Daniel Plenzik and Jacques Tremblay, unbeknownst to each other, both arrived in Kelowna from Calgary to attend a week-long distilling seminar. At the seminar, they learned about regulations in the industry, science, marketing skills and more. They realized they were the only two participants from Calgary, and at one point, they were hanging out comparing notes and started tossing around the idea of a partnership.

Both Plenzik and Tremblay were engineers, with Plenzik being an electrical engineer and Tremblay being a geomatics engineer, but both were searching for a career change. Tremblay was planning to wait and look at an area outside of Calgary, but Plenzik was both eager and charming, and managed to convince Tremblay to start a distillery in Calgary and to take the leap earlier than he originally planned. Jump forward two years to 2018, they signed a lease and started the company.

They began renovations. In spring 2019, construction was completed, and production started in order to have products available for their public opening. With the strong support of their wives, they were able to take the plunge fully into the distillery, becoming not only the two main investors, but also the first two employees.

It was August of 2019 when Bridgeland Distillery opened its doors to the public in the historic Bridgeland-Riverside neighbourhood. Today, they have about 10 employees, including front of house, production, and sales and operations. “We are a bit of an oddity when it comes to a distillery,” said Tremblay. “We’re an urban distillery in the true sense that we’re a block away from the Bow River.”

Bridgeland itself has been a place of immigration representation over the last 100 years, and with that rich history in the area, many of the residents brought along their heritage alcohol. Bridgeland Distillery thought this made for an ideal location to open their distillery with a plan to pay homage to some of those very same heritage alcohols. With their core focus on true craft products coupled with their desire to take their own spin on traditional spirits to the forefront, Bridgeland Distillery joined a network called “Artisans at Work” to keep their artisanal focus strong.

“It includes a wide array of artisans, including stained glass and cheese,” said Tremblay. “So, when we tour and taste on the weekend with customers, they get to experience our artisan practice of distilling in a variety of ways.”

We are hoping to get to Gold in the World Whisky Awards coming next.

Jacques Tremblay, Bridgeland Distillery

Currently, the distillery operates from Wednesday to Sunday and is open on Mondays and Tuesdays exclusively for bottle sales. While they don’t have a restaurant operating within their space, they have forged partnerships with existing restaurants in the neighbourhood, so all the food served in their establishment is coming from one to two blocks away. These restaurants include Villa Firenze, Toto Pizza, Noto Gelato and Moonlight & Eli. When they were back in Kelowna comparing notes, both Tremblay and Plenzik knew they wanted to focus on aged spirits.

“Whether that [was to] be whisky or brandy, we went to look around for the best equipment to make these spirits,” said Tremblay. Instead of looking for equipment that could ‘do it all,’ they wanted to focus on the best equipment fit for their goals. This led them to source their pot still from Vendome Brass & Works in Newville, Ky. “It’s a 1000-litre pot still with a unique design … there’s a coiled lyne arm at the top, and basically that coil will provide an additional filter and more surface contact between the copper and the vapour at the distillation temperature.”

Bridgeland Distillery also has five fermenters and a mash tun on site. Their equipment allows them to produce around 20 stock keeping units, “which feels ridiculous sometimes as a start-up distillery,” said Tremblay. Bridgeland’s three main product lines are brandy, whisky and a grappa-like product called Eau De Vigne.

“We are not technically allowed to call it grappa, as that is protected for Italian production, but [Plenzik] is Italian and the grape-side is strong in him, so he really wanted to [make] a brandy and a grappa-style product. For me, whisky was the priority. When we started to weave our dreams together, we realized that there were a lot of commonalities between brandy and whisky-making. Most of the flavour for both productions comes from the aging process, so once it’s distilled, you put it in a barrel for a few years, and you actively try to manage the best barrel for each batch.”

Their product blend has the team at Bridgeland Distillery focusing on a well-orchestrated and planned schedule. They produce their Eau De Vigne and smaller seasonal subsets, including their Chamomile Honey Eau De Vigne in late December because it comes after the winemaking is done, allowing them access to the grape skins.

Their whisky season takes place from January to August. Using 100 per cent Alberta-grown grain, they make a single malt, Irish-style with oats and raw barley, and their Taber corn Berbon, working with a local farmer to secure their allotment of corn. The name “Berbon” comes from a blend of the name of the location of Taber and some witty charm to capture the spirit of bourbon in a truly Canadian spin on the spirit.

“One hundred per cent of our grain is from craft malt producers, and [carrying this certification] is something we are very happy about. We think there should be more craft distilleries getting certified. We get [our grain] straight from the farmers, and it’s good to have control of the input. We get our grain from two farms: the Molnar family in Taber and Hamill family in Penhold.”

Bridgeland’s last bit of production occurs from September to November, which is their brandy season. When they receive fresh grapes, the vineyards they partner with press them on-site and ship the juice to Bridgeland Distillery in a tote. From there, they produce their own wine as soon as it arrives at the distillery. Then, they ferment it and distill the brandy in November.

“We just finished up our brandy season for 2025,” said Tremblay. “It is a very seasonal process. That’s why we decided to put our plans together, because winter and spring will be long until the next harvest, and we are using the same type of equipment anyway.”

Bridgeland’s craft is not without recognition. In 2023, they won the Best Brandy in the World award at the World Brandy Awards in London for their Moscato Brandy in the two to three-year category. Most recently, their Glenbow Single Malt Port Finish won Best Barrel Finish Whisky at the Canadian Whisky Awards in January 2025. They’ve also received Gold and Double Gold at the Canadian Whisky Awards, the Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition and the World Whisky Awards.

“We are hoping to get to Gold in the World Whisky Awards coming next. So far, we have achieved Silver,” said Tremblay.

Bridgeland Distillery’s craft products can be found on shelves at the distillery in Calgary. Additionally, they are available in 180 liquor stores and on shelves at more than 40 bars across Alberta. Their Berbon has also sparked enough of a demand in Saskatchewan that it is being carried in 20 to 25 liquor stores between Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina. Be sure to keep watch on Bridgeland Distillery in 2026, they are working on breaking into new markets, setting sights on Ontario or British Columbia.

Additionally, they are working on a trade mission to Japan. Bridgeland Distillery will be part of the food expo in Tokyo at the beginning of March. They will be one of six Alberta-based vendors in attendance. “It’s going to be a lot of work to be ready for the Japanese market, but we are looking forward to it,” said Tremblay.

Inside a converted walk-in cooler on Vancouver Island, Dave Brimacombe, founder of Wayward Distillery, spent his early distilling days doing something few would associate with spirit production: warming 640-pound drums of crystallized honey. Wayward Distillery is a honey-based operation that specializes in crafting premium spirits made entirely from fermented B.C. honey.

“We converted a walk-in fridge into a walk-in heater,” said Brimacombe. “We kept barrels of honey there for two weeks so that the heat would get into them slowly. If you cook a barrel of honey, you destroy a lot of its protein.” The goal was to preserve the integrity of the material because honey, as it turns out, is a deeply challenging and incredibly rewarding ingredient in craft distilling.

