retreived from: http://albertaventure.com/2010/12/the-bruising-business-of-brewing-in-alberta/
The bruising business of brewing in Alberta: Tapped Out
by Jason Foster // Photography by Bluefish
Tall Cool One: Gene Dub inside his Yellowhead brewing company
Gene Dub knows how to win. He looks the part, too, with his silver hair, dark-rimmed glasses and made-to-measure suits.
The successful Edmonton businessman and internationally renowned architect has built both a personal and professional reputation around his ability to tackle difficult situations, be it the refurbishment of the dilapidated McLeod building in downtown Edmonton to the reinvention of the old City Market location on 97 Street. But the tricky business of craft brewing in Alberta is a puzzle that even he is finding difficult to solve.
Yellowhead Brewing, Dub’s attempt to crack the beer market in Alberta, opened this past spring. But despite its prime location in a stately historic building – owned by Dub – on 105 Street in the heart of downtown Edmonton, the brewery has struggled to get off the ground. “My experience trying to shepherd Yellowhead into existence has not been smooth,” he says. “Every second day you ask yourself why you didn’t lease the facility and let someone else have the headaches. But, then you drink a beer and you understand.”
Beer has become more than just another business for Dub. Brewing in Alberta, Dub explains, “is a labour of love,” and that’s a sentiment echoed by every small brewer in Alberta. It has to be, given the challenges that anyone who operates a brewery, particularly a small operation like Dub’s, has to face. Neil Herbst, the owner and brewmaster of Edmonton’s Alley Kat Brewery, calls this climate “the Alberta Disadvantage,” and after 15 years in business he understands it better than most. “It makes no sense to set up in Alberta.”
This might seem like a preposterous statement to make, given both the province’s business climate and the enthusiasm that its residents show towards the consumption of beer. After all, only the residents of Quebec, Newfoundland and Yukon down more beer each year than the 91 litres that every adult Albertan puts away. When one combines those demographic realities with the rise of a more sophisticated beer drinking culture across North America in which qualities like flavour and workmanship take precedence over volume and price, the business of craft brewing in Alberta ought to be an easy one.
The numbers, though, tell a much different story. Despite these apparent advantages, Alberta has just nine microbreweries and three brewpubs (bars allowed to produce beer for on-site sale only). Yet right next door in B.C. there are 34 microbreweries and 28 brewpubs, which gives the province more than four times the number of breweries than Alberta on a per-capita basis. Even tiny Nova Scotia dwarfs Alberta’s industry, with six breweries and seven brewpubs serving a population one-quarter the size.
What’s going on here, then? Alley Kat’s Herbst thinks the situation can be explained, at least in part, by Alberta’s unique culture. “Alberta is cautious,” he explains. “It is difficult to bring people around to an interest in local beer. We like our chains here because they are safe and reliable. We know what we are going to get.”
Tina Wolfe, the marketing manager at Calgary’s Wild Rose Brewery, suggests that much of the challenge for small operations like hers comes down to name recognition. “The biggest thing we battle is consumers not knowing beer other than the national brands. We don’t have the budgets of the big guys.” Trying to gain brand recognition without significant resources is a widespread problem among small brewers.
There is also a hesitance to carry local products on the part of Alberta’s pubs and restaurants. Patrick Devaney, the owner of a chain of independent Edmonton pubs that includes Sherlock Holmes and the Rose and Crown, says there is a limited interest in local beer. “There is always the group that wants microbrews, wants to support local companies, but they are a small percentage, maybe five per cent of the clientele.” Devaney has tried putting local beer on tap in his pubs, “but it didn’t work – no demand for it. It didn’t sell.” Why? “Maybe they weren’t advertised enough. Customers don’t know them. You have to have a media presence and they don’t have the budget for that.”
Devaney says that imports are more popular in his pubs than local beer, a point underscored by Alley Kat’s Herbst. “Perception is that import means high quality, while there is still a sentiment that if it’s from here it can’t be any good.” Herbst argues that the rise of imports came before the new wave of craft breweries, meaning imports squeezed out some of the potential space for local breweries.
This reluctance by Albertans to embrace local beer makers is unusual. In Quebec, for example, the pride that people take in consuming local beer is palpable. Stéphane Ostiguy, co-owner of Dieu du Ciel microbrewery in Montreal sums up his community’s passion: “We believe strongly in local. Local food. Local beer. Local culture.” It is that commitment to all things local that Ostiguy credits for his operation’s success, and similar sentiments can be found across most of the country, from Vancouver to Halifax and most places – Alberta excluded – in between.
There are more than just cultural factors at play here, Alberta brewers say. Government policy also shapes the beer industry. Beer is a highly regulated and taxed industry, a vestige of the post-prohibition era. Likewise, governments enact strict controls on who can operate a brewery and where and how they sell their product. Not only are the rules related to the production and distribution of beer complex and multi-layered, but they often differ from province to province. Worse still for smaller producers, these rules can often make it difficult to do business. For example, Alberta places a minimum annual production quota on any new brewery of 250,000 litres (about 733,000 bottles) and a 500,000-litre minimum capacity. This can be a formidable hurdle for a new brewery with no established market. In contrast B.C., Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia place no minimum requirements on new applicants.
All provinces offer a retail tax (sometimes called government “mark-up”) discount to small brewers as a way to make them more cost competitive. The rates vary, as do the implementation of the rules, but the Alberta regime receives mixed reviews. “The taxation rate for small volume breweries is favourable,” says Yellowhead’s Dub. Herbst agrees, but adds a caveat. The differential tax “helps with the economies of scale to keep our pricing competitive, but it isn’t ramped up. If you hit 20,000 hectolitres (two million litres), all of your production gets marked up at [the higher rate].” Herbst is referring to the fact that the tax rate is not graduated, which means that once a brewery hits the 20,000 hectolitre threshold it must pay the higher tax rate for the entire production volume rather than merely the amount in excess of the threshold. “It makes the 20,001st hectolitre very expensive,” he explains, noting that it creates a significant disincentive for breweries to grow beyond a certain level.
But perhaps the single most difficult hurdle that small breweries must overcome is Alberta’s privatized distribution and retail system. There is both good and bad in the system, and Wild Rose Brewery’s Wolfe believes that it “goes both ways.” “There is more choice here than any other province,” she explains. “There are more imports here. If the consumer is open to imports, they may become more open to drinking locally brewed craft beer.” But there is an equally large downside to Alberta’s unique approach to the sale and distribution of liquor. “The flipside is there is flat out way more competition – competing for shelf space against tens of thousands of potential [competing products],” Wolfe explains.
For smaller producers in Alberta, the act of selling beer is an exercise in persistence and patience that requires going from store to store, talking each of them into stocking your product. In other provinces, the government-run system guarantees single entry access for local breweries. Alberta’s craft brewers don’t even get the benefit of home-field advantage, either. “Getting my beer into B.C. is a pain in the ass,” Herbst explains. “However, for a brewery set up anywhere else in Canada [trying to get into Alberta], the paperwork takes less than 15 minutes, no limits on approval.”
