Breweries ‘ tapped out’ dealing with demand
Craft beer is getting to be so popular that some breweries are reaching capacity.
Dale said one example is Crannog Ales, an organic ale producer in Sorrento on the shores of Shuswap Lake, that is making beer at full capacity.
“They [ breweries] have never had that before,” Dale said. “At R & B Brewing Company, [ where Dale works as an office manager] we can’t keep up with the demand. Places like Joeys and Earls are all of a sudden phoning and wanting to bring in our beers.”
Frankel said Tap & Barrel is selling 50 litres every day of Seedspitter Watermelon Wit beer, made in Vancouver by Parallel 49 Brewing.
“I know they’re having trouble keeping up with production to meet the demand,” Frankel said. “Some of the breweries are getting a little tapped out right now.”
Gary Lohin, brewmaster at Central City Brewers and Distillers, maker of Red Racer Beers, is experiencing similar problems meeting demand for his products.
“The last year in B. C. has gone crazy,” Lohin said. “Most restaurants are now selling craft beer.”
Because of the increasing demand for his beer, Lohin and his business partners are building a $ 20- million, 70,000- square- foot production facility in Surrey, where he hopes to produce not only more beer, but also to brew more creative beers.
“I have so many recipes that I can’t brew because our hands are tied here,” he says of his existing space on 102nd Avenue in Surrey, which he has outgrown since opening in 2003.
“In the last four to five months we’ve had quite a few breweries opening up,” Dale said, listing Coal Harbour and Parallel 49 among the newcomers.
Mark James and Red Truck Brewing are opening a new 20,000- square- foot brewery on First Avenue east of Main Street that should be producing beer by fall 2013.
Last month, the Vancouver Courier reported that the owners of The Cascade Room, Habit Lounge, The Union and El Camino plan to open a restaurant and a 6,000- squarefoot brewery for its Main Street Pilsner just off Main Street on East Seventh and that Nigel Springthorpe, co- owner of the Alibi Room, and brewer Conrad Gmoser, who worked at Steamworks for more than 15 years, plan to open The Brassneck Brewery on Main near Sixth.
One of the reasons for craft beer’s growth might be that there are so many different flavours and varieties. Before she
People are beginning to realize that the craft beer scene is going crazy. It’s really exciting.
LUNDY DALE
PRESIDENT OF CAMRA BC
started working at R & B, Dale worked in liquor stores, sourcing and recommending the best beers. She says everyone’s palate is different, but that there is usually a beer to suite tastes.
“When it comes to beer, you have a choice between malty, which is sweeter, and hoppy, which is bitter,” Dale said.
The options range from sweet caramel to chocolate coffee to a crisp grapefruit citrus flavour, she said.
“I want to try everything,” she said.
Dale said a new trend in the industry is nano breweries — very small breweries, one step up from home brewers.
“They will just do one or two brews and you have to show up with your own container and fill it up,” Dale said.
North Vancouver’s Bridge Brewing normally brews just one beer: North Shore Pale.
all Founder Jason Stratton and partner Patrick Doré sold out of that product for two weeks earlier in the summer, and are now selling a seasonal offering, Endless Summer Pale Ale.
Stratton said most of the brewery’s sales are done at the brewery, with people filling up 1.89- litre growlers on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Frankie’s Italian Kitchen also serves Bridge Brewing beer, and the partners hope to supply more restaurants in the future.
“Even though we are fairly new to the market, we have received incredible support from the community and we anticipate that this relationship will continue to grow with beer lovers across the Lower Mainland,” Stratton said in an email. “Brewing beer is our passion and we hope to share it with like minded beer aficionados in the community. To this end, we will consider all sales opportunities that help put our product in pint glasses.”
October is Craft Beer Month in B. C., which Dale said is a celebration that will include collaboration beers, special release beers and parties.
“There are still a lot of people who don’t know that B. C. has some of the best craft beer brewers in the country,” Dale said. “People are beginning to realize that the craft beer scene is going crazy. It’s really exciting.”