June 27th, 2018 will go down as one of the more momentous days in Smithers beer history, as Smithers Brewing Company officially opened their doors to residents.
Co-Partner within the Smithers Brewing Company, Blaine Estby reflects on this historic day for the community of Smithers.
“We’ve been working on this initiative for about two years now and it’s nice to see our dream come to fruition. We opened today (June 27th) at around 11 am and had our first sale within 5 minutes. A couple of the partners are old beer reps from the big beer world and we grew up in Smithers knowing this idea would eventually take off. We’ve brought in a brewer who used to work for Wheelhouse Brewing in Prince Rupert and we’re also partnered with the owners of the Alpenhorn in Smithers.”
Estby says they’ve got a ton going on at the Smithers Brewing Company, so if you’re looking for something new, you know where to go.
“We’ve got a ton of different brews for all those beer enthusiasts in the area. There are traditional Indian Session Ales, a lager, both a pale and brown ale and then on top of that, we have a ton of different options that our brewers have specially made. We’ve also partnered up with a couple local businesses to offer some great food here. The Sausage Factory, Alpenhorn, and Chatters have all provided food for people to sample so we’ve got a little bit of everything for residents in the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District.”
Estby says they have a ten-barrel brewing system, as well as, a small one barrel brewing system so they can properly test and pilot which beers really fit the community.
By opening their doors, the Smithers Brewing Company indirectly created a little friendly competition with the Bulkley Valley Brewery, something Estby welcomes with open arms.
“I think it’s absolutely fantastic that we have two breweries here in Smithers. We now have the most breweries per capita in the North and I think that speaks volumes to how amazing of a community Smithers is.”
Tours of the facility will be offered daily so feel free to stop in, say hello and maybe try out a few new brews.
Estby says the hours of operation are undecided at this point. For the time being, he says they are open 7 days a week starting at 11 am. They will stay open until 9 or 11 pm, depending on how busy they are that evening.
Something going on in the Bulkley Valley Lakes District you think people should know about?
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