Winning awards, opening new breweries and drinking beer in the sunshine in Portland for research purposes – it’s all part of the job for the founders of Steel & Oak Brewing Co.
Founded by New West residents Jorden Foss and Jamie Garbutt in 2014, Steel & Oak recently came home from the Canadian Brewing Awards in Halifax with a silver medal for its Baltic, which was voted one of the top beers in the Baltic Porter category.
“We have never won at the Canadian Brewing Awards before so it was a big deal for us. We always seemed to do really well at the B.C. Beer Awards. We normally clean up there, but for whatever reason the Canadian Brewing Awards had always eluded us, so Jaimie and I were pretty excited to get to go to Halifax and win an award there,” Foss told the Record. “We have won at the B.C. Beer Awards with the Baltic porter. It’s increasingly becoming one of our more decorated beers for sure.”
A speciality release for Steel & Oak, the Baltic is a winter-style beer featuring licorice and chocolate notes. While it’s not available year round, it’s currently on tap at the tasting room at 1319 Third Ave.
“We held on to some because it actually ages quite well,” Foss said. “Our plan was to age it and then re-release it around November/December, but we thought because of the award we’d put it back on the shelf for a little bit just so people can have an opportunity to try it.”
Steel & Oak is also working on a project with Burnaby-based Dageraad Brewing, which picked up a number of awards in Halifax, including the coveted Brewery of the Year. The two breweries are collaborating on a beer for the Farmhouse Fest that’s taking place at UBC on July 7.
“We were fortunate enough to be chosen to be the official collaborators on a beer for that event,” Foss said. “It’s kind of cool to brew with them and have the beer be a showcase for such a cool festival.”
A day after the Farmhouse Fest, Steel & Oak is having its fourth anniversary party in the back parking lot behind the brewery.
“Last year we had about 600 people show up to it. We are hoping to make it even a little bit bigger this year,” Foss said. “It should be a fun weekend.”
When contacted by the Record about the Canadian Brewing Award, Foss was in Portland, Oregon, where he was doing some research for another project that he and Garbutt are working on with Mike and Lee Spence, owners of The Drake Eatery in Victoria.
“We are also starting another brewery in Victoria, not Steel & Oak. It will be a different brand altogether and we are partnering with a couple of friends of ours who own a really cool craft beer bar in Victoria called The Drake,” Foss said. “It will be retail-focused. The beer itself will just be sold only on site. It’s right in downtown Victoria.”
