HAVE CAMERA WILL TRAVEL
TOURING IN A TIME OF CHANGE
>> BRIAN K. SMITH
Brewing. This Brackendale brewing team has been pushing out some great beer throughout the spring. Their indoor beer and food service were on hold at the time, but we picked up some seasonal sours in cans.
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Beer Farmers
ollowers of my column will be familiar with my reviews of breweries and craft beer pubs near and far. I’ve been able to write about, photograph, and drink craft beer from the local Gulf Islands to Taiwan and multiple countries in Asia, but even leaving our province is not recommended during the current state of affairs. We were allowed to leave our homes again in early June, more than 10 weeks after my favourite local pub regretfully closed its doors. That first draft craft beer tasted heavenly! I ventured out into our newfound freedom in June and July, to talk to brewers, managers, and owners about their experience of this pandemic. I had always believed that BC would one day be the beer mecca of North America, and we seemed so close, and then COVID-19 struck. I wanted to know how resilient our beloved craft beer industry was in the face of such an unimaginable crisis. Would it destroy us or make us stronger?
If you haven't been to Pemberton lately, it is worth the drive to visit The Beer Farmers, about 10 km west of the town in Pemberton Meadows. I was fortunate to sit down with the key players: Will Miller (general manager), Brenda Miller (head brewer), and Bruce Miller (farmer and owner). A lot of the ingredients in their farm-fresh beer come right off their 500acre organic valley farm, which has been in the family for more than 125 years. With an expanded outdoor seating area, they have been able to operate a little closer to normal. After two months of their beer service area being shut down, they had to pick up with canning and home delivery. Will said, "We see ourselves as quite fortunate, being located on a rural farm. We've seen a huge influx of visitors putting renewed value of activities they can do close to home." Day four of this early exploration took us to Delta, the far southern reach of this beer survey, for lunch at Four Winds Brewing. A couple of cans of beer paired beautifully with their famous tacos.
With an expanded parking lot seating area and all COVID-19 protocols in place, it’s a worthwhile place to quench your thirst and appetite all at once. Besides, it's an opportunity to see what special seasonal In the second week of June, beers are available for taking Four Winds I took a four-day scouting trip away. Brent Mills has one of between Pemberton and Delta. the very best barrel programs in We headed north to beautiful Squamish. the country! Lunch at Howe Sound Brewing had to Just a few kilometres away as the crow include the satisfying combination of a flies is the new Barnside Brewing, Brewpub Burger and a pint of Baldwin & whose grand opening happened just two Cooper Best Bitter. Then we ventured a few months before the pandemic shutdown. more kilometers north, to Backcountry The reclaimed wood that was used for 26 WHAT'S BREWING FA L L 2020
Barnside the brewery came from the original White Spot Barn. Co-owner Ken Matenstyn noted, "The strong community support carried us through. One of the positives of the whole pandemic has been a recommitment to family and community. When we were able to reopen to the public, it coincided with finalizing our lounge license. People have been able to sit outside on our patio and grass area and enjoy the unique setting we are in, surrounded by farms and with hop yards directly across the street." In mid-July, I had a week to go out exploring on my bicycle in Yeast Van. Being a homeFaculty boy in this area, it can be challenging to get past one brewery in an afternoon. I sat down with Graham With (head brewer) at Parallel 49 for a pint (or two) to check on his COVID-19 situation. Their drinking lounge was certainly much quieter inside than it used to be. As with most craft beer drinking lounges, the city allowed an expansion of sidewalk and street seating. Graham said, "We were very fortunate to have installed a new canning line last year. When all the restaurants and bars temporarily closed, we were able to direct all our liquid into cans and keep production up. Also, we were able to divert some
