliver's Wolf Tree Coffee Company. Once you try it, hop onto their social media and enter the contest to help name this collab.

Keep an eye out for it in bombers as well.

One last thing: now is the time to register for the third Annual Penticton Beer Run coming up on June 8th. Walk, run or crawl this 10 km fun run which showcases some amazing Okanagan views, and multiple beer stops along the way. I’ll see you at the finish line with a cold craft beer in hand. Until then, cheers.

Kim Lawton is a craft beer fan, a long-time 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.

NORTHERN NOTES | regional

NORTHERN CRAFT

EXTRAVAGANZA s the grip of Winter has officially taken hold of Prince George and Northern BC, there is much to celebrate in the Northern Craft Beer hub. The past few months have been eventful. Kask Taproom held two tap takeovers: one from Fuggles and Warlock Craftworks and another from Beerthirst, which included BC’s Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers.

Kiwanis AleFest featured three tasting sessions at the Two Rivers Gallery, plus two Brewmaster’s dinners at two local hotels and the Cask Beer Experience Weekend at eight downtown Prince George restaurants, which featured delicious one-off casks. The Brewmaster’s Dinners and Cask Beer Experience Weekend featured Northern BC Craft Breweries.

Kask Taproom also featured several Kask Beer Club tasting and food pairing nights that have successfully educated folks about the diversity craft beer offers. January 23 to 26 were a celebration of craft in Prince George and Northern BC. The festivities kicked off with Kask Beer Club on January 23, followed by Beer Lover’s Night at the Copper Pig BBQ on January 24. The grand finale was the 5th Annual Kiwanis AleFest, which ran from January 25 to 26.

The event has three goals:

Kiwanis Ale Fest was amazing; cheers to the folks that made it happen. This event, in addition to Beer Lover’s Night and Kask Beer Club, is becoming Prince George BC’s premier, in demand and flagship craft beer festival. Check it out; I recommend it.

A

>> ADAM ARTHUR

•

Raise funds for Kiwanis projects and children charities

•

Increase community pride through a fun signature social event

•

Promote business of participating breweries, restaurants, sponsors and increase tourism

This year, part of the event proceeds went to supporting Northern BC children through the Ronald McDonald House of BC (RMH BC).

There are also hints that one of Prince George’s private liquor stores will be listed on the Northern BC Ale Trail. That would be quite an accomplishment. The BC craft beer selections at many liquor stores around Prince George are becoming impressive.

Kiwanis AleFest

Overall, things have never been better in the Prince George and Northern BC craft beer landscape. Many restaurants, pubs, bars and liquor stores are getting on board. There is increased presence on taps and on shelves, and tap takeovers are happening. Folks in Prince George and Northern BC are becoming aware that BC craft beer is the real deal, thanks to its quality, flavours, diversity, community spirit, charitable efforts, ethos and the fact that people like it. Many people have made the conversion and recognize that craft beer is real beer. Cheers to that!

Adam Arthur is a craft beer fan since 2010 who’s glad to represent Northern BC and the city of Prince George. He supports Independent craft breweries in (and outside of) BC.

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Love Shack's Dave Paul

Relaxing in Tofino

Small Block Brewing

Gladstone's Daniel

Shelter Bay Distillery

Pacific Rim Distillery

Twin City Brewing

Riot's Aly & Ralf

Long Beach Lodge & Resort

Merridale's Janet and Rick

Wayward Distillery Mt Arrowsmith's Dave Woodward

Raven's Moon Cidery

Parksville's expansive beach

HAVE CAMERA WILL TRAVEL | travel

A CROSS SECTION OF PARADISE

W

>> BRIAN K. SMITH

hen we think of paradise, we think of faraway destinations with exotic food, drink and landscapes. For a beer lover, this could be in the bars of Prague, the monastery breweries of Belgium, or the urban breweries along the banks of the Willamette River in Portland. Or, closer to the home of What’s Brewing, the scenic spas and unique breweries of Vancouver Island.

DAY 1 At Horseshoe Bay, a 20-minute drive from downtown Vancouver, you board a ferry for the 95-minute crossing to Nanaimo’s Departure Bay, where our adventure begins. The full tour took us a total of 11 days, but it can easily be tackled in 2 or 3 separate parts to truly savour the craft breweries, cideries, distilleries, wineries, great food and lodging, and unforgettable scenic vistas.

