Aaron Johnson: Just before we get into today's episode, at the time
Aaron Johnson: of release, the health measures because of the COVID- 19
Aaron Johnson: pandemic has restricted travel in the province of British Columbia
Aaron Johnson: between certain health authorities. So at this time, we kindly
Aaron Johnson: ask that you respect the local health authorities, stay home,
Aaron Johnson: and only do essential travel between health boards, if absolutely
Aaron Johnson: necessary. However, you can still enjoy this episode and plan
Aaron Johnson: your trip soon. Thanks so much. Now let's get into
Aaron Johnson: it. This episode of the Cascadian Beer Podcast has been made possible
Aaron Johnson: by the BC Ale Trail. New experiences are brewing nearby
Aaron Johnson: at the bcaletrail. ca. Welcome to the Cascadian Beer Podcast.
Aaron Johnson: My name is Aaron, and I'm a Cascadian. In this
Aaron Johnson: podcast series, I highlight breweries around Cascadia, a region that
Aaron Johnson: has a strong presence on the international beer scene. Cascadia
Aaron Johnson: is a bioregion in the Pacific Northwest on the North American
Aaron Johnson: continent. It's made up of the US states of Washington and
Aaron Johnson: Oregon, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Aaron Johnson: If you're enjoying this episode, I hope you're subscribed on
Aaron Johnson: your favorite podcast app. And please share it with a
Aaron Johnson: friend. That really helps grow this podcast series. Now, it's
Aaron Johnson: no secret that British Columbia has seen a huge boom
Aaron Johnson: in breweries opening up over the past few years. And
Aaron Johnson: one area in particular has seen a lot of growth,
Aaron Johnson: and that's North Vancouver. Today, I'm at North Point Brewing.
Aaron Johnson: It's a really cozy cabin- themed kind of brewery making
Aaron Johnson: great beers, and on a quiet street in North Van.
Aaron Johnson: A little bit later we'll be hearing from their brewmaster,
Aaron Johnson: but I started with one of their co- owners.
Liam Jeffries: Liam Jeffries, owner, and also operations manager.
Aaron Johnson: All right. And we are at North Point Brewing here
Aaron Johnson: in beautiful North Van. When did you guys open?
Liam Jeffries: December six.
Aaron Johnson: Right.
Liam Jeffries: So coming up to our one year this Sunday.
Aaron Johnson: Oh, right, as we're taping this, yeah. So, yeah, wow.
Aaron Johnson: What a year it's been to open a brewery.
Liam Jeffries: It's been wild times. Lots of plexiglass.
Aaron Johnson: Yeah. So, really, I'd like to start with, how did
Aaron Johnson: beer find you?
Liam Jeffries: So, just the three of us. So I'm actually co-
Liam Jeffries: owner. Sean Annable and Matt Legate, they own the business
Liam Jeffries: as well. More silent partners, but also very involved. And
Liam Jeffries: we just love... Well, first of all, of course, we
Liam Jeffries: love beer. Also the vibe that breweries give off. Very
Liam Jeffries: friendly environment, you have big tables where people sit together
Liam Jeffries: that don't know each other, and soon they will know
Liam Jeffries: each other. They just always start talking. So that kind
Liam Jeffries: of vibe. And then going for a cabin- style brewery.
Liam Jeffries: We grew up at Sean's cabin, and having lots of
Liam Jeffries: beers there.
Aaron Johnson: It's very sunny in here. Lots of wood.
Liam Jeffries: Yeah. Yeah, cozy. Cozy cabin vibes is what we're all about.
Aaron Johnson: Right. And so, how long was this idea incubating for
Aaron Johnson: before you finally got a space?
Liam Jeffries: 20 years. I would say about, seriously, about three years.
Liam Jeffries: Yeah, seriously three years. And then it came to, with
Liam Jeffries: a year of construction and a year of getting permits,
Liam Jeffries: it was serious within about a year and a half
Liam Jeffries: of that.
Aaron Johnson: Right, cool. And then, yeah, so the build- out didn't take
Aaron Johnson: too long then?
Liam Jeffries: I would say a year and a half. The build-
Liam Jeffries: out itself was pretty quick, but getting the permits and
Liam Jeffries: all the licensing is what took time.
Aaron Johnson: Right, cool. And then, why did you pick North Van
Aaron Johnson: to open up?
