The 2017 Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Festival takes place Feb. 18 at the Gibsons Public Market. It’s a major fundraiser for the Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living (SCACL), and a bit of a coming out party for one of the new entrants to the local craft beverage scene.
Gibsons Tapworks is planning to have beer at the festival as it gets ready for a Feb. 24 “soft opening” at its Cruice Lane site in Lower Gibsons, making it the first craft brewer to open on the Coast since Persephone Brewing Company launched in 2013.
And by late summer, there will be at least one more brewer/distiller, to be located in Upper Gibsons, and a cidery open for business in West Sechelt.
As well as creating a critical mass in the burgeoning craft beverage industry locally, the new arrivals are expected to add to the potential tourist draw of the Sunshine Coast leg of the BC Ale Trail, a partnership of Destination BC and the BC Craft Brewers Guild.
The Bricker Cider Company in West Sechelt brought in its first harvest of local apples last year and planted the first trees of their own orchard. Earlier this month the cidery took delivery of its fermentation equipment, and the owners hope to have product flowing sometime this spring.
Morgan Farrer, who’s a partner in the business with husband Nick and family members Bronson and Russell Moore, June Crosby-Moore and Chris Moore, said part of the attraction was being able to create a family business on the Sunshine Coast and a legacy to pass on to their kids.
Bronson Moore added that the idea of the family making cider goes back a couple of generations. “Our grandmother lived on the orchard [nearby]. That’s where she retired and she was the one who got the conversation started many years ago … A couple of years ago Nick and I rallied the group and here we are.”
Lifestyle was also one of the main motivations that brought Neil Bergman, Warren Gregory and Geoff Gornall together to establish Gibsons Tapworks.
“This is where we wanted to lay down roots,” Gornall said. “So we all did this very much as a lifestyle thing. We saw Gibsons as the perfect place to raise a family and be a part of a community and we wanted to make our own work and contribute to that community.”
The partnership behind the still-to-be-named brewery and distillery planned for the former Bob’s Automotive site in Upper Gibsons is made up of experienced players in the development and beverage industries: David Longman and Chris and Kelly Green-field of the Troller Ale House in Horseshoe Bay. They’re targeting early summer to open the brewery and food service sides of the establishment, with the distillery coming into production in fall or early winter.
Longman said he first got interested in the idea because he felt a brew pub would be a good fit for Blue Heron Village, a development his company is also a partner in. “One of the things we knew we needed to have in here was something that had people using the space at different times of the day,” he said.
The brewhouse/distillery will have a full kitchen and seat around 100 people.
The B.C. government has touted its efforts to expand opportunities for people who want to get into the craft beverage industry. As a developer, Longman knew what to expect when it came to getting approvals from local governments, and he said he was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the process has been at the provincial level.
“It was very onerous as far as the sheer volume of paperwork that was required to get through the application process, but subsequently the easiest … The provincial bureaucrats were a pleasure to work with.”
The folks behind Bricker and Gibsons Tapworks also said the regulatory process wasn’t a significant barrier to getting started. Gregory said, for Tapworks at least, some of that was a result of being well prepared. “I think the reason it went so smooth is that we heard beforehand that everything was going to be difficult, so we over-prepared for everything,” he joked. “I don’t think it was easy, it’s just that we prepared for the worst.”
Something else that stands out for all three businesses is the sense of community that exists among B.C.’s craft beverage makers.
Bergman said Tapworks has been helped along by a Lower Mainland brewery. “Moody Ales took us under their wing and gave us a pretty big leg up in learning the industry,” he said. Gornall added that they’ve also been getting together with people from Persephone, Townsite Brewing Inc. in Powell River, and the other groups working locally.
“I think it’s going to be a really strong, collaborative community,” he said.
Bricker’s Nick Farrer, who has experience as a brewer with Steamworks in Vancouver, said other B.C. cider makers have been more than willing to share tips and advice. “We did a tour around the Okanagan and on Vancouver Island,” he said. “And so many people were really kind to us and opened up on all our questions.”
Longman said they’ve benefitted from the Greenfields’ experience and connections in the industry, as well as homegrown brewing talent. Their brewmaster came over from Persephone a couple of months ago. “This industry is so cooperative with one another, and they’re not feeling a sense of competition,” he noted.
With opening day getting closer, the focus for the three firms will start to shift to marketing and sales, but there’s also the excitement of seeing the finish line.
“Clearing and fencing the whole property was big, planting all the trees last year was a big milestone, and then getting the garage and all the equipment in,” said Morgan Farrer. “It’s also like, my gosh, this is actually happening now… It’s pretty cool.”
Gornall said the Tapworks partners are feeling much the same. “You have to make a conscious effort to reflect and celebrate progress, but it’s difficult to do when you’re in the thick of things and working lots and lots of hours … We’ve done that a couple of times at key milestones, but it’ll be a really nice night on Feb. 24.”
