For those of you who want to know a few more of the details about what is happening with our brewery, Jan Zeschky (The Province Newspapers most excellent food and beer writer) has released an updated guide for new breweries planning to open in 2014.  The article shows there are 19 new breweries that plan on opening their doors this year alone!  All are in various stages of development, and it means that this year will be a banner year for new breweries in this amazing province.  For a full read of this article, click here.

While this is really exciting for the beer drinks of this province, and it will likely cement British Columbia as the beer capital of Canada, it also adds a whole new dimension of stress.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I wrote about all the various kinds of stress you feel in opening a brewery.  Click here for a link to this post.  Well, now we can add another type of stress to the mix:  Why would someone pick my beer over all these other great options?  Seriously!  We plan on making good beer, but don’t all of these other breweries as well.  We are nice guys, but aren’t all these other breweries as well.  We plan on having a cool tasting room, but so does everyone else right.  You can see why there is a little stress in my mind!

Another question you ask yourself, and not that the answer really matters, but is anyone else going through similar stress and anxiety ?  I see all of these pictures and posts of people smiling and having fun, and I think how come I up neck deep in stress and work, and everyone else looks so happy?  I guess some days you doubt yourself as this process really sticks it to you.  I find it important to grind through the days that are a challenge and savour the days that are a success.  The reality is that sometimes you feel like you are all alone!

At any rate, I digress.  We are really excited to be a part of the surging craft beer scene in BC, and I hope that we can add value both in terms of our beer, and in terms of the information we provide to the general public.  I hope this blog has inspired some people to dream, and for others I hope it has saved them a bucket of money on mistakes.