Liam Jeffries: Just this area. We're all from North Shore. Love Lonsdale
Liam Jeffries: and the booming area that it's becoming. And just saw
Liam Jeffries: a good opportunity here. And also close to where we
Liam Jeffries: all live.
Aaron Johnson: Yeah. And then not only that, you're by the brewers
Aaron Johnson: row that's set up here, but you're just one street
Aaron Johnson: up. So, did you know that that was all happening down
Aaron Johnson: below you, or was this just the perfect spot? What
Aaron Johnson: was the decision process?
Liam Jeffries: Real estate's not easy to come by around here. I
Liam Jeffries: didn't know it's going to be what it is today, with
Liam Jeffries: Shaketown opening and a couple more distilleries down there and whatnot.
Liam Jeffries: It's about eight breweries in total coming in, and we'll
Liam Jeffries: be here. So, didn't know it's going to be this big, but saw
Liam Jeffries: the opportunity on this street, got the perfect property, and
Liam Jeffries: ran with it from there.
Aaron Johnson: Yeah. And even though it's a light- industrial area, it's
Aaron Johnson: a pretty quiet street that you have out there.
Liam Jeffries: Yeah. It's good foot traffic, too. It's the main road
Liam Jeffries: from Moodyville, which is a new up- and- coming area,
Liam Jeffries: as well, to Lonsdale.
Aaron Johnson: Right. And then, yeah, you have a big roller door
Aaron Johnson: here out to a patio. We have to talk about COVID
Aaron Johnson: times, because you've expanded your outdoor space. What was it before, and then what have you done?
Liam Jeffries: Yeah. So before, it was a lot more tables inside.
Liam Jeffries: And we actually didn't even have our permanent patio till
Liam Jeffries: recently. So yeah, a lot more tables and a lot
Liam Jeffries: more seating before. And then-
Aaron Johnson: I was here like February, I think?
Liam Jeffries: Yeah.
Aaron Johnson: And it was just before everything happened, it was just nice and
Aaron Johnson: crammed in here. It was very cozy. I think that's where I
Aaron Johnson: met you guys, was one of those crazy evenings with
Aaron Johnson: everybody's kids in here and stuff.
Liam Jeffries: Yeah, wild times before. It was hard to line up.
Liam Jeffries: And then, when COVID hit, removing a lot of tables,
Liam Jeffries: putting plexi up, making it safe for everyone. A lot
Liam Jeffries: of plexi.
Aaron Johnson: Yeah. And what would you describe as the beer styles
Aaron Johnson: you focus on? What's the character?
Liam Jeffries: Yeah, I'll let Paul get into that further. Paul was
Liam Jeffries: big into hazy IPA's, and then once we got going
Liam Jeffries: here, we got into a fruit series. And that's what
Liam Jeffries: people seem to love about us. Our strawberry blonde is
Liam Jeffries: our biggest seller. We just came out with a Sayulita
Liam Jeffries: Sunrise, a mock- up of a Tequila Sunrise, the same
Liam Jeffries: ingredients. So that's fruity lager. A lot of berry sours,
Liam Jeffries: tropic sour. And yeah, lots of fruit. So it's kind
Liam Jeffries: of the direction Paul's been going, but also loves his
Liam Jeffries: IPA's, and hazy IPA's.
Aaron Johnson: Right. So, congratulations on a year. Is there any ideas
Aaron Johnson: of expanding? Do you have a kitchen? Do you want
Aaron Johnson: a kitchen? What's happening there?
Liam Jeffries: Yeah. So we just teamed up with Nook. So we
Liam Jeffries: get pizzas from them. We've got this fancy oven that
Liam Jeffries: cooks them in a minute and 30 seconds. So we
Liam Jeffries: have a margherita, we got pepperoni-
Aaron Johnson: Oh, so they're not coming hot up the street, they're actually-
Liam Jeffries: They're prepped before and they're cooked here.
Aaron Johnson: Awesome.
Liam Jeffries: So yeah, we've had that going for three months now.
Liam Jeffries: It's been a huge success. It keeps people in here
Liam Jeffries: for lunch and dinner. And so, yeah, we've already got
Liam Jeffries: our kitchen made, expansion, yeah. I won't give too much
Liam Jeffries: detail yet, but always looking to expand tasting rooms.
Aaron Johnson: Obviously, packaged is probably expanding more, right?
