GIBSONS, BC – A former flower farm in British Columbia’s picturesque Sunshine Coast region is now home to the province’s newest craft brewery.
Located on the southern tip of the Coast in the town of Gibsons, Persephone Brewing is named after the famous tugboat from The Beachcombers, the CBC television series which was filmed in the town. The brewery was founded by Brian Smith and Mark Brand, partners who have worked together on several socially progressive initiatives including reopening Vancouver’s iconic Save On Meats. Also involved in the project is the Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living (SCACL), a group that has played a key role in developing the farm land by hiring people with disabilities as growers.
Day to day operations at the brewery are being managed by Dion Whyte, and head brewer Anders McKinnon (ex-Russell Brewing) has developed two flagship beers:
Goddess Golden Ale: “Modeled after an English style summer bitter. Crisp, dry and refreshing, with a light biscuity malty character. A delicate, herbal hop aroma, backed with an approachable bitterness. OG: 1.043; IBU: 35; ABV: 5.0%”
Rum Runner Red Ale: “A hop-forward west coast style red ale, this beer has an intense aroma of citrus and pine. The flavour is a balance of piney hops and dark, caramel and toasted malts. OG: 1056; IBU: 45; ABV: 6.0%”
The farm is now growing three varieties of hops – Cascade, Centennial & Goldings – along with pumpkins, raspberries, blueberries and apples, with garlic and an additional 5 acres of hops planned to be added soon.
Both Persephone brands are available in glasses to sample in the brewery tasting room, and in 1 litre and 1.89 litre growlers for take home sales. (The latter format sold out quickly on opening weekend, but were replenished thanks to Townsite Brewing, a fellow Sunshine Coast brewery that donated some empties to help Persephone through the shortage.)
Persephone’s beers can also be found on tap at select bars and pubs in BC, including the Brand-owned Portside Pub in Vancouver’s Gastown district, and bottling is planned for 2014.
Hi there,
Just wondering what your thoughts are regarding selling beer in Grocery stores are. I see it as this;
They (The Government) are proposing a store inside a store model of liquor store.– Two checkouts is not very convenient.
They are also saying that most stores in a store will be approx 500sq ft. Not a lot of room for various product (Liquor stores are from 500sq ft to 8000 sq ft). They will probably then only sell the top sellers of beer. Which unfortunately is not craft beer, it’s Budweiser, Old Milwaukee and the likes.
Also, apparently only 20% of all products now sold in LRS stores actually make a profit and cover the costs of operating that store which then allows them to sell craft beer. If Grocery stores sell that 20% of the available products because of space issues and takes those dollars from the LRS stores the LRS’s will be closing rapidly. Where will the craft beers be sold? How do you get them to market if they are not profitable for the grocery chains to carry.Yikes!
Here it says costco will only carry 240 skus, (http://engage.gov.bc.ca/liquorpolicyreview/files/2013/10/Costco.pdf) Where are my craft beer gonna go?
I see selling beer and wine in Grocery stores as a huge blow to the B.C. craft beer industry and my right to drink ’em!
Just wondering what you think? I think you should have everyone of your customers contact their MLA and tell them NO to sales in grocery stores. Don’t make me drink Bud!
If ya need more info about the end of our delicious drinks (and I hope not) you can contact Stephen Harris at the British Columbia Private Liquor Store Association (778) 350-5800. I had the good fortune of running into him and had a good chat. He’s very informative and able to fill you in on how this is going to suck for craft beer makers and small wineries too. It looks bleak indeed!
Norm – Cheers!