While grains, molasses and fruit have long been the standard for fermentation, some Canadian distillers are turning to honey for its natural complexity, regional character and consumer appeal. Working with honey isn’t easy. It’s expensive, temperamental and doesn’t always fit into existing spirit categories or regulatory frameworks. For the producers who are wildly passionate about this liquid gold, however, that’s exactly what makes it worth the effort.

A buzzworthy ingredient

With increasing consumer demand for sustainable, local products, honey spirits sweeten the deal. Honey is a naturally renewable resource and, when produced responsibly, the harvest supports healthy bee populations, which are critical pollinators for a wide variety of flowering crops and vegetables.

Unlike traditional agricultural crops, honey doesn’t require planting, irrigation or soil disturbance, making its environmental footprint remarkably low. This means that honey-based spirits not only deliver flavour but also align with values of ecological stewardship and biodiversity.

Honey spirit gives you a light, delicate mouthfeel. It’s easy drinking, floral, fruity and it doesn’t have that big, oily mouthfeel you get from some cereal grains.

Jordan Ramey, Burwood Distillery

In B.C., where distillers must use 100 per cent local agricultural inputs, honey provides both a practical and ethical advantage for producers. “We work with honey because it’s a sustainable food source,” said Brimacombe. “Using all B.C. wheat, corn or fruit takes a lot of food out of our food web. Honey is a byproduct of food production.” The alignment with sustainability and provincial pride is echoed across the country.

At Alberta’s Burwood Distillery, honey became a core ingredient thanks to a founding partnership between Ivan Cilic, Jordan Ramey and Marko Cilic, a local beekeeper. What began as a practical decision – using excess honey to create spirits – grew into a commitment to celebrate Alberta’s agricultural heritage. “… we wanted to see what we could make with it,” said co-founder Ramey. “Other producers make mead, so why can’t [we], as a distillery, make a novel product featuring our local apiaries and craft something that’s unique in this part of the world?”

Chemically, honey is unlike other fermentable ingredients. Honey contains a mix of simple and complex sugars, acids, enzymes and trace phenolics, some of which break down during fermentation to create alcohol and aroma compounds, while others survive even the high heat of distillation, leading to notes of fruit, spice or floral sweetness in the final spirit. Honey-based spirits are often lighter, softer and more floral than their grain or molasses-based counterparts.

“Honey spirit gives you a light, delicate mouthfeel,” said Ramey. “It’s easy drinking, floral, fruity and it doesn’t have that big, oily mouthfeel you get from some cereal grains.” Wayward’s honey vodka, gin and rum alternative all retain that character, despite being triple-distilled and unflavoured.

“Honey tastes good all the way through, which means we start with a base that already has a really positive flavour profile in distillation,” said Brimacombe. “It’s got a nice viscosity, natural oils from fermentation and a softness that carries through.”

Sticky situations

If honey offers beautiful flavour and ethical sourcing, it demands repayment in logistics. For starters, it doesn’t pour. Wayward receives honey in 200-litre drums, each weighing more than 600 pounds. Its early days involved scooping 50-pound batches by hand using four-cup measuring scoops. Eventually, they developed a custom process using hot water injection and a specialized pump to liquefy and move the honey safely and efficiently.

That amount of honey isn’t exactly cheap. While grains cost mere cents per litre, honey is a premium ingredient – anywhere between four to eight times the price of malted grain, according to Ramey. This makes honey-based spirits significantly more expensive to produce, and almost impossible to scale cheaply.

Faced with this reality, Wayward had to pivot. When the pandemic shifted consumer spending, Brimacombe reimagined his 100 per cent honey approach, focusing honey’s use where it truly impacted flavour and quality, in products like Unruly Vodka, Unruly Gin and Drunken Hive Rum. For more accessible offerings, he introduced ethically sourced, pollinator-friendly grain that’s glyphosate-free, spray-free and fully traceable, keeping Wayward’s values intact.

A new challenge that appeared? Educating consumers. “We are a honey-centric distillery that has three products made 100 per cent from B.C. honey, and then everything else we do is pollinator-friendly,” said Brimacombe. “We use honey whenever we use sweetener. We had to communicate the difference between ‘made with honey’ and ‘made from honey.’”

Ramey faced this issue with Burwood’s first product, too. “Our first product was called Single Hive, like single malt,” he said. “But people were confused. Was it rum? Was it whisky? We wanted to tell people that it was a barrel-aged honey spirit, and it kind of tastes like rum and kind of tastes like a Scottish single malt, but there’s no grain in it. It’s hard to tell that branding story quickly.”

This challenge pushed Burwood to experiment and refine its approach, leading to the creation of The Bee Whisperer, a blend of its single-malt whisky and barrel-aged honey spirit. To make the honey spirit component, Burwood first dilutes the honey so it can ferment properly. Then, it ferments for about a week using Chardonnay yeast along with some wild microbes, which adds unique floral and botanical flavours. After fermentation, the spirit is distilled twice, just like traditional whisky, and aged in used American bourbon barrels for up to seven years.

“This honey spirit makes up about 10 per cent of the final blend, with the other 90 per cent being single malt whisky,” said Ramey. “The result is a Canadian whisky that tastes smooth and familiar, but with a subtle, wildflower-like twist.”

Honey spirits exist in a regulatory grey zone. In Canada, spirits like vodka, whisky and rum are defined by their base ingredients – typically grain, potatoes or sugarcane byproducts – which leaves little room for experimentation with ingredients like honey. This has created significant hurdles for producers trying to innovate. Wayward, for example, wasn’t allowed to label its honey-based spirit as vodka until 2018, because it didn’t meet the grain or potato requirement.

In Alberta, Burwood has taken a proactive approach, working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to create an entirely new category: Canadian rum, made from honey. The effort began with an unusual byproduct from beekeeping. When cleaning hive frames, leftover caramelized sugars form a dark, sticky substance. There was no good use for it, it couldn’t be dumped without causing environmental issues and storing it was a logistical burden.

Burwood began experimenting. Partnering with government researchers, it explored whether the substance could be treated like molasses: fermented, distilled and aged to create a rum-like spirit. The result is a bold, spiced honey spirit that’s low-cost and helps reduce farm waste.

According to federal regulations, however, it still doesn’t qualify as rum. Even though the base material is chemically and functionally similar to molasses, it doesn’t come from sugarcane, so it falls outside the current definition. As a workaround, Burwood markets the product as “rhum,” a tongue-in-cheek nod to the regulatory ambiguity. So far, the CFIA is open to the idea of a new category, but it needs more producers to participate before a formal designation can be made.

Blossom to bottle

Just as grapes and grains express their growing conditions, honey reflects the plants, flowers and climate from which bees forage. This is why distillers are highly selective about floral origin.

Honey has a naturally wide range of flavour profiles depending on the flowers the bees forage from. These are known as varietals. While all honey shares a familiar sweetness, each varietal carries unique floral notes layered on top. Distillation concentrates those flavours, allowing the identity of each honey varietal to shine through. At Wayward, the focus is on wild clover honey.

