Sometimes a beer will appear at exactly the right time. It is a fascinating thing when a great idea, through unforeseen circumstances, quite quickly gathers the compulsive momentum of a historical necessity. In this case, the unforeseen circumstances are the looming threat of tariffs and a trade war and the beer is a hyperlocal lager produced and sold exclusively on Vancouver Island’s Saanich Peninsula.
Peninsula Lager is being dubbed a hyperlocal beer by Sidney’s Small Gods Brewing. The brewery is taking advantage of the extreme proximity of Field Five Farms, a small, locally owned farm and malting facility in nearby Saanichton, B.C. After brewing the beer the spent grains are then used as feed for Peninsula livestock, a common practice for breweries. To make it even more local, Small Gods has chosen to exclusively sell the beer at local establishments. “We saw an opportunity to not sell it beyond the Peninsula so to make a complete closed-cycle agricultural process. From grain to glass, the entire process stays within a basically 10 km radius,” states Chris Bjerrisgaard, co-owner and founder of Small Gods. Bjerrisgaard recounts how the initial idea was to create a beer specifically for their neighbourhood supporters and to “give it a sense of Peninsula pride.” At the beer launch, held at Field Five Farms, he stated that, “I feel this truly does taste like the Saanich Peninsula and does taste of a very unique product.”
Producing and selling a hyperlocal beer isn’t just about market penetration for Bjerrisgaard though. He hopes the beer can be used as a case study of the environmental and financial impacts of hyper localizing beer. These findings can be given to various levels of government to argue for a levelling out of the current tax structure placed on small craft breweries.
Currently in B.C., taxes are applied in three overly broad categories that do not reflect the number and situation of very small producers. The hope is that flattening the tax structure for small breweries focusing on a local audience will provide much needed tax relief, thus preventing closures and protecting jobs, all while being revenue neutral. The BC Brewers Guild has already begun the process of trying to get markup changed.
The presence of Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food, at the beer launch is hopefully a good indication that, at least at the provincial level, decision makers are listening. The recent tariff scare might have something to do with it. “We have never seen a reaction from the public like we’ve seen in the last week and a half,” she said, referencing consumer choices since the tariff threat emerged. “This model of being hyper local is so exciting and I can’t believe how well you’ve timed it. It feels like this is the moment.” For many small B.C. craft breweries this does feel like the moment.
