A group of childhood friends who grew up on the flat farmlands of Delta, B.C. came together through agriculture and have brought that spirit of cultivation into brewing. By embracing hyper-local ingredients in their beer and providing an escape from daily digital dalliances, Barnside Brewing has earned the BC Ale Trail’s 6^th Annual Best Brewery Experience Award.

First things first, city slickers: to get to Barnside Brewing for their ‘farm fresh’ beer, you have to slow down.

Twenty-five kilometres south of downtown Vancouver, at the junction of highways 99 and 17A, you’ll drift down to 50 km/hr or less onto 60^th Avenue. It’s a two-lane road that is not curbed with sidewalks but by a mix of tall deciduous and coniferous trees, waving as you cruise by like onlookers at a parade.

You’ll pass farms that have, at various times over the past 100 years, converted from dairy production to vegetable and food farming. The cattle are gone, but the long red barns have been maintained, so you would be excused if you didn’t notice that one of them housed a brewery. The giveaways: a street-facing patio and a vintage wordmark that reads Barnside Brewing Co.

You can sit outside on that patio, lined with hay bales and planters of marigolds, or head inside to a tasting room featuring family farming photos and century-old maps drawn on the walls. You’ll find tables, walls, beams, and counters all made from reclaimed wood from two local barns, but you won’t find any televisions. Conversation, connection, and craft beer grow here.

The story of Barnside Brewing, which opened in 2020, starts with a reconnection of farming friends who grew up together in the same neighbourhood where the brewery now stands. As kids on the farm, their toys ranged from mini-bikes to full-size tractors. Instead of tree forts, they built hay forts, and the flat landscape was perfect for ball hockey.

Telling the story is one of those friends: hop farmer and Barnside’s co-founder Ken Malenstyn. He’s an energetic, compelling storyteller with no shortage of interests, and serves as Barnside’s general manager (and occasional landscaper). Conveniently, he lives across the street from the brewery and on the same property as his hop farm.

Speaking over the rhythm of an October rain and Shania Twain on the Barnside patio, Malenstyn recalled childhood memories about farming in the same area he’s sitting in now. Different families—from kids to grandparents—came together to help with harvest days, whether with manual labour or by sharing equipment. Coffee breaks involved great conversations, often paired with fresh baking from his mother.

“Cool memories, right?” Malenstyn said. “It was way more community-involved rather than people working, isolated. When we’re doing hops, we get quite a crew together. It’s kind of cool that a harvest still brings people together and that’s what I enjoyed about it.”

Delta remains an important agricultural area today. According to the City of Delta:

• Almost 80% of cereal crops, 62% of vegetables, and 22% of forage crops grown in Metro Vancouver are grown in Delta
• 9 out of 10 BC tomatoes come from only 200 acres in Delta
• Over half of BC’s green beans and potatoes are grown in Delta
• Nearly all farms in Delta are family-owned and operated

As Malenstyn’s generation of friends grew up, they took over their family farms. Unbeknownst to each other, they started growing crops that would cover off all brewing ingredients.

“The whole process of opening the brewery came about organically,” Malenstyn said. He was looking to grow hops as something new to do on the farm while another friend was growing grain. Another was delving into homebrewing. So, they figured, why not pool their resources, skills, and knowledge to open a brewery, since they had all the elements they needed—including an authentic backstory?

“We’re all farm families and have been here at least 70 or 80 years in the community,” Malenstyn said. “Growing the ingredients and making beer, that seemed like it could be a pretty good story. In a day and age where people like going to the farm to buy their food, why wouldn’t they want to buy their beer right where it’s made and grown?”

“We could have opened two years sooner if we had done this in an industrial area,” Malenstyn added, “but it really would have missed the mark.”

Starting a brewery by committee was helpful. Coming up with a brewery name by committee? Not so much.

“Honestly, it was over a year… everyone had a different idea,” Malenstyn said. Favourites like Cultivator and Barnraiser were already taken in one form or another in North America.

“When we finally got to Barnside, it was a bit of a compromise… but I liked the old signage on barns, so Barnside worked for that.” He pointed back to the barn doors adorned with the brewery’s name. “It feels obvious now.”

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Barnside had to shut those barn doors only two months after opening. However, navigating the experience brought some clarity to their service model as the brewery opened back up. Table service, which was not part of the original plans, was permanently adopted and food offerings were improved. The patio was developed to take advantage of relaxed rules about outdoor service. As keg sales to restaurants slowed, a canning line was installed ahead of schedule.

What never changed was the dedication to brewing beer with their homegrown ingredients.

While economies of scale keep the brewery from exclusively using their own ingredients in all their beers, they aren’t far off. Some beers are indeed made with 100% locally grown ingredients; they are referred to as their “one-mile” beers, a little one-upmanship to the 100-Mile Diet. The yeast used in their sour beers, including their core Hop Yard Sour, is their own yeast that was gathered from the hop yard.

“A lot of brewers would find [using only local ingredients] limiting because they want to use hops from all over the world—and there’s nothing wrong with that!” Malenstyn said. “But the one thing I want people to take away is that the beer you’re tasting isn’t trying to be anything else but an expression of the land that you’re standing on: our terroir, our farming practices, our ingredients.”

“You can’t get this anywhere else, and that’s what we want you to appreciate about it.”

Speaking of hops: “We don’t buy any hops,” Malenstyn said. “We use the hops grown across the road. We use as much of our own grain as we can. We grow all of our own base malt and we do some specialty malting.”

If not grown on their own farms, fruit for fruit beers is purchased from other local and BC farms. The tasting room’s food menu features references to nearly a dozen local food providers and farms, and Oughtred Coffee—a BC company with a roastery in Delta—is the coffee of choice.

“The more you can support locally, the more you keep your local community vibrant and your local economy vibrant,” Malenstyn said. “We’re not going to be using stuff that’s grown in Florida. It just wouldn’t make sense.”

The description of the tasting room’s Caesar salad bears this out. Romaine lettuce is from Crescent Island Farms—60 metres down the road—while tomatoes are grown at Windset Farms, nine kilometres away. The crostini? It’s made by L’Aromas Bakehouse, 10 kilometres south of the brewery.

The farming spirit of collaboration can be seen among the brewery employees. Barnside employs two dozen staff, and chances are you’ll be served by multiple cheery members of the tasting room staff while visiting. The tasting room’s kitchen was recently expanded and often features a line of three cooks turning out comfort food and snacks, including Ladner lox flatbread, an in-house hopped cheese board, and—Malenstyn’s favourite—the Farmhouse Grilled Cheese Sandwich (*add bacon).

The brewing is run by a team of two: KPU graduate and Head Brewer Justin Larter (who spoke with Kim Lawton in March for the “Hops Among Friends” series) and Brew Ops Manager Calum Huntingdon.

“Sure, they have different titles,” Malenstyn said, but in the spirit of pitching in on the farm, “they do everything.” He added that the brewers have been given more freedom to work on limited releases and tasting room-only beers, but to always think within a farm structure.

“We really want to share the fact that we’re farming,” Malenstyn said, and referenced their Ladner Clay IPA, named after the productive soil in their region.

“The farm is our canvas to tell different stories.”

Malenstyn is hopeful to branch out into foraging-style beers and to do more farming collaborations. Their second annual Grainstorm Collab, a fresh hop white IPA, was released in early October and included pilsner malt from The Beer Farmers in Pemberton, malted white wheat from Locality Brewing, and Cascade hops from Barnside—all BC farm-based breweries.

The brewery is also collaborating with two post-secondary institutions on special hop projects. At Langley’s Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the Applied Genomics Centre is researching the breeding and development of new hop varieties. With Langara College in Vancouver, Barnside is working with researchers who have identified and collected different types of feral hops from around the province.  The goal is to identify commercially viable hops that have developed farming and flavour traits unique to British Columbia. Malenstyn noted that “[h]aving those new varieties to play with elevates our hop industry in BC when all growers have access to them.”

Growers and non-growers alike can get up close and personal with the Barnside hops. During the growing season, Barnside hosts hop yard tours, and culinary fans have been treated to food and drink pairings as part of the brewery’s “Between the Bines” dinner series.

In September, the inaugural Barnside Harvest Festival welcomed more than 23,000 music fans to Paterson Park in nearby Ladner for three days of music headlined by The Sheepdogs and 54-40. Putting together a multi-day music festival was a way to show appreciation for their hometown—one that supported their brewery through pandemic beginnings and growth into a craft beer destination.

And is Malenstyn cool with having a craft beer destination across the street from his house? Absolutely—just pay due attention to the tractors that still chug up and down 60^th Avenue during the harvest. Come by on a weekend and reconnect with friends—chances are he’ll cross the street to join you.

“Sunday brunch [at the brewery] is my favourite day,” Malenstyn said. “Dogs, families, all ages, a real mix of people.”

“These are the days when I can sit here and say, ‘This is the brewery I always wanted to visit,’ and we’ve built it like that.”

Four Barnside Beers to Bet the Farm On

• Batch No. 200 Estate Barleywine: grab one of the few remaining bombers of this silver medal winner at the Canadian Brewing Awards. Aged for 13 months in blackberry brandy barrels and released for the brewery’s third anniversary. Rich and robust.
• Raspberry Hop Yard Sour: BC raspberries pair perfectly with a balanced acidity that comes from a wild sourdough culture. Plus, beauty colour, eh?
• Shingle Mill ESB: a malty pub ale brewed with modern hops and taken to the next level using open fermentation in a coolship in the brewery. (Beer nerds are nodding.)
• Any fresh hop beers: it takes most breweries a few hours to a full day to get freshly harvested hops into their beers. Because their hop farm is across the street, Barnside’s hops go from pluck to pot in about 20 minutes. That’s fresh!
• Bonus: say ‘Dank you very much’ for their new ‘Road Pop,’ a sparkling hop water with no alcohol, sugar, or calories.

Barnside Brewing is part of the South of the Fraser Ale Trail. This trail features nine breweries and seven taphouses in Greater Vancouver communities south of the Fraser River: Delta, Richmond, Surrey, and White Rock.

The brewery is less than two kilometres from the intersection of highways 99 and 17A and, for folks visiting by ferry from Vancouver Island, only 15 km from the BC Ferries terminal at Tsawwassen. Pro tip: the roadways from Tsawwassen to Delta are almost completely flat, so consider travelling by bicycle!

Visit Barnside at 6655 60 Avenue, Delta, BC.

Driving (or Bicycling) Distances

Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal: 15 km

Vancouver: 25 km

Bellingham, WA: 65 km / 40 miles

Seattle, WA: 210 km / 130 miles

Kelowna: 390 km

The BC Ale Trail reminds you to drink responsibly and do not drink and drive.

The post Barnside Brewing Wins the 2023 BC Ale Trail Best Brewery Experience Award appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

That beer and that backyard patio, both crafted with an emphasis on the outdoors and buoyed by friendly staff and next-level campfire food, have earned Langley’s Camp Beer Co. the BC Ale Trail’s 5th Annual Best Brewery Experience Award.

Inspired by the BC outdoors and the mantra that “beer tastes better outdoors,” Camp Beer Co. opened in 2019—one of a growing number of new breweries in Langley, B.C. The City of Langley and politically-distinct Township of Langley, home to about 140,000 people, are about 50 kilometres southeast of Vancouver and are on the traditional territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Matsqui, and Semiahmoo First Nations.

Camp’s highlight space is its patio. You can’t see it easily from the corner of 64 Avenue and 197 Street, but peek behind the two-storey commercial center at that intersection and you’ll find a walkway, lined with cedar trees, wood barrels, and latticed fencing that leads guests to communal tables, tents, fire pits, and great beer. The core lineup of Camp Lager, Upstream Pale Ale, and Anorak IPA is complemented by a rotating series of seasonal and experimental brews.

This patio will transport you from downtown to out-of-town in seconds, and how a space built on a parking lot makes you forget about the monotony of parking lots is part of its charm. It’s led Camp to winning gold (2022) and silver (2021) in the Growler Awards for Best Brewery Tasting Room, and Justin McElroy’s legendary BC brewery rankings lauded Camp for having “a clear sense of purpose with everything Camp Beer that makes the place feel fun and family friendly.”

Looking into the brewery from the patio and you’ll see rows of brite tanks and bright fermenters on the left. To the right, staff in the cozy lodge-like tasting room and retail store could equally welcome upscale tourists as they could Bob and Doug McKenzie. The décor is equal parts camp-y and campy. Canoes hang from the ceiling, skies and snowshoes hang on the walls, and the playful graphics on the bathroom doors are even worth a look. 

The taproom is separated into different zones, including:

• The Woods: a semi-private and semi-formal event space for the glampers among you. 
• The Cabin: a quiet space to kick back on a couch by the fireplace and play boardgames with friends. (Patrons aren’t encouraged to try on the life vests by the fireplace, but they aren’t discouraged, either.)
• Camp Outfitters: browse the double-green merchandise or pick up your favourite canned beer for the weekend.

The story of many successful commercial craft breweries starts with successful homebrewers, and Camp Beer Co. is no exception. Meet co-owner Kevin Larsen, who revels in the act of storytelling, admits to dressing up as Santa Claus, and follows up the occasional braggadocio with a wink and a laugh.

With him is head brewer Dave Henry, an avid fisherman who loves camping in the Shuswap region. Henry is the quieter of the two but is liable to get energized as soon as any conversation turns to brewing.

In the mid-2010s, Henry was interested in starting a homebrewing club in Langley so he didn’t have to drive long distances to meet with established Lower Mainland homebrew clubs like VanBrewers and Fraser Valley Fermentalists. It finally happened in 2016.

“I met a fellow homebrewer at a local beer bar, B’s Craft Beer Lounge,” Henry said, “and we decided to start our own homebrew club in Langley. We named it the Full Barrel Homebrew Club. We started brewing, sharing tips, and it took off really fast.” (That fellow homebrewer was Tristan Stewart, who would go on to create the highly-regarded Temporal Artisan Ales in 2017.)

In that same year, Trading Post Brewing opened in Langley, and this became the main hangout for local homebrewers.

“Because of our Full Barrel Homebrew connections, we got to know Lance [Verhoeff, owner] and Tony [Dewald, brewmaster],” Larsen said. “We got to see what it took to build a brewery. Once they were going, we got our own cask night every three months and we’d fill the place. Trading Post was a great host and a big inspiration.”

Buoyed by the success of those cask nights as well as wins at cask and homebrewing festivals and competitions, the idea of opening their own brewery began to form.

“We always had to go to Vancouver or Washington or Bellingham to go to the cool places,” said Larsen. “We’re all Langley guys and we wanted something here that beer tourists, friends, and beer club members could all come to—something that we thought was cool. Our original concept was that Dave would brew on a 2-hectolitre system and I would sell the beer out front.”

“We started crunching the numbers,” Henry added before laughing. “Oh no. This is a bad idea.”

In the meantime, they and their partners became beer tourists, exploring new regions and visiting new breweries to try different beers and research how professional breweries operated.

“Our typical thing: walk in, check out the tap list, chat up anyone who’s there, then try to see the stainless steel,” Larsen said. “How big is the system? What’s their brewing setup?”

By chance, travelling to these breweries allowed them to meet Jamie Schreder, a fellow beer fan with a background in commercial leasing. It didn’t take too long for Schreder to become the missing piece of their brewery puzzle. 

“We’re at 3 Dogs Brewing in White Rock,” Larsen recalled. “We didn’t know at the time, but down at the end of the bar, Jamie and his wife were observing us wackos mixing beers and staring at the tanks.”

“A couple of weekends after, we’re checking out Silver Valley Brewing in Maple Ridge and suddenly Jamie is right beside me. ‘Are you guys in the beer business?’ he asks. ‘Oh no,’ I said.”

Who shows up at their next brewery stop? Jamie again. 

“Seriously, you aren’t in the beer business?” Schreder asked.

“No,” Larsen said, “but we do have a plan to maybe open our own place.”

“Tell me more,” Schreder says. 

At the end of their conversation, Schreder hands over his business card. “If you’re serious, give me a call, and I’ll help you find a space.”

Larsen and Henry barely had time to discuss it as they were interrupted by a phone call 15 minutes later. It was Schreder again, wanting to meet the next day.

“Me and Dave are like, ‘Oh shi—this is supposed to be fun, imaginary, stuff!’ But about three months from that, we’re having investor meetings, signing papers, and submitting manufacturing details to Victoria.”

While this would be a big career shift for Henry—who had previously worked as an autobody refinisher for 20 years—Larsen had a broad background in beverage manufacturing. Their original idea for Henry to brew and Larsen to sell was coming to fruition—but on a 15-hectolitre system instead of a tiny two-hectolitre system.

Schreder helped them secure a spot in downtown Langley with the height needed for brewing tanks and, crucially, a back area for a patio. 

“At the time, it was an old bingo hall building, and this [patio] was a just a back alley,” Larsen said. “There was a lot of dirty stuff happening out here, but number one on our list, we needed a patio.”

Visiting plenty of breweries in B.C. and Washington State helped sharpen their vision for their fledgling brewery.

“We’ve always loved the feel and the vibe and the way the beer was all different at Brassneck,” Henry said. “Another was Wander Brewing in Bellingham. When we’re thinking of everything that’s good, we melded things from those two with our own ideas.”

“Field House was another one,” Larsen added. “They had one of the biggest patios at the time we had ever been to. The grassy knoll out front, the cozy fireplace inside… it was cozy, casual, clean, and you could bring your dog.”