“The bees pollinate crops all over B.C., then rest on the wild clover fields in B.C.’s north,” said Brimacombe. “It’s an efficient food source for the bees, when you consider the density of one cubic metre of clover versus one cubic metre of, say, raspberries.”

It’s ideal both for the bees and distillers aiming for reliable yields and a balanced, floral spirit. Burwood, on the other hand, works with blended “prairie mix” honey, made up of canola, clover, wildflowers and myriad other varieties that Alberta bees encounter. “It’s bloom time in Alberta in a bottle,” said Ramey. “I get wildflower, honeysuckle [and] rose aroma. Some people say lavender; some get raw vegetal notes.”

Honey characteristics vary year to year based on climate, rainfall and blooming cycles. To maintain consistent spirit quality, the distilleries rely on detailed blending, sensory profiling and, in Wayward’s case, automated fermentation analysis using equipment they co-developed with a local college.

For Wayward, its mono-floral approach not only helps standardize flavour but also ensures a consistently higher sugar content than found in generic grocery store honey, which often contains more water. Higher sugar concentration leads to more efficient fermentation, better alcohol yields and fewer unwanted off-flavours, allowing for greater control over the final spirit.

While finding the right honey is an art, Wayward’s methods are also backed by a healthy dose of science. “Honey changes from barrel to barrel, so we built an automated system with a PhD chemist,” said Brimacombe. “It samples the ferment every 20 minutes, tracking 23 points like pH and Brix. After 100-plus ferments, we know exactly how to adjust – like adding water if the honey is sweeter – to maintain consistency.”

For Burwood, honey can vary a lot depending on the season and what the bees are foraging on, but it has a few ways to keep things consistent. First, the honey it uses is already blended by its producers at the end of the season, so it’s not working with wildly different batches from different months. When it’s time to blend the final product, samples are pulled from a large pool of barrels and only the ones that meet the flavour profile are selected. Every blend goes through tasting panels and small-scale trials before it gets scaled up. It also accounts for differences in barrel aging: where the barrel sits in the warehouse, how it’s made and even Alberta’s dry climate, which affects how the spirit matures.

A sweet shift

As Canadian drinkers grow more conscious about what they consume, and where it comes from, honey offers craft distillers a mix of story, substance and sensory intrigue. While it may not yet have the mainstream recognition of wine or whisky, that’s starting to change. Honey spirits are carving out their place in the industry and challenging drinkers to think differently about what’s in their glass.

“One of the biggest challenges with honey-based spirits is this strange disconnect in how people think about them,” said Brimacombe. “Consumers understand that beer is brewed locally, or that wine comes from a nearby vineyard. It’s visible, it’s agricultural and it supports the local economy. But something weird happens when you turn that beer or wine into vodka or gin: people stop caring about where it comes from.” That disconnect, he notes, is starting to shift.

“People are beginning to ask where their spirits come from, just like they do with food, wine and beer. I’m excited to be here when they do to say, ‘Hey, here’s something ethically sourced, sustainable, low-water and made from honey. It’s lovely. Give it a try.’”

Traduit par Audrey Lemire

Dans un réfrigérateur transformé sur l’île de Vancouver, Dave Brimacombe, fondateur de Wayward Distillery, a consacré ses débuts en distillation à une activité peu conventionnelle dans le domaine des spiritueux : le réchauffement de fûts de miel cristallisé pesant 640 livres. Wayward Distillery se spécialise dans la création de spiritueux haut de gamme élaborés exclusivement à partir de miel fermenté provenant de la Colombie-Britannique.

« Nous avons métamorphosé un réfrigérateur en réchauffeur, explique Brimacombe. Nous conservons les fûts de miel pendant deux semaines pour permettre à la chaleur de les pénétrer lentement. Une cuisson excessive du miel entraîne la destruction d’une grande partie de ses protéines. » L’objectif est de préserver l’intégrité de ce matériau, car le miel s’avère être un ingrédient à la fois complexe et exceptionnellement gratifiant dans le cadre de la distillation artisanale.

Alors que les grains, la mélasse et les fruits ont longtemps constitué les ingrédients standards pour la fermentation, certains distillateurs canadiens se tournent vers le miel en raison de sa complexité intrinsèque, de son caractère régional et de son attrait croissant auprès des consommateurs.

Un ingrédient digne d’intérêt

Face à une demande croissante pour des produits durables et locaux, les spiritueux à base de miel apportent une valeur ajoutée significative. Le miel est une ressource naturellement renouvelable et, lorsqu’il est produit de manière responsable, sa récolte soutient des populations d’abeilles saines, essentielles à la pollinisation d’une vaste gamme de cultures.

Contrairement aux cultures agricoles traditionnelles, le miel ne nécessite ni plantation, ni irrigation, ni perturbation du sol, ce qui réduit considérablement son empreinte environnementale. Ainsi, les spiritueux à base de miel offrent non seulement une palette de saveurs, mais s’inscrivent également dans des valeurs de gestion écologique et de biodiversité.

Le spiritueux au miel vous procure une sensation en bouche légère et délicate. C’est facile à boire, floral, fruité et cela n’a pas cette grande sensation huileuse que l’on obtient avec certains grains céréaliers.

Jordan Ramey, Burwood Distillery

En Colombie-Britannique, où les distillateurs doivent utiliser 100 % d’ingrédients agricoles locaux, le miel présente un double avantage, à la fois pratique et éthique, pour les producteurs. « Nous travaillons avec le miel parce que c’est une source alimentaire durable, affirme Brimacombe. Utiliser du blé, du maïs ou des fruits de la Colombie-Britannique retire beaucoup de nourriture de notre réseau alimentaire. Le miel est un sous-produit de la production alimentaire. »

Cette approche durable, ancrée dans la fierté provinciale, résonne à travers le pays. À Burwood Distillery, en Alberta, le miel est devenu un ingrédient central grâce à un partenariat fondateur entre Ivan Cilic, Jordan Ramey et Marko Cilic, un apiculteur local. Ce qui a débuté comme une décision pragmatique d’utiliser l’excès de miel pour créer des spiritueux s’est transformé en un engagement à célébrer l’héritage agricole de l’Alberta. « Nous souhaitions explorer le potentiel de ce miel, confie Ramey. D’autres producteurs fabriquent de l’hydromel, alors pourquoi ne pourrions-nous pas, en tant que distillerie, créer un produit novateur mettant en valeur nos ruchers locaux et concevoir quelque chose d’unique dans cette région du monde ? »

D’un point de vue chimique, le miel se distingue des autres ingrédients fermentables. Il contient un mélange de sucres simples et complexes, d’acides, d’enzymes et de composés phénoliques. Certains de ces éléments se décomposent pendant la fermentation pour engendrer des composés alcooliques et aromatiques, tandis que d’autres survivent à la chaleur intense de la distillation, apportant des notes de fruits, d’épices ou de douceur florale dans le spiritueux final. Les spiritueux à base de miel se révèlent souvent plus légers, plus doux et plus floraux que leurs homologues à base de grains ou de mélasse.

