SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2017
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2017
When one thinks of the Canadian Prairies, images of wind-blown wheat fields and long stretches of flat, sparse highways may come to mind. But head into Regina, Saskatchewan’s second-largest urban centre, and images of crisp, cold, clean Prairie craft beer may be your next vision. That’s District Brewing’s goal — to help the uninitiated discover craft beer and find a brand they like, instead of consuming mass- produced mainstream beer. Their website encourages beer drinkers to “celebrate your individuality.”. District started brewing beer in 2013 with a “family and friends” business structure. Co-founder and brewmaster, Jay Cooke traveled the globe tasting beer across Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. He completed his brewing education at the Siebel Institute in Chicago. Following graduation, Cooke brewed for several microbreweries in North America, developing his talent and winning awards for his recipes along the way. Spotlight on Business Magazine spoke to Cooke about his Prairie home, the Saskatchewan craft beer scene, and their exciting line of brews.
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By John Allaire L ike most soon-to- be entrepreneurs, Cooke decided that it was time to work toward putting money in his own pocket, rather than lining big corporate coffers. Living in Ontario, but realizing he had a strong support system back in his native Saskatchewan, he seized the opportunity to move back to the Prairies and work toward making dreams become reality. “I hadn’t lived in Saskatchewan for quite some time,” Cooke explains. “When I moved back to start this venture, it was basically because I had a large circle of friends and family to make this a reality.” The strong support not only came in the form of capital investment, but also in the physical demands of starting up a bricks- and-mortar business. Cooke ensured that his digs were sizeable enough and the tanks large enough to facilitate growth, rather than having to relocate or retro-fit. Their tanks are currently running at about 60%-70% capacity and the building itself could with- stand business growth of around 3-4 times the current size. “We’re not huge by any means, but when people walk in, they may think ‘these guys are massive.’. We’re a 50 hectolitre brew house compared to a lot of other craft breweries that are 5-10 hectolitres. So it can look daunting at first glance.” Capacity issues may be a challenge a little further down the road. For now, Cooke explains that the craft beer scene in Saskatchewan is growing, but not exponentially, like on the west coast or in Ontario. “It’s definitely growing, but I think “I knew tradesmen in the mechanical industries, electrical, plumbing… it was absolutely key for building the plant.”
we’re about five years behind the curve. We looked at what was happening in Ontario about five years ago, there were breweries and a brewing scene, but it gets to a point where it does explode. Alberta’s exploding right now. Like, from three to sixty breweries in three years! In Saskatchewan, I think we’re around a dozen breweries in the province now… we were number two for craft brewing in the province. It’s going, but not exploding.” This five-year lag translates intodifficulties infinding local ingredi- ents and suppliers for craft beer production.WhileSaskatchewan is known for its grains and agriculture, the harvesting of grains specifically formaltinghas not yet taken a foothold. Cookepoints out that there are currently a couple of farms that are starting to malt, but the demand hasn’t caused any more than a ripple on the agricultural side. “We definitely try and buy Canadian first, but some of our recipes are German oriented…we use as much Canadian malt as we can. We sprinkle in a few German specialty malts here and there. We do buy German hops almost exclusive- ly. It’s just the type of beer we are brewing.”
Those imported hops are used for brewing District’s popular German Pilsner Lager.
It’s a very accessible beer that pours a brilliant gold with moderate carbonation.
German noble hops balance with Prairie 2-row malt for a uniquely refreshing approach to this style. Hopping with Czech Saaz late in the process lends the beer its classically delicate aroma. Cooke describes, “It’s essentially the type of Pilsner you’d get if you were drinking in a biergarten in Bavaria… not bitter like some of the Northern German pilsners. It’s a little thinner, meaning that the hop bitterness is a little more clear.”
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2017
take on an English porter.”
