Long Hop Brewing Co by Christi Rideout Aussieborn Albertan craft brewer’s beers don’t beat around thebush.
with a keen eye and knowledge of crickets may even notice that the eye of the kangaroo is a cricket ball. For this home brewer, entering the Alberta craft brewing scene did pose a few challenges, as he was new to the ins and outs of running a business. He relied heavily on the advice and guidance of fellow Albertan craft brewers who he says generously shared their experiences in the industry and helped him learn the ropes. With gratitude, Belfrage shares, “I would not be where I currently am with three beers on the market without the support of the Alberta beer community. I’d likely still be brewing in my garage for my mates.” Belfrage expresses his sincere thanks “Huge to get in front of that many people and get face timewith customers to let them learn about your beer andwhere you came from.”
the back of my mind, that creating quality craft beer was something I could do. It was definitely on the top of my list of what I wanted to do when I came to Canada.” He started experimenting with recipes and was lucky to hit the mark quickly, producing four or five recipes of very drinkable beers, a couple of which have since won awards. After deciding on a few favourite recipes, the next step was to decide on a name and a brand. Belfrage wanted to incorporate his Aussie heritage as well as convey the purpose and vision of the company, which is to create beers that are straight forward, bold and simple, and of course, delicious. “The best part of being a craft beer producer right now is that everyone in Alberta is thirsty.” W hat do kangaroos and crickets have to do with craft beer? Well Spotlight on Business Magazine sat down with Jared Belfrage to find out the answer to this question as Belfrage shared why hedecided to leave the land down under for the mountains of Western Canada and jump into the craft beer scene in Alberta.
The name ‘Long Hop’ is actually a cricket term that refers to an easy delivery by the bowler, which makes for an easy shot by the batsman. Belfrage chose this name to epitomize his goal of creating easy drinking, straight to the point beers. He has attached taglines that also speak to his mission. Long Hop Red Ale’s tagline is “Bloody Good Beer Without The Tall Tale”, the Long Hop Pale Ale’s slogan is “Let’s Not Beat Around The Bush,” and the Long Hop Hazy Pale Ale’s tag is “Straight
To The Point Amid All The Haze.” Belfrage wants the brand to speak for itself. He says that he wants his consumer to know, “That quality and drinkability are his top priorities.” In keeping with his vision, bold colours and fun and simplistic design elements draw consumers to the eye-catching cans with the “quirky” kangaroos splashed on the fronts. Those
B elfrage, a native Australian, relocated to Calgary eight years ago so that his wife could move back home. Once a designer for General Motors, the busy stay-at home dad was looking for a way to combine his artistic background with his passion for beer. Belfrage knew that the craft beer industry was something he could get excited about, sharing, “It was always in
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DECEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2019
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