While Hamer’s career began in project and IT management, his passion for craft and artisan spirits, and the Canadian distilleries that produce them, made him switch his trajectory. In 2013, he founded BC Distilled, Canada’s largest artisan distillery festival, and then the annual Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition (CASC) in 2017, which ultimately led to the founding of ADC.

“While about 80 distilleries are members of ADC, participation with our programs increases during the competition, which has begun to receive a lot of local and national media attention,” said Hamer.

Charlene Rooke, ADC’s director of programming, said, “Creating a sense of community amongst distillers and the independent spirits industry in Canada is crucial because the industry is really only 10 years old. The idea is to build connections between distillers. If you’re an artisan distiller, you might be the only one in your town or one of just a handful in your city.”

Initially, Hamer thought his first goal – improving consumer awareness – could be achieved solely through CASC. “The competition brings a lot of attention to artisan distillers,” he said. “But we’ve also found that because of the written feedback from the judges, some of the distilleries entering the competition are more interested in the feedback from the judges than the actual medals!”

To further best practices and community development, in 2018 Hamer decided to create the ADC Conference and Trade Show. The inaugural event launched in 2022, with this year’s event taking place on Oct. 23 and 24 at UBC Robson Square in Vancouver, B.C. It will include a full day of workshops alongside more traditional conference seminars, panels and plenary programs. “There’s something for people in every part of the spirits business,” said Rooke. “You have hands-on, deep-dive workshops alongside programming that provides a bird’s eye view of what’s going on globally.”

Including trade show exhibitors, the 2022 conference drew nearly 150 attendees from across the country. This year, Hamer expects to see more distilleries from the Maritimes, Quebec, and Ontario attending, especially if they move the conference and symposium to different provinces in the years to come. “We’re not aiming for dramatic growth, but we know we’ll grow,” said Hamer.

Orchestrating keynotes and networks

This year’s conference taps renowned experts and speakers to share their learned experience with Canadian distillers. “I’m excited about the keynote speakers,” Hamer said. “At the conference, we have Matt Hofmann doing the conference’s keynote. He’s the co-founder of Westland Distillery and we’re really excited because [Hofmann]’s a superstar in the distilling industry.”

Rooke says Hofmann opened Westland Distillery in 2010, becoming one of the United States’ top artisan producers of the American Single Malt Whiskey style of distilling. “Hofmann has created a new category in the United States – American Single Malt Whiskey is a category just like bourbon or scotch or anything else,” she said. “He’s relatively young, so this is a person whose just an icon and a total pioneer in North American whisky production in the modern age.”

There is something for people on every level. You have those deep-dive workshops, the conference and then the symposium, which is for anybody involved in this industry to discover a bird’s eye view of what’s going on globally.

Charlene Rooke, Artisan Distillers Canada

Beyond the expert speaker and panelists at the ADC Conference, Hamer says networking is essential to the event. “You see things happening like people sharing barrel sources, recipes, concepts, marketing strategies,” he said. “In addition to the formal opportunities offered at a conference, so much happens just talking to the person next to you. Even at lunchtime, we ask our speakers if they can hold subject matter tables. For example, if someone was an expert on barrel management, we would put a little sign on the speaker’s table, prompting attendees to ask questions, sit and discuss that subject, or simply meet a new friend.”

Rooke said, “I think a conference like this is really important for just bringing people together and recognizing that they are starting to form a powerful community in Canada.”

She says provincial laws and local regulations, raw materials, equipment availability, power and water expenses can affect distillers differently, so creating a fellowship of distillers across Canada will positively impact the industry as a whole. “These things have huge impacts on how they operate, so we are trying to connect the dots for the distillers,” she said. “Often when they learn from colleagues in another region, it will give them fresh ideas and strategies on how they can operate their business.” She says the conference’s seminars and panels will touch upon real-world solutions facing smaller craft distillers.

