The Spotlight is a series of interviews with the craft beer heroes behind local organizations who are helping grow the beer scene in our fine city. This week’s spotlight is on Moody Ales
I must say, Adam Crandall and Dan Helmer have come a long way from two guys that worked together for an I.T. consulting company. After a visit to the Portland Brewing Festival, Adam – an avid homebrewer – decided to introduce his colleague Dan to the idea of making their own beer. With a degree in microbiology, Dan found himself right at home in the nitty-gritty of beer making. Within a few years, the duo had managed to secure a location that is close to home and started construction on the future home of Moody Ales.
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t always going to be Moody Ales. In fact, the name was almost going to be Rocky Point Brewing Company. Adam explains: “We had prepared a good business plan, the bank was nearly on board, and investors were lined up. We sent a note to our lawyer asking him to incorporate our company, but it turns out someone else had incorporated a company with a very similar name and our name request was denied by the BC name registry. Cue the end of the world.” (Check out their blog post on the brewery naming process here – definitely a good read!)
With both men having active home lives in the Port Moody area, being close to home was key to their decision making process. Attentive readers of this column may have noticed that our last edition focused on Yellow Dog Brewing Co, which is just down the road from Moody Ales‘ location. With new breweries popping up at the rate that they are, Port Moody could very well be the Tri-Cities version of East Van within the next few years. Adam echoes those feelings, “It feels like this area is underserved. There is a real thirst for good craft beer in Port Moody and the Tri-Cities. We could see this becoming something much bigger, which is exciting.”
When asked about what kind of beer Brewmaster Dan (er, Brewer Dan – he doesn’t like “Brewmaster”) is going to brew, it would seem as though they are holding their brewing to the same standard that they hold their beer consumption. “If it’s beer we want to drink, we know everyone else will want to drink it too,” they say. Ambitious words coming out of Port Moody, but my sources close to the brewery (a former CAMRA Vancouver liaison, no less) tells me that the brews that she got to try are really something special and the beer community has every reason to be excited! Specifically, visitors can expect a Blonde, a Nut-Brown Ale and an IPA when they visit the brewery on opening day. Coming down the pike a bit later, expect to see a Smoked Porter and a barrel-aging program that will focus on Sours. YUM!
When asked what their identity was as a brewery, Adam didn’t miss a beat, “Education. We love to teach people about beer.” What does that look like? “Maybe we make five batches of the same beer with five different yeasts. People don’t realize how much yeast can change the flavor of a beer. Now they can learn.” Well, that sounds like fun! The tasting room plans to focus on growlers, kegs and casks to gauge demand, but Adam expects to be moving into bottling pretty soon after opening.
Be sure to head out to Port Moody and check out Moody Ales near the end of September.
David Perry- @davidjp87
Community Liason – CAMRA BC, Vancouver Branch
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Follow Moody Ales on Twitter and Facebook or keep an eye their website for a firm opening date!
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