Expended in 2017 to develop a Distillery Lounge adjacent to the main brewery
It took 2 years to obtain the required federal, provincial and municipal permits and licenses to open the distillery lounge, which has become a popular space for private events and rentals. The distillery produces a wide range of Vodkas, Gins and liqueurs, all made from 100% locally grown grain grown 20km from the distillery.
The long term objective of the distillery is Whisky production in the Scottish Style.
This includes an off-site whisky storage building and currently has 24 of 40 French oak barrels filled with 1-5 year old whisky, releasing only a few each year which sell out almost entirely in house for maximum profit.
In 2 straight years, their single malt whisky, has won a bronze medal at the Canadian Spirit awards
Our Single Malt Whisky won Gold at the Canadian Distilling Awards in 2023.
This year his whisky won Silver at the Canadian Whisky Awards for Premium Single Malt, beating out both craft and National brands. Clay’s Vodka also won Gold this year for best Contemporary Vodka, and his Shaft liquor won both Gold & Silver.
The Brewery's beers have become renowned across Canada, winning multiple awards every year at both the BC and Canadian Craft Brewing awards. Their flagship Pilsner, is the most awarded beer in the history of the Canadian Brewing Awards, medaling in 8 of the last 10 years, including multiple gold medals.
Over the years the Brewery has adapted to changing trends and styles by making a substantial investment to purchase their own canning line, created a very popular line of sour beers and taken advantage of the booming craft distilling scene.
There has been significant investment in equipment, tanks and personnel to keep up with a rapidly evolving industry.
In April 2023, the Brewery launched a line of Non-alcoholic beers and sparkling water to adapt to an aggressively growing segment of the beer industry (Non Alcoholic beer sales increased 2000% last year in North America)
During CoVid, the Distillery built a permanent outdoor patio to continue to serve customers when the restrictions limited pub service and adapted to a massive decrease in draught beer demand by increasing packaging and distribution across BC. During this time, when many brew-pubs saw massive declines, revenue stayed fairly steady.
In summary, the Brewery, Distillery and Pub has become a staple in the Victoria food and beverage scene and has a solid reputation across the Canadian craft beer Industry.
The company owns both a brewery and distillery manufacturing license with off-sales approvals for the brewery and distillery, a lounge licence endorsement for the distillery with a tied-house license to the brewery, and a liquor primary license that allows alcohol service with or without food until midnight (the license can be expanded to 2am with City approval- rare among breweries as most only have limited hours through their lounge endorsements).