The Alberta government admits privatization has caused problems for small brewers. “The privatized model makes it tougher for microbreweries,” says Vanda Killeen, communications officer for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC). “In B.C. stores you see signs for local [producers], they are front and centre. With our model we don’t get involved in marketing and help promote the product. They are all on their own.” Couldn’t the government work to create a more supportive environment for small brewers? “That’s not really our job,” Killeen says. >
There’s also a darker side of Alberta’s hypercompetitive beer market. A conversation with any craft brewer in Alberta about getting taps in bars – the most lucrative part of the beer market – quickly becomes a frustrated tirade against the cutthroat tactics used by competitors. For their part, pub owners argue they have limited space for new tap options. “Our biggest problem is there are so many beers out there and we only have so many taps,” says Devaney, who has between 14 and 17 taps in each of his pubs but only one “free tap” with which to experiment with new beer. The others, he explains, are committed to existing product.
But a beer industry insider and former sales representative for one of the large breweries (who spoke on condition of anonymity) argues that there is much more than that going on. Breweries regularly offer “inducements” to pub and liquor store owners, he says, to get them to carry their product and keep competitors out, a practice that’s commonly referred to as “greasing.” “We would pay to install tap lines, drop off free kegs at the back door, and even give cash to keep or steal an account.” Another common practice is called “buying down product,” which means reimbursing the retailer a portion of its cost either through promotional items, free product or cash.
Much of the demand for “grease” is driven by pub and liquor store owners looking for a way to reduce their costs, but the insider says the system was set up to protect the interests of the big breweries. He says that most of this greasing is “completely illegal,” and that “everybody does it,” but the big breweries, with their much deeper pockets, are far better armed in this war of gifts and graft. Where a representative for a bigger company might get a budget of anywhere from $80,000 to $120,000 a year for greasing, for example, all a small brewer can offer are a few branded glasses and some beer mats.
While the Gaming and Liquor Regulation clearly prohibits any kind of inducements by breweries, the AGLC was unable to clarify how it interprets these rules and denied that it is aware of any contraventions. Still, the insider’s account is confirmed by others in the industry. Herbst, for one, argues the rules around inducements are not enforced. “The province doesn’t police it. They don’t care. If you are going to have a rule but not enforce it, why have a rule?” For his part, the insider can’t see why there are rules in the first place. “Is it ALGC’s job to worry about what a few breweries are doing to win business? They should be worried about underage drinking, over-serving and problems like that.”
Back at Yellowhead Brewing, Gene Dub and his small staff of two continue to build their fledgling brewery one pint at a time. They know that the road to success is littered with obstacles, and that there’s unlikely to be a pot of gold waiting for them at the end if they do make it. In order to succeed they will need to be determined, creative and refuse to take no for an answer, just like the smattering of successful small breweries that has come before them. And while Dub has seen his share of success over the course of his professional career, he knows that just about everything would have to break right in order for his brewery to become the next big thing. Still, he seems to have made his peace with the challenges that lie ahead. “We will never be a Big Rock,” he concedes, “but we just might be happier because of it.”
Saturday, November 13, 2010
From the Edmonton Journal
http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/columnists/story.html?id=d9cdcb67-f8d7-4086-9731-9bcc520d2f6f
Shop local movement boosts our parochial talents
Todd Babiak, Edmonton Journal
Published: 3:05 am
In every West Coast American town from California to Alaska, there is at least one craft brewery; drinking the local beer, or beers, is a point of pride but it's also less-than-pride.
It's reasonable behaviour. Big Rock is in every bar and restaurant in Calgary. Both Amber's and Alley Kat, here in Edmonton, taste just as good. Probably better. They've won national and international awards. They're no more expensive than Big Rock, and have travelled fewer kilometres -- though compared to imported beer, provincially and nationally, Big Rock is a fine choice.
So why is it such a dear struggle to find Amber's and Alley Kat on tap, or even in bottles, in their hometown?
"Edmonton's different," said Jim Gibbon, of Amber's Brewing Company on 78th Avenue and 99th Street. "We have this strange fear of seeming parochial. Buying local seems below us. We assume it's worse than anything from outside the city. Instead of seeming more special, it's less special."
His argument, while unprovable, carries a certain spiritual truth. But I suggest it represents an Edmonton psychological ailment that is slowly fading. The power centres and malls are as busy as ever, maybe busier than ever, and we seem just as flattered when an international brand such as Victoria's Secret or Restoration Hardware opens a store in one of our malls -- they've heard of us and everything! -- but local-ness, Edmontonness, is developing a shape and a flavour, an identity, a swagger.
Jessie Radies, one of the busiest women in the city, owns The Blue Pear restaurant and helps lead the Live Local initiative, a collection of Edmonton independent restaurants and retailers. Her car is less than awesome. She struggles to secure family time. Yet she takes any call to explain why spending our money locally is an intelligent choice economically, socially and environmentally, an argument she's been making for 10 years.
"The money stays in our community," she said at The Blue Pear this week, where her staff was making cheese in-house for dinner. "The economic impact, on Edmonton, is three times greater when you make a local choice."
November is "Shop Local First" month. Ideally, we intercept our now-natural desire to drive halfway to Leduc for an internationally branded Christmas present made in Asia, for Mexican produce, for hamburger patties, for a cup of middling drive-thru coffee, for a romantic dinner date. Instead, we choose a local, independent business, one of those Edmonton places.
Not because it's the right thing to do, like a spoonful of Castor oil, but because the skirts, onions, beef, coffee and grilled lamb sirloin served with goat cheese gnocchi conceived and constructed in Edmonton with local soil, fire and imagination are simply better.
Of course, chain stores are a foundation of our economy, and reflexive snottiness about them is unhelpful. They're major employers, even if the profits are sent to New York and Almhult. But they won't miss you. I checked this week; the parking lots are full.
While it might seem untoward for the City of Edmonton and the government of Alberta to favour one type of business over another, our governments have been exceedingly welcoming to gigantic multinational corporations in recent years; consider the gift of infrastructure at South Edmonton Commons.
There is a small thing they could do, to round up the local creators.
Since 1997, the territorial government of the Yukon and the Yukon Chamber of Commerce have run a very successful and very economical program out of Whitehorse called Created in the Yukon. It's a snowflake logo (cold, yes, but unique as well) affixed to products using a sticker and a tag. Businesses that sell Created in the Yukon products receive window displays.
Anything created by a Yukon artist, artisan or craftsperson is clearly and lovingly marked.
"It covers visual, literary and performing arts, home crafts, jams and jellies, a huge array of products that I couldn't list for you," said Garnet Muething, with the Yukon department of culture and tourism.
