Big Rock picks Vancouver for location of new B.C. craft brewery
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
Craft beer maker said cost of Vancouver location has risen from $2-million to as much as $3.5-million
CALGARY—Big Rock Brewery Inc. plans to locate its new British Columbia brewery—its first outside Alberta—in the heart of Vancouver’s craft beer district.
The Calgary-based craft beer maker said it plans to open the new facility at the corner of Alberta Street and West 4th Avenue after signing a lease for a vacant warehouse in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant area.
“B.C. is where smaller, innovative, more nimble breweries and brew pubs are most appreciated,” Jody Hammel, Big Rock’s new B.C. brewmaster, said in a statement. “As a result, (the province) is quickly becoming the Craft Beer Capital of Canada.”
Big Rock said the cost for the new brewery will be between $3- and $3.5-million.
The company’s initial project cost estimate was in the neighbourhood of $2-million when it first announced plans to expand in September 2013, but said the size of the facility forced it to revise its capital estimate.
It also said plans to incorporate a restaurant and lounge led to the price hike.
“We’ll be opening rather more than just a brewery in Mount Pleasant this year—we’ll be opening a hub that, in addition to fresh new brews, will include live entertainment, locally sourced food, educational tours and tastings,” Big Rock CEO Bob Sartor said.
“In other words, a place we hope craft beer lovers will want to call home.”
Big Rock said the brewery will be open this year.
