Backcountry Brewing
Squamish, British Columbia
Opened: April 2017
Long perceived as just a rest stop on the drive to Whistler, Squamish has become a popular option for urban expats fleeing the high cost of housing in Vancouver—an even more attractive move now that this town of 20,000 has three breweries. Backcountry, the latest to open, has a log cabin-themed tasting room offering gourmet pizza to go along with a diverse beer list. “We make a lot of lagers because we love to drink them,” says brewer John Folinsbee, who is actually best known for his (hazy) IPAs. When it comes to the future, Folinsbee is most excited by the prospect of mixed fermentation. “I want to build a barrel stable that’s big enough so we can do it properly,” he dreams. “To me, blending is what sour beer is all about.” JOE WIEBE
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You know what was fun last year? Ranking every brewery in Metro Vancouver.
You know what’s more fun? Expanding this silly project to all of southwestern British Columbia.
Why?
Because there are so many breweries in this part of the world now, and some are great and some are good and some should be avoided, but it’s hard to know which is which unless you have damaged your liver are a seasoned expert, and we’d like to share our expertise with you.
Because we all have arguments over which breweries are better in our fair province, and those arguments should happen on the Internet — specifically, my dumb novelty website.
Because the craft beer scene in British Columbia continues to grow and grow, and this project should grow and grow with it.
Because drinking with friends and arguing is fun.
Which is why in 2017, our group of Millennials expanded our list of breweries we reviewed and rated from the original 42 in Metro Vancouver to 77 across southwest B.C.
There’s a new kid in the Sea to Sky’s craft-beer scene, and the industry has taken note. Squamish’s Backcountry Brewing was the big winner at last month’s BC Beer Awards, earning five medals in a number of hotly contested categories — despite only opening its doors in April.
“We’re really honoured to be recognized amongst so many other great breweries. It was definitely an awesome surprise,” said brewery co-founder, GM, and director of sales Marc Roberts (“I also wash dishes!”).
The fine folks at Backcountry Brewing had their work cut out for them this year at the biggest BC Beer Awards yet, with almost 100 other breweries and 900 beers to contend with.
Along with taking home the hardware for Best Social Media in the new Creative Awards category, Backcountry was named Rookie of the Year as B.C.’s consensus best-new brewery.
Squamish’s Backcountry Brewing was one of the big winners at the B.C. Beer Awards last weekend, which, if you’re familiar with their beer or their story, should come as no surprise. These dudes (and dudettes) have been knocking it out of the park since they opened earlier this year.
Backcountry took home the coveted Rookie of the Year award for best new brewery, and a gold for their Trailbreaker Pale Ale in the extremely competitive North American IPA category, beating out 59 other entries. They also won a pair of silvers for North American IPA and German Pale Lager, as well as the Best Social Media Presence award.
Brewmaster John Folinsbee is well known in the B.C. craft beer community from his time at Steamworks Brewing, where he was the mastermind behind their award-winning Flagship IPA.
Trailbreaker is very much in the same vein as Flagship – as well as Backcountry’s fantastic silver medal-winning Widowmaker IPA – and in many ways is a sessionable version of these two stronger IPAs.
This year’s Rookie of the Year Award goes to Backcountry Brewing. Their reward for this prestigious win includes partnering with our Craft Breweries and Distilleries team of lawyers on a complimentary package of legal services and advice for their company. BC Beer Awards received 879 entries from 97 BC Breweries, and the judging was performed by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and Cicerone Certification Program from the Cascadia area.
Congratulations to all winners and we look forward to working with Backcountry Brewing! Click here to see the list of 2017 BC Beer Award Winners.
Photograph of RBS beer industry lawyer, Carlos Mendes, and the team at Backcountry Brewing. | Photo credit: Christine McAvoy Photography.
I recently paid a couple of visits to Backcountry Brewing, a voluminous new brewery and restaurant on Commercial Way in Squamish. It was launched April 1st by a group of five beer enthusiasts, among them head brewer John Folinsbee and Ben Reeder, who – rather conveniently – also owns Maple Bay Hop Farm on Vancouver Island.
Spread out across 7,000 sqft (with mezzanine office/meeting space), the operation is ramping up production from its 3,000 hectolitre start, offering memorable brews like Hot Laps Double IPA, Ridgerunner Pilsner and Trailbreaker Pale Ale, among several others. I guess they kind of have to since sales have been much higher than they had originally anticipated; Reeder told me sales were about 75% higher than hoped for — a nice problem to have.
The Sea-To-Sky town has definitely seen its population explode in recent years, and I’m sure it helps that a fair number of the newcomers are enthusiastic about beer. It’s certainly great to see the local community respond well to a big effort like Backcountry. Many of our Squamish friends have been raving about it since its Spring launch. One of Scout’s writers, Shaun Layton — a recent Squamish import, pulls the occasional moonlighting shift here. The 2010 Bartender of the Year pulling pints!
“Never hit the backcountry alone”.
The crew at the soon-to-be-opened Backcountry Brewing is on a mission to have your back on any and all Sea to Sky adventures.
Hammers have been swinging wildly at their 6000 square foot location on Queens Way, and the brewery is poised to open mid-March.
The Brewmaster From Steamworks
Beer has been brewing and kegs are getting filled with beer crafted by their lead brewer, John Folinsbee, a recent transplant from Steamworks Brewery in Vancouver. His last recipe, Flagship IPA, garnered the Best in Show award at the 2016 BC Beer Awards, foreshadowing good things for the beer list at Backcountry Brewing.
Are you a fan of cold beers chilling in a creek after a big ride? Ice cold brews and a hot day at the lake? Beer and nature seemingly go hand in hand.
The Backcountry is Better with Cans
Backcountry Brewing is all about the “Beer in Nature” feel. Investment in a state-of-the-art canning system backs up the commitment to this vibe.
Canning is touted as a more reliable packaging method over bottling. Cans more efficiently preserve the freshness of the beer, and present the product in a handy package that is portable, adventure-resistant, and great to chill in an ice-cold stream.
The recent flurry of brewery openings in British Columbia continued this past weekend with the opening of a new brewery and taproom in Squamish.
Backcountry Brewing has been established by a group of five partners, including head brewer John Folinsbee (ex-Steamworks), and Ben Reeder, co-owner of Maple Bay Hop Farm where many of the hops used in Backcountry’s beers will be grown.
Squamish’s increasingly younger demographics and fast-growing population is prompting new microbreweries to capture a ripe market. A-Frame Brewing Company opened this past December and Backcountry Brewing is expected to open in March. Alongside the veteran beer makers from Howe Sound Brewing, this will raise the number of microbreweries in town to three.