"We hear from visitors to the territory looking for unique products, and we want to bridge that gap between consumer and creator. Yukoners, too, love the program, for themselves and when they want to send something to their friends and family outside the territory."
A Created in Edmonton or, perhaps, a Created in Alberta program, simple to develop cheap to administer, would bring together all the disparate elements of the still-nascent "live local" movement, if only by pointing consumers in the right direction.
The potters' guilds, the Handmade Mafia, the farmers' markets artisans in Old Strathcona and, on Saturday, in Winston Churchill Square, novelists, poets, painters and farmers have events between now and Christmas. Bringing them all together, as Radies has done with restaurants and retailers, with a common identification program, might steer a few of us back to the main streets and community halls of the city.
It's so much more pleasant than sitting in traffic. We can walk into the pub for a glass of Amber's or Alley Kat during breaks between buying a novel for Gunther, a hand-knitted sweater for Little Chloe, a vase for Mom and a package of artisan sausage for dirty old Uncle Steve: all imagined and built, brilliantly, here in this parochial town.
Twitter: @babiak
tbabiak@edmontonjournal.com
http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/columnists/story.html?id=d9cdcb67-f8d7-4086-9731-9bcc520d2f6f
Shop local movement boosts our parochial talents
Todd Babiak, Edmonton Journal
Published: 3:05 am
In every West Coast American town from California to Alaska, there is at least one craft brewery; drinking the local beer, or beers, is a point of pride but it's also less-than-pride.
It's reasonable behaviour. Big Rock is in every bar and restaurant in Calgary. Both Amber's and Alley Kat, here in Edmonton, taste just as good. Probably better. They've won national and international awards. They're no more expensive than Big Rock, and have travelled fewer kilometres -- though compared to imported beer, provincially and nationally, Big Rock is a fine choice.
So why is it such a dear struggle to find Amber's and Alley Kat on tap, or even in bottles, in their hometown?
"Edmonton's different," said Jim Gibbon, of Amber's Brewing Company on 78th Avenue and 99th Street. "We have this strange fear of seeming parochial. Buying local seems below us. We assume it's worse than anything from outside the city. Instead of seeming more special, it's less special."
His argument, while unprovable, carries a certain spiritual truth. But I suggest it represents an Edmonton psychological ailment that is slowly fading. The power centres and malls are as busy as ever, maybe busier than ever, and we seem just as flattered when an international brand such as Victoria's Secret or Restoration Hardware opens a store in one of our malls -- they've heard of us and everything! -- but local-ness, Edmontonness, is developing a shape and a flavour, an identity, a swagger.
Jessie Radies, one of the busiest women in the city, owns The Blue Pear restaurant and helps lead the Live Local initiative, a collection of Edmonton independent restaurants and retailers. Her car is less than awesome. She struggles to secure family time. Yet she takes any call to explain why spending our money locally is an intelligent choice economically, socially and environmentally, an argument she's been making for 10 years.
"The money stays in our community," she said at The Blue Pear this week, where her staff was making cheese in-house for dinner. "The economic impact, on Edmonton, is three times greater when you make a local choice."
November is "Shop Local First" month. Ideally, we intercept our now-natural desire to drive halfway to Leduc for an internationally branded Christmas present made in Asia, for Mexican produce, for hamburger patties, for a cup of middling drive-thru coffee, for a romantic dinner date. Instead, we choose a local, independent business, one of those Edmonton places.
Not because it's the right thing to do, like a spoonful of Castor oil, but because the skirts, onions, beef, coffee and grilled lamb sirloin served with goat cheese gnocchi conceived and constructed in Edmonton with local soil, fire and imagination are simply better.
Of course, chain stores are a foundation of our economy, and reflexive snottiness about them is unhelpful. They're major employers, even if the profits are sent to New York and Almhult. But they won't miss you. I checked this week; the parking lots are full.
While it might seem untoward for the City of Edmonton and the government of Alberta to favour one type of business over another, our governments have been exceedingly welcoming to gigantic multinational corporations in recent years; consider the gift of infrastructure at South Edmonton Commons.
There is a small thing they could do, to round up the local creators.
Since 1997, the territorial government of the Yukon and the Yukon Chamber of Commerce have run a very successful and very economical program out of Whitehorse called Created in the Yukon. It's a snowflake logo (cold, yes, but unique as well) affixed to products using a sticker and a tag. Businesses that sell Created in the Yukon products receive window displays.
Anything created by a Yukon artist, artisan or craftsperson is clearly and lovingly marked.
"It covers visual, literary and performing arts, home crafts, jams and jellies, a huge array of products that I couldn't list for you," said Garnet Muething, with the Yukon department of culture and tourism.
"We hear from visitors to the territory looking for unique products, and we want to bridge that gap between consumer and creator. Yukoners, too, love the program, for themselves and when they want to send something to their friends and family outside the territory."
A Created in Edmonton or, perhaps, a Created in Alberta program, simple to develop cheap to administer, would bring together all the disparate elements of the still-nascent "live local" movement, if only by pointing consumers in the right direction.
The potters' guilds, the Handmade Mafia, the farmers' markets artisans in Old Strathcona and, on Saturday, in Winston Churchill Square, novelists, poets, painters and farmers have events between now and Christmas. Bringing them all together, as Radies has done with restaurants and retailers, with a common identification program, might steer a few of us back to the main streets and community halls of the city.
It's so much more pleasant than sitting in traffic. We can walk into the pub for a glass of Amber's or Alley Kat during breaks between buying a novel for Gunther, a hand-knitted sweater for Little Chloe, a vase for Mom and a package of artisan sausage for dirty old Uncle Steve: all imagined and built, brilliantly, here in this parochial town.
Twitter: @babiak
tbabiak@edmontonjournal.com
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
From Jason Foster
http://www.onbeer.org/2010/10/wham-bam-shabam/
Wham, Bam, SHABAM
The first annual SHABAM beer and art festival wrapped up on Saturday evening. I did my CBC column live from SHABAM on Friday afternoon. It gives a good run-down of how it was set up and its potential as an event. I also highlight a couple of special things that were exclusive to the festival, such as the release of Unity Brew and the new Glen Sherbrooke scotch barrel-aged beer. You can listen to the column here.
However, as the column aired about 90 minutes after the opening of the event, I couldn’t really offer an overall assessment of its success as an event. To be honest, when I was there it was pretty dead, and I left a bit worried that the event would flop. Having talked to a few people who were there later on Friday and on Saturday, plus a conversation or two with some of the breweries, I feel better that – particularly on Saturday – SHABAM caught its sea legs. A couple thousand people did finally work their way through the hall, and there were even some modest lines on Saturday.
Here are my observations after the first incarnation of the event. It has potential. The crowd was older, for the most part, and so more serious about trying beer rather than guzzling it. The atmosphere was right – relaxed with space and time to taste the beer and talk with the brewery about the beer, meaning beer education was possible. Plus most of the breweries were wise enough to staff their booths with staff knowledgeable about the beer, rather than just possessing a god-given gift of impressive cleavage. The art-to-beer mix may have been off, as it felt more like an art festival with beer tasting attached rather than a beer festival, but I am not going to complain about offering people a chance to purchase some local art.
