with us. This is an experience we sell, but also use for charity fundraisers or to work with other indus- tries like bands. For example, our New England IPA One Shot Left was originally brewed on our pilot system with the local punk band One Shot Left for their 20th anniversary show. We liked it so much it became a regular product line,” explained Patriquin. The brewery’s focus on Alberta malts and local resources with an emphasis on farm to glass trace- ability has led to early successes. After 3 years of development, Hell’s Basement features five core beers and has already garnered a list of awards. “Whenever and wherever possible, we work with craft maltsters and local farmers such as Red Shed Malting. Red Shed Malting is a family farm near Penhold, AB where they grow and malt their own products. This provides us an element of trace- ability from farm to glass that you don’t often see. Every year we try to do at least one brew that is 100% Red Shed Malt,” said Patriquin. Patriquin credits this superior quality malt with the long list of accolades the Brewery has won, includ- ing the coveted World Beer Cup Award. “We believe we are one of the only two craft brewer- ies from Alberta that have won a World Beer Cup award - the other being Troubled Monk from Red Deer, AB.” In 2018, Hell’s Basement Brewery won the Silver Award in the Rye Beer category at the World Beer Cup with Ryes Against the Machine, a complex beer with an American brown ale base.
“We were in year two at that point and had a world beer cup award under our belt,” said Patriquin with satisfaction. In 2019, the brewery’s ‘Ghost Train Oatmeal Stout,’ a rich stout with coffee and chocolate notes, won the Gold Alberta Beer Award in the Stout category. Also, in 2019, ‘He ain’t Hefe, He’s my Brother’ won the Silver Alberta Beer Award in the category of Wheat beer. This beer is a modern interpretation of a Weizen brewed with traditional Belgian yeast and base malt and complemented with Motueka hops. The beer also won gold in 2018 in the Canadian International Beer Awards. Another beer, Smoked Stout, won bronze in the 2018 Canadian Brewing Awards. “Part of the industry is the creativity of different beers. The consumer is always looking for what’s new and what’s next. It’s not the same environ- ment where you drank the same beer your dad or mom drank. People want exposure to different styles, flavors and profiles. They’re also starting to seek out more
alcohol content or less calories. It’s no longer just about putting out the best tasting IPA that we can, which we will still do, but we have to adapt our product line to match customer expectation,” said Patriquin.
With a young staff, the brewery maintains a culture of fun. Employees can participate in Free Fill Friday.
“Part of the benefit of employment in a brewery is being involved in the beer culture – taking beer home and learning about different beers. It’s a fun environment but still lots of hard work,” said Patriquin. Hell’s Basement Brewery has a 20-barrel bre- whouse with four 20 barrel fermenters, four 40 barrel fermenters and one 10 barrel fermenter. The one-barrel system allows the brewery to actively engage the community by offering a ‘pilot brew’ experience. “We can get two kegs out of it. We like to work with different members of the community who pay to come in and make a brew
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JUNE 2020 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JUNE 2020
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