From the ferry, we drive 35 minutes north on Highway 19 to Parksville where our tour begins with two nights at Tigh Na Mara Seaside Spa Resort. Our spacious suite overlooked the expansive beaches next to Rathtrevor Provincial Park. To get our heads in the right space, we immediately head north to Qualicum for a forest-bathing tour with guides Rhonda and Gary Murdock.

Surrounded by old-growth forest, you are taught how to be aware of all the elements in the forest, from the movement of air, the smells, sounds, and light. Our host serves us a delicious forest tea at the end of the 90-minute experience.

Ten minutes away is the smallest brewery on Vancouver Island: the award-winning Love Shack Libations, situated on Highway 19A in Qualicum Beach. Brewer Dave Paul is a one-man-show at this one-of-a-kind nano brewery. When not at his kettles working his craft, he’ll invite you into his tasting room/brewery. He has no need to market his beer outside of the brewery; his dedicated followers wait eagerly to buy up everything he produces. We taste award-winning pils, ales, porters and IPAs and then head back to the resort to have dinner at Cedars. The food is delicious and a good selection of local craft beers are on tap. A nightcap under the stars on the balcony, with a lullaby of waves caressing the shore, finishes off Day 1 perfectly.

DAY 2

We start getting into island mode, with a mid-morning appointment at the lush Grotto Spa for pool bathing and a relaxing massage. We visit Milner Gardens and Woodland, north of Parksville.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip once stayed at this colourful seaside rhododendron estate. Be sure to partake in English afternoon tea!

We arrive back to the resort just in time for a relaxing hour in the spa mineral pool and all-you-can-eat gourmet Endless Tapas Experience, dressed in bathrobes.

DAY 3

After an early rise to catch the sunrise at low tide on the long beach, I take off my shoes and walk through the cool shallow tidal pools.

Baby crabs run for cover everywhere. After breakfast, we’re off to visit Mount Arrowsmith Brewing. There is massive expansion going on. A whole new section of the brewery is being installed, to almost double its size, and a new kitchen and dining area is being prepped. Head brewer Dave Woodward is beaming. The two-yearold award-winning brewery is doing very well.

From Parksville we take the coastal highway 19A through small villages along the beautiful seashore to Royston. The third and fourth nights’ stay is at the recently renovated Kingfisher Lodge.

Beautiful spacious suites overlook Comox Harbour and the Strait of Georgia. Bald eagles and great blue herons fish off the rocks in front of us. Our dinner at Ocean 7 Restaurant is spectacular. We start off with a beer cocktail and then enjoy wonderful craft beers to complement our gourmet dinner. The restaurant manager, chef, and bartender all check with us to make sure the experience is topnotch.

DAY 4

...begins with a walk on the beach to get closer to the dozen or so bald eagles sitting at tidal pools waiting for breakfast. Then at 10 a.m., we meet Gaetane for a 6-hour Gourmet Tour of the Comox Valley. We visit Clever Crow Sea Salt craft store, the amazing Shelter Point Distillery, then Cumberland Brewing for lunch and a double flight of all their premium beers. From there we visit Dark Side Chocolates for dessert. Back on the road, we stop in at Beaufort Vineyard and finally Wayward Distillery, where honey is the base Continued on page 40

POWELL RIVER’S FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD BREWERY

+196244

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 39

HAVE CAMERA WILL TRAVEL | travel

of the spirits. The cocktails are fragrant and delicious! We return to the resort just in time for a Pacific Mist Spa Hydropath treatment before dinner. The paradise element is in full swing now!

DAY 5

...begins in Courtenay at the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market, where everything looks fresh and appetizing, and the savoury and sweet baked goods are out of this world! George, the proprietor of Raven’s Moon Craft Cider, is there with a selection of his 10 craft ciders.

After a tasting of his delicious products, a few more bottles get added to the stash in the back of the SUV. Before we drive south, we stop at Gladstone Brewery in Courtenay. Built in a historic mechanic’s garage, Gladstone opened its doors in 2015. Owner/ head brewer Daniel Sharratt takes us through a two-flight taster selection of his award-winning beers. We leave with a good stock of ales and IPAs for the days ahead.

Taking Island Highway 19 south, we arrive in Ladysmith in 2 hours.

From here we take the seaside drive on Highway 1A to Chemainus.

