Canada, AB: Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery returns to craft beer scene

One of Canada’s original craft breweries says it’s returning to its roots.

When Big Rock Brewery launched in Calgary 28 years ago, it offered all-natural high quality beer. Subsequent years saw a rapid expansion, Global News reported on October 31.

Now the company is once again ready to take risks.

“We need to be fresh, we need to be very community oriented and most important, we need to be innovative,” says President and CEO Bob Sartor.

It’s a welcome change for Big Rock brewmaster, Paul Gautreau, who says the company lost its way by mimicking the big beer companies. Now the brewery is aggressively experimenting with different products – 20 in the past year.

“We’ve been using very rare, different techniques to make beers with different methods that haven’t been seen for hundreds of years,” says Gautreau. “So we are a lot bolder.”

And just in time – with the craft beer market exploding, Big Rock says it’s back in the game.

The company recently announced it is opening a new brewery in Vancouver, which is expected to be in production within a year.

01 November, 2013