As any brewery team will tell you, though, opening a brewery doesn’t come without roadblocks. The first big issue came when Larsen went to register the brewery’s name online. At that point, they were planning to open as Cabin Brewing. 

“The night before we were going to buy all of the Internet domains, we found out that ‘coming to Calgary in Fall 2018 was Cabin Brewing.’ To see the same name for the same time frame, the same region of the world… it was a gut blow.”

After some emergency meetings, the team agreed on Camp Brewing Company, which was one of their original options.

“Everybody has an emotional attachment to camping,” Larsen said, “whether in the back of a pickup or a $200,000 airstream, in Palm Springs or Maple Ridge, as a kid with family or with your college friends. It’s warm and cozy.”

However, they had to adjust things again after the marketing team for Base Camp Brewing in Oregon didn’t give the Canadian Campers a blessing to use the name. With a slight twist and some readjusted branding, they were about to move ahead with Camp Beer Co.

(Base Camp Brewing closed in 2021 but Colorado’s Monumental Beer Works rebranded to Base Camp Beer Works in 2022, for anyone playing Camp Beer branding bingo at home.)

With a location secured, a patio built, the name finalized, merchandise printed, front of house staff hired, and beer in the tanks, Camp Beer Co. opened in December 2019. Unfortunately, three months of momentum was brought to a halt in March, 2020 due to COVID-19.

Despite the good fortune of having a patio, which allowed for distanced outdoor service, restrictions limited the amount of customers they could serve. Beer wasn’t turning over fast enough and it was a nearing a point where staff couldn’t be paid.

“There was one day we closed and I thought, ‘That’s it,’” Henry said. 

“We told the staff to not bother coming in,” Larsen added. 

With draught sales dried up and five fermenters full of beer, the five remaining managers decided to pull a 180-degree turn on their original business plan and start canning the beer. Without the proper equipment, this meant canning by hand, one can at a time, all day long. After failing to keep up, canners were called in to help with packaging.

Thankfully, Langley residents stepped up to support them.

“The public was really good at that time,” Larsen said. “The push to buy local and support your small businesses allowed us to bring back some staff and do some curbside and local delivery.”

Because the brewery was so new and because they expected to face challenges as a new business, they were able to take these challenges in stride.

“We were only three months in, so we didn’t know what we were doing anyways,” Larsen said. “Long hours, figuring out what people are needing to do, then fully closing down, then canning, which was supposed to be a small part of the business but was now a large part of the business… every two months, everything changed whether we wanted it to or not. To this day, we don’t know what ‘normal’ is.”

While canning helped Camp Beer Co. navigate the early months of the pandemic, relaxed restrictions has allowed the tasting room to regain its status as the primary focus of the operation. Fun was back as the name of the game.

Since then, Camp expanded their patio and taproom space and revamped their food menu. What was originally planned to be pretzels and hot dogs has morphed into camping-inspired cuisine from the Camp Cookhouse: creative twists on smokies, spuds, and s’mores. Other highlights include BBQ Brisket Tater Tots, the towering Tin Can Nachos, and brunch waffles with Bourbon maple syrup. 

On the patio, the Camphitheatre (see what they did there?) features live music every Thursday and Sunday from acoustic solo and duo performers. And while dogs are welcome on the Camp patio every day, Tuesday is Dogs of Camp Day, featuring discounted hot dogs, Camp-accinos, and the bliss of being around friendly canines. Water bowls and leash tie-ups are everywhere, and yes, there is a handy poop station for pups. There’s even a regular on-leash cat who visits, and the patio has also welcomed birds and bunnies.

It was also important that kids and families were welcome on the Camp patio.

“Our original business plan was for a social gathering place for friends and family,” Larsen said. “If you can bring your kid and bring your dog, you are more likely to come out. You don’t feel guilty about getting a babysitter or leaving the dog cooped up for four hours. Just bring them!”

Larsen and Henry are proud that they haven’t lost any of their taproom staff, outside of a few who have moved out of the city. How the staff treats customers is a huge part of the Camp Beer experience, and Larsen describes them as “amazing.”

“We always say that you don’t know if a customer has just had the worst day of their life or if they’re celebrating a big accomplishment,” Larsen said. “Everyone here gets treated well.”

To Larsen and Henry’s delight, Camp is now becoming a headquarters for local and area homebrewers, similar to how Trading Post supported them in their early years of brewing. 

“At first, it was guys from the [Full Barrel] club, but I’m starting to meet guys from all over the place who want to say hi and ask questions,” Henry said. 

As for next steps, the Camp crew is looking to host more events. A Hoptoberfest IPA festival in early October was their first ticketed event, and a birthday celebration is in the works for the winter, featuring a full-batch brew of Henry’s Birthday Cake IPA. (The pilot brew actually included an entire birthday cake that Henry baked himself.) 

While the absurdly-warm October of 2022 has kept the patio popular well into the fall, Larsen points out that heaters and rain covers will ensure that the patio will be the spot of choice for craft beer fans, families and dogs year round. The support for their outdoor oasis doesn’t seem real sometimes, he said, but the Camp team is fully appreciative.

“Me, Dave, and Jamie quite often sit here on a beautiful Thursday night, and there’s a guy playing a guitar and singing, and the place is booming and the vibe is electric, and we ask ourselves: ‘How did this even happen?’ We’re proud that we did something we wanted, and it turns out a lot of other people like that too.”

Four Camp Beers to Keep Your Eye On

• S’Mores Stout: Enjoy your just desserts with this milk stout served with a toasted marshmallow on the lip of the glass.
• Camp Lager: Clean, crisp, and it’s Dave Henry’s favourite: “All brewers love making and drinking lagers.”
• Upstream Pale Ale: Voted Best Beer in the World* (*by Kevin Larsen)
• Flannel Pyjamas: a Scottish wee heavy winter seasonal. Some is served fresh while some is aged in bourbon barrels, and all is served at an annual Flannel PJ party for those aspiring to the fashion sense of Bob and Doug McKenzie at their most casual.

Four Things to do in Langley, as Recommended by the Camp Team

• Dive into the variety of breweries, wineries, distilleries, and cideries
• Play on some of the best disc golf courses in the world after arguing whether “disc golf” or “frisbee golf” is the correct title [Editor’s Note: it’s disc golf for sure! – JW]
• Pet a sheep, pick a pumpkin, and check out agritourism opportunities
• Get outdoors: walking trails, golf courses, beaches, mountains—Langley has it all!

Camp Beer Co. is part of the Langley Ale Trail, which features more than 10 craft breweries and taprooms in Langley City and the Township of Langley. Camp is only a few blocks off of the Fraser Highway and BC Highway 10 and a ten-minute drive off of the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1). Drop by at 19664 64 Ave, Langley.

Driving Distances

Vancouver: 45 kms

Bellingham, WA: 50 kms / 30 miles

Seattle, WA: 195 kms / 120 miles

Kelowna: 355 kms

The BC Ale Trail reminds you to drink responsibly and do not drink and drive.

The post Langley’s Camp Beer Co. Wins the 2022 Best Brewery Experience Award appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

BC breweries have built an incredible reputation for their ability to create an amazing experience for visitors — award-winning beers in infinite varieties alongside delicious food, served by proud staff who are the backbone of this warm community. Combined with the unique, modern, classic, and eclectic designs of taprooms across the province, they provide you with a lasting impression. The winning brewery will be announced in October during BC Craft Beer Month.

Which brewery do you think should win the 2022 Best Brewery Experience Award?

VOTE NOW

R&B Brewing in Vancouver won in 2021

Twin City Brewing in Port Alberni won in 2020

Land & Sea Brewing in Comox won in 2019

Townsite Brewing in Powell River won in 2018

Vote and be entered to win PRIZES!

THREE lucky voters will win a Grand Prize Weekend to either:

Halcyon Hot Springs Resort in Nakusp (Kootenays),

2 nights accommodation, breakfast and a BC Ale Trail prize pack valued at $250

OR

Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier on Vancouver’s North Shore,

2 nights accommodation, dinner vouchers and attraction passes (total value over $1100), and a BC Ale Trail prize pack valued at $250

OR

The DOUGLAS Autograph Collection Hotel in Vancouver,

2 nights accommodation, $200 food & beverage voucher, attraction passes, and a BC Ale Trail prize pack valued at $250

Plus

Six additional lucky voters will win a $100 gift certificate to the BC Ale Trail brewery of your choice 

*Voting closes on August 31.

\

Previous Winners

The post The 5th Annual Award for Best Brewery Experience on the BC Ale Trail appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

I don’t know about you, but I am pretty sick and tired of dealing with adversity.

Between heatwaves, wildfires, flooding, and snowmageddon (OK, I live in Victoria so any snow is overwhelming!), it felt like 2021 was just one calamity after another. And no one will forget the tragic discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at residential schools.