My main concern might be the overall lack of beer range available. Most of Alberta’s brewers were there, which is fantastic. However, a few more breweries or new and adventurous beer would have increased the novelty quotient. The only brewery who took that part seriously was Alley Kat, who made a point of bringing a cask each night to offer a unique treat. Big Rock also brought back its long-lost Magpie, which was a nice touch as well.
Next year I would like to see a few more breweries – maybe other Prairie and honourary Prairie brewers, and in particular have each bring something unique, special, experimental or otherwise not available elsewhere. I would happily fork out $15 plus sample tickets to try a dozen or so beer not available anywhere else.
This is constructive advice to the organizers. I would like to see this event happen again. The charity angle will keep it grounded and admirable. Tweaking the beer side will make it a more attractive event for the beer-curious. Sorry drunk guys – this event isn’t for you.
http://www.onbeer.org/2010/10/wham-bam-shabam/
Wham, Bam, SHABAM
The first annual SHABAM beer and art festival wrapped up on Saturday evening. I did my CBC column live from SHABAM on Friday afternoon. It gives a good run-down of how it was set up and its potential as an event. I also highlight a couple of special things that were exclusive to the festival, such as the release of Unity Brew and the new Glen Sherbrooke scotch barrel-aged beer. You can listen to the column here.
However, as the column aired about 90 minutes after the opening of the event, I couldn’t really offer an overall assessment of its success as an event. To be honest, when I was there it was pretty dead, and I left a bit worried that the event would flop. Having talked to a few people who were there later on Friday and on Saturday, plus a conversation or two with some of the breweries, I feel better that – particularly on Saturday – SHABAM caught its sea legs. A couple thousand people did finally work their way through the hall, and there were even some modest lines on Saturday.
Here are my observations after the first incarnation of the event. It has potential. The crowd was older, for the most part, and so more serious about trying beer rather than guzzling it. The atmosphere was right – relaxed with space and time to taste the beer and talk with the brewery about the beer, meaning beer education was possible. Plus most of the breweries were wise enough to staff their booths with staff knowledgeable about the beer, rather than just possessing a god-given gift of impressive cleavage. The art-to-beer mix may have been off, as it felt more like an art festival with beer tasting attached rather than a beer festival, but I am not going to complain about offering people a chance to purchase some local art.
My main concern might be the overall lack of beer range available. Most of Alberta’s brewers were there, which is fantastic. However, a few more breweries or new and adventurous beer would have increased the novelty quotient. The only brewery who took that part seriously was Alley Kat, who made a point of bringing a cask each night to offer a unique treat. Big Rock also brought back its long-lost Magpie, which was a nice touch as well.
Next year I would like to see a few more breweries – maybe other Prairie and honourary Prairie brewers, and in particular have each bring something unique, special, experimental or otherwise not available elsewhere. I would happily fork out $15 plus sample tickets to try a dozen or so beer not available anywhere else.
This is constructive advice to the organizers. I would like to see this event happen again. The charity angle will keep it grounded and admirable. Tweaking the beer side will make it a more attractive event for the beer-curious. Sorry drunk guys – this event isn’t for you.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Oktoberfest
The Good, The Bad & The Brewski
Somewhere in the world right now, it’s beer thirty.
Though healthy chicks are typically washing a meal down with water from the tap, every once in a Blue Moon – pun intended – we crave something else from the tap. I’m talking about washing it down with an ice, cold beer.
Established in 1810 to celebrate prince Ludwig & Princess Therese’s marriage in Bavaria, Oktoberfest has gone from a local wedding party to a global excuse to drink your face off.
With beer flowing like Niagara Falls at fairgrounds, restaurants and even house parties, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in it one way or another. Who can deny that a beer, a pretzel, and lederhosen are great fun?
Well, before you grab the beer bong and regress to your sorority days, you may want to know the pros and cons of our favorite Autumnal alcoholic beverage.
The Pros of Beer
* Beer is fat-free
* Beer is a low sugar beverage (not like that margarita you’ve been eyeballing)
* Beer has no cholesterol
* Since most beer contains malted barley, it is a source of soluble fiber, aiding in healthy bowel function and slowing digestion and absorption of food. You may be surprised to know that a liter of beer contains an average of 20-percent of the recommended daily intake of fiber, while some can provide up to 60-percent!
* Moderate consumption of beer has been shown to reduce stress and the chances of heart disease. I repeat, moderate!
* Beer contains significant amounts of magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, and is chock-full of vitamin B
The Cons of Beer
* One 12-ounce serving of "regular" (150 calories) beer per night adds more than 1,000 calories a week to a diet, working out to an extra 15 pounds per year. One light beer per night adds 10 pounds.
* There are about seven calories per gram of alcohol, so the higher the alcohol content, the more caloric it is. Just to give you an idea of how high that is in relation to other foods, there are four calories per gram of carbohydrates or protein, and nine calories per gram of fat.
* Even though beer contains no sugar, the alcohol affects your blood sugar levels causing them to drop more rapidly. This can cause low energy and stimulate your appetite, thereby causing you to overeat like a piggy.
* Why do we get a beer belly? Remember that beer has all sorts of vitamins. Well, because alcohol interferes with the body's absorption of vitamins and minerals, it can lessen the body's ability to burn stored fat. And since alcohol is detoxified by the liver, metabolizing excess quantities of alcohol causes the liver to swell, thereby filling with fat.
* Alcohol destroys vitamin C and vitamin B complex. So look for beers that have not filtered out the vitamin B, as those will help in combating the negative effects of alcohol, ie. Hangovers?
* Most beers contain wheat and barley so those with Celiacs Disease, or a sensitivity to gluten, have to chill on conventional brews (see below). They can wreak havoc in their bodies causing side effects that vary from uncomfortable gas to difficulty breathing.
There you have it. Beer definitely has some good attributes, but it’s important to know the negative aspects. If you’re going to indulge, be sure to choose your brews wisely. Gluten-free beers are less bloating, those with lower alcohol levels are less caloric, and those that still have vitamin B will make you feel less crappy.
There are so many great new organic, gluten-free and healthier beers on the market. While they may be a bit pricier then a PBR, remember, you get what you pay for.
Never forget, bitches: Drinking in moderation is always the key!
Happy Oktoberfest! Viel Vergnügen!
Carolyn Scott-Hamilton
An avid traveler and crusader for health nuts around the world, Carolyn Scott-Hamilton is the executive producer, creator, host and writer of The Healthy Voyager web series & radio show, site, blog, brand and social network. Check out www.healthyvoyager.com.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
FROM SEPTEMBER'S McLEANS MAGAZINE!!!!!
