Centennial Homebrewing Supplies

Centennial Homebrewing was started by Brian Janzen about a year ago. Brian has been an avid home brewer for over 20 years. He admits, “My first home brew was actually when I was still in high school.” His idea for a store came as the Vancouver craft beer scene was beginning to explode. “I felt the need for another home brewing store in Vancouver. With the growing popularity of craft brews, I felt I could at least offer up some new options and a variety of ingredients.” He knew he had to offer something different than other home brew shops, and that came from his selection of ingredients. “I like to carry a large selection of malts, hops and yeast from around the world. There’s always something new to find at Centennial.” Brian explains.

While he operates a small shop at Rupert and Grandview, Brian feels as though the personalized service he brings to the table is something unique that sets him apart. He likes to think he offers a dedication to friendly and helpful service. I can personally attest to this through my own experience. As my wife and I were just getting into home brewing, it was Centennial that we visited to purchase our ingredients. We walked in with absolutely no idea what we were doing. Brian gave us all the guidance we needed, got us a starter kit, a simple recipe and even gave us his card and said to call him if we needed any help during the process. Well, we called him in a panic at least a few times that night. That beer ended up being a completely undrinkable IPA (which was our fault) but we learned a lot thanks to Brian! Outside of friendly service, Brian says they “also offer easy online shopping from our website, with choices of free in store pickup, or next day delivery for only $9.” Not too bad in a world that has become accustomed to shopping at major stores from the comfort of home.

In store, Centennial has a “Sip ’n’ Share” event once every other month, where people are invited to come down to the store after closing and share some of their homebrew and partake in some good conversation. Additionally, there is a collection of videos on the website like this one that introduce you to the shop so you can get to know it a little or this one touching on the variety of ingredients available. Soon there will be a few “how-to” videos for the new brewers trying to get a feel for the craft.

Brian is coming up on one year of his shop being open and he is proud to say that he has just hired his first employee after running the store on his own for the first 9 months. So, if Centennial is just about a year old, one can imagine that he must have seen some weird beers. So far, the weirdest is “a scotch beer that had so much peated malt in it, that it tasted like you were drinking Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch! Not for everyone, but the brewer loves it.”

Centennial is looking forward to the future as the craft beer scene continues to grow. Brian says, “I have always been a huge fan of craft beers, so it was a bit surprising actually that it took this long for the craft beer explosion to actually happen. That being said, I am super impressed with the recent surge in the marketplace. I would like to give special props to Storm and R&B Brewing for being pioneers in Vancouver.”

As the Christmas season is approaching, Brian would like to offer a special discount to CAMRA members until December 25. Show your CAMRA card at Centennial Homebrewing Supplies, and you will receive a 10% discount on your purchase! If you have a homebrewer (or a homebrewer -to-be) on your list this holiday season this is a discount you don’t want to miss!

David Perry – @davidjp87
Community Liaison – CAMRA BC, Vancouver Chapter

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For more information about Centennial Homebrewing visit their website or Facebook.
Brian@centennialhomebrewing.com
604.435.2441. 2985 Rupert Street, Vancouver.