By Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs - (@morrittjacobs on Twitter)

Small But Bold: Craft Breweries Enjoying Success in YQL

Jul 10, 2016 | 9:20 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Local breweries have recently bubbled up onto the Lethbridge beer scene, with a special emphasis on community partnership.

In their six month infancy, Theoretical Brewing has used a grassroots approach to small business and beer tourism.

Kelti Boissonneault, Co-owner of Theoretical Brewing, said that she and her coworker Kris Fisher, a chemist who teaches organic chemistry and scientific glass blowing at the University of Lethbridge, began exploring brewery options in 2012.

For many craft brewers like Boissonneault and Fisher, the possibility of opening a brewery finally came into reach in December 2013, when the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission announced that minimum production requirements for breweries would be lifted.

Theoretical Brewing was officially opened in Dec. 2015 and has since taken on one part-time employee.

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Boissonneault said craft beer in southern Alberta has been well received.

“We are the city’s best kept secret, not many people know that Lethbridge is home to two breweries. We went from zero to two in less than a month and the province went from about 10 craft breweries in 2014 to over 40.”

Boissonneault hails the success to brewer’s focus on collaboration with the local agricultural sector.

“Our products are all domestic. Our grain is locally sourced and while we do use hops from B.C. we are looking for local farmers interested in growing hops.”

She also stressed the support that microbreweries provide for farmers when it comes to recycling.

“At the end of the brewing process, all of the spent grain goes to animal feed and to the Lethbridge biodigester. To date, none of our used product has gone into a landfill; it is used as an organic food or energy source.”

Brewers are facing some challenges though. Boissonneault said that many establishments have more traditional beers such as “Canadian” and “kokanee,” and that it can be harder to persuade businesses to devote a tab to local craft beer.

In the meantime, Theoretical Brewing shares their space with not-for-profit groups and hosts several community events aimed to educate visitors on the art of craft beer.

For more information on the brewery visit: http://theorybrew.ca/.

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