« Le spiritueux au miel procure une sensation en bouche légère et délicate, explique Ramey. C’est un produit facile à déguster, floral et fruité sans la sensation huileuse que l’on obtient avec certains grains. » La vodka, le gin et l’alternative au rhum de Wayward conservent tous ce caractère, malgré une triple distillation et l’absence de saveurs ajoutées.

« Le miel conserve ses arômes tout au long du processus, ce qui signifie que nous commençons avec une base qui présente déjà un profil de saveur très positif en distillation, précise Brimacombe. Il possède une belle viscosité, des huiles naturelles issues de la fermentation et une douceur persistante. »

Défis logistiques : l’art de travailler avec le miel

Bien que le miel offre une saveur exquise et une provenance éthique, il exige un retour sur investissement logistique considérable. Pour commencer, il ne se verse pas aisément. Wayward reçoit le miel dans des fûts de 200 litres, chacun pesant plus de 600 livres. Les débuts de la distillerie ont impliqué la manipulation de lots de 50 livres à la main à l’aide de tasses à mesurer de quatre tasses. Finalement, un processus sur mesure a été développé, utilisant l’injection d’eau chaude et une pompe spécialisée pour liquéfier et déplacer le miel en toute sécurité et efficacement.

Cette quantité de miel n’est pas exactement bon marché. Alors que les grains coûtent à peine quelques centimes par litre, le miel est un ingrédient premium, coûtant entre quatre et huit fois le prix du grain malté, selon Ramey. Cela rend la production de spiritueux à base de miel significativement plus coûteuse et quasiment impossible à échelonner à bas coût.

Face à cette réalité, Wayward a dû faire preuve d’adaptabilité. Lorsque la pandémie a modifié les habitudes de consommation, Brimacombe a réimaginé son approche 100 % miel, se concentrant sur l’utilisation du miel là où il influençait réellement la saveur et la qualité, dans des produits tels que Unruly Vodka, Unruly Gin et Drunken Hive Rum. Pour des offres plus accessibles, il a introduit des grains éthiquement sourcés, favorables aux pollinisateurs, sans glyphosate, sans pulvérisation et entièrement traçables, tout en maintenant les valeurs de Wayward.

Un nouveau défi a émergé : éduquer les consommateurs. « Nous sommes une distillerie centrée sur le miel qui propose trois produits fabriqués à 100 % à partir de miel de la Colombie-Britannique, et tout le reste que nous faisons est favorable aux pollinisateurs, explique Brimacombe. Nous utilisons du miel chaque fois que nous employons un édulcorant. Nous avons dû communiquer la différence entre fabriqué avec du miel et fabriqué à partir de miel. »

Ramey a également été confronté à cette problématique avec le premier produit de Burwood. « Notre premier produit s’appelait Single Hive, à l’instar d’un single malt, raconte-t-il. Cependant, les consommateurs étaient confus. Était-ce du rhum ? Était-ce du whisky ? Nous souhaitions faire comprendre qu’il s’agissait d’un spiritueux au miel vieilli en fût, ayant un goût qui rappelle à la fois le rhum et le single malt écossais, mais sans grain. Il est difficile de raconter cette histoire de marque rapidement. »

Ce défi a poussé Burwood à expérimenter et à affiner son approche, menant à la création de The Bee Whisperer, un mélange de son whisky single malt et de son spiritueux au miel vieilli en fût. Pour élaborer le composant au miel, Burwood dilue d’abord le miel afin qu’il puisse fermenter correctement. Ensuite, il fermente pendant environ une semaine en utilisant de la levure de Chardonnay ainsi que quelques microbes sauvages, ce qui ajoute des saveurs florales et botaniques uniques. Après fermentation, le spiritueux est distillé deux fois, comme un whisky traditionnel, et vieilli dans des fûts de bourbon américains usagés pendant jusqu’à sept ans.

« Ce spiritueux au miel représente environ 10 % du mélange final, les 90 % restants étant du whisky single malt, précise Ramey. Le résultat est un whisky canadien qui offre un goût doux et familier, mais avec une subtile touche de fleurs sauvages. »

Les spiritueux à base de miel évoluent dans une zone grise en matière de réglementation. Au Canada, des boissons comme la vodka, le whisky et le rhum sont définies par leurs ingrédients de base, généralement des grains, des pommes de terre ou des sous-produits de la canne à sucre, ce qui limite l’expérimentation avec le miel. Cette situation crée des obstacles pour les producteurs. Par exemple, Wayward n’a pu étiqueter son spiritueux à base de miel comme de la vodka qu’en 2018, car il ne respectait pas les exigences relatives aux grains ou aux pommes de terre.

En Alberta, Burwood a collaboré avec l’Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments (ACIA) pour créer une nouvelle catégorie : le rhum canadien, produit à partir de miel. Cette initiative découle d’un sous-produit de l’apiculture. Lors du nettoyage des cadres de ruche, des sucres caramélisés résiduels forment une substance sombre et visqueuse, sans utilisation adéquate. Burwood a donc expérimenté en traitant cette substance comme de la mélasse, la fermentant, la distillant et l’affinant pour créer un spiritueux similaire au rhum. Le résultat est un produit audacieux et épicé au miel, qui contribue à réduire le gaspillage agricole.

Cependant, selon les réglementations fédérales, ce produit ne peut toujours pas être qualifié de rhum, car il ne provient pas de la canne à sucre. Pour contourner cette problématique, Burwood le commercialise sous le nom de « rhum », en réponse à l’ambiguïté réglementaire. L’ACIA est ouverte à la possibilité d’une nouvelle catégorie, mais cela nécessite la participation d’un plus grand nombre de producteurs avant qu’une désignation officielle puisse être établie.

De la fleur à la bouteille

Tout comme les raisins et les grains expriment leurs conditions de croissance, le miel reflète les plantes, les fleurs et le climat dont les abeilles se nourrissent. C’est pourquoi les distillateurs sont particulièrement sélectifs quant à l’origine florale.

Le miel présente naturellement une vaste gamme de profils de saveur selon les fleurs dont les abeilles se nourrissent. Ces variétés sont connues sous le nom de variétales. Bien que tous les miels partagent une douceur familière, chaque variétale porte des notes florales uniques superposées. La distillation concentre ces saveurs, permettant à l’identité de chaque variétale de miel de s’exprimer pleinement. Chez Wayward, l’accent est mis sur le miel de trèfle sauvage.

« Les abeilles pollinisent des cultures partout en Colombie-Britannique, puis se reposent sur les champs de trèfle sauvage dans le nord de la province, explique Brimacombe. C’est une source alimentaire efficace pour les abeilles, si l’on considère la densité d’un mètre cube de trèfle par rapport à un mètre cube de, disons, des framboises. »

C’est idéal tant pour les abeilles que pour les distillateurs en quête de rendements fiables et d’un spiritueux floral équilibré. Burwood, quant à elle, travaille avec un miel « mélange prairie », composé de colza, de trèfle, de fleurs sauvages et de nombreuses autres variétés que les abeilles de l’Alberta rencontrent. « C’est le temps de floraison en Alberta dans une bouteille, déclare Ramey. Je perçois des arômes de fleurs sauvages, de chèvrefeuille et de rose. Certaines personnes évoquent la lavande ; d’autres perçoivent des notes végétales crues. »

Les caractéristiques du miel varient d’année en année en fonction du climat, des précipitations et des cycles de floraison. Pour maintenir une qualité de spiritueux cohérente, les distilleries s’appuient sur un mélange détaillé, un profilage sensoriel et, dans le cas de Wayward, une analyse de fermentation automatisée utilisant un équipement qu’ils ont co-développé avec un collège local.

