Vancouver craft beer explosion inspired by American brewers

Get ready Vancouver. With nine new microbreweries opening and three breweries expanding, your local beer choices are about to get a lot more interesting.

While American craft beer markets are largely regional, focusing more on local flavor, the inspiration for some brews spans many continents and countries. The beer industry at large is a global market, and you might be surprised how home-grown American brewers are impacting the world market. Case in point, our neighbors to the north are starting to see a growing craft beer trend. In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, nine microbreweries are expected to open this year with several others seeing massive expansions.

The Drinks Business is reporting that Central City Brewers and Distillers’ 65,000-sq-ft expansion is one of the biggest in the city, tripling the brewery’s production. Likewise, Steamworks Brewery is planning its own expansion — at a whopping 25,000 square feet, with an excellent 2,000-sq-ft tasting room. Like many U.S. states, Vancouver’s tasting room laws have been altered, allowing craft brewers to more easily provide beer on site. The Canadian brewers are hoping to see a similar craft beer explosion. To quote The Drinks Business:

Steamworks’ president, Walter Cosman told the Vancouver Sun, that he thought there was still space for yet more craft brewers.

“When you look at Portland and see that craft beer has 40 percent of the beer market and Seattle is in the range of 30 percent, there is no sign of this growth slowing down. “Craft beer is still less than 20% of the beer market [in BC].”

For the full story, head over to The Drinks Business.