There are perks to brewing beer in a small town, where access to outdoor adventure is only steps away and inspiration often comes by way of Mother Nature herself.
But on the other hand, offering up some tasty adult beverages in a world-class city also has its benefits.
To explore these differences, The Growler got the low down from Petri Raito, one of the creative minds at Rossland Beer Company, located in the West Kootenays, and Gary Lindsay, partner and “Purveyor of Precious Liquids,” at Victoria-based Driftwood Brewery, in an epic small-town versus large-city debate about who has it best.
The Growler: Tell us a little about each of your breweries.
Petri Raito: I handle the business side and the head brewer is Ryan Arnaud. He is a talented technician who makes very tasty consistent beer.
We have owned the business since 2012, with no other partners or angel investors (just us) and we are proud of that.
The brewery is a small but very unique space. We have great local support and visitors during peak seasons. But the balance is pretty awesome as they compliment each other at the brewery.
Gary Lindsay: First beer sold in October 2008, with Jason Meye, Kevin Hearsum (chief beer counter) and myself with a drive to brew the beers we love and introduce flavour forward-profiles in different styles. We have never been known to hold back or put limits on our creative inspirations.
We moved our entire operation into a new space in 2021, and added a full tasting room and patio and launched a distillery.
The Growler: Who is your customer base?:
Petri Raito: From contractors, doctors and ski bums, we have a wide variety of great people who show their local support. We feel lucky to have such a great group of people in our brewery daily.
Gary Lindsay: We sell our beer in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and the Yukon, so our customer base is quite diverse but generally anyone seeking fully developed flavour profiles in their beer are drawn to Driftwood brands. Visit our tasting room on any given day you will find folks from 20 to 70 sharing the experience together.
The Growler: What is your most popular beer?
Petri Raito: Our popular beers seem to change all the time but, that being said, our Green Jacket Pale Ale has a very loyal following. But everyone seems to have a different favourite and that makes it fun.
Gary Lindsay: Fat Tug IPA. All of our hoppy profile beers lead the way in sales. We don’t hold back on developing and layering hop character as our reputation was founded in the full character of these styles.
The Growler: What is the bonus of operating a brewery in your location?
Petri Raito: We feel lucky to have a brewery in this town as it’s truly one of the coolest places to be. Skiing, biking, golfing, fishing and all the awesome-sauce small businesses that make it so special.
We have a real barbershop local feel, where people share their frustrations and their happy times. So, it’s a very personal feeling, where folks don’t have their phones out or watching TV’s everywhere.
Gary Lindsay: There’s lots of opportunity and motivation to do more in the city. Inspiration is never far away and as more breweries earn success the area becomes a destination bringing more visitors. The beer culture becomes more diverse as we challenge each other to do better and create a niche.
The Growler: How are you doing post-Covid?
Petri Raito: Ahhhhh, Covid changed everything for us. Since Covid, we haven’t really caught up so to speak. So, it’s been tough in our industry as we all know. From all costs going up to businesses supporting macro beer and macro products. We find lots of small businesses struggling. But we aren’t quitting and nothing great comes easy. So, elbows up!
Gary Lindsay: Cost of living, buying patterns, consumer choices, increased costs on everything. It’s the same for everyone, plenty of challenges and pressures while having to give up margin as consumers are more sensitive to pricing and we are not able to pass along all our increases to the consumer.
The Growler: Where do you find inspiration for your beers?
Petri Raito: I just asked Ryan. ‘I know it sounds crazy cheesy but the truth is I feel lucky that I live and work here (like, everyday). Golfing man how lucky are we? The river? How lucky are we? Ferraros (grocery store)? How lucky are we? Skiing at Red? How lucky are we” Again, I might sound like a homer but, we are lucky.’
As Ryan says, ‘Each season has a mood. I want to capture that in a glass.”
Gary Lindsay: All around us and far afield. Our team is really inspired by authentic flavours and unique takes on styles. We all love to travel and immerse ourselves in experiences that bring inspiration to the things we can brew here — and thankfully we have a pilot system we can lean into and explore our curiosity and inspiration.
The Growler: What about staffing in a small town versus a city?
Petri Raito: Our team is wicked good, We have so many folks who have been with us for a long time and many who have stayed connected with us from the beginning. They work hard but are so appreciated, again we feel lucky.
Gary Lindsay: We are fortunate to have a very tenured team at Driftwood and have been able to sustain reliable staffing levels as needed.
While there is a considerable talent pool here, there is a delicate balance to maintain—compensation that reflects a ‘living wage’ with the increasing challenge of maintaining a sustainable margin from operations. People do want to stay here and we do our best to create a rewarding place to work.
The Growler: Any finals words for folks pondering small town brewery versus city?
Petri Raito: Come see us and visit all the shops and support local, hold doors open for folks, slow down while here and tell them how lucky they are to live here. But odds are they already know.
Gary Lindsay: The best part of living in Victoria is the climate and access to stunning outdoor recreation opportunities combined with the worldclass food and drink culture. Anything you choose to do can be accessible from here.
I started in the craft beer world in 2000, with Lighthouse Brewing Co. and have seen plenty of changes, trends and challenges in the past 25 years—locally, regionally and globally. No matter what or when—beer always pulls us together and connects us. Its an essential piece of community and it’s that connection I find essential with the beer we brew.
