Craft beer is growing exponentially throughout B.C., and breweries are having an economic and cultural impact on their communities.

October is BC Craft Beer Month. British Columbians are encouraged to get to know their local craft breweries and all they have to offer. Put simply, craft beer is the return to more traditional, artisanal brewing. But there is more to it than that. Throughout B.C. there are instances of craft breweries changing the culture of their hometowns.

Before 2014, Quesnel residents and visitors had no local options to enjoy craft beer made close to home. Enter ambition and investment in the form of founder Russ Ovans, throw in a dilapidated building – and even a stray bullet – and Barkerville Brewing Co. was born.

“Besides brewing delicious beer and creating local jobs, I have seen Barkerville Brewing Co. support the community by sponsoring sports teams, providing prizes for fundraisers, and reviving our downtown core. This brewery really exudes the spirit of B.C.’s small businesses by creating positive change in Quesnel,” says Coralee Oakes, MLA for Cariboo North and Minister of Small Business, Red Tape Reducation and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch. “And since the brewers believe that craft beer is art, Barkerville supports other artists by contributing to local festivals and even co-hosting a concert series.”

Perhaps the most poignant example of its community involvement is how the company used an aptly named seasonal brew ‘Out of the Ashes’, a white rye India pale ale or IPA, to help those in need. This past June, Juno award winning folksingers Pharis and Jason Romero, who also build custom sought-after J. Romero banjos, recently lost their entire home and studio to a devastating fire. The profits of the batch were donated to the couple and their two young children to help them rebuild their business and their lives. 

“I was racking my brain about how to use this batch for a good cause. And then, because of its name it struck me, we could contribute to helping the Romero family get back on their feet,” said Nolan Foster, Barkerville Brewing Co.’s sales manager.   

As tightly as Barkerville has embraced their community, their community has hugged them right back. “There is definitely a sense of pride that goes along with having a local beer,” said Foster. “We’ve received pictures from all over the world where people have brought a Barkerville brew to share with their fellow travellers.”

The beers, while delicious, also make for good conversation pieces. The three core brews and rotating seasonal batches tell the story of the the town’s rich Gold Rush history – Mucho Oro Lager and 18 Karat Ale, for example, evoke the Gold Rush years of the 1860s when the original Barkerville Brewery was built. It appears, however, that this new brewery is on its way to making new history for Quesnel.

(flickr.com)

• Since 2010, B.C. has gone from 54 craft breweries to 125 today, with more on the horizon.
• Craft beer employs over 4,000 people provincewide.

Learn More:

For more on the story of Barkerville Brewing Co.: www.barkervillebeer.com