If Alberta’s beer industry was a batch of microbrew, in 2005, when the Jasper Brew Pub opened its doors, the batch’s barley would have had scarcely made it to the mill.

Today, not only has the mash been converted, the yeast been added to the wort and the beer been filtered, carbonated and cellared, but a thirsty and educated consumer expects the perfect pint.

“The scene has definitely exploded,” says Brett Ireland, one of three Jasper-born founders of Bear Hill Brewing, the Jasper Brew Pub’s parent company.

Ireland, as the CEO of the organization—which along with the Jasper Brew Pub includes the Banff Ave, Wood Buffalo and Calgary’s Last Best breweries within its portfolio—was in his old stomping grounds February 2-4 for the first ever Jasper Beer and Barley Summit. The fesitval brought more than two dozen breweries and beer makers to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge for three days of tasting, talking and toasting to craft suds. Needless to say, there were a lot of beards.

The event was put on by Alberta Beer Festivals, the self-proclaimed “hub” between breweries, agencies, restaurants, liquor stores and beer enthusiasts in Western Canada. ABF President Bill Robinson and the rest of the festival team were enjoying a gourmet poutine after taking in a game of shinny during the event’s opening night. The chill atmosphere, he said, was testament to the seamless facilitation at the hotel and the fact that the Jasper Beer Summit is a fraction of the size of the Calgary and Edmonton festivals which ABF helps host.

“This is small scale, it’s relaxed, you really get to interact with the brewers,” Robinson said.

Bench Creek’s Cassandra Durocher could attest to that. Durocher was pouring brew master Warren Misik’s award-winning White Raven IPA to strong ale aficionados and shattering the stereotype that because Bench Creek is located in the blue collar community of Edson, that their customers would have to be light lager lovers.

“We thought bringing double IPAs and strong beers into a lager market would be challenging, but we were completely astonished by the support we’ve received,” Durocher said. “More than 30 per cent of our sales comes from our local region.”

Part of that is local pride, she said—and not just for the finished product.

“We live in barley country, people are proud of that,” Durocher said.

That wasn’t always the case. Ireland said it wasn’t that long ago that Alberta barley was taken for granted by local beer drinkers. That knowledge gap was what sparked the idea for a beer festival in Jasper in the first place, he said.

“We grow and malt so much premium barley that goes into craft beer all over the world, but most people aren’t aware of the role that Alberta plays,” Ireland said. “We thought there was an opportunity there to tell that story, to get consumers excited about that core raw input.”

Enter the Alberta Beer Festival group and the Fairmont JPL. The first ever Beer and Barley Summit featured not only a festival of boss breweries and fantastic food, but daytime presentations from some of the most well-regarded brew masters in North America. You know when Jasper Fire Chief and IPA fanboy Greg Van Tighem is asking for a selfie with a 60-year-old beer ambassador from Northern California that the beer in question must be special.

“His beer powered me and my bike through Arizona and Nevada,” Van Tighem said.

Steve Dresler’s Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has inspired many a cyclist—and many a brewer. In 1980, Sierra Nevada debuted the hop-forward ale that today is regarded as the beer that helped launch a craft beer revolution.

“For so many people, it’s the first craft beer they ever had,” Dresler explained while enjoying an Overlander Pale Ale from the recently-launched Folding Mountain Brewing.

Despite Dresler’s status as a craft beer rock star, he was just as interested in asking questions of Alberta brewers as sharing his own story of success. As he sampled Bench Creek’s Red Rye IPA, the 1965 Old Town Porter from Dog Island (out of Slave Lake) and the Wee Engine That Could Scotch Ale from Siding 14 (from Ponoka), Dresler was energized by the passion that these young brewers were pouring into their beers.

“I have a conversation with these guys and I get jazzed,” he said.

When he is pressed for advice, however, Dresler keeps it simple:

“Never cut corners,” he said. “Don’t lose sight of why you got into it, and enjoy it, because it goes by fast.”

Ireland, who, 13 years ago, together with his partners, opened up the Jasper Brew Pub with hardly a clue how to brew beer, let alone run a business, can relate. Bear Hill Brewing now has more than 200 employees and produces more than 8,000 hectolitres of beer. Yet even as the market becomes more competitive and customers become more demanding, Ireland figures a rising tide floats all ships—or, in beer parlance, perhaps: a rising yeast floats all growlers.

“More and more people are getting exposed to craft beer,” Ireland said. “We see that as positive.”

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com