The Craft Brewing Pioneers :: Part 1
Vancouver Island Brewery is the island’s original craft brewery and for 26 years has served the local community award winning hand-crafted beers. I very well doubt there is a single Islander that hasn’t yet enjoyed a pint of even a sip of Piper’s Pale Ale, Spyhopper Honey Brown or Hermann’s Dark Lager.
With the recent launch of Sea Dog Amber Ale, brewed to commemorate the Canadian Naval Centennial, we sailed to their premises on Government Street in the quest to discover the proud story behind this new brew. But…before we do we must start from the beginning. Rob Ringma, the VIB’s Sales and Marketing Manager welcomes us in and gives us a well needed introduction to craft brewing in Victoria…
“Victoria has a very proud brewing tradition. There were many small breweries on the island until the larger national and international companies at the time – Labatt, Molson and Carling – started to reach out to these smaller breweries to merge and form alliances. Prohibition and grain shortages also threatened the Island’s small breweries with closures and as the larger companies continued to grow, gulping up the majority of the market, and as a result getting fat pockets and changing the face of local Canadian craft beer.”
“In 1982 the biggest national brewery at the time, Labatt, pulled out of Victoria and relocated to New Westminster, BC. It was the only brewery left on Vancouver Island and was demolished, leaving a big hole and making more than 200 people unemployed. But some saw this as a great opportunity. The closure opened the door to a bunch of Islanders who set out on a mission – not to compete with the “big guys” – but to take a little more time and care and start brewing something special for the locals. So in 1984, along with Granville Island and Spinnakers, the Van Isle Brewing company was founded. Trying to entice the locals to understand the taste of craft beer wasn’t easy though, especially after years of taste bud abuse from drinking commercial brews. But thanks to the amazing skill of these new craft brewers they were soon won over and many home crafted beers were set to sail successfully from where their fellow counterparts left behind!” And we say “Cheers” to that!
Check back in a couple of days for the next installment – Sail away with Sea Dog – see a sneak preview of Sea Dog as it is being created and learn about the birth of this new beer.
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