Astute readers might notice I didn’t even include COVID in my litany of misfortunes. When I consider how our relationship with the pandemic evolved over the past year, I almost feel like I’m looking back at a decade’s worth of events in just one year.

We started off the year in lockdown with no events or social gatherings allowed, as well as travel restrictions limiting our mobility within the province and beyond our borders. Early in January, Premier Horgan announced an immunization schedule, and by the spring, many of us were getting our first doses. I personally got mine on May 15, and what a relief that was! Later that month, BC’s Restart Plan was announced, which gave us all more and more freedom to travel and enjoy life. Personally, I celebrated with an epic bike ride over to visit two breweries in Delta with some cycling buddies.

By summer, like many others, I had my second vaccination and a lot more freedom, although the previously mentioned heatwave and wildfires certainly negated some of that positivity. Still, I managed to squeeze in a bike ride to Sooke with some friends, and my family and I even enjoyed a little getaway to Gibsons in August, where I discovered just how great Tapworks Brewing is (seriously, if you haven’t been there before, plan a trip to Gibsons later this year when travel is allowed!).

In the autumn, it seemed like many people were feeling more optimistic. In the beer world, we even enjoyed some events — here in Victoria, there were two back-to-back events on Thanksgiving weekend: Lager Than Life and Fresh to Death. 

However, that optimism was fleeting because, as we all know, the new omicron variant has returned us to a near-lockdown as we await booster shots and warmer weather. 

But all throughout 2021, BC’s local craft breweries endured and kept on producing delicious beer for us all to enjoy. Here’s how. 

New breweries continued to open, including:

• Alberni Brewing in Port Alberni
• Beacon Brewing in Sidney
• Boardwalk Brewing in Port Coquitlam
• Devil’s Bath Brewing in Port McNeill
• Fern + Cedar Brewing in Qualicum Beach
• Galaxie Craft Brewhouse in White Rock
• Lakesider Brewing, The Office Brewery and Unleashed Brewing in Kelowna
• Locality Brewing in Langley
• Radium Brewing in Radium Hot Springs
• Studio Brewing in Burnaby
• Wild North Brewing in Creston

We were proud to award our fourth annual Best Brewery Experience Award to Vancouver’s R&B Brewing 24 years after it opened its door as one of East Van’s original microbreweries.

2021 seemed to be a big year for brewery anniversaries, with several celebrating prominent milestones:

• Nelson Brewing – 30th Anniversary
• Howe Sound Brewing – 25th Anniversary
• Mt Begbie Brewing – 25th Anniversary
• Whistler High Mountain Brewhouse – 25th Anniversary
• Cannery Brewing – 20th Anniversary
• Phillips Brewing – 20th Anniversary

During 2021, we launched several new or newly refreshed ale trails, including:

• Kelowna and West Kelowna
• North of the Fraser (New Westminster, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam)
• South of the Fraser (Richmond, Delta, Surrey, and White Rock)
• Northeast BC & Northwest BC  
• Vancouver – Brewery Creek and Vancouver – Yeast Vancouver
• Victoria

In the spring we also created the Victoria Ale Trail Passport promotion, which encouraged residents to visit their local breweries, and it was a great success. Later in the fall, Vancouver’s North Shore ran a similar passport promotion, and there are plans for passports in Kelowna and elsewhere in 2022.

We published a wide range of stories on our blog: seasonal beer lists; profiles of folks who work in the industry, including Kim Lawton’s Hops Among Friends series; and a new series called “Artist Behind the Label” by Nicole McFadden that profiles some of the people who create the beautiful artwork that appears on cans and bottles in BC.

The BC Ale Trail blog also featured stories about important issues including Diversity in Brewing and the Brave Noise initiative.

Our writers covered a lot of ground so that they could share their tales in the form of travelogue-style Road Trip Tasting Notes:

• Lucas Aykroyd dives into BC’s “InBEERior Trail” – Kamloops, Shuswap & Vernon
• Andrew Findlay explores Vancouver Island’s adventure and culinary hub – Comox Valley
• Ruby Hogg explores close to home in the Robson Valley – Valemount
• Explore BC’s epic Sea to Sky with Fuel for the Sole – Sea To Sky
• Kim Lawton’s Insider Guide to Craft Beer in the South Okanagan – South Okanagan
• Noëlle Phillips explores local delights and historical sites – Maple Ridge
• Joyce Lam explores New West – the ultimate foodie, shopping and craft beer destination for urban explorers – New Westminster
• Yet Another Hill: Cycling in Search of Beer, Cider and Sunshine on the Southern Gulf Islands with Joe Wiebe – Southern Gulf Islands
• Experience Prince George family-style on this weekend getaway with Ruby Hogg – Prince George

Looking ahead, what does 2022 hold for BC’s craft beer industry?

That’s tough to say since we don’t know for sure how long COVID will stick around, and even if we do move past the pandemic, what will the post-COVID economy look like?

We do know that several more new breweries are expected to open this year, including:

• 2 Dads Brewing – Victoria
• Abandoned Rail Brewing – Penticton (Naramata)
• Bayview Brewing – Ladysmith
• Brewing August – Vancouver
• Brookswood Brewing – Langley
• Checkerhead Brewing – Shirley
• Deadfall Brewing – Prince George
• Everyday Brewing – Nanaimo
• Hornby Island Brewing – Hornby Island
• Post & Row Brewing – Dawson Creek
• Rusted Rake Brewing – Nanoose 
• Shaketown Brewing – North Vancouver
• Small Gods Brewing – Sidney
• Upscale Brewing – Cranbrook

While we wait for the COVID situation to improve, let’s all continue to focus on staying close to home so we can limit exposure and support our local economies. Your hometown breweries really appreciate your support, and if by some chance you live in a rare community that doesn’t have its own local brewery, you should still be able to find BC craft beer in your local liquor store. Lots of breweries in BC will ship beer directly to you, too. 

Stay posted here for more news and information about BC’s craft beer scene.

All the best at the start of 2022. Let’s hope it’s a big improvement in 2021!

The post What Just Happened?! Looking Back at 2021 With An Eye to the Future appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

BC breweries have built an incredible reputation for their ability to create an amazing experience for visitors — award-winning beers in infinite varieties alongside delicious food, served by proud staff who are the backbone of this warm community. Combined with the unique, modern, classic and eclectic designs of taprooms across the province, they provide you with a lasting impression.

Over the last couple of months, the general public had the opportunity to vote for the brewery they thought deserved to win this award.

Congratulations to R&B Brewing from The BC Craft Brewers Guild in conjunction with WEST COAST TRAVELLER.

R&B Brewing co-founder and Vancouver sales manager Barry Benson — the “B” in R&B—has been there for every sip along the way. He is possibly the youngest 62-year-old you’ll ever meet, full of enthusiasm and conviviality. In conversation, he is able to weave together disparate topics such as punk rock percussion, beer festival streakers, and Conrad Gmoser and Nigel Springthorpe’s beards, at the drop of a coaster.

The staff at the R&B Ale & Pizza House share these traits. They bring energy, whether cracking jokes at the bar, enthusiastically recommending the Mushroom Bianca pizza special, or setting you and your friends up for a patio session in the sun.

With Love Rollercoaster on the stereo, fresh-hopped beer and a jerk chicken pizza in front of us, classic LPs on the ceiling above us, and a taxidermist’s finest hour in the form of a spread-winged raven behind us at the bar, Benson and I chatted about the brewery’s sore spots and soar spots.

R&B Brewing—with its proud moniker, “East Van Original” — was established in 1997. Its East 4th Street location is in Vancouver’s historic brewery district, Brewery Creek. This district is largely centered within the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, Vancouver’s first suburb — southeast of the downtown core. 

This neighbourhood was the site of a short-lived brewing industry in the late 19th century. Mount Pleasant was transforming from wilderness into a residential and industrial hub, with water from Brewery Creek — one of many fresh streams flowing through the area — harvested for business use, including the brewing of beer. With overuse, the creek began to shrink, eventually disappearing from public view in the 1920s. Partly, this was due to urban development paving over waterways, but the breweries in the area slowly shuttered their doors following multiple amalgamations and the introduction of Prohibition. No creek, no breweries, no need to honour the name — at least for another 70 years.

Fast-forward to the 1990s. Two friends — Benson and Rick Dellow (soon to be “The R” in R&B) — were trying to find a path to continue working in the beer industry while not travelling so much. Former Molson employees, they made a jump together to Newlands Systems, a brewing equipment manufacturer. They designed and set up breweries in Japan, Russia, the USA, and Canada (including Mt. Begbie Brewing in Revelstoke and Russell Brewing in Surrey). 

They decided to act upon their desire to stay rooted and start their own brewery, but Vancouver wasn’t the first choice.