A deep blue sky and a fresh sea breeze make it a very enjoyable drive along the rustic shoreline. We arrive in the early afternoon at Riot Brewing. My long-time friends Aly and Ralf have had lots of awards in the past few years, and by chance, this would be another award day for them. Live from Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Canadian Beer Awards announce the winner and all of us scream in excitement for Aly and Ralf. Across the parking lot, the Sawmill Taphouse and Grill specializes in delicious pizzas, spicy wings, and a menu of other delectable delights. The manager has a complaint about Riot—they can’t keep their award-winning beers in stock on their tap line. Back to the brewery to say our goodbyes and stock up before returning to Ladysmith to stay the night at the recently opened Microtel Inn on the Island Highway.

Craft beer and the wild Pacific Ocean

DAY 6

...is busy, starting with a scenic drive along Highway 1A through rolling pastures to Maple Bay and then heading inland to Duncan.

Lunch is on the rooftop patio at the Craig Street Brew Pub; great appies and very decent beer made on-site. Right after, we head to Small Block Brewing: very small, but delicious beer with great branding. From there, it is a short hop south to Red Arrow Brewing, on the site previously occupied by the Arrow Custom Motorcycle Shop.

We have a wonderful tour with Brewer Chris Gress, pick up a few bottles of IPA, and then dash south on the highway to Cobble Hill. Winding country roads take you into the rolling hills to the famous Merridale Cidery. Owners Janet and Rick are waiting with a wonderful charcuterie plate, cider cocktails, and tasters of all their ciders. This is the final destination for Day 6. After a familiarisation tour, Rick takes us to the on-site distillery—apparently the first Provincially-Certified Craft Distillery in B.C.—where we are treated to some very special vodkas and gins.

Later, we have a delicious picnic dinner at our yurt. It is a chilly, breezy night, but the gas fireplace in our deluxe oasis keeps us nice and warm. The next morning Janet meets us for a five-star breakfast from their kitchen—perfect for the long day of travel ahead.

DAY 7

We cross over from the east coast to the west coast of Vancouver Island. From Cobble Hill, it is a beautiful 4.5-hour drive past Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville, and Port Alberni. There is a little rain in Cathedral Grove, where we walk among the towering centuries-old giant Douglas Firs. Another 90 minutes from Port Alberni takes us to the T-junction with the Pacific Rim highway.

Turning right takes you towards Tofino through Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (PRNPR). If you wish to stop in the park, you must purchase a National Parks pass (good at all National Parks in Canada). Our destination is Long Beach Lodge & Resort on the edge of Cox Bay, for a three-night stay. We arrive in time to partake in the “Beer Heaven Program” at the Great Room Bar, where beverage manager André has a number of artisanal craft beers lined up for the happy-hour tasting. They stock over 99 selections! After many tastings (17) and some crispy polenta bites and mussels and clams, it’s time to head out to enjoy a dramatic blood orange sunset mirrored perfectly on the glossy wet sand beach.

DAY 8

It begins with another perfect blue sky. After a light breakfast and a wander around Tofino, it’s time to head to Tofino Brewing for 40 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

HAVE CAMERA WILL TRAVEL | travel

Leave your car at home!

Go behind the scenes at your favourite breweries, cideries, wineries and distilleries with guided tours and tastings from West Coast Brewery Tours— Victoria’s original brewery tour operator. Gourmet food and beer pairing dinners also available.

westcoastbrewerytours.ca • 250 516 4402 Check us out—we`re Victoria’s #1 rated brewery tour on Tripadvisor 4 years in a row! a tasting. Lunch is from Picnic Charcuterie, across the street. The afternoon is spent exploring PRNPR. Be sure to visit the Kwisitis Visitor Centre at Wickaninnish Beach. There is so much to explore, including the Rainforest Trails and Schooner Cove. A few hours later, we return to Tofino for dinner at Tuff City Sushi. It has quite a reputation for good food and drama. Get there early enough to be sure to get a table out on the back patio, where you are treated to an expansive view of Tofino Harbour, Meares Island, and Clayoquot Sound. Local craft beer is served there.

DAY 9

Ucluelet is at the south end of Highway 4, a short 35-minute drive from the hotel. Right in the middle of the town, a former church is transforming into a brewery/pub. Still under construction at the time of our visit, it will be a welcome addition to the craft breweries of BC. Just down the hill at the harbour is the Aquarium. Everything in it is fresh from the surrounding waters of Barkley Sound. Once a year, the complete contents of the aquarium are returned to the sea. Make sure to set aside a couple of hours to walk the Wild Pacific Trail, south of Ucluelet, for incredible vistas of the wild open Pacific Ocean meeting the jagged shipwrecking rocks of the peninsula.

