{"id":58595,"date":"2024-12-26T06:00:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T14:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcaletrail.ca\/?p=58595"},"modified":"2024-12-26T15:15:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T23:15:53","slug":"ups-downs-and-turnarounds-bomber-brewings-renaissance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bcaletrail.ca\/ups-downs-and-turnarounds-bomber-brewings-renaissance\/","title":{"rendered":"Ups, Downs, and Turnarounds: Bomber Brewing\u2019s Renaissance"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an inspiring tale of resilience and renewal, Bomber Brewing<\/a>, founded by Don Farion in 2014, has come full circle as Farion recently repurchased the brewery from the Donnelly Group in October 2024, following periods of corporate ownership and market challenges. After surviving his own battle with throat cancer, Farion is steering Bomber back to its community-focused roots with a renewed emphasis on balanced, quality brewing and local connections. The story of Bomber Brewing exemplifies the enduring spirit of craft beer culture, demonstrating how passion, community ties, and a return to fundamentals can revitalize a neighbourhood brewery.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bomber\u2019s back, baby!<\/span><\/p>\n

Well\u2026it never really left. But let me tell the whole story.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Beginnings<\/b><\/h4>\n

When Don Farion agreed to jump in as a spare for his friend Blair Calibaba\u2019s local hockey team one night in the early 2010s, he didn\u2019t realize that that decision would take his life in a new direction. The guys were cracking bottles of homebrew in the parking lot after the game, and Blair\u2019s pilsner blew Don away. Inspired by his love of Pilsner Urquell, Blair had created a homebrew version that had the perfect balance of hoppy bite and malty backbone. Within a year and a half, Blair was the head brewer for Don\u2019s new craft brewery and that pilsner was one of their flagship beers. Oh, and the men\u2019s rec team they played for? The Bombers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A photo of the Bombers and other craft beer hockey teams at the 2016 Beer League Bash hung in the Bomber Brewing tasting room (photo from 2017)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was the beginning of Bomber Brewing<\/a>. However, it wasn\u2019t the beginning of Don\u2019s love of beer. While a young man in Montreal, Don came to love that city\u2019s Belgian-style craft breweries. Upon moving to Vancouver in 1992, food and drink were on his mind. He opened Incendio Pizzeria in Gastown in 1996, but eventually turned back to beer. He and his longtime business partner, Dean Mallel, founded BierCraft<\/a>, an iconic Vancouver restaurant. Like many, I had my first true Belgian beer experiences during excursions to BierCraft, where the staff were able to explain to me \u2013 a beer newbie back then \u2013 the difference between a tripel and a dubbel, and what the \u201clees\u201d was. BierCraft converted people not only to Belgian beer but eventually to craft beer.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the success of BierCraft wasn\u2019t enough. As a homebrewer and a Certified Cicerone (it\u2019s like a beer sommelier), the possibility of his own brewery kept tugging at Don\u2019s mind. He didn\u2019t want to be the brewer \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t have delusions of grandeur!\u201d he laughs \u2013 but he wanted a brewery whose story and space he could create. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBreweries are all about stories,\u201d he tells me. \u201cThat\u2019s what draws people in.\u201d <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story of Bomber was seeded in that first evening of hockey and homebrew: friends (new and old), sports, community, sharing a drink in a parking lot. Upon opening in 2014, Bomber Brewing quickly established itself as a beloved fixture in East Vancouver.<\/span><\/p>\n