However, the fact remains that brewmasters are artists, and craft beer enthusiasts tend to be somewhat adventurous. Postmark recognizes this and attempts to appease both sides with what they call the “Single Tank Series” of beers. “I don’t believe any brewery can be everything for everyone.” “The brewmaster can brew whatever he wants in that small tank in the corner. It’s only for consumption on site in our tasting lounge and the restaurant. With that tank they go through all kinds of creative ideas: big beers, session beers, and whatever. A lot of our malts and yeasts that we have in house are geared toward session- style beers, but they do venture outside of that for the Single Tank Series.” To risk sounding like a biblical paraphrase, there is a time and a place for different styles of beer. And many brewer- ies try and ensure that they have a style of beer for every occasion that might come along. Arguably, attempting to be all-encompassing usually ends up falling short of the mark. Thorp agrees, and points out that Postmark’s philoso- phy has always been to brew a recognizable and approach- able style, and do it well. “I don’t believe any brewery can be everything for everyone. That’s very hard to do. We might not fit everyone’s palette. So, if that’s the case and they try some of our beers and end up moving on to the next brewery, that’s fine. Great. It’s all part of the industry. Exploring and bouncing around to different breweries. And in BC, everyone seems to be getting into that exploratory state, so it’s nice to see brewers sticking to a theme and doing it really well. I think that bodes well for the industry.”
they just approach it differently. Thorp explains, “We also brew session-style IPAs. We have a 6% and a 6.2% IPA but they’re a little bit more balanced through hops, malt and body. Our brewmaster has what he calls a ‘four-pint rule.’ That is, you should be able to drink four pints at a sitting, and the fourth pint should taste as refreshing and balanced as the first pint.” Smart business strategies often try to identify a market-gap in an industry and fill it as best they can. Thorp suggests that, while there is definitely a place for the popular, bold West Coast-style hop-forward heavy beers, session styles were often relegated to an after-thought, or omitted alt gether from many craft brewery rosters. “We saw a bit of a hole in the market for thelower-in- alcohol session-style beers that were maybe a little more approachable to new- comers to the craft market. And with our beers, it is perhaps a little easier to buy a couple of six-packs, throw them in the cooler and drink them throughout the day.” One of the knocks that the craft beer industry does face is that notion of approachability. While IPA-style beers are selling incredibly well to the legions of craft converts, the gate doesn’t swing quite as wide for those who prefer a lighter, well-balanced flavour of beer. Postmark’s easy- drinking beers cater to not only the newly-minted craft beer drinker, but also to those who just plain and simply prefer more balance and less alcohol.
Another characteristic of the whole craft movement is a col- laborative spirit and a profound relationship with the com-
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2018
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