Pour Wayward, son approche mono-florale aide non seulement à standardiser la saveur, mais garantit également un contenu en sucre systématiquement plus élevé que celui que l’on trouve dans le miel générique des épiceries, qui contient souvent plus d’eau. Une concentration en sucre plus élevée conduit à une fermentation plus efficace, de meilleurs rendements en alcool et moins de saveurs indésirables, permettant un meilleur contrôle sur le spiritueux final.

Bien que trouver le bon miel soit un art, les méthodes de Wayward sont également soutenues par une solide base scientifique. « Le miel change d’un fût à l’autre, donc nous avons construit un système automatisé avec un chimiste titulaire d’un doctorat, précise Brimacombe. Il échantillonne la fermentation toutes les 20 minutes, suivant 23 paramètres comme le pH et le Brix. Après plus de 100 fermentations, nous savons exactement comment ajuster – comme ajouter de l’eau si le miel est plus sucré – pour maintenir la cohérence. »

Pour Burwood, le miel peut varier considérablement en fonction de la saison et de ce dont les abeilles se nourrissent, mais il dispose de plusieurs moyens pour maintenir la cohérence. Tout d’abord, le miel qu’il utilise est déjà mélangé par ses producteurs à la fin de la saison, évitant ainsi de travailler avec des lots très différents provenant de mois distincts. Lorsque vient le temps de mélanger le produit final, des échantillons sont prélevés dans un grand réservoir de fûts et seuls ceux qui répondent au profil de saveur sont sélectionnés. Chaque mélange passe par des panels de dégustation et des essais à petite échelle avant d’être mis à l’échelle. Il prend également en compte les différences dans le vieillissement en fût : l’emplacement du fût dans l’entrepôt, sa fabrication et même le climat sec de l’Alberta, qui influence la maturation du spiritueux.

Un doux changement

Alors que les consommateurs canadiens deviennent de plus en plus conscients de ce qu’ils consomment et d’où cela provient, le miel offre aux distillateurs artisanaux un mélange d’histoire, de substance et d’intrigue sensorielle. Bien qu’il n’ait peut-être pas encore la reconnaissance grand public du vin ou du whisky, cela commence à évoluer. Les spiritueux à base de miel se taillent leur place dans l’industrie et incitent les consommateurs à repenser ce qu’ils retrouvent dans leur verre.

« L’un des plus grands défis avec les spiritueux à base de miel est cette étrange déconnexion dans la perception des consommateurs, note Brimacombe. Les consommateurs comprennent que la bière est brassée localement, ou que le vin provient d’un vignoble voisin. C’est visible, c’est agricole et cela soutient l’économie locale. Cependant, une étrange dynamique se produit lorsque vous transformez cette bière ou ce vin en vodka ou en gin : les gens cessent de se soucier de son origine. » Cette déconnexion, souligne-t-il, commence à s’estomper.

« Les gens commencent à s’interroger sur l’origine de leurs spiritueux, tout comme ils le font pour la nourriture, le vin et la bière. Je suis ravi d’être ici lorsque cela se produira pour pouvoir dire : ‹Hé, voici quelque chose d’éthiquement sourcé, durable, à faible consommation d’eau et fabriqué à partir de miel. C’est merveilleux. Essayez-le. »

Known for their dedication to quality, tradition and innovation, The Establishment Brewing Company continues to set the standard for craft beer excellence in Alberta.

The Brewery of the Year award was a result of the brewery receiving an impressive six medals in style-specific categories:

• Silver – Light Bodied Ale: My Best Friend’s Girl (Kölsch-Style Ale)
• Bronze – Other Flavoured Beer: Left My Wallet in El Segundo (Lichtenhainer with Pineapple)
• Bronze – Barrel-Aged Beer: Into the Void (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout)
• Gold – Low Alcohol Beer: Chaise Longue (Table Beer)
• Silver – Mixed Fermentation Beer with Fruit: Rare Hearts (Barrel-Aged Beer with Strawberries)
• Silver– Mixed Fermentation Beer: Erlton Street (Barrel-Aged Anniversary Blend)

“In a region that boasts some of the best beer in the country, it is an incredible honour to receive this recognition for the third time! The beer industry in Alberta is constantly innovating and continues to be of the highest caliber. We have a lot of passion on our team for what we do, but having talented peers in such a collaborative industry pushes us to continue improving. We’re very proud of our team. It takes a lot of patience, dedication and skill sets to create these products,” said brewery owner, Dave Ronneberg.

Situated inside a restored heritage building with historic, industrial and art deco elements, True Wild Distilling boasts multiple event spaces, a restaurant and experience centre that allows guests to take a peek into the distilling process through venue-hosted tours and tastings.

“This urban estate we’ve created is something brand new for Calgary’s incredible food and beverage scene,” said Bryce Parsons, founder and CEO, True Wild Distilling. “Converting a 1911 electrical substation into a world-class distillery, restaurant and events space has been quite the undertaking, but we’re so excited to finally invite Calgarians and visitors in to experience what True Wild has to offer!”

While seated among towering Canadian-made whisky and gin stills, which includes Canada’s tallest copper pot alembic still, restaurant patrons will dine on locally-sourced, live fire-grilled proteins and vegetable dishes that are infused with the unique flavour profile that only charcoal can impart. Of course, a restaurant inside a distillery wouldn’t be complete without an innovative cocktail program, and True Wild’s mixology team has blended its house-distilled spirits with curated ingredients to create a menu teeming with classic cocktails. A selection of local craft beers, as well as a wine list, round out the drink menu.

From sophisticated gins to bespoke Canadian malt whisky, True Wild is part of a new era of distilling in Canada. Available upon opening are Breaker Box Gin, Breaker Box Vodka and Roper’s Hold Whisky. Those awaiting the upcoming True Wild Whisky, which sits between a Scottish malt and American single malt, will need to be patient for the next few years as the spirit ages in-house. The end result will be worth the wait, though, as the anticipated “new whisky of Alberta” promises to be unlike anything seen in the province to date.

Founded in 2019, ADC is a national, member-based organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting artisan distilleries and spirits. The upcoming conference, which will be held in Calgary, Alta., marks the third iteration of this event and represents a significant departure from its usual location in Vancouver, B.C.

“One of our goals is to engage with as many artisan distilleries as we can across the country,” said ADC founder and CEO, Alex Hamer. “We recognize that the time and expense of coming to Vancouver can be challenging for some of our smaller distillers, so we wanted to move to another province to make it easier for others to come to the show.”

