32 BCBusiness JUNE 2014
go big or go home
Darryl Frost went all in by
expanding from a cosy
brew pub to a purpose-
built brewery geared to
supply retail outlets.
expected; he has secured a bigger site
on Powell Street in east Vancouver,
expected to open later this year, and his
plans include expanding bottling and
canning capacity and adding a lounge.
While Springthorpe, Michnik and
Bowkett chose to start small (and
Springthorpe has no intention of grow-
ing), other newcomers have bigger goals
in sight. "I don't want to be just a little
craft brewery that supplies my neigh-
bourhood," states Don Farion, whose
Bomber Brewing Corp. opened its doors
on Adanac Street in Vancouver's Strath-
cona neighbourhood in February this
year. Upon opening, the brewery had
three flagship beers (an India Pale Ale,
an Extra Special Bitter and a Pilsner),
annual production capacity of 6,000
hectolitres, a canning line and an on-
site store and lounge. Farion says his
brewing capacity could double within
months, and he plans to take his prod-
uct into Alberta before the year is out.
s
ome independent B.C. brew-
ers, whose history predates
the recent surge in local micro-
breweries, have been riding
the growth curve for several years now.
Central City Brewing in Surrey, is typi-
cal: it started out in 2003 strictly as a
neighbourhood brew pub, but recently
moved into a purpose-built $20-mil-
lion destination brewery, with plans of
increasing production more than tenfold
within five years.
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