Back in town, be sure to visit Pacific Rim Distilling. Luke, the proprietor, will tell you about the original family recipes that have made this an award-winning establishment of vodka and gin.

DAY 10

We're back on the highway heading east to Port Alberni, home of Twin City Brewing. Brewmaster Aaron Colyn greats us at the door for a tour of the first craft brewery in Port Alberni. At the BC Beer Awards, this new kid on the block won four awards, including Best in Show. Their pizzas are second to none. Also on the menu are spicy Thai lettuce wraps and smoked meat sandwiches. In 2019, Dog Mountain Brewing will be opening in the historic section of town. I have tasted their beers and they are very good! It seems Port Alberni is heading towards being a craft beer destination of its own!

DAY 11

We travel back to Nanaimo to return to Vancouver. It has been quite a tour, full of beautiful vistas, friendly people, amazing resorts and hotels and libations of every kind. The craft beer list of breweries continues to rapidly expand on The Island, like the rest of the province. Sunny days are here to stay, just a ferry ride away. Our SUV returns to Vancouver laden with the liquid riches of Paradise.

Brian K. Smith, MPA is an accredited member of the BC Association of Travel Writers, and is Chief Photographer for What's Brewing.

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 41

HOMEBREW HAPPENIN'S | brewing

SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM ...IN HOMEBREWING

S

>> WARREN BOYER

ustaining the Momentum. I found myself contemplating this issue’s theme one snowy February day in Moody Ales’ taproom. I got to thinking: I’ve been a home brewer for twenty years. Many people try it and give up far sooner.

How have I done it this long, and how can I sustain my momentum for the next twenty years?

I first thought about some of the styles that have appeared in the past few years. Hazy New England ales and Brut IPA came to mind immediately. I thought about some of the 'gimmicks" like glitter beer, or beers with breakfast cereal and the likes. These types of things are keeping the industry interesting, keeping consumers engaged, and sustaining the momentum in the craft industry.

My reasons for brewing at home have evolved since I started doing it twenty years ago, and so has the equipment I use. One thing that seems to keep me in the home brew game is upgrading occasionally.

Not just for the sake of having newer or nicer equipment, but to make the brew day easier and shorter in ways like these:

REDUCING WEIGHT!

As I’ve aged, I’ve noticed the after-effects of carrying a five-gallon glass carboy full of wort. My back complains for a couple of days afterwards. Solution? PET (polyethylene terephthalate, i.e. plastic) carboys. My seven-gallon PET wide-mouth Fermonster is easier to carry, not nearly as dangerous as glass, and easy to clean. Perfect.

Sustaining momentum can also be achieved by working with new ingredients or techniques. 2018 saw the rise of Brut IPA. I went and found some amalyse enzyme and gave it a shot. I have never seen a finishing gravity that low before. That was cool; another trick for the toolbox.

I occasionally see people selling their home brew gear online and I wonder what happened to make them give it up. Was it just a fad type of hobby that sounded like fun but was just too much work?

Maybe they never figured it out and got tired of pouring out batches full of off-flavours.

My original reasons for homebrewing are no longer driving factors, yet I continue to do it. It isn’t just to save money. It isn’t just for competition, since I‘ve won enough homebrewing awards. At the end of the day I keep brewing because the person who knows my palate best, and who is capable of making the perfect beer for me, is me. I have made a few beers that hit the mark, but there are so many styles, I have lots more work to do. Now go brew some beer!

Warren Boyer is an award-winning home and commercial brewer, a Certified Beer Judge and a former President of CAMRA Vancouver. Contact him at homebrewboy13@gmail.com

REDUCING EFFORT!

I used to use gravity and manual methods to move liquids during the brewing process. Then I bought a pump, some silicone hose, and some cam-lock fittings. Now I can sit on the couch for twenty minutes while the the recirculation sets the grain bed in the mash tun and clarifies the wort instead of moving pitchers of wort by hand.

I eliminated airlocks with brittle parts in favour of breathable silicone carboy bungs. Much easier to clean and sanitize, more durable, and virtually maintenance-free. No need to worry about the airlock drying out or fruit flies getting inside.

REDUCING ENERGY!

A few years ago, I moved to a cylindrical beverage cooler with a false bottom for my mash tun. It holds heat better than a rectangular cooler and the conversion is super easy with a proper false bottom and a valve.