“We originally thought we might start the brewery out in Tofino,” Benson said. “We were going to have Hugger Lager and Logger Lager and see which one sold better.”

After briefly considering North Vancouver, Benson and Dellow started looking around Vancouver, when a building in Brewery Creek “popped up.”

“It was perfect,” Benson said, reminiscing on how the site had to be adapted for brewing. “The whole building used to [belong to] BDH Chemicals as a chemical warehouse and distribution site. The brew house was in a safe room with sprinklers. It already had drains, though we couldn’t use them. The old piping was glass-lined so the chemicals could flow to the sewer but didn’t burn the pipes.”

Brewing gear was brought in, the original loading bay was turned into the malt handling system, and Brewery Creek was soon to have its first brewery in many decades. The adaptability of this building for brewing won the day despite the fact that, in the mid-1990s, Mount Pleasant wasn’t living up to its name. It was a run-down neighbourhood where crime, drug abuse, and neglect were readily apparent. Neighbouring buildings housed sweatshops. 

“It was a nasty, nasty neighbourhood,” Benson said, recalling that their back alley was often littered with needles.

Within that context, and shaped by provincial beer production laws of the time, it’s no surprise that their business plan for the brewery focused strictly on manufacturing instead of hospitality. Their beers were to be sold in kegs or as packaged products.

“When we set the brewery up,” Benson said, “you could either be a microbrewery that produced in-house and sold out-house, or you could be a brewpub that produced and sold in-house, like Spinnakers.” 

After bandying about prospective names for the brewery — Vancouver Brewing Company and the tongue-stumbling Brewery Creek Brewing Company were early options — Rick and Barry put their initials in lights. R&B Brewing was off and running with the two of them sharing all brewing and marketing/distribution duties.

Benson said that working at Molson taught them a lot about quality control, and they aimed to bring that level of technical care to their brewing. However, the beers were designed to be the opposite of the ubiquitous macro lager, starting with the malty Red Devil Pale Ale. Later additions to the core line-up included Sun God Wheat Ale and Raven Cream Ale.

R&B were early adopters and promoters of cask ales in Vancouver. These are beers that are conditioned in a sealed vessel (typically a 40-litre metal barrel called a firkin) and often have special ingredients or different hops added, resulting in creative one-off small batch brews.

“We put the first cask beer engine in a restaurant – the Irish Heather – and they were going through about two to three casks a week,” Benson said. Cask nights at legendary venues such as The Whip and Dix BBQ & Brewery followed and cask festivals became a regular part of BC’s craft beer calendar. 

“It got to the point where you could get a glass of cask ale every night of the week at two or three different places.” 

Creating casks proved to be a great way for brewers to experiment and to get feedback from beer drinkers on different flavours. A well-received cask experiment might evolve into a packaged product, Benson said, and casks are still on hand on weekends at R&B today.

Throughout the first decade of the 2000s, R&B grew to a team of more than a dozen employees and followed a rock ‘n roll ethos. The brewery was wired with giant speakers; whoever got to brew got to choose the music.

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver marked a particularly opportune time for the brewery to make big sales as it helped provide beer for a German pavilion.

“Beer from Germany was imported, but they ran out,” Benson laughed. “Beer was brought over from Germany in a large military cargo plane, but there was nowhere it could land in Vancouver. They had to land in Alberta and ship the beer here. During that time, we got orders for 30 kegs, 30 kegs, 30 kegs…”

“The yearly capacity here is about 5,000 hectolitres. During the Olympics, we did 600 hectolitres in one month.”

Unfortunately, this temporary production boost was not a precursor to more immediate success. The Lower Mainland was about to experience a dramatic rise in the number of craft breweries, especially in East Vancouver. 

In 2012, the neighbourhood welcomed Coal Harbour, Parallel 49, and Powell Street; 33 Acres and Brassneck opened mere blocks away from R&B in 2013. Bomber, Main Street, Postmark, and Strange Fellows opened their doors in 2014. Thanks to recently relaxed liquor license laws, most of these breweries were able to build and operate tasting rooms on site, while R&B, depending largely on sales of packaged product and keg accounts, was unable to adapt.

While a growler station was shoe-horned into the front of the building, a lack of wheelchair access hampered any attempts to redo their space. Plunking a tasting room into their office and lab space while bringing in guests through a delivery dock lift wasn’t going to work. The old chemical warehouse that allowed them to get started was now a toxic deterrent to new business.

“This brewery was built on a 1997 business plan,” Benson pointed out. “Our sales were plummeting and we were trying to decide what to do. It was too late for Rick and I to restart or put together a new business plan. The crunch was coming and the cash flow wasn’t.”

“We thought we’d sell the brewery.”

Enter Howe Sound Brewing. The Squamish brewery, opened in 1996 by the Fenn family, was looking to expand its footprint in Vancouver. After opening the Devil’s Elbow Ale House on Beatty Street in 2014, Howe Sound successfully purchased R&B in 2015 but kept the brands separated.

“They recognized that Howe Sound has a unique Sea-to-Sky feel, outdoorsy, while R&B is more funky, rock ‘n roll,” Benson said. “I think it was a really good decision.”

There was a complete turnover of staff at R&B except for Benson and Dellow — and Dellow eventually left as well, returning to work with Newlands Systems as a senior project brewer. (Dellow is currently the head brewer at PoCo Brothers Brewing.)  Benson, no longer a co-owner but now a sales rep for the brewery, had to grit his teeth as the new owners enacted changes to the core beer lineup he had co-developed 18 years previously.

“I went through half a year of resentment,” Benson admitted. “They chopped the Sun God, they started [messing] around with the recipes … but after about six months, I went ‘You know what? You guys do what you need to do, and I will sell it. I’ll be the B in R&B, and I’ll be an ambassador.”

And what Howe Sound did was put an influx of capital into the brewery, leading to two major developments: new brewing equipment to increase capacity, and the ability to expand. Adjacent space was acquired and plans were set in motion to open a tasting room and kitchen.

In 2016, with R&B Brewing’s refreshed production space taking up the rear of the building, the new R&B Ale & Pizza House opened up front, welcoming craft beer fans into a comfortable and laid-back 60-seat tasting room. 

“When this first opened, I was sitting here with Trevor [Magee of Howe Sound], just looking around — can you believe this?” Benson said. “It was frickin’ packed. Everyone was enjoying themselves.” 

There’s synergy but not always symmetry: light fixtures don’t necessarily match, much of the signage is hand-written, and the vibe is undeniably East Van. There’s nothing that could be described as cookie-cutter, and for an 800-square foot space, it really rewards exploration. Sit at a wooden table and peruse the packed bookshelf behind you during one visit; come back on the weekend for a cask ale and watch a soccer game on a giant pull-down screen, or grab a window seat on a long padded booth to listen to a local DJ.

Speaking of music: the tasting room is purposefully designed to be a music-forward space. How many breweries feature a reel-to-reel as part of the decor?  Many of the vintage speakers that used to blast out the brewers’ favourite tunes in the brewery were brought out to the tasting room, re-wired, and mounted on the walls. You might hear soul, funk, ska, or rock – no matter the genre, the music sounds great in here.

At this point, it should be noted that Benson himself is an accomplished drummer, performing in a jazz band (The Jazzholes) and with punk outfit Aging Youth Gang.

The bar — guarded by a stuffed raven — has a dozen taps, representing six core beers and filled out with experimental or seasonal brews and the occasional cider or guest tap. Benson acknowledges that the one-offs and specialty beers drive a lot of return business, so the brew team and kitchen team are given free rein to experiment and develop new recipes. A dill pickle gose might not be for everyone’s tastes, but it’ll certainly grab your attention.

“We’re putting out one specialty brew every three weeks, so the [brewers] experiment a lot,” Benson said. “Let’s see how charred oak works in a cask — would it work in a larger thing? How does this syrup or this flower work? We are continuously re-establishing ourselves with our [one-off] beers.”

Fast-forward again to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. R&B’s production facility returned to the forefront to help the business navigate the first few months of closures. While the Pizza & Ale House was closed, the business survived on “crazy” amounts of off-sales and sold take-away pizzas. When the taproom re-opened, self-service switched to table-service and reduced capacity indoors was balanced by an expanded patio space outdoors.

Benson was even laid off for three months, which he described as a potential early look to what retirement will feel like: “My wife was the happiest, happiest person around and I got so much stuff done around the house.” 

He’s back at work now with the rest of the staff, and they are already scheming for R&B’s 25th anniversary next year. Some of the brewery’s original beers might be resurrected; a Brewery Creek collaboration beer and a Brewery Creek block party have also been discussed. 

These plans are at the forefront of a recently-renewed independence. Howe Sound Brewing was purchased by Solterra Development Corp. in December, 2020. As Benson tells it, there was also interest in purchasing R&B Brewing, but Solterra wanted the building as part of the sale. The owner of the building refused, so R&B entered 2021 as its own entity under the direction of the Fenn family.