He adds that the venue change reflects ADC’s commitment to engaging more closely with distilleries across the country and to exploring the unique distilling cultures in different provinces. “Alberta has a vibrant and growing industry, so it made sense to go there next,” said Hamer. By hosting the conference in Calgary, ADC aims to ease participation for distillers in central Canada and showcase Alberta’s dynamic distilling community.

Hamer notes that distilling cultures and communities vary from province to province, and the conference will reflect these differences. The event will provide an opportunity for both organizers and attendees to experience Alberta’s distinct approach to distilling firsthand, offering a fresh perspective and new learning opportunities.

An exciting lineup of events

The 2025 event will take place on Feb. 24-26 at Mount Royal University and feature a strong lineup of events designed to cater to both the technical and business aspects of distilling. Overall, around 25 Canadian and international spirits experts will be in the city over the three-day event.

“We were surprised at the number of venue options available to us in Calgary. Special event licensing at events where alcohol is being served can be tricky, and every province is different. Mount Royal University is a great location with the ideal layout for our needs, and [it’s] also close to a cluster of distilleries south of the airport and downtown,” said Hamer.

The conference kicks off on Monday with two half-day, in-depth learning workshops. One of these workshops will be led by Lallemand Distilling, delving into the science of fermentation with a special emphasis on the role of yeast and enzymes. This year, they will be joined by a guest from an American distillery, who will present a case study on fermentation. The second workshop, led by the three partners from B.C.-based Sons of Vancouver Distillery, will cover the basics of building a successful whisky program and include a hands-on blending session.

“That distillery has been making waves in the Canadian whisky industry over the past few years, having won the Canadian Whisky Awards Canadian Whisky of the Year in 2023, as well as multiple gold medals, and Best in Class Rye at the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition [CASC] in 2024,” said Hamer.

The conference on Tuesday will feature keynote presentations and two tracks of sessions, including panels and seminars on technical and business themes. The technical stream will cover topics such as spirit chemistry and its impact on flavour profiles, as well as best practices in cask management and maturation. The business stream will address current trends in spirits laws and consumption, along with a retail sales panel for the third consecutive year.

The trade show will feature nearly two dozen suppliers to the spirits sector, representing categories including stills and line equipment, grain, malt and yeast, closures, labels, packaging and business services. The final day will be dedicated to the second annual Canada Whisky Symposium. “For this single-stream conference, we are bringing in whisky makers from Canada, the U.S. and Scotland to talk about their distilleries and programs,” said Hamer.

Confirmed speakers include analytical chemist and sensory evaluation expert Gary Spedding, Todd Leopold from Leopold Bros. Distillery, Andrew Ferguson from Kensington Wine Market, Kyle Smith from Gorman & Smith Beverage Equipment and internationally recognized drug-and-alcohol regulation expert, Dan Malleck.

Alberta’s flourishing spirits industry

The choice of Calgary as the venue for the 2025 conference also highlights the growth and evolution of Alberta’s spirits industry over the past decade.

“Alberta’s spirits industry has been going through a lot of changes,” said Hamer. “Some rules that placed limits on neutral grain use were recently changed, which has definitely disrupted the market. In speaking with distillers, I expect more changes are on their way. Overall, the local industry has grown considerably over the past several years and Alberta distillers are becoming recognized leaders in the Canadian artisan spirits sector.”

The real turning point for Alberta’s spirits industry came in 2013, when the province dropped the minimum production requirement for distilleries. Previously, the limits were too high for small artisan distilleries that are often challenged by the costs of capital equipment and staffing and can’t compete with the volume-based retail pricing of the larger distilleries.

“That change allowed smaller distilleries to open and experiment with innovative products,” said Hamer. “As a result, the number of distilleries has sustained new openings and continued growth. The increased innovation and quality that comes out of the province is, of course, just as important as the volume being produced because that’s what keeps the interest and momentum in this sector moving forward.”

Alberta’s unique geographical and agricultural characteristics further contribute to its growing reputation in the spirits industry.

“At a general level, Alberta artisan distillers are producing many of the same types of spirits as other distilleries across Canada – in particular, lots of interesting gins and liqueurs. Where we’re really starting to see Alberta distinguish itself, however, is in whisky. The province is the source of high-quality grain and has some great malting facilities. It’s still early, but the quality of Alberta’s whisky production in recent years suggests the province is poised to establish itself as a centre of innovation for whisky in Canada,” Hamer said.

New developments at ADC

In addition to the conference, ADC will be making changes to the eighth annual CASC, a national competition dedicated exclusively to artisan spirits, bitters and zero-proof spirits. The competition is designed to celebrate and recognize the craftsmanship of independent Canadian producers. It features various awards including Canadian Artisan Spirit of the Year, Best in Class and medals (Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze). There are also special awards for terroir and innovation.

The program usually announces its winners in February, but with the change in timing of the ADC Conference and Trade Show from October to February, the 2025 event will also feature a dinner and live awards ceremony to announce the winners on Feb. 24 in Calgary.

Hamer highlights that the timing of the competition and the conference has been strategically aligned to maximize engagement and celebration. The live awards ceremony will provide a platform for recognizing the achievements of distillers from across Canada and will serve as a fitting kickoff to the conference.

For more information on the ADC Conference and Trade Show, and the Canada Whisky Symposium, visit conference.artisandistillers.ca and whiskysymposium.ca.

One of the oldest distilleries in Canada, Alberta Distillers started in 1946 in Calgary, Alta., where three entrepreneurs came together to create history. Max Bell, a rancher, Frank McMahon, a Canadian oilman and George Reifel, a distiller, built the Alberta Distillers brand to be grounded in western Canadian values. They wanted to give back to the community by making affordable and high-quality products.

Starting out on 23 acres, the distillery is now in the heart of Calgary on 42 acres of land. The site has two rail spurs on-site that can ship and receive by rail, ISO tankers and tanker trailers, keeping the history of its story close to its heart. The site itself sits over 3,000 feet above sea level, with exceptionally dry air that has lasting impacts on Alberta Distillers’ sought-after taste profile. With its unique location, the distillery can create exceptional whiskies, such as its Canadian Club, and other products, including Alberta Premium, Alberta Pure Vodka, Reifel Rye and Northern Keep Vodka.

None of the products that make it to the shelf or into customers’ glasses would be possible without Craig Dryburgh, the plant general manager, Deepti Gurkar, the national marketing director, Bernard Sous, the senior distillery manager and Maria Palafox, who is in charge of quality control. Together, the Alberta Distillers team creates products that have received attention not only in Canada, but around the world.

Using a hammer mill and their three enzyme reactors to create their own enzymes over six to 10 days, their products go through three mash cookers, with each cycle taking about four hours. Alberta Distillers has 20 different fermenters. The whisky spirits are aged in three different types of wood barrels, including new white oak and once-used bourbon barrels. Alberta Distillers is one of the few sites in Canada that can age barrels in both rack-style and pallet-style warehouses.

