Josh Michnik, owner of 33 Acres Brewing on W. 8th.
Nigel Pike and Cameron Forsyth of Main Street Brewing in their brewery’s future home on E. 7th. trian traffic along trendy and popular Main Street. They want it to be an inviting place where customers will sample a beer or two, chat about them with the staff or each other, and then buy a growler to take home. “It comes from having the Alibi Room,” Springthorpe explained earlier this month, “and enjoying the culture around the beer and people coming in to chit chat about it.” Brassneck will offer several rotating beer styles (“Conrad unleashed” is Springthorpe’s description) for tastings and growler fills in multiple sizes: the standard 1.89-litre jug as well as one-litre and half-litre versions. The building design features a stylish tasting room with peekaboo views of the brewhouse so that customers can see what Gmoser is up to while they sample the beer. “There’s a lot of thought,” Springthorpe said of the design. “There’s thought going into the thought of not making it look too thoughtful.” But as excited as the Brassneck owners are about opening, they are also exhausted and frustrated by the process. They first decided to open a brewery together more than two years ago, and endured numerous exasperat-
ing attempts to obtain a building suitable to their needs. Even when they did find the right place, the process of redeveloping the building into a brewery took far longer than they expected. When I first visited the brewery last July, they were aiming to open by February. And now? “We gotta be open by July 1,” Springthorpe said, exasperated. “That’ll be a year since we signed the lease. You know, it’s 6000 square feet on Main Street. Money is going down the toilet every day.” Talk about going “all in.” One block away in the historic Brewery Garage, a building that was once part of the original Vancouver Brewery a century ago, will be Main Street Brewing. The owners are a team of Main Street restaurateurs who also own the popular Main Street Pilsner brand, which has been brewed for them by Surrey’s Russell Brewing until now. Co-owner Cameron Forsyth, who also owns and manages Portland Craft, told me last week they hope to have beer flowing by August, but with the inevitable delays, plus the fact that City Hall virtually shuts down in August, it is more likely they will open in
the fall. Forsyth has been meeting regularly with Springthorpe and Michnik, comparing notes and sharing lessons learned — helping each other, in other words, rather than just racing to get ahead. Maybe it’s a better bet to go “all in” together? “I really think it’s going to make for a very cool spot in Vancouver that will be great for the neighbourhood, great for the city, great for tourism. People will come to the neighbourhood, and they might be Brassneck fans or 33 Acres fans, but they’ll come and try Main Street because it’s close by.” “We’re all pretty excited to get our doors open,” Forsyth said. No doubt—and so are many eager Vancouverites who can’t wait to quench their thirst with more local craft beer.
About Joe Wiebe: Joe Wiebe is the Thirsty Writer. His new book, Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to BC Breweries (see review page 3), will be published this month by Douglas & McIntyre. The launch is at Yaletown Brewing June 3. Info at CraftBeerRevolution.ca.
Vancouver’s Craft Breweries: • Granville Island Brewing (1984) • Storm Brewing (1994) • Yaletown Brewing (1994) • Steamworks Brewpub (1995) • Dockside Brewing (1997) • R&B Brewing (1997) • Coal Harbour Brewing (2012) • Parallel 49 Brewing (2012) • Powell Street Craft Brewery (2012)
Coming Soon to Metro Vancouver: • Four Winds Brewing (Delta — June) • 33 Acres Brewing (June) • Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers (North Vancouver — June) • Brassneck Brewery (July) • Main Street Brewing (Fall) • Bomber Brewing (Fall/Winter)
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