This story originally appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of The Growler, out now! You can find B.C.’s favourite craft beer and cider guide at your local brewery, cidery, select private liquor stores, and on newsstands across the province.
This issue marks the fifth anniversary of The Growler, and we’re pretty excited. This is a major milestone for us, the first of many we hope. The B.C. craft beer scene has come a long way in the past half decade, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have been there to tell the story.
The very first issue of The Growler debuted on Jan. 31, 2015. At the time, there were barely 90 craft breweries and brewpubs around the province, the vast majority in Metro Vancouver and Victoria. Today, there’s more than double that, reaching every corner of the province.
“B.C.’s craft beer industry has grown so quickly, especially in the Lower Mainland, that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with who’s where and what’s when,” wrote Stephen Smysniuk, The Growler’s founder and original editor in that first issue. Five years later, and it’s still nearly impossible to keep up with all the awesomeness.
In that short time we’ve seen the craft beer scene evolve in ways we could have never imagined. We’ve seen breweries open and breweries close. We’ve witnessed the birth of new beer styles, and the death of others. And thanks to collaboration, creativity and a commitment to quality, B.C. craft beer has become globally recognized.
And just like B.C.’s craft beer scene, The Growler has grown considerably since that first adorable 66-page issue. We’ve expanded across the entire province and even to Ontario. We launched our own line of collab beers. We created The Growler’s B.C. Craft Beer Readers’ Choice Awards, a.k.a. the Growlies, to give beer fans a voice. As of this issue, we’ve even added craft cider coverage. We’ve also launched sister publications, including craft cocktail digest The Alchemist and wine culture magazine Vitis.
So as we look forward to the next five years and beyond, on behalf of the entire Growler team, I’d like to say thank you to all of our supporters in the craft beer industry and beyond. Most of all, I’d like to say thank you, dear reader. Because without you, none of this would be possible.
Cheers,
Rob Mangelsdorf and the Growler Team
- The Spring 2020 issue of The Growler is out now! You can find B.C.’s favourite craft beer and cider guide at your local brewery, cidery, select private liquor stores, and on newsstands across the province.