Every hoser’s nightmare
The U.S. microbrew industry is on the rise, eclipsing Canada’s not just in size, but taste, too
by Stephanie Findlay on Thursday, September 16, 2010 12:00pm - 1 Comment
Morry Gash/AP/CP
Canadians may not be quite the beer connoisseurs we make ourselves out to be. The most popular place to sample some of the tastiest new ales? America (former land of the watery beer). The craft beer market has been growing steadily in Canada and the U.S., but south of the border is where it’s really booming. According to the Brewers Association, 1,595 craft breweries were in operation last year in the U.S., the highest total since before Prohibition.
“In terms of flavour, Canadian beer is not as avant-garde as the States,” says Ian Coutts, author of Brew North, a new book chronicling Canada’s beer history. Coutts says that Americans are more daring with the flavours they use and their production processes. However, he says the adoption of American craft beer isn’t just about the taste. Population density is another factor that favours U.S. microbrewers. “If you have a micro in a place like California, you have 35 million people within a day’s truck ride of your brewery,” says Coutts.
But John Bowden, executive director of the first annual Toronto Beer Week, says that population aside, there have been two other factors that have stunted the industry’s growth in Canada. First, there are more restrictive distribution channels compared to the United States, and, second, provinces didn’t give special tax cuts or grants to help fund the industry until recently. Yet things are changing now that consumers are demanding more local products. Bowden, who also works in sales and marketing at the Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto, says that craft beer is “by far the fastest-growing alcohol beverage segment.” In the last year, Great Lakes’ sales shot up 40 per cent, he says.
As for the first Toronto Beer Week—to be held late September—Bowden says, “I don’t think even a couple of years ago we would have been able to pull something like this off.” Successful craft beer festivals have also been held in Montreal and Vancouver. The only question is, will Canadians be able to swallow the fact that American brew is the real winner?
Tags: beer, Brewers Association, microbrewers
Every hoser’s nightmare
The U.S. microbrew industry is on the rise, eclipsing Canada’s not just in size, but taste, too
by Stephanie Findlay on Thursday, September 16, 2010 12:00pm - 1 Comment
Morry Gash/AP/CP
Canadians may not be quite the beer connoisseurs we make ourselves out to be. The most popular place to sample some of the tastiest new ales? America (former land of the watery beer). The craft beer market has been growing steadily in Canada and the U.S., but south of the border is where it’s really booming. According to the Brewers Association, 1,595 craft breweries were in operation last year in the U.S., the highest total since before Prohibition.
“In terms of flavour, Canadian beer is not as avant-garde as the States,” says Ian Coutts, author of Brew North, a new book chronicling Canada’s beer history. Coutts says that Americans are more daring with the flavours they use and their production processes. However, he says the adoption of American craft beer isn’t just about the taste. Population density is another factor that favours U.S. microbrewers. “If you have a micro in a place like California, you have 35 million people within a day’s truck ride of your brewery,” says Coutts.
But John Bowden, executive director of the first annual Toronto Beer Week, says that population aside, there have been two other factors that have stunted the industry’s growth in Canada. First, there are more restrictive distribution channels compared to the United States, and, second, provinces didn’t give special tax cuts or grants to help fund the industry until recently. Yet things are changing now that consumers are demanding more local products. Bowden, who also works in sales and marketing at the Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto, says that craft beer is “by far the fastest-growing alcohol beverage segment.” In the last year, Great Lakes’ sales shot up 40 per cent, he says.
As for the first Toronto Beer Week—to be held late September—Bowden says, “I don’t think even a couple of years ago we would have been able to pull something like this off.” Successful craft beer festivals have also been held in Montreal and Vancouver. The only question is, will Canadians be able to swallow the fact that American brew is the real winner?
Tags: beer, Brewers Association, microbrewers
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Micro brew-ha-ha part 2
By Mark Suits Sat, Sep 4 2010 COMMENTS(4) On Tap
Now that Edmonton beer-lovers are all riled up over the Liquor Depot vs. Big Rock dispute, let's take a look at how easy or hard it is to pick up or sip Edmonton-brewed beer right here in Edmonton.
My experience has been that it's not always easy to find an Edmonton-brewed beer in Edmonton. If you are eating at a restaurant it is almost impossible to sip one of the many fine beers brewed in Edmonton or other craft beers. Compared to other cities I have recently visited the situation in Edmonton is quite shameful.
In San Fransisco for example everywhere we went that sold beer had iconic local brew Anchor Steam available. This included restaurants, pubs and the ritzy Top of the Mark. We just got back from southern California and sipping a local brew no problem. At the Los Angeles Angels baseball game many local and craft brews were on tap and this is the land of Bud Light. Rexall Place, more probably the Oilers, could take a page out of their book and offer hockey fans a chance to sample the local brews. Surely out of all the many beer taps at Rexall there could be a few for the locals. The same could be said for Edmonton cultural venue's as well. Recently at the Winspear, I had an intermission bev and was able to sip a craft brew, but it was from B.C. There were no Edmonton beers.
As I said this situation is shameful. Edmonton endeavours that want and receive local support should do the same and support Edmonton brewers.
Beer lovers can also support their local breweries by drinking local, the beer is fresher and it has a smaller carbon footprint because it hasn't been shipped across the country or from further away.
If your local watering hole, restaurant or beer store doesn't have the Edmonton brand you're looking for, ask them to stock it.
Soon I will be putting together and Edmonton Beer Map with locations the offer Edmonton beers. Stay tuned and in the meantime drink local.
Cheers
By Mark Suits Sat, Sep 4 2010 COMMENTS(4) On Tap
Now that Edmonton beer-lovers are all riled up over the Liquor Depot vs. Big Rock dispute, let's take a look at how easy or hard it is to pick up or sip Edmonton-brewed beer right here in Edmonton.
My experience has been that it's not always easy to find an Edmonton-brewed beer in Edmonton. If you are eating at a restaurant it is almost impossible to sip one of the many fine beers brewed in Edmonton or other craft beers. Compared to other cities I have recently visited the situation in Edmonton is quite shameful.
In San Fransisco for example everywhere we went that sold beer had iconic local brew Anchor Steam available. This included restaurants, pubs and the ritzy Top of the Mark. We just got back from southern California and sipping a local brew no problem. At the Los Angeles Angels baseball game many local and craft brews were on tap and this is the land of Bud Light. Rexall Place, more probably the Oilers, could take a page out of their book and offer hockey fans a chance to sample the local brews. Surely out of all the many beer taps at Rexall there could be a few for the locals. The same could be said for Edmonton cultural venue's as well. Recently at the Winspear, I had an intermission bev and was able to sip a craft brew, but it was from B.C. There were no Edmonton beers.
As I said this situation is shameful. Edmonton endeavours that want and receive local support should do the same and support Edmonton brewers.
Beer lovers can also support their local breweries by drinking local, the beer is fresher and it has a smaller carbon footprint because it hasn't been shipped across the country or from further away.