District’s Festbier Märzen Lager pours bronze and smooth, with a round, slightly sweet palate and a deep, toffee-ish aroma. The appetizing bitterness serves to balance rather than challenge the malt. The word Märzen itself has an interesting history. Literally, it means “of March” in German. It was the last batch of beer out the door in old-time Bavaria, as brewing was forbidden in the old country between April and September. This tradition runs back to times when brewers didn’t have cooling capacity or refrigeration. This led to the brewers producing their beer that would benefit most from aging in March. It would sit and age over the summer months, and be released after harvest in September and October. Thus Oktoberfest was born. Cooke points out that, though District’s Märzen it is a malt-forward beer, it was designed for drinking a litre at a time, making it more approachable than many malt lagers. “It’s not a sipping beer by any means. It’s a malt-forward beer that highlights what malt can be. It has a nice balance that makes it very drinkable in larger quantities.” The decision to focus on lagers was based mainly on what Cooke and his partners enjoyed drinking themselves. But from a sales standpoint, much of the decision was really just a shot in the dark. “To be completely honest, we didn’t have a lot of market research on what Prairie drinkers really pre- ferred. There weren’t really enough craft breweries around to figure that out… it was more just trying some things and seeing what worked. People are used to drinking lager- style beers, so let’s show them that lagers can have more flavour, and at the same time, not blow their heads off with super hoppy beer.” District definitely embraced the ‘ease them in’ approach to gaining an audience for craft beer in Regina. Because there was little reference point for stronger craft brews, offering a double IPA with mouth-slapping hops would’ve run counter to enticing people through the door and educating them on the joys of becoming a craft beer enthusiast. In fact, most of the now large and successful craft breweries continue to produce accessible, light lager-style beers alongside their richer beers.
Cooke speaks of his beer recipes as any artist does about their body of work — with honesty, passion and pride. But he counters that with a bit of humility over being an award winner. Before starting up District, he had won awards for various beer recipes at other microbreweries. However, he’s quick to turn the conversation back to the recent success- es of his latest creations. For example, the Dark earned a silver medal last year in an international beer competition in Calgary, Alberta (finishing just behind a Munich Dunkel, actually from Munich!). Their Bavarian Dark also won a Gold in Winnipeg and a Bronze for their seasonal Radler. “We’ve always had an open-door policy.” Lagers aside, yes, District’s future does hold … wait for it … an IPA! Cooke discusses their decision to jump into the hoppy fray as a sort of a feat of brewing diversity. “We wanted to showcase that we could brew a really good India Pale Ale as well. I t’s our choice to brew lagers, but we decided to throw a ruffle into people’s expectations of us. But true-to- form for District, we wanted to do something different with it. So it’s a low-alcohol Session-type IPA. More of a British Session, really.” Cooke explains that the lower alcohol content means that it doesn’t have the ‘muscle’ to support in-your- face hops. Rather, it finishes as a more accessible, easy-to- drink full-bodied IPA. And the experimentation continues in Regina! Up next for District Brewing is barrel- aging beers. They have acquired some chardonnay and bourbon barrels to bring their latest creations to that next level. Some smaller batches of exper- imental concoctions will be sure to please the patrons of their soon-to- be-constructed tasting room. It will provide the brewers with a good yardstick to measure what should possibly be brewed into larger batches, and what should probably remain in the ‘tasting room only’ keg for the diehards and beer geeks. As Saskatchewan joins the craft revolution, District Brewing is happy to lead the charge. They embrace the grassroots approach to marketing within the community. True face-to- face contact. “We’ve always had an open- door policy. So when people walk in off the street, they’re pretty much grabbed by the hand and shown around the place. The tasting room will just be an extension of how we show people what we do.” Cooke goes on to point out that many of the ideas for future recipes come directly as a result of these informal conversations with people on the brewery tour or in the current makeshift tasting room. And the community is buying in with their support.
It simply sells more than stouts and porters.
That’s not to say that District Brewing shies away from heavier beers. Far from it.
While the ‘old-reliable’ may be the blonde lager, their Bavarian Dark Lager brings an old-world feel to a malt-for- ward base. A bit of a history lesson on the production of dark beers comes with a taste of subtle noble hop bitterness and aroma. Those who have enjoyed a pint of the Bavarian Dark have also noted hints of toffee, raisin and chocolate in its finish. “It’s essentially the oldest type of beer around. And the reason why it’s dark ist that, at one point, all beers were dark. That’s because people were using fuel other than wood to fire up the kilns. All that smoke and hot tem- peratures made the malt dark… so our Dark is a German
“It’s just a conversation about beer. It’s what we do.”
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many thanks to our advertisers
beeverselectric@sasktel.net
DISTRICT BREWING CO.
1555 8th Ave, Regina, SK S4R 1E6
(306) 790-2337
www.districtbrewing.ca
as spotlighted in the NOVEMBER 2017 issue of SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
www.spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com
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