COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MARCH 2019


Growers go with the grain of beer revival Surge in microbreweries creates opportunities for hops, barley


by MYRNA STARK LEADER ABBOTSFORD – Growth in BC’s craft brewing


industry is creating opportunities for local hops, grains and the processors that handle them, according to Ken Beattie, executive director of the BC Craft Brewers Guild. There are more than 170 independently


owned and operated craft breweries and brewpubs in BC, of which Beattie’s organization represents more than 140. Based in over 60 communities, the sector employs approximately 4,500 people. BC’s craft beer renaissance began in 1982, and updates to provincial liquor regulations in 2000 spurred growth. A change in 2013 that allowed breweries to open tasting rooms gave a further boost. BC saw 22 brewers open in 2018, and another 28 are scheduled to open this year. “One of the biggest challenges is keeping the numbers up to date,” says Beattie, who worked with commercial breweries for 30 years before joining the guild. The growth isn’t just on the West Coast.


Canada boasted 817 brewers in 2017, with the single biggest cluster in Ontario and Quebec, followed by BC.


Beattie attributes the sector’s growth to


several factors. People are interested in what they eat and drink, which has fuelled interest in artisan products and government support, such as the Buy BC program. Consumer desire for instant gratification and fresh experiences has


supported small-batch production that allows brewers to offer new flavours continuously. “You used to go to a party and you would know the guests by the beer,” he


says. Today, people are drinking a style of beer rather than being brand-loyal. “I drink IPAs,” he says as an example. “Not just one, but everybody’s.” Increased consumer demand will continue to drive growth.


Ken Beattie, BC Craft Brewers Guild BC’s number of breweries per capita compared


to Oregon and Washington, which are of similar size and population, show room for growth, and that means opportunities for hop producers. Beattie says the Fraser Valley was the largest


hop-growing region in the British Empire in the 1940s, and he sees room for a resurgence in the crop. Proprietary, or trademarked, hops are one area of opportunity. Sasquatch, from Hops Connect Hop Trading Co. Ltd. in Vancouver, is Canada’s only federally registered variety. The most popular variety these days is Cascade, with a 13% share among brewers. Centennial and Citra follow with 10% each, then CTZ (9%) and Simcoe (8%). Amarillo and Mosaic both claim 5% of the market followed by Chinook at 4%. Nugget, Ekuanot, HBC, Apollo, El Dorado, Bravo, Cluster and Axacca are among the varieties with tiny fractions of the market. Four of the top 10 varieties are proprietary hops, but Beattie cautions it’s difficult for growers to know what to plant. The acreage dedicated to hops on BC farms doesn’t begin to satisfy the demand of BC craft brewers, but he encourages growers to focus on quality. “The opportunity is the quality of the hop,” he


says.


There is also room for more malting plants, and growers in the Peace and Vanderhoof regions are


ripe for barley growing. Beattie praises the BC Hop Growers Association for its work and Kwantlen


Polytechnic University for offering a diploma in brewing and brewery operations that has graduated 80 people since its inception. Businesses such as West Coast Canning, established in 2013 in Prince George,


have also developed to support the industry. “BC has a world-class food, wine and now a beer culture,” says Beattie, noting


that Ravens Brewing Co. in Abbotsford won one of the three gold medals BC breweries received at the World Beer Cup in Nashville last May.


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