The Alberta Ale Trail’s directory currently lists 24 craft breweries that are operating in Edmonton and area.
Since the provincial government loosened the regulations on commercial microbrewing a decade ago, clearing out a lot of red tape, there has been a boom in craft beer in Alberta. And the rise of craft breweries in Edmonton is captured in Brewing Under Northern Skies, a new docuseries from filmmakers Mike Wivell, Kaden Sczesny and Mat L. Matthews. It debuts this Thursday (March 7), with episodes available on Square Sheep Films’s official website for the project.
“Every taproom, every brewery, every owner has a different story,” says Wivell. “All the people who work there are very different. They’re brewing different beers. I spoke to a few of the owners, and they said they’d been hoping someone would do something like this.”
The first episode, though, looks at some of the very tough realities that have set in, as the honeymoon phase of the brewery boom comes to an end. The number of breweries in Alberta has plateaued. Consumer trends show that we’re drinking less beer, as more of us are choosing sober beverages or other alcoholic options like vodka or gin seltzers. Wivell notes that the craft portion of the industry still has room for growth, and where the big chunk of the market share is being lost is with the major brewers.
The economic pressures claimed Asymmetrical Brewing. Its tale — with commentary from Edmonton beer expert Jason Foster — opens the series. When Wivell and the crew were filming the series, they went to Asymmetrical Brewing, and then later found out the owners were pulling the plug. So, they asked to go back, and co-founder Aaron Ejzebart agreed to do a frank interview about what went wrong.
“He was very brave and courageous,” says Wivell. “That’s what’s in the first episode…. You can tell it was hard and there are times you can hear in his voice that it was hurting him.” Ejzenbart was happy with the number of liquor stores and restaurants that carried Asymmetrical’s products, but despite changing the menu, the taproom just wasn’t getting the needed traffic.
Brewing beer is anything but a get-rich-quick scheme, and Brewing Under Northern Skies shows that. Breweries and taprooms are generally located in industrial areas, so you have to know where to find them. “It’s not like they’re on Whyte Avenue where you go out for a night to hit the bars,” Wivell says. Alberta grows some of the world’s best barley, but it’s also cheaper to import it from foreign sources. There are hop farmers in Alberta, but long-term contracts need to be signed and it hasn’t been a lucrative business, so far.
And then there are taxes. The excise tax is set to rise by 4.7 per cent on April 1. Each and every April, the taxes are supposed to rise based on the inflation rate. But the inflation rate has been so high, that the feds decided to cap the tax at two per cent in 2023. This year, there has been no indication that brewers will get the same sort of break.
“And now the tax rises are coming — and that’s another pressure. Do you pass that onto the customers?”
But, despite what Wivell calls the “shadow” looming over Alberta’s beer scene, the series is meant to be a celebration of the people who have brought their passion and ingenuity to the kegs.
“I think it’s supposed to be a celebration. Mat’s footage is amazing, it really showcases the city in a way that many people haven’t seen before. Kaden and I really tried to make it look and feel different. Each episode can be seen as a standalone film, if people want to view it that way, but we hope people watch each and every episode.”
