It’s been “quite the start” to 2024 for one of New Westminster’s hidden gems.
In a update to customers, Another Beer Co. noted its chiller “decided to quit” as a result of the dramatic temperature changes experienced in January. That meant its fridge wasn’t keeping beer cold and it couldn’t make beers or can the beer in its tanks.
But the Sapperton-based craft brewery is now ramping up production and is planning some “fun new beers and collaborations” in the months ahead.
It’s also partnering with Nice Guys Trivia to hold Music Bingo every Thursday night at 7 p.m., starting March 7. It’s free to play, and there are prizes to be won.
Alex Jopson and Clete Hanson opened Another Beer Co. in June 2019, with the goal of crafting superb beers in a range of styles. The brewery’s space in the Braid industrial area features a tasting room alongside brewing equipment, with a loft area providing additional seating space.
“If you look up all of our reviews, the number 1 term used is hidden gem,” Jopson told the Record. “I joke that we're like the speakeasy of craft breweries.”
Given its location in an industrial area, Jopson said “most people in New West don't know who we are” but that’s something ABC is working to change.
Jopson noted some of the folks at Steel and Oak Brewing Co. have joked that they’re the “best brewery next to an overpass” while ABC jokes that it’s on “train Island” because of its location in the industrial area.
“It's a weird spot, but it's a cool spot,” Jopson said.
ABC’s neighbours include the Jerk Shack (take-out Jamaican food) and Industry Arcade.
Since opening in 2019, Another Beer Co. has hosted a variety of events, including Beer Fest in 2019 (when its parking lot was filled with other breweries – and people) and a number of versions of Octoberfest. While it’s not uncommon for breweries to celebrate Octoberfest, ABC has done it up big – providing traditional music, holding stein-holding contests and getting the mayor to tap the cask.
Last year, Another Beer Company partnered with On Your Block to hold Blocktoberfest in lower Hume Park. It featured live music, food, craft vendors, a kid’s zone, a stein-holding competition and special beer releases from ABC.
“It was awesome,” Jopson said. “They (On Your Block) were awesome to work with. They have a great cause, and they helped with a lot of a lot of the stuff that normally we're scrambling to do when we do our own. We look forward to trying to do something again with them.”
Festivals and the new Music Bingo event are among the ways ABC aims to bring community together.
“It's vital,” Jopson said. “I mean, I think breweries and coffee shops are kind of like the meeting places, right?”
ABC hadn’t been opened a year when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. It had a plan on how to drive traffic to the brewery, but it quickly had to figure out how to beer into the hands of customers.
“We didn't even have a canner and we didn't plan to can,” Jopson recalled. “We had a small canning system that we would can on site. So if somebody came in and said, ‘Hey, I want that beer,’ we would can it for then in small batches kind of thing. And then COVID happened and nobody was coming and tasting rooms.”
Jopson said the brewery “flicked the switch” and found a way to start canning beer so that it could survive.
If you go to the Another Beer Company today, you’ll now find beer on tap and in cans to-go in the fridge – including Christmas Day.
“We're always open Dec. 25 because we find that everything closes down; there's a lot of people who might not be out with their family,” Jopson said. “Some people have made it a tradition to come here on Christmas Day with the family and then head out for dinner afterwards with everybody.”
Another Beer Co. is located at #11-30 Capilano Way – not far from Sapperton SkyTrain station.
