E-Malt.com News article: Canada, BC: Female-owned and operated Three Lakes Brewing Company opens in Kelowna

Breweries have been popping up throughout the Okanagan and now there’s a new brewery on the block, Three Lakes Brewing Company, Global News reported on November 30.

“This has been a dream of ours,” said co-owner of the Kelowna-based brewery, Melanie Raby.

“We have been in the services industry for 20 years….we wanted a change in our lives and we wanted to own our own [business] since other people at other establishments thought that we were the owners because of the hard work and ownership that we put into it.”

What was once a dream is now a reality. Now, Raby owns a brewery with her daughter, Tara Raby, as well as Cathy van Kesteren.

“Our pilsner is named after our hike, ‘The Hike Pilsner’, and it’s the hike that we were on when we decided to go on this adventure,” said Raby.

They honed skills after being longtime home brewers. Now, they are sharing skills with the public.

“It feels fantastic, honestly, and it’s so great to see and get all the feedback from our customers and everybody is just enjoying our space, drinking our beer and enjoying all our hard work,” said van Kesteren.

The brewery that is located near Kelowna International Airport has become not just somewhere you can get a fresh pint or a six-pack to take home, it’s become a place of community where they host live music and monthly markets.

The co-owners hope in the months to come, other female-owned and operated breweries will follow their lead.


01 December, 2023