Canada, AB: Coulee Brew Co. ready to open in Lethbridge on January 16

For many generations, the “House of Lethbridge” brewed a distinctive Pilsner-style beer and shipped it throughout Alberta, Lethbridge Herald reported on January 14.

Today, more than a quarter-century after production ended in the landmark facility downtown, a new Lethbridge brew will soon be on tap for craft beer fans across the province.

Brew kettles, fermenters, aging tanks and all the high-tech equipment that’s required to meet craft beer standards today stands ready in the high-visibility Coulee Brew Co. complex overlooking 43 Street South.

The gleaming all-ages facility, complete with a family restaurant, pub and meeting room, is scheduled to open on January 16. Managing partner Scott Crighton says the first brews will be pitched shortly, and all four selections on the Coulee Brew menu will be available this winter – on tap, and for “growler” off-sale.

Later, a large patio on the protected east side of the structure will bring seating capacity to 370.

A canning line will follow and soon the brewery will also produce a line of soda pop – just as the Lethbridge and Calgary breweries did during Prohibition. And later, he says a micro-distillery will begin to use spent rye from the brewing process to create rye whiskey and vodka.

The project has evolved over the last three to four years, Crighton says. It’s a C$10-million initiative – including land, building and equipment – and Crighton says the Servus Credit Union backed 20-plus local investors to make it happen.

The city’s Ferrari Westwood Babits architectural team designed the metal-and-glass facility, while Crighton and colleagues gathered tips from micro-brewery visits and trade shows across the U.S.

Distinctive local tastes from an amazing number of craft breweries have created a booming business in many states, he reports, and Alberta entrepreneurs are catching the excitement, too. As the “beer sponsor” for this year’s Food and Beverage Expo here on Saturday, he expects to see a number of new Alberta brands and brewmasters taking part.

“We want to promote the whole industry,” Crighton says, so products from other craft breweries across Alberta will be on tap at Coulee Brew alongside its new Lethbridge products.

Late last year, he points out, the Theoretically Brewing Co. opened in the city. It’s a “nano-brewery” operating as a storefront business, and Crighton says he hopes to serve their products as well.

“We’re excited that they’re here.”

With a front-end and production staff of about 60, he says Coulee Brew will aim at producing 5,000 hectolitres of beer during its first year. That’s the equivalent of 1,800 kegs and about 350,000 cans, Crighton explains.

“We believe about 30 per cent will be in kegs,” ready to tap in restaurants and brew pubs in Lethbridge and across the province. By the fifth year, Crighton says Coulee Brew could be producing as much as 25,000 hectolitres.

As craft beer fans will soon see, a traditional pilsner won’t be the only taste on tap. Saluting southern Alberta attractions, the lineup will also include Devil’s Coulee Kolsh, Head-Smashed-In Red Ale and Hoodoo Hopped, an India pale ale. As a further reflection of Lethbridge-area history, the restaurant and pub feature barnwood, used railway ties, dated photos and other “repurposed” items from across the area.

Coulee Brew’s grain, malt and hops will come from Canadian sources, Crighton says, and local foods will be featured on the menu.

Even the stainless steel brewing vessels were made in Canada, he points out – though he first saw them at a trade show in Oregon.

“It’s a four-vessel system,” manufactured in Atlantic Canada.

“Canada has a huge foothold in the whole industry,” he learned, exporting equipment to many American craft breweries.

Ironically, while many Lethbridge individuals and companies were prepared to invest in a brewing enterprise here, Crighton says neither the federal nor provincial government seems interested in promoting alcohol-related initiatives.

Located close to the Highway 3 intersection with the transport route to the U.S., he expects Coulee Brew will attract tourists as well as southern Albertans with a taste for something better than mass-marketed beer. With four newly opened hotels just steps away, Crighton says visitors will be able to take sealed 32-oz. schooners back to their lodging.

Residents will be invited to take tap beer home in “growlers,” or to stop by for a tour.

And on request, Coulee Brew will create special, small-batch brews to help celebrate weddings, anniversaries and other festive occasions.

“Our smaller, ‘seven-barrel’ line will produce 12 to 14 kegs.”

15 January, 2016