Seminars, panels and workshops

“Some craft distillers are really struggling and so one thing we are striving for this year is to give them some strategies,” she said. “Whether that means seminars on operating more efficiently or offering them some inspiration around the idea of new product development or freshening up their brand, we want to help them keep their shelf presence and realize their market potential.” Rooke says the ADC team sources some seminar and workshop inspiration from ADC’s Facebook page, giving the conference a grassroots approach to boosting the industry. 

“What is on people’s minds? What are their pain points? What are they struggling with? Because being a small business person is not an easy job. They deal with an industry that is very compliance heavy and has a lot of levels of permitting what is required,” Rooke said.

She said the workshops and conference provide “a little bit of community, a little bit of education and some inspiration for these small business people to have the best chance at success. If they are already running a successful business, then these opportunities can give them some inspiration to take their business to that next level.”

Marketing their product can be a massive hurdle for artisan distillers and Hamer says the conference has two panels on the topic as a response.  “One is how to get your spirits to market, led by a distributor,” he said. Another panel is a case study on the successes, failures and challenges of performing a complete rebrand of your distillery and products. “It includes a distillery and a branding company talking about doing a rebrand,” said Hamer. “This is a case study because they went through this process and you don’t do something like that unless you feel there is a need – and they felt like there was a need.”

The Canada Whisky Symposium

This year also marks a programming expansion, with the addition of a separate event – and a third day – dedicated to whisky production. The Canada Whisky Symposium will follow immediately after the conference at UBC Robson Square on Oct. 25. “While each event is separate and distinct, we anticipate many people will want to attend both events,” said Rooke.

Hamer says he intentionally gave the dark spirit its own event to attract both small and big-name distillers who might feel whisky may not get the attention it deserves from the ADC Conference. “Despite being one of the major whisky producers, Canada lacks an industry event for whisky. Ultimately, this is what I want the symposium to be – the flagship event for whisky based in Canada,” Hamer said. “It’s about more than just artisan production. We wanted it to be about all kinds of whisky production around the world.”

You see things happening like people sharing barrel sources, recipes, concepts, marketing strategies. In addition to the formal opportunities offered at a conference, so much happens just talking to the person next to you.

Alex Hamer, Artisan Distillers Canada

“The Canada Whisky Symposium is for everybody,” said Rooke, who will also fill the role of director of programming. “It works if you’re a small distiller and want to get inspired about what’s happening globally, and it works if you’re one of the big players and want to get together with colleagues and hear some big industry names share their process.”

The growing interest in whisky globally has also become a significant indicator that a symposium could bring new energy to the industry. “Whisky has a lot of cachet. Eighty-five per cent of the smaller distillers that I talk to want to make whisky. That is the objective. That is the goal,” said Davin de Kergommeaux, the symposium’s founder and the chair of its judging panel. “They make white spirits along the way for a quick cash flow because it takes a long time for whisky to become profitable. Yet, it seems to be what is bringing people into the distilling industry.”

Hamer met de Kergommeaux while partnering with him on the Canadian Whisky Awards, which de Kergommeaux founded in 2009. de Kergommeaux has written about whisky for over 25 years and is the writer of Canadian Whisky, the Portable Expert; Canadian Whisky, The New Portable Expert and The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries.

Rooke says that one of the goals of the symposium is to provide smaller Canadian distillers with the opportunity to plug into the network of larger, more established distillers in Canada. “We want them to get inspired by what is happening on a national and global level,” she said. de Kergommeaux agreed. “People don’t realize the benefits of networking until it starts to happen,” he said. “[Hamer] is creating opportunities for people in this industry to talk to one another.”

The keynote speaker for the symposium is Bill Ashburn, an industry veteran of 35 years and the master blender of Forty Creek, one of the top whisky brands in the country. “Forty Creek started as an artisan distillery many, many years ago and now they’re at the top of the Canadian whisky industry,” Rooke said. “Bill Ashburn is responsible for a lot of innovation in that category. So, this gives you another idea of how the Canada Whisky Symposium has a much bigger scope.”

Whiskey producers from America and Scotland, and experts on Irish whiskey will also showcase at the symposium. For more information on the ADC Conference and the Canada Whisky Symposium, visit conference.artisandistillers.ca and whiskysymposium.ca.