Corporate Supporter Spotlight: CRAFT Beer Market

What prompted Craft Beer Market to open up a Vancouver location?

We opened the doors in Calgary in June 2011 and have been a leader in the market introducing great craft beers to the city as well as some of our programs. We were the first restaurant to have a regular cask night, we hosted the official launches of Deschutes, BrewDog and Central City on tap in Alberta as well being the first to pour many other great beers. We received our Level 1 LEAF Certification (Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice) in September of 2012 and are proud to be the largest restaurant in Canada to receive this designation. We are opening a location in Edmonton in December which will have 104 beers on tap as well as a rooftop patio.

Our friend Brian Harris with Russell Brewing reached out to PJ to let him know that the Salt Building was available and thought that it was a great space for the CRAFT concept. The history and design of the building were a perfect fit for the vision that we have for CRAFT. The high ceilings and exposed beams allow us to run our draft lines in stainless steel conduits from the bar overhead to our glass enclosed keg room which is visually impressive when you walk into the restaurant. One of our philosophies as a company is to be as sustainable as possible. The fact that the Salt Building is Gold LEED certified was really important to us as well. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect space to open in Vancouver than this building and in Olympic Village.

BBS Systems installed our draft lines here as well as our location in Calgary. Here is what Greg from BBS had to say – “I wouldn’t say any challenges really it’s just a bigger system than usual and takes a lot more time and planning. We have to make sure the proper blend of gas is on each beer along with the proper balance of restriction and pressure to service the perfect pint.”

How are the beers that you carry on tap selected?

This is from Rob Swiderski, one of our Owner/Operator’s who has his BJCP Certification, is a Certified Micromatic Technician, Level 1 Cicerone and is writing his Cicerone exam in November.

• Respecting tradition – there are beers (some our lowest selling and most expensive beers to bring in) we have on our menu because real beer aficionados appreciate, such as our Trappist ales, Belgium Strong ales
• Recognizing progression – on the total opposite of the spectrum we carry beers that are hybrids and up and coming styles such as White IPA’s, India Saisons, etc
• Availability – our beer lists would be very different if every beer that was in a bottle was in a keg, also some beers that are available in BC are not in Alberta and vice versa
• We listen to all the beer people and review highly rated resources for up to date information on what breweries are making noise in the beer world
• We need to make sure that we are approachable in most of our brands for our regular lines but the rotating lines and casks are usually where we have the most fun- sours, bourbon aged barrel imperial stouts, kaffir lime leaf and vanilla cream ale
• Worldly – we try to represent all the major beer regions of the world- North America, Belgium, UK
• A beer for every palate – we try to be as diverse as possible

Absolutely! We will be hosting a weekly cask night every Tuesday and will be tapping the cask at 4pm!

We will be hosting our Brewmaster’s Dinner Series once a month. This is a great opportunity for our Chef and kitchen team to get creative and come up with a unique four course menu that will pair with beers from our partner brewery. For guests it’s a chance to try new beers as well as learn a little bit more of the history of the brewery and the stories behind those beers. Our inaugural Brewmaster’s Dinner will be Tuesday November 26^th with Anchor Brewing from San Francisco. We are very excited that Brewmaster Bob Brewer, will be flying out to host the evening! Tickets are $60 and will be available for purchase in house as well as through our website!