Granville Island Brewing

The Granville Island Brewing Company (GIB) was a brewery originally based on Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1984 and calls itself "Canada's first microbrewery". In 1989, it was sold to the wine conglomerate Andrew Peller Ltd. In 2009, it was bought by Creemore Springs, a subsidiary of Molson Coors,[1] which in 2016, became the third largest beer corporation in the world.[2] Of brewers with locations in British Columbia, Granville is the seventh largest based on sales to the BC Liquor Distribution Branch.[3]

Granville Island Brewing Company
IndustryAlcoholic beverage
Founded1984
HeadquartersGranville Island
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
ProductsBeer
Production output
60k Hectolitres Est.
OwnerCreemore Springs, a Molson Coors subsidiary

History

Granville Island Brewing was founded in 1984 by Mitch Taylor. Long-time brewmaster Vern Lambourne joined Granville Island Brewing in 2002. Between 1984 and 2005 five new beers were released. In August 2005, Andrew Peller Wines purchased Granville Island Brewing from Taylor and in 2006 renovated the original facilities beneath the Granville Bridge and expanded into new, larger facilities located in Kelowna. In 2009 Molson Coors Canada purchased Granville Island Brewing through its subsidiary, Creemore Springs Brewing, from Andrew Peller Wines.

Brewmaster Vern Lambourne stayed with the company until 2015; he was replaced by Kevin Emms. In spite of the acquisition by Molson Coors, the company was able to retain the original brewery operating on Granville Island, in a top tourist zone. This facility develops and produces the small-batch beers. The primary brewing is done at Molson's Burrard Street plant.[4]

In April 2019, Granville Island Brewing underwent a brand update with an updated logo and beer lineup. The brewery introduced three new offerings and retired the Sunshine Coast Hefeweizen, Infamous IPA, Maple Shack Cream Ale, Cypress Honey Lager, Island Lager, and Lions Summer Ale.

Location and operations

Though the larger part of its base of operations moved inland to Kelowna, in the Okanagan Valley, the original brewery continues to manufacture some of the company's products, and offers beer-tasting tours. The original brewhouse is located directly under the Granville Bridge that crosses False Creek into downtown Vancouver. Tours of the small brewery are held daily. In the company's taproom, eight of the company's beers are available on tap, one of which is generally a limited release only available at the brewery.

Products
Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale

Granville Island Brewery names its beers after local places and neighbourhoods in British Columbia. [5]

Core Beers
  • English Bay Pale Ale
  • Northwest Pale Ale
  • German-Style Pilsner
  • West Coast IPA
  • Lions Winter Ale (seasonal)
  • False Creek Raspberry Ale (seasonal)
Small Batch Series
  • Brut IPL (seasonal)
  • Russian Imperial Stout (seasonal)
  • Rye Wine (seasonal)
  • West Coast Farmhouse Saison
  • Gose with Peach
  • Pacific Northwest Porter
  • Barley Wine
  • Belgian Quad
  • Fresh Hop IPA
  • So-Cal Style IPA
  • West Coast Pale Ale

References
  1. "Creemore Springs Brewery to Acquire Granville Island Brewing". Canadian Beer News. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  2. Wright, Lisa (November 11, 2015). "Molson Coors doubles with $12B Miller buyout". Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  3. Carrie Schmidt (2016). "Biggest breweries in B.C. in 2016". Business in Vancouver. Business in Vancouver. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  4. Zeschky, Jan (December 12, 2016). "Beer Ye, Beer Ye: Mocha Porter (Granville Island Brewing, Vancouver)". The Province. Postmedia. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  5. "Beer". GIB. Granville Island Brewing. 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
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