Liam Jeffries: Yeah, packaged. Yeah. Right now with COVID, we have our
Liam Jeffries: own canning line that we launched about two months ago
Liam Jeffries: now. And that's helped a lot, canning whatever beer we
Liam Jeffries: want, whenever we want to can. And especially right now
Liam Jeffries: with a lot of off sales going out the door.
Aaron Johnson: After a year of reflecting, and then probably the most
Aaron Johnson: difficult thing that could have been thrown at you as
Aaron Johnson: a business owner, if somebody was to open up a
Aaron Johnson: brewery, what would be some advice you could give them?
Liam Jeffries: Don't do it in (inaudible) . I'm kidding. Yeah, just
Liam Jeffries: stick with it, and stick to your passion, and it'll
Liam Jeffries: all work out. I've seen a couple breweries and distilleries
Liam Jeffries: going through it right now, and they're still going full
Liam Jeffries: steam ahead. It's a really fun business. I love it
Liam Jeffries: personally and I have no regrets, even through COVID. So
Liam Jeffries: just stick with it, yeah.
Aaron Johnson: Cool. Well, thank you, sir.
Liam Jeffries: Thank you.
Aaron Johnson: Big thank you to Liam for his time. Really appreciate
Aaron Johnson: it, dude. Now, before we continue, the COVID- 19 pandemic
Aaron Johnson: has radically changed the way we are all living and
Aaron Johnson: working. But now we are slowly starting to reopen our
Aaron Johnson: small businesses here in British Columbia. Although travel is somewhat
Aaron Johnson: limited throughout the province, there's nothing wrong with planning a
Aaron Johnson: future trip. And that is what the BC Ale Trail
Aaron Johnson: is perfect for. On the website at bcaletrail. ca, you'll
Aaron Johnson: find recommended itineraries, a comprehensive list of every craft brewery
Aaron Johnson: in BC, a calendar of beer events, and a blog
Aaron Johnson: with lots of great stories. The regional ale trails include
Aaron Johnson: local breweries, pubs, and restaurants, along with other activities the
Aaron Johnson: area has to offer. So stay local for now. But
Aaron Johnson: as you plan your post- pandemic trip, let the BC
Aaron Johnson: Ale Trail guide you. New experiences are brewing nearby at
Aaron Johnson: the bcaletrail. ca. All right. Time to talk to the
Aaron Johnson: brewer at North Point Brewing.
Paul Kovamees: My name is Paul Kovamees, and I am the head brewer
Paul Kovamees: here at North Point Brewing.
Aaron Johnson: All right, cool. And how did beer find you?
Paul Kovamees: You know what, it's a long story. I spent a
Paul Kovamees: lot of summers growing up in Estonia, where my family's
Paul Kovamees: from. And between the summers of grade 11 and 12, which
Paul Kovamees: was the summer of 2010, I believe, I was in
Paul Kovamees: Estonia. And a friend of my brother's was traveling Europe
Paul Kovamees: at the time. And he came to stay with me
Paul Kovamees: in Estonia, and we were hanging out having some beverages.
Aaron Johnson: Did you go to the Sori Brewery there?
Paul Kovamees: I didn't. I don't think at the time they were around.
Aaron Johnson: It was my favorite out there.
Paul Kovamees: Oh really?
Aaron Johnson: Yeah.
Paul Kovamees: And yeah, he was telling me about how his friends
Paul Kovamees: brewed beer back home in Vancouver, and how it's just
Paul Kovamees: a cheaper way to drink beer, I guess. And so,
Paul Kovamees: I convinced my mom to buy a home beer- making
Paul Kovamees: kit for Christmas. And I started doing small batches at
Paul Kovamees: home. Quite enjoyed the process. And that led me to
Paul Kovamees: pursue a food science degree outside of high school. And
Paul Kovamees: so, I did that. And at the tail end of
Paul Kovamees: my degree, I got my foot in the door at
Paul Kovamees: a brewery in East Vancouver at Parallel 49. And I
Paul Kovamees: worked there for two and a half years, started off
Paul Kovamees: packaging, and then got promoted to brewing. And then in
Paul Kovamees: October of 2018, Liam got in touch with me, and
Paul Kovamees: said he was opening a brewery with some friends. And he
Paul Kovamees: wanted to know if I was interested in perhaps a
Paul Kovamees: new opportunity for myself, and jumped on board.
Aaron Johnson: Awesome. And here you are.
Paul Kovamees: And here I am. Yeah.
Aaron Johnson: So were the recipes all yours, or did the owners
Aaron Johnson: come with their own things in mind, as well?