If you think that Benson might lament his position as a former owner, think again. He’s absolutely at ease with his sales and spokesperson role as part of a talented team. 

“I get to do what I really like, which is going out, selling beer, meeting new people. The brew crew we have is the most amazing brew crew ever. The front of house staff is great. It’s a pleasure working with this group.”

R&B Three To Try

Dude Chilling Pale Ale: a classic West Coast pale ale and an ode to the prank art re-naming of a nearby park. The can label is a great example of the revamped hand-drawn label designs by Saint Bernadine Mission Communications.

Märzen: gold-medal winner at the 2019 BC Beer Awards. This German lager has all the bready maltiness appropriate for the Oktoberfest season.

Green Screen IPA: a canned IPA with a partially-blank green label that renders itself invisible during Zoom meetings. Admit it, a surreptitious beer would make these meetings much more bearable.

R&B Brewing is part of the Vancouver – Brewery Creek Ale Trail, along with 10 other breweries and four taphouses. The pizza and ale house is a 15-minute walk from the Olympic Village (Canada Line) SkyTrain station or an 11-minute walk from the Main Street-Science World (Expo Line) station.

Please travel conscientiously, arrange a designated driver, and do not drink and drive. As of October 24th, 2021, you must show proof of double-vaccination for COVID-19 to be permitted entry. Please respect public health orders and hospitality workers. Thank you for your kindness!

The post R&B Brewing Wins 2021 BC Ale Trail Best Brewery Experience Award appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

Do you think your town is tough? Consider Port Alberni, B.C. In the past century, this Vancouver Island community within the traditional territories of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations has survived and rebuilt from a three-storey-tall tsunami (1964) and the largest on-shore earthquake recorded in Canada (7.3 in 1946).

Tough people have called Port Alberni home: Rick Hansen, the Man in Motion and Kim Campbell, the only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Canada (and the only Prime Minister born in B.C.). Port Albernians making it to the NHL included Paul Cyr, who scored 101 goals, and referee Rob Shick, who officiated more than 1,400 games.

Tough industries have historically reigned supreme, primarily commercial fishing and forestry. This is a mill town. The National Historic Site in Port Alberni? It is also a mill. But as the natural resources sector has endured recurring challenges, the city has struggled to find new ways to diversify and attract new people and new industries.

“It was always a challenging town as far as reputation goes,” Twin City Brewing owner and brewmaster Aaron Colyn said during a Zoom conversation. “It was really stuck with big industry and when things started to trickle off… It felt like a town that couldn’t find out what it wanted to be, or it was lost from what it was and trying to find what it can be in the future.”

“Port Alberni needed something to bring the community together. I always said it didn’t have to be a brewery — it could have been a diner, or a coffee shop, or the right kind of little hangout spot that brought people together. A space that was comfortable and welcoming and relaxing and let people connect and build relationships together with each other.”

Twin City Brewing—named after the distinct municipalities of Alberni and Port Alberni—opened in 2017, 50 years after those communities amalgamated and took the Port Alberni name.

Colyn describes the taproom experience as “the ultimate way we want people to try our beer.” The interior of the city’s first hot spot for locally brewed craft beer and creative pizza is full of wood and metalwork—blacks, browns, greys, and the amber of bricks and rust—that pairs perfectly with Port Alberni’s industrial identities.

Large windows brighten the lounge and rows of lights dangle over the outdoor patio beside COVID-era tents—when they aren’t being discarded like napkins by coastal winter windstorms. Even the weather can be tough here.

Customers sit apart from each other now and the communal tables aren’t as communal due to public health recommendations, but there’s still a convivial vibe to the place. Masked staff members are friendly (and funny!), the kitchen staff holler orders and flip pizza dough high above their heads, and the sound system bounces between eras: modern dance pop at one moment, Fleetwood Mac not long after. This warm spirit is something Colyn and his team of 20 at the brewery have worked hard to cultivate, but he believes it’s a spirit shared by the community-at-large.

“We are huge fans of Port Alberni,” Colyn said. “In the past, growing up, Port Alberni had a reputation that wasn’t great, but I never subscribed to that. We’re raising our family here. It is a microcosm of what BC has to offer — it’s a valley by the water — and it’s still a community that has a heart. If you want to never wave to your neighbours and just live a solitary life, then Port Alberni’s not for you. But if you want to connect with people you live with and find out what’s going on as a community, this is that kind of place.”

BEGINNINGS

Colyn grew up in Port Alberni and met his wife Michelle when they were in high school. After spending a year studying at North Island College in Port Alberni, they moved to Nanaimo to study at Vancouver Island University. The plan was to get a biology degree, go to med school, and become a doctor, but Nanaimo’s access to craft beer, compared to Port Alberni, unlocked a new passion.

“Longwood’s IPA was one of the first [craft beers] that I had and took that leap towards more hoppy beers. You took a sip of Red Racer IPA, you were like…’Whoa!’ Why do I like this? Why do I crave this? I’m one of those people who wants to know how this stuff works.”

After jumping into all-grain homebrewing, Colyn realized that brewing was worth pursuing — at the expense of his original career plans.

“I was surrounded by other students who were so passionate about what they were doing. I’m passionate about something — but it’s not this! These are excellent people who are going to make excellent doctors, but I have to do something for my community.”

This “something” was to start a brewery. Aaron and Michelle moved back to Port Alberni and, before deciding to take the plunge, launched a crowdfunding campaign.

“Our goal was to raise money for our pilot system and see if people would put their money where their mouth is,” Colyn said. “It was a huge success! We had over 100 contributors in less than two months and raised over $7,000.”

Almost immediately after the campaign ended, they found their brewing space: a one-story brick-fronted building on Margaret Road, one block from the Somass River, that previously housed a printshop. Colyn developed a 30-page business plan (“A lot of people will tell you it is the best piece of fiction you’ve ever written,” he laughed) and he and supportive family members worked nights and weekends to clean, design, and shape their fledgling brewery.

“When I spoke to people that were involved in the industry, they brought up a lot of the red tape. At least, for us, the City of Port Alberni was in a position where they were like ‘Oh, what’s this, a craft brewery?’ They were very much open to the idea of a whole new industry coming into the community. The municipality was one of our biggest proponents.”

The look, feel, and business model of Twin City Brewing was developed in part based upon great experiences at two BC breweries in particular.

“In the years leading up to opening, Brassneck was absolutely my be-all-end-all brewery. I thought their beer was fantastic, I thought the way they presented themselves was fantastic, and I loved the cozy, close nature and the atmosphere they provided.”

“Cumberland Brewing Company is one of the original Island destination community breweries, where it’s all about that experience. What you have in the glass is only one aspect of the experience. It’s sounds, smells, atmosphere, and interactions with people.”

Aaron credited the Cumberland Brewing team for pushing them to include a kitchen as part of their brewery.

“We didn’t have a kitchen in the plans. It was Mike [Tymchuk] and Darren [Adam] who said, ‘You’re spending so much time making the beer perfect, and you want to pair it with something that’s not?’ And it made me think: I was dodging that work and that responsibility. If you’re making amazing beer, don’t serve it with not-amazing food. It won’t feel balanced.”

“We have a team that pours themselves into making beer the best they can, but at the same time, twenty feet away, is a kitchen team doing the exact same thing and they are just as excited about releasing something to the public that is made from scratch. Now, it feels balanced.”

With a brewing team, kitchen team, and front-of-house team established, Twin City opened in 2017 in an understated way: going on social media and saying, hey, we’re open today, NBD.

“[I remember] a blur of bodies and things going wrong and questions that we were never faced with until this moment,” Colyn said. “‘What do you want to serve this in?’ Uhh…we didn’t think about that!”

“By the evening, we had a full room, and it was just… smiles and an opportunity for you to share a beer with someone you don’t know and share some stories and hear some interesting stuff about the community. That was what rewarded all of the staff—that’s what we wanted from the beginning.”

From this quiet, understated opening, word began to spread about this great, little brewery in Port Alberni. And then at the 2018 BC Beer Awards, Twin City hit the big time by winning two second-place and one first-place award, and taking home Best in Show for Late Bloomer, a strawberry-hibiscus sour ale.

TWIN CITY TODAY

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Twin City shut its doors for a month and a half. To keep providing work for the staff, the brewery adopted delivery and beer subscription services, provided takeout food, and started packaging beer in cans for the first time. Colyn designed beer labels at home, featuring historical Port Alberni photos licensed from the Alberni Valley Museum. Delivery service slowed as the brewery opened back up for dine-in service, but Colyn plans to continue canning and recently started shipping Twin City beer and merchandise via Canada Post.

