“We were conditionally just doing wholesale. Just selling to bars and restaurants for draft and doing growler fills here. But we had a lot of people telling us they wanted more options on how to purchase our beer. So, we got a bottling line.” Still, demand kept pushing Grain Bin’s ability to produce enough beer in their current location. So, in October 2017, they moved to an even larger facility. “We moved to a building which was four-times the size. It immediately doubled our production capacity again.” Looking forward, Landis points out that they are going to try and grow with demand, but not push the limits too far. “I guess the sky’s the limit. But right now, we’re just trying to grow naturally. The money we make generally goes back into the company. So, any growth we have is natural and we can afford any expansions that come down the road.” Landis is also quick to point out that, while the brewery isn’t overrun with staff, they do have help from good friends and family who like to hang out and help where they can. “It’s a bit of a scene here. People will help label bottles or push a mop. We’re lucky to have the people around here who just like to be part of what’s going on.” Grain Bin’s focus remains local. Priority is placed on the art of making the best, most unique beer they can, rather than mass production and distribution. “For a small business like ours, even something like shipping to all the corners of Alberta could be cost-prohibitive. So, we are happy to make Grande Prairie and the surrounding communities our priority.” The craft beer landscape is ever-changing. The Grain Bin Brewing Company has found a way to stand out in the crowd. The challenge has been issued. Go on! Have your say!
Emperor for using the church’s riches to feed the poor instead of paying taxes, he was eventually burned at the stake. As a homage to the Saint (and with a bit of humour inserted into the creation of the beer, for good measure), the lager they developed had a smokey finish to it, reminiscent of the acrid demise of the Centre’s namesake. All this is not to give the impression that Grain Bin only does one-offs and small-batch charity beers. But because they don’t have a tap-house per se, the bulk of their beer gets sold into the wholesale market to bars and restaurants. Landis points out that there are basically two streams of wholesale customers — ones who want the same beer on tap month-after-month, and those who want to try something different with every delivery. “Yeah, some want something new each time and some want the consistency of the same beer. So, we do a pale ale, an amber ale, a Hefeweizen, and a rotational lager which is more seasonal. These are the ones we produce all the time… We also have a handful of beers that we don’t produce all the time, but we bring them back a lot. Like our English Special Bitter, a Dunkelweizen, a robust porter and a stout.” The brewery started out a couple of years agowith a three-barrel (3.5 hectolitre) brewery housing just under 30 hectolitres of fermenting space. It only took six months to realize that demand was outstripping their ability to produce at a sufficient rate. They had to double their brewing capacity, while simultaneously adding a bottling line for 650 ml single bottles.
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NOVEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2019
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