The turnaround for the vodka is quite quick, while the process for whisky is always blended with at least the minimum requirements for aging (with some of their whisky having been aged over 20 years to be integrated into their blends). The first stage of the process is grain receiving, cleaning and milling. The second stage sees mashing liquefaction and saccharification, which takes eight hours and leads into stage three: fermentation after addition of the yeast, which takes about four days. During the fourth stage, the first distillation occurs using their beer still column, which produces a high wine that is a continuous process.

Lastly, the fifth stage is the redistillation of the spirit for either a vodka specification or whisky specification, depending on the product. The whisky is aged for at least three years in barrels, depending on the age requirement for that product.

Many of Alberta Distillers’ products can be found on shelves across Canada. Currently, they are not distributed in Quebec, but some of their Alberta Premium can be found throughout the U.S., while Canadian Club can be found globally. Alberta Premium also has limited distribution in Japan.

“We do a few things very uniquely. All of our grains come from local farmers in Alberta with a little bit from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Sourcing grains from local farmers is important,” said Gurkar. “We love everyone that works within our facility. Their attention to detail is important – the quality is met year after year. We enjoy using the best ingredients, having the best people working with our products, putting it through the rigour of the facility in its unique location, then coming up with a liquid to make all of Canada proud, especially when we win international awards.”

Alberta Distillers won Distillery of the Decade in 2020 at the Canadian Whisky Awards, and many of their products are endowed with a variety of awards. Northern Keep Vodka won Double Gold at the SIP Awards in 2023. Alberta Pure Vodka won Double Gold at the International Spirits Challenge in 2023 and Double Gold at the SIP Awards in 2024. The Alberta Premium Cask Strength received Gold at both the Canadian Whisky Awards and the SIP Awards in 2023, and received Silver at the International Spirits Challenge in 2024.

Alberta Distillers won not only a Gold medal, but was also titled the Category Winner for their Canadian Club 100% Rye. Additionally, Reifel Rye, named after one of the founders, was well recognized last year, receiving Gold at the International Spirits Challenge, Best New Whisky of the Year at the Canadian Whisky Awards in 2023 and a Silver medal at the 2024 International Spirits Challenge.

Focusing on the future, Alberta Distillers is looking forward to incorporating more sustainability into their day-to-day practices. “We’re committed to aligning with Suntory Global Spirits’ goals by 2030,” said Gurkar. “Upgrading the boilers, installing water management systems, water seals and pumps to up our efficiency. Vapour compressors are being installed [as well].”

We love everyone that works within our facility. Their attention to detail is important – the quality is met year after year. We enjoy using the best ingredients, having the best people working with our products, putting it through the rigour of the facility in its unique location, then coming up with a liquid to make all of Canada proud, especially when we win international awards.

Deepti Gurkar, Alberta Distillers Limited

Additionally, Gurkar says Alberta Distillers has an ongoing partnership with the University of Alberta, working with the recovery of rainwater and treating liquid waste streams. They are participating in ongoing studies to ensure that environmental consciousness is in the forefront of their production decisions, working toward more sustainability in their actions, not just their words.

“Canadian whisky can be so broad and is often referred to as rye even without any rye, so we’ve been on a mission [to educate people on] what a 100 per cent rye whisky is,” said Gurkar. “You can visit ryewhiskyacademy.com and you can learn about the difference of high rye whiskies. Rye is very well loved in Canada. I don’t think we always understand what skill it takes to make a great rye whisky.”

Keep an eye out because there’s more coming from Alberta Premium this year, and Alberta Distillers is continuing to grow some of their craft brands like Reifel Rye and Northern Keep Vodka. As a long-standing distillery, Gurkar says it’s when people try a product, or they get the opportunity to visit the distillery to see what’s next, that people realize how much effort, knowledge, heritage and innovation goes into Alberta Distillers’ products.

Looking to the future, Alberta Distillers is focused on continuing to create quality products that bring people together. 

Although Raft deals with each situation uniquely, over the years they have accumulated knowledge that can be applied to all beverage manufacturers. Here are seven lessons learned from case studies in beer spoilage.

Lesson 1 – An ounce of prevention

“Breweries should have scheduled inspection and maintenance programs,” said Christine Dawson, operations manager at Raft. While it may seem obvious that preventative maintenance will reduce the risk of spoiled beer making it to market – at which point it will have already done damage to licensee and customer relationships – Raft’s experience is that breweries could be doing better.

“I’ve seen breweries that are many years old that have never replaced their gaskets.”

Gaskets are easy to inspect and cheap to replace, but a good inspection and maintenance program should involve every piece of equipment. For example, Raft worked with one brewery that was having a problem with yeast contamination. After working through all the usual places yeast can hide, they eventually determined that the culprit was a crack in a yeast brink.

“It doesn’t take much space for microbes to take hold,” said Dawson. However, the crack was visible and regular inspections with cameras and lights could have prevented the problem.

Lesson 2 – Don’t everreact

“We worked with a brewery that was using a countertop [polymerase chain reaction (PCR)] kit,” said Dawson. “They were experiencing many positive hits for lactic acid bacteria and were dumping the infected beer.”

Since the brewery was continuously dumping beer, they approached Raft with the intention of finding the source of the bacterial infection. As it turns out, the PCR kit was returning positive results because the bacterial DNA was present, but Raft was able to determine that the bacteria was not live and was not capable of spoiling the beer.

The brewery was then able to stop dumping beer and relieve the pressure to find the source of the bacterial DNA. “You need to approach lab results with a scientific eye,” said Dawson. “Question readings so you can find what the real problem is.”

Lesson 3 – Don’t underreact

One brewery Raft worked with would sometimes get positive results for very low levels of wild yeast. Since nothing ever happened, after a time the brewery began to ignore those positive results and stopped doing appropriate follow-ups.

Eventually, cans in the market started popping, causing complaints from retailers and customers. While it is important not to overreact, keeping beer cans at room temperature after each positive wild yeast result would have been an easy and economical way to monitor for problems. Just because one positive result had no consequences does not mean they all will. Always complete appropriate quality assurance and quality control follow-ups.

Lesson 4 – Already looked everywhere? Look everywhere else

Most breweries know to sanitize all their brewing equipment and everything that comes in contact with beer. However, in a brewery, beer goes everywhere, including places that aren’t obvious, so breweries are advised to look in these inconspicuous places once all the obvious places have been eliminated as the source of the problem.

“You need to approach lab results with a scientific eye. Question readings so you can find what the real problem is.”

Christine Dawson, Raft Brew Labs

One Raft case study found that microbes had taken hold in the gas line on a canning line. The gas line sprays carbon dioxide at the top of a filled can prior to seaming. This creates a pocket of CO2 over the beer and blows foam away from the lip of the can to ensure a better seam. However, that also means beer is sprayed around and tiny droplets of beer were eventually able to make their way into the gas line, which otherwise never actually touches beer.

Lesson 5 – Changes made cause changes seen

Another Raft client was experiencing refermentation in packaged beer. Cans had to be recalled as they were building up pressure and popping on store shelves. Testing ruled out wild yeast, bacteria and residual sugars. By reviewing recipes and processes, Raft was able to determine that the culprit was the addition of pectinase to improve the clarity of the brewery’s beer.