If your local watering hole, restaurant or beer store doesn't have the Edmonton brand you're looking for, ask them to stock it.
Soon I will be putting together and Edmonton Beer Map with locations the offer Edmonton beers. Stay tuned and in the meantime drink local.
Cheers
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
More Local Coverage
http://www.seemagazine.com/article/city-life/lifestyle/suds-in-the-city-4466/
Suds In The City
Locals carving out a niche in the beer business, one drinker at a time.
Published July 22, 2010 by Maurice Tougas in Lifestyle
It is a market dominated by brewing behemoths, multinational giants who have a take-no-prisoners attitude, it’s a wonder that anyone would go into the beer making business.
But if you don’t consider Molson or Budweiser to be your competition, the challenge isn’t quite so daunting. Turns out, there are plenty of beer drinkers our there, enough that a couple of Edmonton microbrewers are making a go of it, and a third has thrown its bottle cap into the ring.
alley kat
Now celebrating its 15th year, Alley Kat has carved out a craft-beer niche for itself, starting in Edmonton and now province-wide. To celebrate its anniversary, Alley Kat has been releasing a new beer every two or three months.
“They’re a little more edgy in terms of style, a little more experimental,” says Neil Herbst, co-owner of Alley Kat along with his wife, Lavonne. “We’ve done smoked porter, Belgium-style triple, a ginger beer ...”
Clearly, Alley Kat isn’t afraid to experiment, without going overboard and producing something that won’t fit in the Alberta marketplace. Alley Kat products can be found in 230 locations in Alberta and, of all places, South Korea.
“We’ve been very happy with the growth (of the company),” says Herbst. “This last year we haven’t grown as much as previous years, but we’re still well on the positive side.”
An avid home brewer, the idea of developing a microbrewery fermented in the back of Herbst’s head for several years. When his government job vanished, Herbst seized the opportunity to take a package and turn his micro dream into reality.
Although successful by microbrewery standards, Alley Kat is a mere amoeba in the sea compared to the brewing giants who rule the foamy seas. But Herbst doesn’t really consider the Molson’s and Budweiser’s of the world to be competition, except for their ability to lock up locations.
“A lot of what we do is not really competitive. We don’t overlap a lot.”
When you’re up against companies that spend hundreds of millions on promotions compared to, well, zero, that’s pretty much the only attitude you can take. Besides, the companies appeal to different market niches.
“They’re (Alley Kat drinkers) people who are looking for beer with flavour. They’re essentially connoisseurs, although I don’t think the beer people would see themselves as quite that uppity.”
This is not to say that the two markets are mutually exclusive.
“A lot of times people treat themselves. They might be drinking Bud Light as a kind of lawnmower beer, but if they’re having company over or they’re down for one beer in the evening, they’ll upgrade to our beers.”
Alley Kat employs 10 from its 9929-60th Ave. location, and produces four craft-brewed, flavourful beers — Aprikat (apricot flavoured beer), Alley Kat Amber brown ale, Charlie Flint’s organic lager and Full Moon pale ale. Past seasonal beers, produced for a short time only, include such intriguingly named products as Razzykat Raspberry Ale and Olde Deuteronomy. The current summer seasonal is called Brewberry, and it is available at the Blue Chair cafe among other locations. The Sugarbowl recently hosted a cask ale night, and Slow Food Edmonton’s annual Beer and Boar BBQ takes place on Aug. 8 at the brewery.
amber’s
Jim Gibbon got the idea for what would Amber Brewing when he was in the MBA program at the University of Alberta. Today, his Amber Brewing produces four brews and a grog (a lime cooler)
“I thought Edmonton needed a very, very pro-Edmonton brewery. Alley Kat has been around for 15 years, and they’re wonderful. But I just wanted to do something that is a little more Edmonton based,” says Gibbon, a bred-to-the-bone Edmontonian whose family has been in the city for several generations.
Buying the equipment from a defunct microbrewery that had been sitting idle for about eight years, Gibbon moved to the equipment to its present location at 9926-78th Ave. and set up shop. Cementing the link to Edmonton, one of his first products was Lunch Pail Ale, featuring the Edmonton-born-and-bred cartoon character Bub Slug, complete with a drawing of the High Level Bridge waterfall on the label.
Gord Demaniuk is Amber’s brew master. A former brewer with the big breweries, Demaniuk found himself out of work when the big boys merged and cut employees. He started his own brewery in Canmore, called Bow Valley, which, despite winning awards, failed. Eventually he met up with Gibbon, and was hired on earlier this year to refine the existing product line and ensure consistency. For example, he thought Sap Vampire Maple Lager was a little too sweet, so he changed the formula so it now has just a hint of maple ... and, in keeping with the product’s name, is now red.
“I’ve added my touch to a lot of them,” says Demaniuk. “What I wanted to do was broaden its appeal.”
Gibbon says Amber products are not “aggressively flavoured, just differently flavored.”
Gibbon says Amber has a beer for every meal of the day — the Sap Maple Lager is the breakfast beer, the Lunch Pail Ale is, clearly, for lunch, and the multi-award-winning, best-selling is Australian Mountain Pepper Berry Lager is what’s for dinner.
Gibbon estimates his product can be found in about a third of Alberta’s liquor stores. As well, Amber makes beers specifically for restaurants, like, the “cinnamon and cardamon” brew available in the five restaurants in the New Asian Village group.
“We have some really good places that are carrying us,” says Gibbon, who is also Amber’s only salesman. Slow and steady is the only way to grow a microbrewery, he says.
“Look at Maverick,” he says, referring to the splashy but now defunct microbrewery. “They had three salesmen, two microbrewers and all this staff, and they were gone in 18 months.
“We’re fighting like crazy, but we’re getting there.”
yellowhead
Yellowhead Brewery may be Edmonton’s baby microbrewer, but they’re working with big boy equipment.
Emerging from the ruins of the short-lived Maverick brewery, brew master Scott Harris has inherited massive equipment with a capacity to produce a million litres a year, so there’s no concern about outgrowing their space any time soon.
Yellowhead, backed by Edmonton architect Gene Dub, opened officially in May with a blessing, a European tradition brought over by its Edmonton-born, German-trained brew master. The blessing might just scare away the bad vibes left over from Maverick, the microbrewer that tried to go macro in a hurry.
The gleaming brewery, the workings of which are visible from street level, is located in a heritage building downtown on 105th Street and 102nd Avenue that dates back to 1914.
Like Amber, slow growth is the business plan of Yellowhead, which adopted its name from Edmonton’s first brewery, established in 1894.
“We’re just trying to establish one flagship brand right now,” explains Yellowhead rep Leon Hunter. “We just one to focus on one, easily recognizable product.”
Brew master Harris got his training in Germany at Domens Tecknicum, a brewing institute. The taste of Yellowhead, which he describes as “a good, crisp, clean lager beer” is his creation.
