Ten years ago, if you would have told Charles Tremewen that wed be sitting down for an interview in his micro-distillery (the first in Vancouver), he wouldnt have believed you.
I would have said, Yeah right, he says laughing. It wasnt easy to get here. Would I recommend others do it? Probably not. Its not for the weak of heart.
But here we are at Long Table Distillery on Hornby Street, where you can sample his citrusy London dry and cucumber-infused gins, or his lemon grass-distilled vodka, all created in a gleaming 300-litre copper pot which can be seen through a large dividing window like a giant new penny.
Long Table will be one of more than 120 breweries and distilleries taking part in the 18th Annual Hopscotch Festival, a celebration of all thats fermented and good, taking place from November 11 to 17 with meal pairings and events throughout the week and the hallmark Grand Tasting Hall concluding the festivities at the PNE.
There are a lot of smaller distilleries and breweries that have opened up over the past year that need a little love to showcase their products against the bigger companies. We want to take them under our wing and bring them to our show so they can show their great, local products, says Hopscotch executive director Adam Bloch.
The ratio of vendors to tasters will be greater this year and theyve removed the car display freeing up more room and creating a more intimate experience. Theyve also added the seven-piece Razzmajazz Dixieland Band to the live music lineup as well as free shuttles to downtown Vancouver, Renfrew Station and North Vancouver.
Kevin Emms, brewmaster at the fairly new Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers (the first brew was this past June), says that the beauty of this event is that it levels the playing field by having big and small businesses on one floor, same level.
Last year, Hopscotch had more than 8,000 attendees and Bloch says the events popularity says a lot about how peoples palates are evolving.
Beer was a very blue-collar drink back in the day and its becoming a drink of the white collar, he tells me. And with that its getting higher price points for quality. Its no longer just a tool to get drunk with, its tool get different flavours. Could you imagine a beer-pairing dinner 20 years ago? The reverse is that whisky was such an elite drink and it was kind of an old mens club. And now, men and women love it equally and at all ages. But theyre not drinking to get drunk theyre drinking for flavour, for taste, for the palate.
Across Canada and BC, youre seeing a massive consumer interest in locally made, quality products, Emms says. People are just more concerned with what theyre putting into their body and also, people prefer something with a good story behind it, some passion and integrity.
Tremewen thinks that theres a lot of potential in that passion.
Consumers are recognizing that British Columbian producers are making quality products and are the same as, if not better than, products coming from other places, he says. Because we have access to a lot of local craft, were in a position to experience a lot of very exciting products, but were also in a position to create exciting new products because of the interaction we have with local people providing ingredients and access to a lot of ingredients.
Theres another new distillery in town... Odd Society Makers of Fine Spirits is launching its small-batch distillery with East Van Vodka, Mongrel Unaged Barley Spirit (aka whisky aka moonshine) and Wallflower Gin. Its tasting room at 1725 Powell is open Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 7pm with tours every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 4pm.
