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Brewmasters and Brewery Creek
A History of Craft Beer in Vancouver, Then and Now
- Publisher
- TouchWood Editions
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2024
- Category
- Social History, British Columbia (BC)
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781771514507
- Publish Date
- Oct 2024
- List Price
- $28.00
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781771514514
- Publish Date
- Nov 2024
- List Price
- $12.99
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Description
This rigorously researched deep dive into the history of craft beer in Vancouver makes an exciting addition to books on the city’s history, certain to appeal to beer-lovers and history buffs alike.
Few would dispute that these days Vancouver is a prime craft beer destination, with over 70 breweries in the greater Vancouver area and 35+ in Vancouver proper. Beer has shaped the city’s culture, and in turn, Vancouver’s idiosyncratic identity has also shaped its craft beer. But how did it all begin?
In this rigorously researched deep dive into the history of craft beer in Vancouver, beer historian and enthusiast Noëlle Phillips follows independent brewing from the city’s inception in 1886 to the onset of prohibition in 1917 and, hopping over the “big beer” period of 1920–1980, delves into the explosion of micro, small-batch and craft breweries that dot the city’s neighbourhoods today. She traces the smaller, lesser-known breweries, brewers, and owners through archival materials, newspaper accounts, and personal interviews. Along the way she uncovers stories and details that have been largely unknown even to local beer writers and aficionados.
Illustrated with photos, original newspaper clippings, and maps, with stops into basement archives and sunlit tap rooms, Brewmasters and Brewery Creek is an inviting and exciting addition to books on the city’s history that will appeal to beer-lovers and history buffs alike.
About the author
Noëlle Phillips is the author of Craft Beer Culture and Modern Medievalism and co-editor of the collection Beer and Brewing in Medieval Culture and Contemporary Medievalisms. She is a regular contributor to The Growler, BC’s craft beer magazine, and the BC Ale Trail blog. She teaches in the English Department at Douglas College.
Excerpt: Brewmasters and Brewery Creek: A History of Craft Beer in Vancouver, Then and Now (by (author) Noëlle Phillips)
INTRODUCTION
I’m sitting at one of the high tables by the bar at Vancouver’s Main Street Brewing, sipping a pint of their Hazy Chain IPA. The tasting room patrons and their beer flights are dwarfed by the huge space. Brightly coloured murals cover most of the walls, but one wall is left in its original 1920s brick form. “The Main Thing is the Beer” is painted across those bricks, and above it, rafters crisscross below the high windows. Through the front entrance, I see glimpses of Mount Pleasant’s quiet suburbia: blooming trees, sidewalks, and glass-fronted condominiums. But beyond the quiet I can also hear, just a block up the road, one of Vancouver’s main arteries buzzing with life and noise: the junction of Main Street and Kingsway. It feels like I’m inhabiting two very different urban spaces at once. I’m also inhabiting two different times. The building in which I’m currently enjoying my pint is over a century old. Originally built in 1920, it sits in quiet dignity among the gentrified neighbourhoods that have sprung up around it. Now creamy yellow with white trim and white framed windows, the site began as a brewery, explored some other careers over the decades, and has returned to its roots. It takes up a good chunk of the block, claiming its place as one of the city’s founding fathers.
While the site was the location of the old nineteenth-century Vancouver Brewery, Main Street Brewing’s building itself didn’t exist until the 1920s, when it served as the Vancouver Breweries garage. This heritage structure was once a young upstart that replaced its ancestor, the original Vancouver Brewery building that sat on the corner of Scotia Street and 7th Avenue. I couldn’t have found a hazy IPA there. And this brewery was less pretty. Rather than 1920s tile and plaster, this first brewery was assembled from wood, brick, and fieldstone. Instead of creamy yellow, it was dark brown. Three storeys tall with large, cross-hatched windows, it was nevertheless an impressive structure by 1888 standards. The street that is now populated by folks in expensive yoga pants walking their dogs was once a dirt road crowded by horse-drawn brewery wagons that were constantly arriving and departing with kegs of lager for thirsty hotel guests in the newly incorporated City of Vancouver. Alongside the old brewery, supplying it with water and power, was a creek that issued from Tea Swamp (now Tea Swamp Park at the corner of Sophia Ave and 15th), crossing over what is now the intersection of Main and Kingsway and meandering down past Scotia and 7th until it entered False Creek, whose shores were originally at East 2nd Avenue. Although the creek was home to a tannery and some slaughterhouses, it was named for its most popular friends: the breweries. Major J. S. Matthews, famed archivist for the City of Vancouver, interviewed Mrs. Elizabeth Newbury about living by Brewery Creek in the late nineteenth century. Newbury, a long-time resident of Mount Pleasant, recalled her early memories of the creek, its attachment to beer, and the vibrant life of the area: “oh there were lots of trout in that creek, Brewery Creek I think they called it; just east of Main Street; where Doering had his brewery. Go out in the creek and catch trout for breakfast; all kinds of trout in that creek.”