Paul Kovamees: The owners had the idea, like for the strawberry blonde,
Paul Kovamees: Liam had the idea of having a beer with strawberry.
Paul Kovamees: And then, I just took that and decided to do
Paul Kovamees: a blonde base for it. But the ideas, a lot of it
Paul Kovamees: comes from the owners and stuff, but then I'll break it down
Paul Kovamees: and I'll design it with the help of my assistants
Paul Kovamees: and stuff.
Aaron Johnson: And so, being from Estonia, have you been able to
Aaron Johnson: incorporate any special ingredients from that region?
Paul Kovamees: I'm trying to.
Aaron Johnson: Okay.
Paul Kovamees: I am going to do that. I really want to
Paul Kovamees: do an Estonian- style farmhouse ale. But it's still in
Paul Kovamees: the works right now.
Aaron Johnson: How big's the system back there?
Paul Kovamees: It's a 20 hec system. We have four 20- hec
Paul Kovamees: fermenters, and two 20- heck bright tanks.
Aaron Johnson: Right. And I bet that was just rip- roaring, summertime, just
Aaron Johnson: turning that over and getting those into cans, right?
Paul Kovamees: Yeah. Yeah. And we've changed a few of the tanks
Paul Kovamees: to be unitanks, as well, so we can crank them out
Paul Kovamees: faster. Yeah. Summertime was busy with four fermenters just trying to
Paul Kovamees: keep them all topped up and emptied.
Aaron Johnson: Right. So what's been your favorite brew to date?
Paul Kovamees: My favorite brew to date. I'm definitely quite happy with
Paul Kovamees: how the strawberry blonde has turned out. Strawberry's a tough one to-
Aaron Johnson: That's a solid beer, man.
Paul Kovamees: Yeah. Thanks. And I think I'm really happy with a
Paul Kovamees: lot of them, but I think what really defines a good brewer
Paul Kovamees: and a good brewery is how good your pilsner or lager-
Paul Kovamees: based beverage is. And I'm really happy with how our
Paul Kovamees: pilsners and stuff have been turning out.
Aaron Johnson: Because, yeah, it's tough to make those beers.
Paul Kovamees: You can really taste all the subtle nuances and stuff.
Aaron Johnson: Right, cool. And if somebody was wanting to get into
Aaron Johnson: brewing themselves, what would be some advice you could give them?
Paul Kovamees: I would say, just get your boots wet, get your
Paul Kovamees: hands dirty. You have to accept the fact that if you want to do this as a living, you're going to have to
Paul Kovamees: wash kegs and do that kind of stuff for a
Paul Kovamees: long time. And then, it pays to know people. You
Paul Kovamees: got to get your name out there, and just talk
Paul Kovamees: to everyone you can. And just try to get your foot in
Paul Kovamees: the door as quickly as possible.
Aaron Johnson: All right. Well, sweet, dude.
Paul Kovamees: Yeah.
Aaron Johnson: Yeah. (foreign language) .
Paul Kovamees: Yeah.
Aaron Johnson: Thank you, Paul. And once again, thank you Liam both
Aaron Johnson: for your time. I really do appreciate it. Man, it's a
Aaron Johnson: nice sunny spot too. And looking forward to warmer days
Aaron Johnson: and getting back out on that patio. And at the
Aaron Johnson: moment, too, I should mention, I did a virtual yoga
Aaron Johnson: session with SHYpractice in North Van. And so, if you
Aaron Johnson: go in and get the mixed taster pack at North
Aaron Johnson: Point, you actually get a QR code to your own
Aaron Johnson: on demand yoga/ beer tasting session. So, yeah, go by
Aaron Johnson: and check that out. Big thanks to the BC Ale
Aaron Johnson: Trail once again for making this episode possible. If you
Aaron Johnson: want to find out more about them, and once we're
Aaron Johnson: allowed to travel again more freely, you can plan your
Aaron Johnson: weekend, or week, or however long with the different itineraries
Aaron Johnson: at bcaletrail. ca. If you want to follow us on
Aaron Johnson: social media, you can by going to facebook. com forward
Aaron Johnson: slash Cascadian Beer. I'm on Twitter at Cascadian Beer, and
Aaron Johnson: on Instagram at Cascadian Beer Podcast. I hope you're subscribed in
Aaron Johnson: your favorite podcast appropriate, and I really do appreciate your time.
Aaron Johnson: Thanks so much. And until next time, remember, support your local.