Ironically, the addition of the enzyme caused refermentation. By focusing on recipe changes, Raft was able to determine these changes were what caused the sudden appearance of refermentation, a problem the brewery had never encountered before.

Lesson 6 – The best case studies are non-case studies

All of these case studies are interesting because something went wrong, but the best case studies are the ones where everything goes right. That means doing regular microbial analyses to catch problems when something can still be done about them – before the brewery becomes a case study of its own.

Many small breweries need to solve problems in inventive ways and while these hacks are great, they can expose those breweries to risks, but those risks can be mitigated. Dawson says one brewery was transferring sour beer in an unconventional way. This was done to solve a tank space issue, but it eventually resulted in some cross-contamination. Another brewery was using a novel knockout procedure, which caused some equipment to acquire microbial infection.

In both these cases, the infections grew slowly. As there were no immediate issues, the novel solutions appeared to be working, but the microbes eventually grew to be a problem. Periodic microbial analysis would have caught these problems before bad beer made it to market.

Don’t be the next case study.

Lesson 7 – Shake failures

There was a time when brewers were tight-lipped about their problems. However, as Raft has been sharing its case studies at trade shows and conferences, breweries inevitably approach Dawson afterward to say that the same thing happened to them.

Friends can’t help to solve each other’s problem unless they know a problem exists, so breweries sharing information among one another is a great, cost-effective way to improve overall beer quality.

Although most of the brewery’s production now occurs on a 60-hectolitre DME brewhouse, christened in Calgary’s Foothills Industrial Park in 2016, the face of the brand is the brewery’s taproom in the historic Currie Barracks area, which Wild Rose has called home since 2005. That taproom also houses a 10-hectolitre Bohemian brewhouse, which makes some keg-only products for distribution and serves as Wild Rose’s innovation centre with weekly brewing and recipe experiments occurring on a one-hectolitre Blichmann Engineering brewhouse.

This taproom and innovation centre sits in a simple, green Quonset hut on land owned by Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation. The lands are part of a former Canadian Forces base, and plans to redevelop the area have been off and on for the entirety of Wild Rose’s life there, conjuring almost annual uncertainty to their lease. However, this uncertainty has brought a scrappiness to the brewery, helping it not only survive, but thrive through the ups and downs over the years.

A part of the community

The Wild Rose Taproom can accomodate 110 people inside, featuring décor made from upcycled brewing equipment and kegs, a 110-person patio, with unobstructed sunshine since there are no nearby buildings, and a private event space for another 110 people.

“This is just about the most ‘Alberta’ place you can find,” said Adam Ward, general manager of the taproom. “We celebrate being located on the old army barracks. And we have no TVs, non-intrusive music and community tables to promote people talking to each other.

“The entertainment is the room. It’s telling that we are kind of in the middle of nowhere. Many businesses might find that a negative, but for us, it means people coming here put effort into [being here] and want to be here. So, our taproom has an energy nobody can explain or replicate.”

Happy customers and a unique energy translate into staff happiness. “We have employees who have been with us for over 20 years,” said Ward. “And even if they leave, we have lots of former staff continue to be some of our best customers.”

Being a long-time part of the Calgary community means the staff have even had the opportunity to watch families grow at the taproom. “We have couples who came here when they were dating, got married in our event space, come each year for their anniversary and now bring their kids because our taproom is child friendly,” said Sarah Basha, the taproom events manager.

Despite a skeptical public, some of who feared the acquisition by Sleeman Breweries would change the brewery, Wild Rose has doubled down on its efforts to remain local. Ingredients for the brewery and the kitchen are sourced as locally as possible. In fact, Wild Rose staff plant community gardens every year, the bounty from which often makes its way into the taproom kitchen. Even at the production brewery (which continues to make only local Wild Rose brands), all base barley and wheat are sourced from Alberta.

Every month, proceeds from the sale of the taproom beer are donated to a local charity. Dubbed the “Patron’s Pint,” the charity is always a local one, nominated (as the name of the program implies) by a taproom patron. Over the years, that has amounted to tens of thousands of dollars being contributed to local organizations as diverse as military museums and children’s sports leagues.

Basha is particularly proud of the brewery’s support of New Heights School & Learning Services. The local organization is not just a school for individuals on the autism spectrum, but it works to help its students integrate into the community. In addition to financial support, the Wild Rose Taproom uses its private event room to host meals as part of New Heights’ “Transition to Adulthood Program” so the students can learn to order food and interact with wait staff in a real, but controlled restaurant setting.

A part of the environment

For Wild Rose, being a part of the local community also means being a part of the global environment. To that end, they have invested in many sustainability initiatives, championed by a company-supported Green Team.

In addition to sending spent brewing grains to farms to be used as livestock feed – as is common with many breweries – Wild Rose has replaced all lighting in its production brewery with energy-efficient LED lighting. The brewery is installing an effluent tank to better deal with wastewater and is instituting procedures to side stream much of the brewery waste (malt, hops, yeast, fruit) and have it collected by the same organization that collects the brewery’s spent grain to supplement animal feed. Brian Smith, Wild Rose’s director of operations, reports that 60 per cent of the brewery waste is recycled and that they are continuously striving to increase that percentage.

“We have couples who came here when they were dating, got married in our event space, come each year for their anniversary and now bring their kids because our taproom is child friendly.”

Sarah Basha, Wild Rose Taproom

The brewery also tracks utility usage on a per-hectolitre basis with the goal of constant improvement. For 2024, Wild Rose has plans to install additional submetering to get more granular information on how much energy is being used by specific equipment and processes. The brewery will also begin venting compressors to the outside to use colder air, reducing utility costs. Lastly, Wild Rose is involved in a carbon dioxide usage project where all processes (packaging purge times, Bright Beer Tank head pressure, etc.) are being tweaked as a challenge to see how much CO2 usage can be reduced.

These initiatives are part of the brewery’s formal participation in the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) program, which has had the additional benefit of increased employee engagement.

Support for the environment is even part of Wild Rose’s team building efforts, with the Green Team organizing challenges throughout each year’s Earth Month. Such challenges include riding bicycles to work, zero waste and plant-based lunches, and clothing donation.

Data drives decisions

Participation in SBTi is evidence of Wild Rose’s dedication to improvement through data, not just lip service to social trends. In addition to annual diversity, equity and inclusion training for all staff, the brewery is undergoing an accessibility audit at both facilities. Another example of this is the brewery’s involvement with Beer Canada.

“We get great data and reporting from Beer Canada,” said Smith. “We can see consumer and sales trends, and these are very helpful as we make decisions.”

The future is Wild

In response to customer feedback and the Beer Canada data, Wild Rose plans to release 12-packs of 355 ml cans of their best-selling Wraspberry Ale this year. If successful, this will be followed by other beers in larger packs (currently, the brewery’s beers are available in four-packs of 473 ml cans).

Wild Rose’s plans to improve accessibility and inclusion, and to reduce environmental impact are incremental, but impactful. Smith downplays the brewery’s work, suggesting that things like submetering “are nothing sexy,” but it is these small, continuous improvements over a long period of time that have made Wild Rose the success that it is.