Making the beer is one thing, getting it into stores and bars is another. In keeping with their go-slow approach, Yellowhead is available only in a five select liquor stores, and only in 500 ml. European-style bottles that sell for about four dollars. The primary focus, Hunter says, is getting the beer on tap in bars and restaurants.
Ultimately, Yellowhead would like to emulate the success of Big Rock, the Calgary brewer that was once a microbrewer, but is now definitely a big-time player. But for now, the company is concentrating on becoming known in Edmonton, and they’re doing that one beer drinker at a time; they’re participating in Sip!, a new beverage and food venue at Capital Ex. The brew has found its way into local restaurants Culina, and Skinny Legs and Cowgirls.
“For a small, independent microbrewer, that’s the kind of people we are targeting first, people that would support a local upstart,” says Hunter.
http://www.seemagazine.com/article/city-life/lifestyle/suds-in-the-city-4466/
Suds In The City
Locals carving out a niche in the beer business, one drinker at a time.
Published July 22, 2010 by Maurice Tougas in Lifestyle
It is a market dominated by brewing behemoths, multinational giants who have a take-no-prisoners attitude, it’s a wonder that anyone would go into the beer making business.
But if you don’t consider Molson or Budweiser to be your competition, the challenge isn’t quite so daunting. Turns out, there are plenty of beer drinkers our there, enough that a couple of Edmonton microbrewers are making a go of it, and a third has thrown its bottle cap into the ring.
alley kat
Now celebrating its 15th year, Alley Kat has carved out a craft-beer niche for itself, starting in Edmonton and now province-wide. To celebrate its anniversary, Alley Kat has been releasing a new beer every two or three months.
“They’re a little more edgy in terms of style, a little more experimental,” says Neil Herbst, co-owner of Alley Kat along with his wife, Lavonne. “We’ve done smoked porter, Belgium-style triple, a ginger beer ...”
Clearly, Alley Kat isn’t afraid to experiment, without going overboard and producing something that won’t fit in the Alberta marketplace. Alley Kat products can be found in 230 locations in Alberta and, of all places, South Korea.
“We’ve been very happy with the growth (of the company),” says Herbst. “This last year we haven’t grown as much as previous years, but we’re still well on the positive side.”
An avid home brewer, the idea of developing a microbrewery fermented in the back of Herbst’s head for several years. When his government job vanished, Herbst seized the opportunity to take a package and turn his micro dream into reality.
Although successful by microbrewery standards, Alley Kat is a mere amoeba in the sea compared to the brewing giants who rule the foamy seas. But Herbst doesn’t really consider the Molson’s and Budweiser’s of the world to be competition, except for their ability to lock up locations.
“A lot of what we do is not really competitive. We don’t overlap a lot.”
When you’re up against companies that spend hundreds of millions on promotions compared to, well, zero, that’s pretty much the only attitude you can take. Besides, the companies appeal to different market niches.
“They’re (Alley Kat drinkers) people who are looking for beer with flavour. They’re essentially connoisseurs, although I don’t think the beer people would see themselves as quite that uppity.”
This is not to say that the two markets are mutually exclusive.
“A lot of times people treat themselves. They might be drinking Bud Light as a kind of lawnmower beer, but if they’re having company over or they’re down for one beer in the evening, they’ll upgrade to our beers.”
Alley Kat employs 10 from its 9929-60th Ave. location, and produces four craft-brewed, flavourful beers — Aprikat (apricot flavoured beer), Alley Kat Amber brown ale, Charlie Flint’s organic lager and Full Moon pale ale. Past seasonal beers, produced for a short time only, include such intriguingly named products as Razzykat Raspberry Ale and Olde Deuteronomy. The current summer seasonal is called Brewberry, and it is available at the Blue Chair cafe among other locations. The Sugarbowl recently hosted a cask ale night, and Slow Food Edmonton’s annual Beer and Boar BBQ takes place on Aug. 8 at the brewery.
amber’s
Jim Gibbon got the idea for what would Amber Brewing when he was in the MBA program at the University of Alberta. Today, his Amber Brewing produces four brews and a grog (a lime cooler)
“I thought Edmonton needed a very, very pro-Edmonton brewery. Alley Kat has been around for 15 years, and they’re wonderful. But I just wanted to do something that is a little more Edmonton based,” says Gibbon, a bred-to-the-bone Edmontonian whose family has been in the city for several generations.
Buying the equipment from a defunct microbrewery that had been sitting idle for about eight years, Gibbon moved to the equipment to its present location at 9926-78th Ave. and set up shop. Cementing the link to Edmonton, one of his first products was Lunch Pail Ale, featuring the Edmonton-born-and-bred cartoon character Bub Slug, complete with a drawing of the High Level Bridge waterfall on the label.
Gord Demaniuk is Amber’s brew master. A former brewer with the big breweries, Demaniuk found himself out of work when the big boys merged and cut employees. He started his own brewery in Canmore, called Bow Valley, which, despite winning awards, failed. Eventually he met up with Gibbon, and was hired on earlier this year to refine the existing product line and ensure consistency. For example, he thought Sap Vampire Maple Lager was a little too sweet, so he changed the formula so it now has just a hint of maple ... and, in keeping with the product’s name, is now red.
“I’ve added my touch to a lot of them,” says Demaniuk. “What I wanted to do was broaden its appeal.”
Gibbon says Amber products are not “aggressively flavoured, just differently flavored.”
Gibbon says Amber has a beer for every meal of the day — the Sap Maple Lager is the breakfast beer, the Lunch Pail Ale is, clearly, for lunch, and the multi-award-winning, best-selling is Australian Mountain Pepper Berry Lager is what’s for dinner.
Gibbon estimates his product can be found in about a third of Alberta’s liquor stores. As well, Amber makes beers specifically for restaurants, like, the “cinnamon and cardamon” brew available in the five restaurants in the New Asian Village group.
“We have some really good places that are carrying us,” says Gibbon, who is also Amber’s only salesman. Slow and steady is the only way to grow a microbrewery, he says.
“Look at Maverick,” he says, referring to the splashy but now defunct microbrewery. “They had three salesmen, two microbrewers and all this staff, and they were gone in 18 months.
“We’re fighting like crazy, but we’re getting there.”
yellowhead
Yellowhead Brewery may be Edmonton’s baby microbrewer, but they’re working with big boy equipment.
Emerging from the ruins of the short-lived Maverick brewery, brew master Scott Harris has inherited massive equipment with a capacity to produce a million litres a year, so there’s no concern about outgrowing their space any time soon.
Yellowhead, backed by Edmonton architect Gene Dub, opened officially in May with a blessing, a European tradition brought over by its Edmonton-born, German-trained brew master. The blessing might just scare away the bad vibes left over from Maverick, the microbrewer that tried to go macro in a hurry.
The gleaming brewery, the workings of which are visible from street level, is located in a heritage building downtown on 105th Street and 102nd Avenue that dates back to 1914.
