ATLANTIC CANADIAN BEER, EH?
Trider’s brewery has the most Canadian of Canadian beers in competition
Trider’s brewery of Amherst, N.S., has the most Canadian of Canadian beers in competition
An Amherst craft brewer can brag it has the most Canadian of Canadian beers.
Trider’s Craft Beer was named the winner of a #BrewPatriotLove contest hosted by Halifax-based Propeller Brewing Company as part of its 20th anniversary celebration.
While it never expected to win, the social media hits Trider’s has received following the contest has helped increase the profile of the year-old company and its Brew-deau Canadian Cream Ale.
“It started out as something fun and it has turned into something huge,” Trider’s co-owner Scott Parker said.
“We didn’t think we were going to win, we just had some fun with it. We’re really excited about this and to have our name go out in tweets and Facebook posts and have people talking about us is huge.”
Considering a lot of larger breweries were in the competition, Parker said it’s nice for a small craft brewery in Amherst to win top spot.
Propeller Brewing Company said in a news release that the contestants were judged by ordinary Canadians on the name, its back story, how uniquely Canadian it is, packaging, ingredients and flavour.
Although it was a fun competition, Parker hopes it will succeed in introducing the Trider’s name to beer drinkers across the country.
“I’m really curious to see where this competition will take our name,” he said. “It was just released yesterday or today and already I’m getting numerous tweets and Facebook messages about it.”
The craft brewery has come a long way in a very short time. After a soft launch last September, the company reopened with a new system in December and has been going non-stop since then.
“It’s been very busy,” Parker said. “We’re blown away at how well it has gone. We did not expect to do this well and keep this busy this early. It’s so busy we’ve hired eight staff when we only projected to hire two or three. Our projections are well over where we thought they’d be.”
The brewery is now listed with 36 NLSC outlets in the province and has keg accounts in Halifax, the South Shore and around Amherst.
The retail outlet in the Amherst industrial park has also been very busy.
“The lineu-sp at the door every day I’m come in is pretty impressive,” he said.
It has three flagship lines, including the popular Rod’s Red, Yellow Beard and Scotia Pale Ale, as well as several seasonal brands such as Maccan Maple and Honey Heather, made from Nappan honey.
“We need more tanks, that’s for sure and we’re toying with the idea of a tap room, some place we can get product out other than from here,” Parker said.