“A month or two down the road, they can pull a pint and say, ‘this is the beer I voted for. This is the president I elected!’” The first winner was a Double IPA. Hardly a surprise, as the craft beer world seems to be going hop-forward-IPA crazy at the moment. The latest DEMOCRACY! Poll asked enthusiasts to choose their favourite style of hops. The poll acts as a bit of a testament to how educated the craft-beer consumer has become. Knowledge of different hop types probably would have made for very short pub conversation a decade ago. But the recent craft movement in Alberta, and indeed across North America, has led to a new, better educated breed of beer drinker. Chances are, DEMOCRACY! was being tested by the regulars looking to challenge the brewmasters and, simultaneously, ending up with a brew they have never tasted before. More to the point, it demonstrates the premise behind the whole series of mad-scientist concoctions. The people have spoken!
Carrying this “beer of the people” inclination even further, Grain Bin has initiated what they call their “Community Series” of brews as well. Landis explains, “The way our Community Series works is, we work with local not-for-profit and charity groups in Grande Prairie, and they come in and design a beer with us. They also do the label design. Then we brew the beer and more often than not, it is brewed for a specific event that the organization is putting on. So, we offer this beer to the public and the proceeds we make from that beer get donated back into the charity.” One of these ‘Community’ beers was for a local institution called the St. Lawrence Centre. It’s a drop-in facility that offers a warm place to stay for people who need it, for whatever reason they find themselves without a place to stay. They focus on being available to people during hours that many shelters are closed or otherwise unavailable. The beer created for the not-for-profit centre speaks to the tragic story of Saint Lawrence himself. Briefly, he was the Saint who dedicated his life in service to the poor. Defiant to the Roman
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NOVEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2019
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