Live at Lunch: Craft Brewing in BC

BC's independent craft brewing industry may have started in 1982 with John Mitchell's Horseshoe Bay Brewing in West Vancouver, but the origins of craft brewing extend all the way back to 1858 in Victoria. Come hear stories about the late 19th and early 20th century brewers of both Vancouver and Victoria, who began an industry that would help shape BC's cultural identity and economy. The brewmasters and the businessmen (and businesswomen!) of BC, who were small business owners with deep ties to their communities, competed with saloon culture and reduced the province's reliance on imported beverages. However, by the time of provincial prohibition, almost all independent breweries had been swallowed up by big brewing corporations--and it remained that way until the 1980s. For this Live at Lunch, Noelle Phillips will share some tales from these forgotten pre-corporate foundations of BC craft brewing. 

About the speaker:

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Noelle Phillips received her PhD from UBC and is an English instructor at Douglas College. Her first two academic books focused on the pre-modern history of craft brewing and the use of medieval tropes to market modern craft beer. She is a regular contributor to The Growler: BC's Craft Beer Magazine and the BC Ale Trail. Her new book, which will come out in Fall 2024 with TouchWood Editions, is a history of craft beer in Vancouver from the 19th century immigrant brewers to modern-day craft breweries.