The Craft Beer Revolution is spreading through the Rockies! This time to Alberta with the launch of CAMRA Alberta in Calgary this summer. The person starting the new society is our friend Natasha Peiskar, the driving force behind SFBrew and one half of the Hoparella team who won the Deep Cove University Brew-off Competition. It was a shame that Vancouver lost such a passionate and enthusiastic member of the community but she’s wasted no time since she moved to Calgary deciding that CAMRA’s mission should come with her. Natasha is now also the Copper & Theory sales rep for Alberta too.
Natasha on the left pictured with Hoparella
partner-in-crime Jill Plotnikoff with the Hops Connect cup and a bottle of their Brew-Off Ale
“We have a really connected, passionate and influential group getting together” said Natasha. Alberta has a growing craft brewing scene along with a great home-brew community, they also have a deep import culture with plenty of beers that we just don’t get in BC. Adam Seguin of the Western Suds beer blog is also involved and in a recent posting said “craft beer culture in Beautiful British Columbia is an incredible thing. CAMRA BC and more particularly, the Vancouver Branch, is what inspired us to start a craft beer society right here in Wild Rose Country.”
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MRA Alberta is long overdue and I’m really pleased that discerning drinkers are forming a society to promote and support great beer. In case you are wondering, they will be a separate legal entity from CAMRA BC so while we share a vision and some objectives we aren’t part of the same organisation. However, if you spend time in Cow-Town or just want to support a great cause you can be a member of both, I know I will!
If you’ve got friends or family in Calgary who you think should join CAMRA Alberta send them along to the AGM on June 16, 6pm at Midtown Kitchen & Bar – the cask will be done by Bearhill Brewing (probably their Last Best brand). This is their chance to get in on the ground floor! As a bonus, everyone who signs up at the AGM will receive a $10 gift card for Midtown Kitchen & Bar AND a ticket to their Oktoberfest party (while they last)! Wow – what a deal!
Good luck to everyone involved in CAMRA Alberta and let’s hope that one of the first things we agree is to extend our membership benefits to their members and vice versa that way we can all be a part of a greater CANADIAN craft beer community.
Adam Chatburn,
President, CAMRA BC – Vancouver Branch
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