Even with all of the responsibilities of running a brewery—and the stress of having to change operating rules seemingly every week as the public health situation develops—Aaron continues to be a hands-on brewer and loves planning new seasonal brews. More tanks are ordered for the brewery, leading to additional production capacity including more properly aged and conditioned lagers on the docket for 2021.

The kitchen continues to churn out creative pizzas that unabashedly lean on punny names, such as Strawbrie Fields, Wurst Place to Live, and (ahem) the Texas Cheese-Sauce Massacurd. Sometimes, the recipes come first; sometimes, the puns come first, and the cooks have to figure out how to make that pizza a reality. Dough is mixed in-house and fermented for three days, resulting in a flavourful, airy, and chewy base. Local ingredients are often used—including buffalo mozzarella and pepperoni.

During our conversation, Colyn spoke proudly on a number of occasions about his front-of house team and how they contribute to the Twin City experience through warmth and authenticity—two elements that are even more important during this unstable year, and essential to earning considerable loyalty.

“Everyone’s been to a restaurant where they’d have a server who is half-paying attention, and it rings of untruth right away. I think we really empower everyone on our team to have the ability to make people’s experiences great. We have a diverse team with different personalities and you want those to show.”

The beer, the food, and this congenial, friendly approach have led Twin City to become an important tourism generator for the region. Craft beer fans from across Vancouver Island (and beyond!) have travelled to Port Alberni specifically to visit the brewery. And, to Colyn’s amazement and in vindication of his original dream, some never left.

“Everything we do—even putting beer in cans now—is really to lure people in and get them to have an amazing experience in Port Alberni when maybe they didn’t realize they could. But we’ve had people come in and ask ‘Do you remember us? We just bought a house in Port Alberni, and it was coming into the brewery that made us buy it.’ And that is something that we did not expect.

“It’s not just people passing through to get lunch before going to the West Coast. It’s people who crossed through Port Alberni and loved this space and what the community had to offer as a whole so much that they moved here, or said ‘We’re raising our family here,’ or ‘We’re able to work from home remotely, and if we can do that anywhere, we want to do that here in Port Alberni.’”

Thanks in part to Twin City Brewing, it would seem that this tough city is not such a tough sell after all.

To finish off our conversation, Aaron spoke about why receiving this award meant so much to him and his team and included an impassioned call to support fellow small businesses safely at this time.

Watch for This Trio of Twin City Beers

Swedish Gymnast Blonde Ale: Twin City’s best-seller; ‘nuff said

Late Bloomer Strawberry & Hibiscus Sour – awarded Best in Show at the 2018 BC Beer Awards

Vanishing Act Pineapple and Coconut Sour – if you like getting caught in the rain, you’ll surely enjoy this brew, reminiscent of a tart piña colada

Twin City Brewing is part of the Vancouver Island Ale Trail along with fellow Port Alberni brewery Dog Mountain Brewing. Alberni Brewing Company is planning to open in 2021, marking the third brewery opening in the Alberni Valley in four years.

Driving Distances

From Nanaimo: 85 km

From Comox: 110 km

From Victoria: 200 km

Please travel conscientiously, arrange a designated driver, and do not drink and drive. Respect public health recommendations and orders regarding travel at this time. Thank you for your kindness!

Please Note: Travel Restrictions & Recommendations

Until at least December 7, there are travel restrictions throughout British Columbia. At this time, all non-essential travel should be avoided. This includes travel into and out of B.C. and between regions of the province. Do not travel for a vacation, and do not travel to visit friends or family outside of your household or core bubble. Stay close to home, and socialize only with those in your immediate household or core bubble. Enjoy beer from your local breweries and stay close to home.

The post Twin City Brewing Wins 2020 Best Brewery Experience Award appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

Back in 2018, we launched the first annual award for the Best Brewery Experience on the BC Ale Trail, which ultimately went to Townsite Brewing in Powell River. Last year’s winner was Land & Sea Brewing in Comox. Now, it is time to pick the winning brewery for 2020.

What does the winning brewery get? Fame and glory! They’ll receive a feature blog and news release sent out to Canadian media and a custom digital media campaign, plus the adulation of BC’s legions of craft beer fans, many of whom will undoubtedly plan a trip to visit the brewery as soon as possible!

Until November 15, you can nominate your favourite brewery for the Best Brewery Experience on the BC Ale Trail by filling out the form at the end of this blog.

Think about why you love this brewery — what makes it deserving of this special award? It could be any number of factors or it might just be because you love their beer.

Consumer Experience

Most BC breweries work hard to create an amazing consumer experience — from the quality and variety of the beer they produce to the food they serve alongside it, as well as a range of other activities or experiences they offer. Many breweries offer guided tours of their production areas, allowing visitors the opportunity to peek behind the curtain and catch a glimpse of fancy, shiny stainless steel equipment or old wooden barrels. There’s nothing quite like sampling a beer directly from a tank in the back of a brewery!

Food & Beer

At some breweries, the beer is complemented by amazing food, whether it is pizza or tacos made fresh on site or other tasty delicacies. And what about the vibe of the room, the way you feel when you and your friends sit down and start chatting?

Farm-Based Breweries

There are several farm-based breweries in British Columbia, which each offer a unique experience for customers to enjoy their beers in an environment that showcases the land and methods used to grow barley and hops.

Adjusting for COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, of course, many breweries have had to pivot quickly to create safer places for their customers and staff. That might mean that some of the activities patrons once enjoyed there like board games and live events have been exchanged for smaller-scale events or distanced performances by solo artists. 

Direct Delivery

Getting beer to thirsty customers is a priority for craft breweries, especially during the pandemic. Many have added stores on their websites where patrons can buy beer and have it delivered right to their homes. Some even ship beer throughout British Columbia using Canada Post. Others offer curbside pickup so folks don’t have to go inside the brewery at all.

Overall Beer Program

Some breweries set themselves apart purely because of the incredible beer they brew — special beer releases, cask-conditioned beers, barrel-aged beauties, and creative branding all add up to an amazing consumer experience, too.

Fantastic Rooms

You may love the gritty, industrial vibe of your favourite place while others admire the way a brewery has renovated a historic space. Some have managed to turn seemingly basic warehouse spaces into unique and welcoming rooms. And then there are custom-built facilities where the sky is the limit!

The Whole Experience

Some combination of these factors will result in your ideal brewery experience. What makes a brewery the best in your opinion? Well, this is your opportunity to nominate your favourite for the Best Brewery Experience on the BC Ale Trail.

Nominations close on November 15, 2020

Nominate your favourite brewery using the form below. Spread the word and get your votes in before then. Nominations will be reviewed by the BC Ale Trail team and the final winner will be announced in December.

The post The 3rd Annual Best Brewery Experience Award appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

“What you see is what you get.”

Located in Comox on the Vancouver Island Part II Ale Trail, the bright, open tasting room (with a capacity of 72, plus staff) brings so many elements of the outside in. A rich green pops out from accent walls and painted wood slats under the bar — the same shade of green as the forest-covered mountains around the Comox Valley or a stormy day on the deep blue-green sea.

Live plants against a white backdrop bring another element of freshness and life inside. The views of the open kitchen and brewing system, with gleaming tanks against another bright wall, echo that feeling of airiness and transparency. Two large garage doors let in natural light, adding to the comfortable ambiance. A cozy couch, tucked away corner bar, and wooden bench area make for some intimate spots within the larger space. Even after just a few steps inside, it’s easy to see why this brewery won the BC Ale Trail’s 2019 Best Brewery Experience Award. 

Named for the surrounding farmland, mountains, and sea that make up the Comox Valley, Land & Sea opened in December of 2018. Drawn to the area because of familial ties, Jason and Hanna Walker are co-owners, with Hanna doubling as the brewery’s creative director. Much of the atmosphere was created by her, along with the kitchen’s ever-changing menu.

“What you see is what you get,” Hanna says, as she succinctly expresses the vision behind the space. It’s evident this is a mantra the team embodies thoroughly throughout the entire operation, which Jason says has a female-run engine between Hanna and head brewer, Tessa Gabiniewicz.

“We are honoured to have the BC Ale Trail community acknowledge Land & Sea with their 2nd annual Brewery Experience award,” says Jason Walker. “We are still in our first year of operation and this acknowledgement is a testament to the hard work of our entire team puts in every day. Thanks for the support; hope to see you soon!”

Land & Sea’s head brewer knows her beer

Tessa Gabiniewicz has been head brewer since Land & Sea opened last year. With an educational background in robotics and automation, Tessa began her brewing career at Nelson Brewing Company about a decade ago. She’s lived and brewed in communities around the province, including Northern BC’s Terrace and Dease Lake. Since 2016, she has been busy coming up with recipes for creative beers, inspired by her new home in the Comox Valley.

A passionate forager, she’s used things like sumac, fenugreek, kelp, grape skins, elderflower, and other unexpected ingredients in her brews. She’s even incorporated ingredients donated by the Valley’s gardeners and farmers, like the 50kg of Carmine Jewel cherries that were dropped off by a local and made their way into one of Tessa’s kettle sours.