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From our family farm in Chilliwack, we harvest, package, and ship hops to 17 countries worldwide. In addition to our own hops, we partner up with the best farmers in B.C., U.S.A., and around the world, to offer over 180 varieties of quality hops to the brewing industry.

Our mission is to raise the profile of our many partner farmers in the area, as well as to promote the resurgence of hop farming in British Columbia. We are incredibly passionate about hops and the craft brewing industry and we are excited to share our passion with you!

REDUCING BOREDOM!

Spending six to eight hours to make beer can feel like a challenge at the end of a busy work week. I keep up my interest and excitement by branching out and brewing styles that aren’t necessarily my first choice. In 2018, I really enjoyed Strange Fellows Brewing’s Strange Resemblance. I haven't been a big fan of saisons in the past, but this beer got me excited to try brewing them again. Experimenting with some different saison yeasts was fun and educational.

NORTHWEST HOP FARMS Chilliwack, B.C. 604-845-7974 • sales@northwesthopfarms.com www.northwesthopfarms.com

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 43

A VIEW FROM THE CELLAR | brewing | advocacy

U-BREWS: Forgotten members of the craft beer community >> ADAM CHATBURN

F

or the last few months, I’ve been working part-time at a U-brew in Burnaby. After three years with Real Cask Brewing, I wanted to try something else, and I knew very little about ferment-on-premises breweries. Some key members of the BC brewing community got their start in Ubrews and fondly recall their time there. As a long-time homebrewer, I was also fascinated by the idea of someone doing the messy work for me. I was curious about their clientele, their brewing process, and their recipes.

These “community breweries” have a loyal customer base who balk at paying “over the odds” in the liquor store—a fair perspective, given the Liquor Distribution Branch’s ridiculously high markup.

Some customers want to tweak their recipes or make sure that there’s nothing going into their beer that shouldn’t be there.

As you might imagine, recipes vary between businesses. Where I work, there are over 150 recipes, from extract lagers to all-grain cloudy northeast IPAs. Some folks do still use the green plastic PET bottles that many associate with U-brews, but many others will happily arrange kegs or cans. Brew shops occupy a shrinking but important niche between homebrewers (beer nerds with too much gear) and the rest of the craft beer–buying public.

As the craft beer revolution has exploded over the last five years, it has had a mixed effect on U-brews. The surrounding creativity has inspired them to raise their game and learn new styles, but they have lost overall market share. Couple this with skyrocketing business rents and an aging demographic, and it’s no wonder we’ve seen a few close down recently, and many more on life support.

Recently, Global TV and the Burnaby Now have spotlighted the fact that U-brews have not benefited from the legislative changes afforded to commercial breweries this decade, such as tax breaks, more flexible tasting room rules, and other government concessions.

They weren’t even invited to the recent industry insider consultation commissioned by BC Attorney General David Eby. It’s true that their model is different in that it operates more as a “grocery store” than a commercial brewery, but their decline shows that there is a need for help from the renamed Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch and the Attorney General, both of whom have refused point-blank to discuss the matter. (Perhaps they’re a little sidetracked now that weed and booze have been combined under a single bloated authority.)

U-brew owners are asking for the ability to provide beer samples to prospective customers, so they can “try before they buy”. They’re not asking for a whole tasting room or lounge, just to share a few Continued on page 47

Barley's Homebrewing Supplies

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Shop In Store: 101-455 East Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC

44 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

Craft Your Own Beer!

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AN IN-CIDER'S VIEW | profiles | business of cider

A Tale of Two Cideries

I

>> JEFF NAIRN

n this profile, we’ll contrast two 100% genuine BC cideries: one, a land-based orchard cidery, the other a non-farming ("commercial", as the legislative terminology goes) urban cidery.

Nomad Cider in Summerland, B.C., is a land-based cidery. What that means is that the two business partners, Mike Petkau and Brad Klammer, tend their own estate orchard which will produce a substantial portion of their raw ingredients in years to come.

They’re allowed to procure apples from other local farmers, up to 80% of total production.

Mike and Brad started making cider back in 2012 and founded Nomad in 2015. Both have travelled extensively to cider-producing regions in Europe and North America. They take much of their inspiration from the old-world low-intervention techniques that have created exceptional ciders for centuries. They’ve played with the Spanish Sidra style and nailed the French keeving technique the past two vintages–no small feat. They have also been building up an extensive wine and spirit barrel-aging program since 2016. Look for Nomad’s White Barrel (one of my favourites) and Traditional Dry at your favourite private liquor store. Their special releases are amazing finds as well.