Along the banks of the trout-filled Brewery Creek were Vancouver’s first breweries, including the three storeys of brick and wood that once stood at the location of Main Street Brewing: the Vancouver Brewery, later renamed Doering & Marstrand Brewery and then Vancouver Breweries (Chapter 2 will continue that story). Brewery Creek ran across what is now Main Street and down towards the original boundary of False Creek, taking away the refuse of the tanneries and providing the most important ingredient to Vancouver’s burgeoning beer industry: water. The beer industry is always about water, in one way or another. One of the most successful businessmen brewers, Charles Doering, was the first to dam the creek and use its power and resources for his own brewing systems. Jumping forward a century, one of the great early businessmen brewers of our current era, Mitch Taylor of Granville Island Brewing, built his brewery to supplement the vibrant marina community he already owned. People visiting the harbour or living at the marina quickly became the brewery’s core customer base.
When the City began filling in False Creek around 1913, Brewery Creek was among the casualties, although along its old path Vancouver’s breweries still stand. Where once stood the first breweries of Mount Pleasant—Vancouver Brewery, Stadler Brewery, Lion Brewery, Lansdowne Brewery, Mainland Brewery, San Francisco Brewery, Red Star Brewery, and others—are now Main Street Brewing, R&B, Brassneck, 33 Acres, Red Truck, and Electric Bicycle. Beneath my feet, as I sit at my perch in Main Street Brewing, deep underneath the well-groomed trees and glass condominiums outside the building, Brewery Creek still rushes through the city, unseen and unheard—at least, unheard by most. “Though it is now underground, Brewery Creek is still alive . . . you can hear it,” said City Archivist Matthews. So listen carefully. The water is always there. In this book, I hope you will begin to hear the water of Brewery Creek once again by reading the stories of how craft brewing became one of Vancouver’s most beloved industries, both then and now.
Editorial Reviews
"An enjoyable read that uncovers so many fascinating anecdotes of Vancouver’s rich and storied brewing history. From the turn of the century Vancouver breweries, to the amazing 1980s craft beer revival. Noelle’s captivating storytelling makes it a must-read for craft beer enthusiasts and historians alike!" —Tim LaHay Co-Founder of The Barley Merchant Taproom & Kitchen
”Brewmasters and Brewery Creek is a thorough investigation into the history of craft beer — the main players and characters involved from Vancouver's inception to the microbrewery renaissance the city is familiar with, today. If you wish to add the texture of the days of old to your next sip of lager or ale in one of Vancouver’s numerous taprooms, pick up a copy of Phillips’ book. This hefty read will have you impressing friends with a plethora of historical facts that have shaped not just the industry but the city itself.” —Kendall Hunter, author of Beer Hiking Canadian Rockies
"Phillips’ Brewmasters and Brewery Creek is a compelling account of small breweries in Vancouver, from the city’s birth through to present day. It shows a commitment to accuracy and research, while also displaying a true passion for beer along with a keen interest in the people behind it. It paints a vivid picture of the beer industry in the late 1800s, and I was particularly struck by the many similarities between the early days of beer in Vancouver and the current craft beer scene." —Mirella Amato, Craft beer consultant, and award-winning author
"Sip from your favourite local beer and dive into this informative and entertaining book that connects the early pioneer brewers who gave Brewery Creek its name with the contemporary entrepreneurs who helped make Vancouver the craft beer destination it is today." —Joe Wiebe, author of Craft Beer Revolution
"Phillips expertly weaves together exhaustive archival research and interviews into a highly readable and long overdue chronicle of Vancouver’s independent breweries and the enterprising personalities behind them." —Melanie Hardbattle, Simon Fraser University Archives
"In depth research and analysis, graceful writing, and a great array of historical photographs make Brewmasters and Brewery Creek a must-read for craft beer historians and aficionados in Vancouver and across Canada." —Jon C. Stott, author of Island Craft