Canadian Packaging: Wild at Heart
by George Guidoni
Celebrated Alberta craft brewer starting a new chapter in its growing evolution as a Big Leagues competitor
Quality and drinkability are always top-of-mind for good hardworking folks at Wild Rose Brewery in Calgary. Just as they were more than a quarter-century ago, when co-founders Mike Tymchuk and Alan Yule launched the fledgling upstart craft brewer back in 1996.
Since starting out by producing draught beer for sale in local area bars, Wild Rose has been able to build up a remarkably loyal following and reputation for the quality beers it produced at the company’s popular brewpub and on-site taproom at the Foothills Industrial Park.
After launching its first bottled beer in 2002, packaged in one-liter flip-top bottles, the company proceeded to expand its bottling capacity on a regular basis to keep up with growing demand.
“In 2006 we moved from our original location and opened the brewpub facility on the west side of Calgary,” recalls Wild Rose Brewery’s director of operations Brian Smith.
“By 2011 we had maxed out capacity at that facility, and in 2013 we expanded again by opening a new production facility, while maintaining the brewpub.”
“The current production facility was a great space to move into,” Smith states. “Being the first tenants in the building, we were able to design the brewery to our needs, which included planning for the expansion we’ve undergone since first opening.”
This article originally featured in Canadian Packaging. Read the full version here.