That clean, minimalist aesthetic that is felt in the space can be tasted in Land & Sea’s beers as well. The first sip, and every sip after, is full of flavour. Not overpowering, but not underwhelming either, each of the beers on offer can be enjoyed by beer geeks and newbies alike. And that’s the point, Tessa says. She aims to make crushable beers that are approachable and highly drinkable (so that a few can be enjoyed in one session, without needing to worry about a headache the next morning).

She definitely succeeds in achieving that goal. With unique samplings like the Blacktail Kölsch (a German-inspired black lager and the first black Kölsch I’ve ever had), a rustic country lager called the Landesbier (a Kellerbier), and a hazy pale ale made with Kveik yeast known as the CoMexico (named after a local favourite white sandy beach), there are plenty of exciting styles to choose from — and all of them are hard to get enough of.

Appealing to the audience

The audience here is outdoorsy, works hard, and plays equally as hard, according to Tessa. Finding a balance that appeals to a wide range of tastes is key. From a younger generation of enthusiastic craft beer drinkers to an older generation that still craves a traditional British-style ale, and anyone that hasn’t dabbled beyond the mass-produced lagers that used to flood the market until the rise of craft, she knows it’s difficult to please everyone all the time.

Part of the brewer’s challenge is found in trying to educate the local consumer-base about different styles, while also providing training to staff so that they can help pass on the beer knowledge to customers. Low staff turnaround makes this goal achievable at Land & Sea, with much of the team remaining the same since the brewery opened its doors.

Tessa says she regularly sees the Comox Valley’s other handful of brewers too. (There are seven other breweries within an hour’s drive of Land & Sea.) The brewers are close and even share ingredients and resources in a pinch, a commonality that can be found in many craft beer communities around BC.

At the forefront of Tessa’s mind when selecting a style for her next batch is satiating the palates of the small(ish) market of just over 66,000 in the entire Comox Valley. It’s not an easy task, especially for a budding brewery that relies on in-house sales. Lucky for each visitor of the tasting room, though, the quality of the beer she makes is consistent, regardless of style. The brewery produces a number of core styles that are rotated through so that, even if a favourite isn’t on tap currently, something similar will be.  One of her favourite things to see as she brews is a regular coming in to try the newest release, especially if that regular started out as a craft beer skeptic.

The open concept of the space adds another element for patrons, particularly on a brew day. The sights, sounds, and smells that are part of the brewing process can be experienced fully as bags of grain tumble into the mash tun and the distinct odour of wort fills the room.

That’s part of the reason the team at Land & Sea say they don’t plan on distributing beyond the Comox Valley. They want people to come here to experience their beer at its freshest and finest. They want to engage with the people that drink their beer so that the passion behind it can be understood. And, if so inclined, visitors can take home a crowler, howler, or growler of their favourite after enjoying the latest offerings available in the tasting room.

Land & Sea’s beer is currently available on tap in a few restaurants in Comox and Courtenay too. Eventually, they may package and distribute for retail in local liquor stores, but the long-term plan is to stay small and community-focused, meaning that enjoying this beer can only be done by visiting the brewery in person.

Food for every taste

A small, but mighty food menu of classic dishes with local and exotic twists are on offer at Land & Sea as well, complementing their delicious beer selection. Small snacks, wings, nachos, sandwiches, salads, and bowls are all available, made fresh in the kitchen against another wall of the spacious room.

Gluten friendly, vegetarian, and dairy-free options mean that everyone can enjoy something to eat. Desserts of homemade cookies, served as a homemade Oreo during my visit, and ice cream made by local company, Blue Spruce, are served too.

Kombucha, white and red wine, and cider can be enjoyed here too. Craft soda and other non-alcoholic offerings make the brewery a great place to spend a Saturday with the kids, as Jason and Hanna explain many people do. (The Foosball table tends to keep them busy while parents enjoy a flight or pint.)

Focused on community

Jason, Hanna, and Tessa all agree — Land & Sea is a community-focused brewery and that’s part of the reason they aren’t looking to package and distribute beyond the Comox Valley. The idea is to be a gathering space for locals, hosting live music and events regularly. They’ve even been the hosts of some impromptu wedding celebrations!

Partnerships with local businesses help boost each one. The brewery is also an art gallery with pieces hanging from local artists, adding even more nuance and character to the space.

Their “Anything But Vehicle” club, a clever initiative to encourage patrons to walk, cycle, or use public transit — anything but their car — to the brewery, is another sign that the team behind Land & Sea really care about the community they serve. And, speaking from experience, using transit from Courtenay to the brewery was simple enough. The 20-minute bus ride provides a tour of Courtenay and Comox for the low, low price of a toonie.

It’s obvious the community has responded in kind as friendly greetings were exchanged between Land & Sea’s owners, brewer, staff, and patrons all afternoon while I was there. The range of patrons in this modern version of the public house is impressive too. Folks in their steel-toed boots and Carhartts come in to meet friends after work. Couples share a quieter corner for date night. Family and friends of all ages gather to have a beer and unwind in this serene space, maintaining a sense of serenity even as the crowd and decibels increase.

Winners of the 2019 “Best Brewery Experience” Award

I think that’s the secret behind Land & Sea, and is understandably why their community agreed that they should win the 2019 Best Brewery Experience award. The space gives off a tranquil ambiance and the beer is equally as approachable.

Jason, Hanna, and Tessa all say winning the “Best Brewery Experience” award feels like reassurance and validation from their community. What they’ve been working hard at over the past few years is clearly being noticed and appreciated by the people of the Comox Valley – their neighbours and friends.

The region, full of outdoor activities that showcase both the land and the sea, also provides plenty of reasons to come for a visit. The ocean, beaches, parks, and estuary offer lots of opportunities to enjoy nature and Mt. Washington Alpine Resort is an ideal winter destination. Nearby Cumberland’s exceptional mountain biking trails are a huge attraction as well.

Comox is easy to get to, and usually in the most scenic of ways, even on a rainy autumn’s day. It has its own airport: YQQ) as well as a BC Ferries route from Powell River on the Sunshine Coast. Travellers from the Lower Mainland can visit via Nanaimo (a 1.5-hour drive) and it’s about three hours by car from Victoria.

Visit Land & Sea for the experience

With a patio area planned for the coming summer, adding around 60 more seats to the space and making the most of the outdoor area around the lot, Land & Sea is definitely a brewery you must experience for yourself. 

No matter which way you get there, go and enjoy this welcoming space in all of its glory. And if you’re in the area in December, keep an eye out for their one-year anniversary party!

The post Land & Sea Brewing Wins 2019 “Best Brewery Experience” Award appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.

Last October, we launched the first annual award for the Best Brewery Experience on the BC Ale Trail, which ultimately went to Townsite Brewing in Powell River. Read our blog about why Townsite deserved to win. Now, it is time to pick another brewery for 2019.

Most BC breweries work hard to create an amazing consumer experience — from the quality and variety of the beer they produce to the food they serve alongside it, as well as a range of other activities or experiences they offer. Many breweries offer guided tours of their production areas, allowing visitors the opportunity to peek behind the curtain and catch a glimpse of fancy, shiny stainless steel equipment or old wooden barrels. There’s nothing quite like sampling a beer directly from a tank in the back of a brewery!

Breweries with tasting rooms might offer special nights featuring local musicians or open mike sessions. A few put on concerts or festivals.  Some also have galleries showing off artwork by local artists. Special beer releases and cask nights are also a great draw.

At some breweries, the beer is complemented by amazing food, whether it is pizza or tacos made fresh on site or other tasty delicacies. And what about the vibe of the room, the way you feel when you sit down and start chatting with your neighbour?

Maybe board games are your thing. Many BC breweries provide a selection of games and cards for customers to use. Quite a few have arcade games, pinball machines, pool tables or foosball tables. Air hockey, anyone? Heck, some breweries even have bowling alleys!

Trivia nights, music bingo, karaoke, yoga, brunch — or maybe something a little more educational? Some breweries offer tasting seminars and beer education nights, or bring in guest speakers.

You may love the gritty, industrial vibe of your favourite place while others admire the way a brewery has renovated a historic space. Some have managed to turn seemingly basic warehouse spaces into unique and welcoming rooms.

Some combination of these factors will result in your ideal brewery experience. What makes a brewery the best in your opinion? Well, this is your opportunity to nominate your favourite for the Best Brewery Experience on the BC Ale Trail.

Nominations close on October 31, 2019, so spread the word and get your votes in before then. Nominations will be reviewed by the BC Ale Trail team and the final winner will be announced in November!

Here is where you go to vote for your favourite.

The post The 2nd Annual Best Brewery Experience Award appeared first on The BC Ale Trail.