Like Amber, slow growth is the business plan of Yellowhead, which adopted its name from Edmonton’s first brewery, established in 1894.
“We’re just trying to establish one flagship brand right now,” explains Yellowhead rep Leon Hunter. “We just one to focus on one, easily recognizable product.”
Brew master Harris got his training in Germany at Domens Tecknicum, a brewing institute. The taste of Yellowhead, which he describes as “a good, crisp, clean lager beer” is his creation.
Making the beer is one thing, getting it into stores and bars is another. In keeping with their go-slow approach, Yellowhead is available only in a five select liquor stores, and only in 500 ml. European-style bottles that sell for about four dollars. The primary focus, Hunter says, is getting the beer on tap in bars and restaurants.
Ultimately, Yellowhead would like to emulate the success of Big Rock, the Calgary brewer that was once a microbrewer, but is now definitely a big-time player. But for now, the company is concentrating on becoming known in Edmonton, and they’re doing that one beer drinker at a time; they’re participating in Sip!, a new beverage and food venue at Capital Ex. The brew has found its way into local restaurants Culina, and Skinny Legs and Cowgirls.
“For a small, independent microbrewer, that’s the kind of people we are targeting first, people that would support a local upstart,” says Hunter.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A recent email exchange for those interested:
I am a relatively new vegetarian and I just found out last night that breweries often use meat products in processing beer.
Do you use any meat products in your processing?
Thanks for your time and consideration.
There are no meats or meat by-products in our beer.
The items you are concerned about are “finings” which are used to clarify the beer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finings
Many of the people that hear about this process hear about “Isinglass” which is a fish by-product
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass
or about Gelatin which is a mammal by-products
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin(this is where the historical idea of sending old horses to the glue factory came from since gelatines were derived from hides and bones and used to make glue)
We do not use these products.
To the best of my knowledge, we use NO animal products or by-products.
Please feel free to contact me with any other issues or concerns you may have.
Jim
I am a relatively new vegetarian and I just found out last night that breweries often use meat products in processing beer.
Do you use any meat products in your processing?
Thanks for your time and consideration.
There are no meats or meat by-products in our beer.
The items you are concerned about are “finings” which are used to clarify the beer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finings
Many of the people that hear about this process hear about “Isinglass” which is a fish by-product
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass
or about Gelatin which is a mammal by-products
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin(this is where the historical idea of sending old horses to the glue factory came from since gelatines were derived from hides and bones and used to make glue)
We do not use these products.
To the best of my knowledge, we use NO animal products or by-products.
Please feel free to contact me with any other issues or concerns you may have.
Jim
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
In Memorandum.
Anthony Sheppard
SHEPPARD, Anthony Norris December 6, 1935 - December 29, 2009 On Tuesday, December 29, 2009, Anthony (Tony) Sheppard of Edmonton passed away peacefully at the age of 74. Tony will always be dearly missed and fondly remembered by Emily, his wife of 46 years; son, Grant (Leslie); and two daughters, Shelly (Scott) Zurfluh and Lara (John Pierce). The legacy of his powerful and loving spirit will be carried on through his much adored grandchildren, Sara, Shelby, Adam, Ashleigh, Logan and a granddaughter expected to arrive early in the New Year. Tony also leaves behind his brothers, Roy (Elva) and Gary (Marlene); and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends that will always remember his kind heart and willingness to give all of himself to those in his life. Tony is predeceased by his father, Thomas Lowe Sheppard; mother, Margaret 'Daisy' Sheppard; stepfather, Cy Barker; brother, William 'Bill'; and sister-in-law, Helen. Throughout his fifty-three year career in the Insurance Brokerage industry, Tony was well respected for his honesty, integrity and knowledge, as well as his willingness to assist a friend or competitor in need. Tony was an avid supporter of the underdog and was passionately committed to the welfare of his community. He demonstrated this through affiliations with numerous charitable, political and community organizations. Tony loved people and lived life to the fullest. He treasured his time at the lake with his family and friends, and he and his wife enjoyed travelling throughout the world. Tony left the world and those whose lives he touched better than how he found them. He will live on in our hearts and our minds. Reverend Vic Perron will celebrate a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4, 2010 at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 12810 - 111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB. A private interment is to follow at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, 5420 - 106 Street, Edmonton, AB. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tony's memory to the Cross Cancer Institute for liver research, 11560 University Avenue, NW, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, or to the Little Bits Therapeutic Riding Association, Box 29016 Lendrum Post Office, Edmonton, AB, T6H 5Z6. To send condolences please visit www.connelly-mckinley.com Connelly-McKinley Funeral Homes Downtown Chapel (780) 422-2222 Over 100 Years of Service
Taken from:
http://www.legacy.com/CAN/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStoryPrint&PersonID=138010486
Anthony Sheppard
SHEPPARD, Anthony Norris December 6, 1935 - December 29, 2009 On Tuesday, December 29, 2009, Anthony (Tony) Sheppard of Edmonton passed away peacefully at the age of 74. Tony will always be dearly missed and fondly remembered by Emily, his wife of 46 years; son, Grant (Leslie); and two daughters, Shelly (Scott) Zurfluh and Lara (John Pierce). The legacy of his powerful and loving spirit will be carried on through his much adored grandchildren, Sara, Shelby, Adam, Ashleigh, Logan and a granddaughter expected to arrive early in the New Year. Tony also leaves behind his brothers, Roy (Elva) and Gary (Marlene); and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends that will always remember his kind heart and willingness to give all of himself to those in his life. Tony is predeceased by his father, Thomas Lowe Sheppard; mother, Margaret 'Daisy' Sheppard; stepfather, Cy Barker; brother, William 'Bill'; and sister-in-law, Helen. Throughout his fifty-three year career in the Insurance Brokerage industry, Tony was well respected for his honesty, integrity and knowledge, as well as his willingness to assist a friend or competitor in need. Tony was an avid supporter of the underdog and was passionately committed to the welfare of his community. He demonstrated this through affiliations with numerous charitable, political and community organizations. Tony loved people and lived life to the fullest. He treasured his time at the lake with his family and friends, and he and his wife enjoyed travelling throughout the world. Tony left the world and those whose lives he touched better than how he found them. He will live on in our hearts and our minds. Reverend Vic Perron will celebrate a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4, 2010 at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 12810 - 111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB. A private interment is to follow at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, 5420 - 106 Street, Edmonton, AB. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tony's memory to the Cross Cancer Institute for liver research, 11560 University Avenue, NW, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, or to the Little Bits Therapeutic Riding Association, Box 29016 Lendrum Post Office, Edmonton, AB, T6H 5Z6. To send condolences please visit www.connelly-mckinley.com Connelly-McKinley Funeral Homes Downtown Chapel (780) 422-2222 Over 100 Years of Service
Taken from:
http://www.legacy.com/CAN/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStoryPrint&PersonID=138010486
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)