Northyards Cider in Squamish, BC is a commercial cidery.

They’ve chosen to locate in an urban environment, with their tasting room and production facility just down the road from Backcountry Brewing and A-Frame Brewing in Squamish. They don’t own their own orchard, instead nurturing relationships with farmers and purchasing all their juice and apples from third parties, but otherwise they do the same thing the farming cideries do.

Life and business partners Alison Pound and Kathleen van der Ree were introduced to cider in 2010 on a trip to the Bellingham Beer Festival. From there it’s been a whirlwind of learning. A lawyer by profession, Kathleen provides a lot of the backbone to the tasting room and the legal aspects of the cidery, while Alison has devoted herself to her relationships with growers and becoming the best cider maker she can be.

Like most of the cider folk in the province today, Alison deemed the cider and perry production course a must-do and she was fortunate enough to join Andrew Byers of Finnriver Farm and Cidery in Washington for an extended internship. (If you haven’t tried his cider, you must.) Today, Northyards’ tasting room is open seven days a week and offers a terrific lineup of food and ciders. Be sure to try their Semi-Dry and their Grapefruit Hop when you visit.

Q&A WITH NORTHYARD’S ALISON POUND AND NOMAD’S MIKE PETKAU What’s Brewing: What is your cider philosophy?

Alison Pound: Traditional methods + delicious juice + balanced well = magic.

Mike Petkau: We make our ciders as naturally as possible. We’re a low-intervention cidery. We use wild/ native yeast, no nutrients, extremely low amounts of sulfites, and we stabilize with filtration rather than pasteurization.

WB: Who is your favourite cidermaker, aside from yourself?

AP: Andrew Byers from Finnriver.

MP: Eric Bordelet. He’s a French cidermaker with seriously awesome ciders.

WB: Best cider you’ve made?

AP: Three so far: Semi-Dry, Grapefruit Hop and BlackBerry MP: Our Keeved. It’s very difficult and expensive to do a natural keeve, well worth the result.

WB: An experiment that didn’t work out well? Everyone’s had ‘em…

AP: I tried making Ciderkin (a light, low alcohol cider) this year and initially it was killer delicious but it basically turned to vinegar. I was too busy with opening the cidery this past year and wasn’t focused enough on it.

MP: The very first cider we made in 2012 was not very good. We ended up mixing it with 7UP because we didn’t want to waste it!

WB: What should the Province of BC do to grow our industry?

AP: Give us a reasonable tax. 73% is unfair.

MP: Subsidies like what they're doing in other provinces.

Cider made with local fresh pressed fruit is a booming agricultural-based market that’s good for BC. WB: What is a sign, five years from now, that will let you know cider has made it?

AP: Craft cider on every tap at bars.

MP: More proper cider being served in restaurants and sold in stores. They can buy ciders made from concentrates or they can buy cider made with 100% real fresh pressed fruit. The flavour difference is massive.

WB: An upcoming cider release we can get excited about?

AP: Squamish Heirloom. Jonagold. Both are going to be stellar.

MP: We always have new and fun things in the works, you’ll just have to wait and see!

Continued on page 47 S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 45

BOOKS IN REVIEW | reading

MOVERS & SHAKERS

WOMEN MAKING WAVES IN SPIRITS, BEER, AND WINE

>> TED CHILD

W

ith International Women's Day just around the corner, what better book to read than Movers and Shakers by Hope Ewing, which tells the stories of some of the most influential women working in wine, beer, and spirits. Ewing also interviews important women bartenders, bar owners, and writers. The women profiled work in diverse sectors of the alcohol industry, from rum, whiskey, and gin to tequila, pisco, and mezcal. There will be something of interest for everyone here, no matter how deep your booze knowledge or experience. The women’s stories are as diverse as their industry sectors, and they reveal a lot about negotiating the liquor industry.

The chapter on beer highlights International Women's Day and Pink Boots, when women brewers get together to brew a special batch. Ewing profiles Teri Fahrendorf, founder of the Pink Boots Society, who famously travelled across the United States to track down the few female professional brewers. The BC chapter of Pink Boots was founded by What's Brewing’s very own Lundy Dale, who interviews women in the BC beer industry in every issue. And watch out for the Pink Boots brew, which will be hitting a few very lucky stores’ shelves in the coming weeks.

