WOMEN OF BEER | PROFILE
SAMANTHA LINDEMAN OWNER OF WILDEYE BREWING
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first tried Wildeye‘s beers about three years ago at an event, and their beer ran out really fast! At that time they were contract brewing out of Factory Brewing (as it was called at that time). In late May of 2019, they finally opened their brewery/tasting room in North Vancouver, an area that has definitely become a destination craft beer hub. The owner and conceiver is Samantha Lindeman, and she is not even thirty! And if Samantha’s last name sounds familiar to you, it should. Her heritage is from the Lindeman family-owned winery, founded in Australia in 1843. So how did a woman who grew up in the world of wine end up opening and running a brewery? Read on…
A CONVERSATION WITH SAMANTHA LINDEMAN How long have you wanted to have a brewery? Since I came up with the idea in my head. What do they say? If you can’t get the dream job, build one?
How much of “you” is in Wildeye? I spend every day and night thinking and dreaming about Wildeye and the next steps for the brand. It’s quite hard to shut it off, but I couldn’t imagine it any differently. 22 WHAT'S BREWING W I N T E R 2020
As owner and principal, what role did you play in creating this brewery? It took me years to create the vision of Wildeye Brewing in my head. After I was confident in the business plan, I took it to friends and family, waiting for them to tell me that I was out to lunch. Every single person felt confident in my plan, so at that point I felt I had no option but to move forward. I handled every stage of the build out from start to finish.
Why the name? 'Wildeye' came from our love for wild ferment beers. The logo was inspired by an angelic creature called a seraph. We are also just a little bit wild, so the name seemed fitting.
Your background and name are from the wine industry, why the change/switch to craft beer? What brought you into the industry? When I was working in the wine industry, craft beer wasn’t really talked about like it is now. We had a handful of craft breweries in Vancouver, but most people I knew didn’t talk about it much. Then while I was working for a winery in Australia, I came across a new craft brewery nearby and I couldn’t believe the complexity of aromas and flavours in the beer, much like a wine. It was nothing like the American lagers that I was used to. From that moment on, I started researching craft breweries around the world, and my passion for beer surpassed my enthusiasm for wine.
