Latest Stories from What’s Brewing

From the first time I read about Susi Foerg back in 2017, I was I intrigued! The owner and operator of the now one-year old Rustic Reel Brewing Co. seemed different, as did her approach to opening a brewery. It was a woman’s approach.

As soon as Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the restart of travel, my husband and I started planning an adventure in BC’s beautiful backyard, the East Kootenays. On this trip, we had the opportunity to visit three local breweries: Rumpus Beer Company and Mt. Begbie Brewing Co., Brewing in Revelstoke, and recent #CBAC2020 triple gold medal winner Whitetooth Brewing Company in Golden.

I had always believed that BC would one day be the beer mecca of North America. We seemed so close, then COVID-19 struck. So I ventured out to talk to brewers, managers, and owners about their experience during this pandemic. Would it destroy us or make us stronger? My quest was to find out and, of course, drink some fresh craft beer along the way!

It’s amazing to think through the last six months – yes, March was six months ago. The 24-hour news cycle changed as lockdown after lockdown was announced, then it was hourly, and scary.

Vol. 30 No. 3 Fall 2020 is our Coping With COVID issue, and it's all about pulling people together in a time of distancing. We assemble a virtual group chat featuring industry insiders, and another with craft beer superfans. We learn to drink smart in isolation by cutting back on booze, not beer. And we explore the BC Interior to make sure it's safe for your beer staycation.

Events make up an important pillar of the craft beer movement. As part of our Summer 2020 Special Issue, we present a few words from people like Leah Heneghan, Rick Green, Amanda Barry-Butchart and Lundy Dale who helped establish some of BC's most important event traditions between 2010-2011.

In Part I of this beer travel guide, we completed our walking tour of inner Kelowna. In Part II of this story, we take you on a Northeast Kelowna road trip, learn about the Lakeshore beer tour, and find beer and cider on both the West and 'Yeast' banks of Okanagan Lake.

With five breweries within essentially a one-block radius, Kelowna’s North End is the new BC brewery cluster to rival Port Moody Brewer’s Row. Then, with 15 breweries and counting in city limits, Kelowna has as many breweries as Yeast Van. If you’re on the fence about a BC beer staycation in the Okanagan, start packing.

It took most of the 30 years since What’s Brewing was first billed as “The Magazine of the Campaign For Real Ale British Columbia” for craft brewing to take off in Prince George and Northern BC as a whole.