{"id":16035,"date":"2020-09-04T11:04:07","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T18:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcaletrail.ca\/?p=16035"},"modified":"2021-02-16T09:29:41","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T17:29:41","slug":"a-taste-of-hockey-on-the-bc-ale-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bcaletrail.ca\/a-taste-of-hockey-on-the-bc-ale-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"A Taste of Hockey on the BC Ale Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Stanley Cup playoffs in full swing, writer Lucas Aykroyd catches up with former NHLers Matt Walker and Dave Babych and highlights links between hockey and craft beer in BC.<\/p>\n

Hockey and beer. For many British Columbians, those two topics are as inseparable as the Sedin twins. When the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> get on a roll, naturally passion heightens and pints are downed, but the connections go beyond that.<\/p>\n

Take Matt Walker. During his 314-game NHL career, the gritty defenceman played with hockey greats like St. Louis\u2019s Pavol Demitra, Chicago\u2019s Jonathan Toews, and Tampa Bay\u2019s Steven Stamkos. Yet as far as BC craft beer fans are concerned, Walker\u2019s biggest score might have come in retirement when he began providing liquid refreshment.<\/p>\n

Walker hung up his skates in 2012, moved to the Kootenays in 2014, and bought the Nelson Brewing Company<\/a> in 2016. Operating this award-winning, organic brewery in the Southern Interior city of 10,000, the 40-year-old is part of a growing tribe of NHLers taking part in the BC Ale Trail, whether as brewers or beer buffs.<\/p>\n

\"Nelson
Nelson Brewing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Walker\u2019s wife Kate doubles as his business partner, and she has deep roots in this scenic community in the Selkirk Mountains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met my wife, who\u2019s from Nelson, in Christina Lake during the 2005 NHL lockout,\u201d Walker said. \u201cHer dad [former Nelson mayor Dave Elliot] was one of the original investors in the Nelson Brewing Company way back in 1991. So when I visited Nelson for the first time, that was when I first tried the NBC brand. After my hockey career ended, we were coming back home, and a couple of the original owners approached us to see if we were interested in the brewery. We really wanted to be part of something that was part of the Kootenay culture. We jumped all over that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nelson
Nelson Brewing Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So today, what does this 1998 Memorial Cup winner with the Portland Winterhawks recommend for fans looking to quaff a high-quality cold one while watching the Stanley Cup playoffs?<\/p>\n

\"\"
Former NHLer Matt Walker operates the Nelson Brewing Company.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy personal favourite among our light beers is the Hooligan Pilsner. It\u2019s a fantastic beer. I know Harvest Moon, which is a K\u00f6lsch-style hemp ale, has been one of our most popular beers for a decade or more now, but the Pilsner\u2019s starting to fight its way in there. I go from the Pilsner on the light side to Bent Pole, which is my go-to IPA. Our amber beer does very well at a lot of the pubs here in town, and then in cans, it doesn\u2019t go quite as much as the Pilsner. Honestly, I never was a Pilsner drinker. Growing up, it was never on my list. But this Hooligan\u2019s won me over!\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker’s true indoctrination into the craft beer faith came midway through his nine-year NHL career. Originally, St. Louis drafted Walker in the third round (83rd overall) in 1998. He spent four seasons there, and Missouri\u2019s second-largest city is built around Budweiser. However, after signing a one-year deal with Chicago for 2008-09, he explored the Windy City\u2019s burgeoning beer scene with Blackhawks teammates Cam Barker and Ben Eager.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 28 years old,\u201d Walker recalled. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of when I stopped drinking anything from the large breweries and stuck with craft beer. The bombers were obviously huge back then, and there were tons of breweries in Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nelson
Nelson Brewing Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nowadays, he enjoys welcoming ex-Blues buddies like Eric Brewer, a 2002 Olympic gold medalist, and Ryan Johnson, the GM of the AHL\u2019s Utica Comets, to the Nelson Brewing Company, which occupies an 1897-built building. However, there\u2019s a caveat: \u201cThere\u2019s no free rides around here! You gotta help out. Brewie, he jumped on the canning line. I think he sat there for almost two hours, which was quite funny. Everybody else there just got to take a break and watch the big man go to work!\u201d<\/p>\n

Other retired NHLers, like Canucks legend Trevor Linden, might drop by during a summer getaway or winter ski trip. That said, after being retired for nearly 10 years, Walker admits he doesn\u2019t follow hockey quite as closely any more.<\/p>\n

Who does Walker cheer for during the post-season? That\u2019s mostly dictated by childhood preferences or old pals. To illustrate, Walker, who was born in Beaverlodge, Alberta, grew up rooting for the Wayne Gretzky-era Edmonton Oilers. He\u2019s friends with Mike Smith, a Tampa Bay teammate in 2009-10, and found himself pulling for the Oilers netminder this year.<\/p>\n

Mostly, Walker has his hands full with three young daughters \u2014<\/span> Georgia, Lennox, and Taylor \u2014<\/span> and a busy schedule at the brewery with Kate from Monday to Friday. They\u2019re proud to support the local Junior B hockey team, the Nelson Leafs of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, with awards. Down the road, Walker aspires to expand his tasting room and sell more beer in Alberta.<\/p>\n

\"Nelson
Nelson Brewing Company’s quaint brewery building.\u00a0
Photo: Dave Heath, daveheathphotography.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt seems like craft beer in BC has just exploded,\u201d Walker said. \u201cEspecially in the last four or five years, it\u2019s in every little town now. When we bought the Nelson Brewing Company, it was one of the only breweries in our Kootenay area. Now there\u2019s many of them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Dave Babych hasn\u2019t invested in a brewery (yet), this former Canuck certainly enjoys checking out the BC Ale Trail. Notching 723 points in 1,195 career NHL games, the famously moustachioed defenceman starred with the Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers in the 1980s. Vancouver fans celebrated his playoff exploits in the 1990s, including the 1994 run to the Stanley Cup finals against the New York Rangers.<\/p>\n