Last year’s Hazy IPA sold out very quickly.

We Live Great Beer In a world filled with mass-produced stuff, being connected with the things we consume brings us joy.

Distinct, local, and our commitment to never cut corners on quality, character or style.

driftwoodbeer.com TP-WhatsBrewing-Red-Ad2-1.pdf

1

@driftwoodbeer 2017-08-13

6:55 PM

The second story told in the beer chapter is just as impressive. The story of Black Star Line Brewing and its owner, L.A., may well be the reason people still read this book ten or fifteen years from now.

If you read this book and don’t feel compelled to support L.A.’s brewery, you might not be human. The struggles of a queer black woman opening a brewery in North Carolina puts other folks’ struggles in the liquor industry into perspective.

Ewing is a very approachable writer 99% of the time, but her Los Angeles cocktail writer past shows in sentences like “It makes good copy” and the three uses of “influencer” (three times too many in my opinion). I’m also not keen on the book design, with its unnecessary full-page quotes and unappetizing bright pink cocktail on the cover.

It would be irresponsible to write about women in any industry, including alcohol, without discussing injustices, exploitation, and inequality. These are part of many of these stories, but not the whole story. This book is a book of celebration, of hard work, of determination and, as Ewing points out repeatedly, of passion for the work and the incredible alcohol that inspired it. Ewing writes that passion is the great equalizer. If you’ve ever had a good chat with a female beer nerd, you will understand.

Every industry will have to examine how it treats women and the injustices it has allowed to occur. The alcohol industry is no exception, as recent allegations about Norman Hardie and the LCBO shows. Society is changing. Some men think that treating women better will somehow ruin everything, including beer. It won’t; it will probably make your beer better. Listening when women speak and hearing about the injustices they have experienced is a good and necessary thing. We have to be aware of what we’ve done wrong to have any hope of making any real change for the better. What’s better for women in the industry is better for everyone in the industry, and for everyone the industry serves.

There is no rational argument—politically, economically, ethically, or socially—for excluding women from positions of power and influence. If we want better beer in our glasses, we need to actively and meaningfully promote women in the making, selling, and judging of beer. It can only make BC beer better.

Ted Child is a Recognized BJCP Beer Judge and award-winning homebrewer. He is also What's Brewing's in-house book reviewer. Look for his assessments of the latest beer books and publications in each issue

46 WHAT'S BREWING S P R I N G 2019

AN IN-CIDER'S VIEW | business of cider

A VIEW FROM THE CELLAR | brewing | advocacy

Continued from page 45

Continued from page 44

ORCHARD VS. URBAN: ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE

ounces of finished product before customers commit to making 45 litres of beer, cider, or wine. Not an unreasonable request. However, U-brews are relatively few in number (only about 20 in BC make beer) and don’t have a lot of power or money, so it’ll be an uphill battle.

Regardless of where a cidery in BC sits on the production spectrum, their product is lumped in with the Refreshment (RTD) category by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch. All cider products—foreign or domestic, mass-produced cider-flavoured cocktails or locally produced, truly 100% BC products— are classified this way. They’re lumped in with alcoholic sodas, Caesar cocktails, and wine spritzers.

The current BC regulations lump small, urban, and commercial producers in with the large production, commercial category while not truly defining “craft cider”. Conversations with cider producers in other provinces, New Brunswick for instance, reveal they promote a tiered approach to taxation, much like we have in the craft beer category. Percentage mark-ups encourage cost cutting and unfair competition while a tiered approach allows a more rational and easy transition to a new paradigm. Leave the land-based, craft producers alone. Create a new and defined category for commercial craft cider, and institute a production-based markup that eases the commercial—likely urban—producers into the category.

U-brews are a unique and interesting part of the BC craft beer culture. If you’ve been curious about getting into your own brewing without all the gear and mess, then I do suggest checking out a U-brew in your community before they all vanish.

Adam Chatburn is a homebrewer, a former cellarman, and a former President of CAMRA Vancouver. He works at Burnaby Brewing Company.

Jeff Nairn is the co-founder of Windfall Cider, a craft cider producer based in East Vancouver. His column tackles items fermented, not brewed, focussing on issues related to BC's burgeoning craft cider industry.

Seriously. Dry.

windfallcider.ca @windfallcider

S P R I N G 2019 WHAT'S BREWING 47