By David MacDonald A s far as they see it – and you can see really far in the prairies – it’s ironic that Canada’s breadbasket was more or less an emerging market for the craft brewing industry when they started to put together their business plan. “Our motivation to begin the process of developing a plan for the brewery started in 2012 because we felt that Saskatchewan was missing out on having world-class craft beer made locally,” Kari said. “It was a booming industry in the United States, B.C., and Ontario at the time and not surprisingly, we were not the only local Saskatchewan folks to think that we were missing out on something that we were supplying a lot of the ingredients for as an agricultural giant. But at the time, there were only a handful of other people opening brew- eries.” Clayton said that research for the business plan took approx- imately a year – but that was only the beginning. “Once we had financials in place,” he explained, “we secured property to build and began purchasing the equipment and commis- sioning setup,” which, according to Kari, took another year. “We have the unique opportunity to open people’s eyes and taste buds to the variety and quality of locally- produced beer.” “The craft brew scene is so new and exciting here in Sa katchewan right now,” Clayton added. “We have the unique opportunity to open people’s eyes and taste buds to the variety and quality of locally- produced beer.” The property Black Bridge Brewery secured at 295 Alexan- der Drive in Swift Current is setup for variety and quality. “The entire brewery is 6500 square feet and we house a 20HL brew house and six fermenters. We have an automat- ic canning line for packaging along with room for storage,” Clayton said. Clayton and Kari were eager to give craft beer enthusiasts outside Saskatchewan and Manitoba a better sense of what’s being canned, as it were, on Alexander Drive. They explained that while Black Bridge Brewery beers are available in the can in-store and on-tap at reputable establishments throughout the Prairie Provinces – exclud- ing Alberta, for now – they never want their core brands and seasonal favourites to become just another can on the shelf. “Consistent, understandable labels and logos are extremely important to us,” Clayton said. “We try very hard to maintain consistent labels for our core branded beer and seasonally packed beers. Standing out on the shelf is always a difficult task so we try and have easy to read labels for the consumer.”
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SEPTEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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