Brian MacIsaac is Co-Founder of Crannog Ales and Left Fields in Sorrento. Since shortly after its debut in 2000, BC’s pioneering organic farm-based brewery has been winning awards and producing some enduring favourite brews loved by craft beer fans around the province. There’s a bit of a mythos around craft brewery culture. Our industry enjoys a stellar reputation for collaboration and camaraderie. Indeed, the ‘Rising Tide Floats All Boats’ is a sentiment shared among most of this community, and many of us work together for the common good. Certainly, this is true of brewer-to-brewer relations ..read more

Three Lakes Brewing in Kelowna, BC was founded by three local women: Melanie Raby, daughter Tara, and Cathy van Kesteren, a 20-plus year friend and hiking buddy of Melanie’s. Their strong effort to support the local community includes partnering with bakery next door Two Donkeys  for some great food options, as well as working with a new hop farm just north of Kamloops for many of their hops. The brewery is tucked away in an industrial area right across the highway from the Kelowna airport. It’s a bit hard to find but worth the effort. I had the opportunity to meet Melanie and Cathy last ..read more

A Pictorial Preview of the 27th Fest of Ale, April 12-13 2024 Last year, the Okanagan Fest of Ale returned to its traditional venue, the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, and was held indoors during its traditional month of April for the first time since 2019. What’s Brewing was there to experience the joy as a grateful and tight-knit community revived their annual tradition, just as first established in 1996.   The indoor portion of Fest of Ale, in the main room at the Trade and Convention Centre Before that event, Okanagan Fest of Ale Society President Simon St-Laurent told us tha ..read more

This past weekend, it came to light that one of the more beloved couples in BC’s craft beer scene was in trouble. Brewer Tony Dewald, who has graced the cover of our magazine, is well known amongst the Lower Mainland beer community for over two decades of outstanding brewing, including during the seminal times at the legendary DIX BBQ & Brewery which gave birth to Vancouver’s current craft beer scene. Tony’s wife Andy Brown, an artist whose Haida name Gaajuu Gwaang means Beauty In Grace, is equally famous amongst local craft beer folks both for innovating a series of hop necklaces and othe ..read more

Award-Winning Brewery Releases Love-Themed Fundraiser Beer in Advance of Valentine’s Day When Dr. Brad Harris was taken from us in March of 2022, the Comox Valley and wider BC brewing community lost a great ally. He had founded the legendary “Craft Beer and Wilderness” event and the Royston Nano brewery, an unofficial brewspace with a One Barrel system built in his garage. With this brewery and in collaboration with others, he managed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities like YANA (the You Are Not Alone society, offering help to Comox Valley families who need to trave ..read more

Today, Early Bird tickets for the 2023 Okanagan Fest of Ale (OFOA) officially go on sale. This is significant to the BC beer enthusiast for a couple of reasons. Firstly, OFOA—held in Penticton since 1996—has long been recognized around British Columbia and beyond as one of the best annual beer events in the Pacific Northwest. Secondly, the fact that an Early Bird offer even exists (and in time for the holidays, no less) marks a reassuring return to norm. COVID’s effect has lasted longer than we often appreciate. For instance, even though Fest of Ale was held this past year, and it was a great ..read more

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) and Russell Brewing Co. have announced great news for the future of BC brewing education and #BCCraftBeer. $7000 has been donated by Russell Brewing to the John Mitchell Legacy Endowed Scholarship at KPU, open to students in their Brewing & Brewery Operations Diploma program. The funds were raised from the sales of John Mitchell Signature Cascadian Dark Ale, originally launched on July 6th in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Canadian craft beer. The contribution should boost overall Scholarship donations past the $20,000 mark and help secu ..read more

Province that pioneered craft beer in Canada to have movement’s priceless 40-year history protected From the moment we first got the word, there was a sense of excitement in each of us. For this author, that moment came almost a year ago, November 9th, 2021 in the form of a note from Kim Lawton. What’s Brewing likes to refer to her as the ‘Mob Boss of Penticton Craft Beer’ (for the leadership efforts making her the glue which helps bond their exceedingly cohesive beer community). Kim herself had gotten word the month prior via Cayla Stiles-Clark, President of the Campaign for Real Ale Society ..read more

Pictured above: industry folks and public alike celebrate at a #BCBeerCon after-party. Photo: Brian K. Smith/WB As #BCCraftBeer Month rolls on, there are two major annual events that loom on the horizon. This year, for the first time, both of them will be held in early November. The first is BC Beer Awards, which is our province’s yearly gathering celebrating the best in BC brewing. #BCBA is slated to take place on Saturday, November 5th 2022 at Vancouver’s Croatian Cultural Centre. More info here ≫ The second will take place a few days later, when the annual BC Craft Brewers Conference (aka B ..read more

For at least the last 15 years I have been putting together International Women’s Day events, for which I search the province to find women who work in the beer industry. That is how I first met Tessa Gabiniewicz. It was back in 2010 when I was thrilled to find out that Nelson Brewing Company had a female Assistant Brewer! I immediately sought her out and asked if she wanted to be part of the event, and would she create a unique cask for the occasion. Our paths crossed again in 2018 when I found out that she was working as an Assistant Brewer at 33 Acres Brewing, and I asked her to create a un ..read more