BIG ROCK'S GLASS MORE THAN HALF FULL DESPITE COVID
Due to some innovative thinking and by anticipating trends, the brewery is healthy
No one knew at the start of the pandemic just how hard it would hit businesses or how long it would last. Yet, Wayne Arsenault, chief executive of Big Rock Brewery, bravely called his management team together and vowed there would be no layoffs and no cuts to wages.
He admits it hasn't been an easy year, with restaurant and bar sales slashed and no festivals, but some innovative thinking and addressing expected trends has resulted in a healthy brewery.
With more people staying at home, retail sales boomed: contract sales through major grocery chains are up 300 per cent in the first quarter of this year and ready-to-drink beverages showed an increase of 79 per cent.
During the same time, Arsenault hired a new brewmaster and launched new products.
After 35 years of helping to develop the craft brew market in Alberta, former brewmaster Paul Gautreau decided it was time to retire.
He handed over the reins to Graham Kendall, a man with more than 30 years of experience in all facets of the brewing industry who says he has admired Big Rock's steadfast commitment to preserving its classic beers, while also encouraging ceaseless experimentation with ale varieties, lagers, fruity IPAS and ciders, and now a successful line of hard-steeped teas.
Born in the Northwest Territories, Kendall grew up in Halifax. While studying for his microbiology degree at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., he enjoyed a course in making your own beer and went on to join a hands-on microbrewery. He moved on to Labatt's and worked for the Canadian brewing giant for a total of 20 years, which included brewmaster positions in Halifax, Edmonton and Creston.
But he took breaks to live in Edinburgh, Scotland, to earn his master's in brewing, malting and distilling at the 200-year-old Heriot-watt University, and with Canada Malting in Montreal and Calgary.
His most recent job was as plant manager with United
Malt in Vancouver, Wash., but with his family in Calgary and travel severely restricted due to COVID, Kendall was delighted to accept the offer from Big Rock following Gautreau's announcement of his retirement this spring.
“Brewing is a business, but Big Rock still recognizes the need to make brewing an art and to let the brewmaster play around a little bit,” Kendall says with a smile, adding there's more surprises in store for consumers looking to add new experiences and healthier options to their beverage mix.
Big Rock has always been a leader, and new directions include this spring's launch of White Peak hard-steeped tea that celebrates the brewery's Rocky Mountain roots.
It generated a buzz right out of the gate. Arsenault reports that the handcrafted low-calorie tea — made with real fruit flavours and sweetened with pure cane sugar — is brewed using 56-kilogram tea bags in large vats. Nine days after the launch through retailers, the brewery was out of stock.
Another successful addition to its trusted beer brands is Lake Fever Lager. An exclusive launch in partnership with The Tragically Hip, Arsenault says cases at his Toronto brew pub flew off the shelves and online sales exploded.
Big Rock's Vancouver brew pub also launched a Hophead variety pack that has sold beyond expectations.
Locally, Big Rock is a major contributor to our economy with a staff of 120 at the brewery plus those working for its third-party trucking company, those making its cans just down the street and the providers of malt.
Hopefully, it will soon be back in the festival business — meaning hiring more casual staff — and Big Rock is looking forward to continuing its long-standing relationship with the Spruce Meadows sports and entertainment complex when it welcomes people back this fall.
NOTES:
Indigenous-owned and -operated Steel River Group, based in Calgary, has entered into a partnership with Chiniki First Nation, one of the three nations that make up the Stoney Nakoda Nation at Morley. The goal of the partnership is to promote community participation to strengthen and advance the nation with the goal of becoming economically self-sufficient. Chiniki already operates the large Smitty's restaurant at the crossroads of the Trans-canada Highway and Morley Road, and is co-owner of the Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino.