Mining's toxic legacy of tailings ponds, breaches and spills has a huge impact on salmon and watersheds all over BC. Pipelines leak into the soil and water, tailings ponds breach into rivers and lakes - and all of it spells trouble for watersheds all over BC, and the salmon that sustain our entire ecosystem.
Come out to hear Jamie Kneen of MiningWatch Canada explain what's going on in BC and how communities around the world are mobilizing to stop Canadian mining companies' degradation of lands, water and indigenous rights. While mining only indirectly affects the Shuswap, the watersheds that surround us are heavily impacted. The massive tailings spill from Mt Polley mine still hasn't been cleaned up, but the mining companies carry on. The addition of new mines under the Critical Minerals Act will add to the environmental pressure.
In this time of climate chaos, we know that clean water is vital to our survival. Come find out more.
Co-sponsored by SENS and Crannóg Ales.
MiningWatch Canada works in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous communities who are dealing with potential or actual industrial mining operations that affect their lives and territories, or with the legacy of closed mines, as well as with mineworkers and former workers seeking safe working conditions and fair treatment.
MiningWatch Canada explicitly values the experience and knowledge of Indigenous peoples, mining-affected communities, and workers, and bases its work on mutual learning and participatory, deliberative and transformative methodologies.
In collaboration with national and international networks, organizations and other supporters, MiningWatch Canada:
Undertakes research and analysis of industrial mining and related policies and laws, in Canada and concerning Canadian mining operations abroad;
Provides timely information, as well as technical, communications and strategic support, to mining-affected communities and related organizations;
Campaigns on specific conflicts and issues related to mining abuses, while supporting movement-building;
Advocates for greater protections for Indigenous peoples and affected communities, including women and mineworkers, as well as justice and reparations for harms from mining through changes to the policies, laws and economic conditions that perpetuate mining-related abuses and injustice.
Check out their website for specific information on how they work to protect water, fix mining laws, control corporations and put people and ecosystems first.
The Sustainable Environment Network Society has been working in the Shuswap for 50 years, starting as a recycling group and evolving into an extremely active organization doing everything from planting bee and butterfly friendly gardens to a huge amount of public education. Their projects include decarbonizing our economy, tree planting, pesticide use reduction, river protection and a Sustainable Film Festival. There are lots of ways to get involved and help protect our environment!
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Hot drinks (something unusual and special is in the works)
Bonfire
Beer Samples
and holiday shopping with:
And of course you can stock up on growlers, tees, hoodies and glassware for gifts or for yourself.
]]>Our Backhand tees are back in stock in all sizes!
You can mail-order, pick up at the brewery, or order for pickup at any of our farmers markets along with your beer. Order directly through our online shop or by calling or emailing us at the brewery!
As with all our swag (yes, we have lots of those cosy hoodies too!) these shirts are organic cotton. They are fair trade made and printed in a Vancouver shop that focuses on social justice and training. You can wear this tee proudly for years, then compost it!
]]>You can find us at the brewery from Weds - Sat 9-4:30. We are also at the following farmers markets with loads of freshly filled growlers:
Wednesday 2-5pm
All Organic Market at Askews Uptown, Salmon Arm
Saturday 8-12
Sorrento Village Farmers Market
Saturday 8:30-12:30
Kamloops Regional Farmers Market
Plus you can pre-order for pickup in Vernon on Thursdays!
Thank you all for your concern and support.
]]>will go directly to this fund to support Indigenous Food Infrastructure that was destroyed during the Bush Creek Wildfire.
From the GoFundMe website:
Amidst the collective and compounding grief associated with the catastrophic wildfire burning over 40,000 hectares of Secwepemc foodlands, members of the Secwepemc Chapter of the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS) are responding to the crisis in a network of community caring and sharing. Critical food-related infrastructure and equipment, including community freezers of salmon, bison, and elk meat was lost when the fire ravaged through Little Shuswap reserve.
In addition, the WGIFS is accepting donations for the rebuilding of Indigenous food infrastructure and equipment (such as community freezers, hunting camp equipment, processing and cooking equipment, etc.) that was lost to the fire via this GoFundMe. Any additional funds will be used in support of any further infrastructure needed in the community.
Please consider donating directly to this fund through the link above.
Join us for lunch and a drink, by donation. If you're evacuated, come on down, no money needed. If you can donate, all proceeds will go directly to the communities affected in gas or grocery cards distributed through ESS or Little Shuswap Indian Band.
We'll be tapping that cask of Haskap Ale we made for Roots and Blues!
]]>The photos here show the section of this fire which sparked up on the hillside just above us, south-east of the farm near the trail to Mt Baldy. The other side of the ridge is part of the Squilax Mountain section of the same fire.
Our sheep have been safely evacuated, and we hope the baby osprey has learned to fly in a hurry. Sadly we had to leave the chickens and the barn cats, but we have all confidence the cats will go to the swamp they already hunt in and be safe.
We are still delivering beer to our licensee accounts through the warehouse, but will not be selling growlers or doing any of the farmers markets.
We do not have any information about the state of the farm and brewery at this time, but will keep folks updated.
If anyone needs support right now, it's our fire services and their support staff. Send them food and love if you can, and if they tell you to evacuate, do it. Stay safe everyone.
]]>
There are options, though they are dismissed by the proponents of disutoptian technology as simply "arcadian fantasies". Apparently only continuing on the road we currently travel is realistic, however awful the outcome. These options involve reducing our footprint on the world. Reducing energy use, eating seasonally, learning to grow food in smaller plots (from tiny urban balcony gardens or rooftops on up), reducing our dependence on globally supplied staple crops, and saving our farmland and water for food growing instead of housing/highways/golf courses.
But these options demand a paradigm shift towards keeping food, housing and water out of the profit economy. The resulting loss of profit for the few keeps the idea from being discussed at all. But we have to. Please read on, and please keep this discussion going.
]]>If taxes pay for infrastructure which facilitates our needs, shouldn’t shelter be one of those basic needs that our taxes provide for everyone? We pay for clean water, roads, hospitals, but we don’t include food and shelter, or heat for that matter.
A universal basic income is often touted as the solution to lack of housing. It's an individualist solution however, doing nothing to address the commodification of basic needs. All it does is place the responsibility for acquiring basic needs back on the individual, while allowing profiteering on those needs. It actually privatizes that which should be already publicly provided. It is, in fact, monetizing human rights.
Part of the basic question, it seems to us, is what we consider “rights”, and what having those rights implies. Human rights are being interpreted to include the “right” to safety, food, water, and housing. Having those “rights” means that someone is obligated to provide them. In point of fact, the “someone” would be the government, as it functions as caretaker, guardian and manager. The whole definition of a “right” is, in fact, something which is granted by those with power to those without.
And in that definition we see part of the problem. Those with power are happy to say that something is a right, it sounds amazing. Yet there is no way to ensure that those rights are actually embodied, because that would give resources to those who are, by definition, powerless in the system - otherwise there would be no need for those “rights” to be made law. The law is the mechanism which is supposed to move resources around, to balance different parts of society and look after the needs of all – but only as defined by legislation and government.
But let’s go back to the discussion of the commodification of rights. Housing is not a right, no matter how much lip service is given to it. Housing is privatized, with realtors and developers making money off a basic need of society. As long as we buy and sell land and housing, there is no way to make housing an actual guaranteed human right. As long as profit is the only true right that is given and supported, no other rights will ever be genuine.
As Brewster Kneen always says – it’s not about rights, which simply support the power structure. It’s about responsibilities of communities and people to each other and with the earth. If we look at our ideas of human rights with this lens, it becomes vital to actually decommodify land and housing so that food and housing can become our mutual responsibility to each other, something we do out of care and love.
]]>How can this happen? In the food system, it’s both profit-taking by vertically integrated companies that control the entire supply chain, and speculation. (Note: vertical integration means a company owning all the steps between primary production and retail: from farm to trucking to processing plant to next processing plant to retail distribution. When a company is vertically integrated like that, it can take profit from every step of the chain, as well as exerting total control over all steps. It's a reliable way to maximise overall profits.) As with housing, food is part of the commodities markets that are publicly traded on the world’s stock exchanges. Futures trading in pork bellies, grain, oilseeds and other food drives a huge part of the global pricing on food. Futures trading means guessing at the future price and availability of any commodity, and it’s the sort of fabricated reality that allows for rapid price changes and ballooning differentials between price paid to the farmer (which is at least somewhat based on real costs, though usually below the actual cost of production) and price charged to the consumer (which is entirely dependent on how much profit the middle companies choose to take).
While farmers continue to receive low prices at the farm gate, traders take more and more profit. Those who are not involved in primary production take no risk, but have all the power in the food system.When food is turned into a commodity, publicly traded as though it were not critical to life, we all lose. The more hands are in the process, the more opportunity there is for prices to rise without relationship to the actual production of food or the needs of the consumer. What we see now is that highly processed “foods” are made with more derivatives and less actual food – more high-fructose corn syrup, lecithin, etc. - and put on the shelves at what seems to be a cheaper price than actual food like potatoes, corn and flour. (This is of course somewhat imaginary, but a discussion of how expensive it is to be poor is another topic.)
Apart from food, though, profit is driving price increases beyond the cost of production all over the economy. Whether it’s gasoline, cleaning products, pharmaceuticals or shipping, everything is on the rise – but it’s driven by corporate profits all over the system. Meanwhile, economists are pretending that the reason is cost increases at the production end, shortages or “instability” (aka. speculation, but they’ll never use that word because it’s a dead giveaway).
Remember that the responsibility of corporations is to increase shareholder return – only that, not to take care of workers or consumers. This means that maximizing profits is not only the goal but the golden rule, and is considered the most ethical possible action by these corporations.
How is it that profit-taking at the expense of everything else is considered ethical? What does this say about our priorities?
And how can we hit reset on those priorities for our government and our economy?
]]>We are very thankful to be allowed to stay here in Secwepemculew, and we intend to uphold that trust by continuing to cherish this land and work to protect it.
]]>We are very very excited to be hosting this workshop on mineral tanning sheepskins at the farm. It's a three day process, with all materials (including one of our own lovely lamb skins) included. It's another step in completing the cycle of life and integration, building skills and community.
Follow the link to register and get all the information.
We are very very excited to be hosting this workshop on mineral tanning sheepskins at the farm. It's a three day process, with all materials (including one of our own lovely lamb skins) included. It's another step in completing the cycle of life and integration, building skills and community.
Mara Cur of Fern + Roe will be our teacher - when you follow the registration link you can see her breadth of experience, and all the amazing opportunities for learning from Fern + Roe.
We hope you will be able to join us - there's a cap on the number of registrants, so please do meet the deadline. The price ($385) gives you both education and a hide that would cost almost the registration fee... so it's a great deal.
Follow the link to register and get all the information.
Sept 26, 3-8pm
Opening band Lets Go from Kamloops, playing exuberant skatepunk.
Come dance your boots off! Parking is limited, please carpool. Beer and non-alcoholic bevvies available, plus BANNOCK! We are thrilled to have D.O.A. back for an afternoon, all-ages show (that means us greyhairs will dominate). Bring mom and the kids for an education in what political punk is all about.
Over the last four decades, D.O.A. has released 18 studio albums, sold over a million albums, and played over 4,500 shows on five different continents. The band’s albums, shows and attitude has won over three generations of fans and influenced the likes of Guns & Roses, Green Day, Nirvana, Offspring, Henry Rollins, David Grohl and the Red Hot Chilli peppers, to name a few.
From day one, D.O.A. has helped organize and lead hundreds of benefit concerts and protests for good and just causes like environmental issues, women’s rights, food bank benefits, First Nations rights, and they have organized and stood against war, racism and weapons proliferation, amongst others.
Many have compared Joe to a modern day Woody Guthrie and he is always looking for a way to push grassroots democracy and like his idols Woody and Pete Seeger, he and the band won’t give up.
Backed up by Lets Go, a (much newer) punk band with a solidly raw sound from Kamloops. Melodic, Heavy, Fast. From thrash metal to honky tonk, they are well known for swinging across other genres with reckless abandon, while always keeping one worn out shoe planted in the modern Skatepunk sound that has been a staple since their first release in 2018. You can follow them for a new song every month in 2021.
Tickets are on EventBrite, please use this button to buy.If we have to cancel due to fire or plague full refunds will be given.
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Essential Reading (aka. the very incomplete Decolonization Reading List)
Art Manuel - Unsettling Canada A National Wake-up Call
Art Manuel - The Reconciliation Manifesto Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy
Art Manuel, Taiake Alfred - Whose Land Is It Anyway? A Manual for Decolonization
Chelsea Vowel - Indigenous Writes A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada
Gord Hill - The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book
Dee Brown - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee An Indian History of the American West
Gary Geddes - Medicine Unbundled A Journey Through the Minefields of Indigenous Health Care
Lee Maracle - My Conversations with Canadians
James Daschuk - Clearing the Plains Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life
Howard Adams – A Tortured People: The Politics of Colonization
Jodi Byrd – Transit of Empire: Indigenous Critiques of Colonialism
Glen Coulthard – Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition
Iyko Day – Alien Capital: Asian Racialization and the Logic of Settler Colonial Capitalism
Sarah Deer – The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America
Vine Deloria Jr. – Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto
Frantz Fanon – Wretched of the Earth
Mishuana Goeman – Mark My Words: Native Women Mapping our Nations
Sandy Grande – Red Pedagogy
Lee Maracle – I am Woman
George Manuel – The Fourth World: An Indian Reality
Albert Memmi – The Colonizer and the Colonized
Pamela Palmater – Indigenous Nationhood: Empowering Grassroots Citizens
Jemima Pierre – Reconciliation is not Decolonization
Unsettling Canada 150
From The Ashes by Jesse Thistle Metis/Cree autobiography Remarkable recovery from drug addiction and living on the street, to professor at York University!
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese novel about residential school experience
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good residential school - following lives of five kids 2021 Governor General winner!
Essays:
Harsha Walia – Decolonizing Together: Moving Beyond a Politics of Solidarity Toward a Practice of Decolonization
Pamela Palmater, Canada 150 is a celebration of Indigenous Genocide https://nowtoronto.com/news/
Action Options
One reason you don't see Crannóg Ales everywhere is that we are deliberately small and sustainable. The other is that we don't give bars kickbacks to carry our beer. There's this idea out there that it's totally reasonable to pay to have your beer on tap somewhere - and the rate is astounding. One keg in 10 free used to be the "standard", it's now commonly 1 keg in 3 or 4.
Here's what that all looks like: "Ok thanks for getting back to me. Depending on your kickback will determine if we give u a full time tap. I have literally 100’s of other Bc breweries that offer kickbacks for a permanent tap as well as they supply glassware and coasters. I would be open to this, otherwise we will pass. Let me know. "
Consider for a moment what your income would look like if you gave away 1/4 to 1/3 of your product. And gave your customers free swag and glassware (some companies buy TVs, game tickets and much more) on top of it. You'd either be broke or you'd have to jack up the prices on everything to cover the cost of all the freebies. Really, there's no other way that works.
So is it better to charge Customer A 500% over cost, then give Customer B a free keg for every 4 they buy? Or give them both the same deal, but charge each keg so much over cost? You'd wind up either ripping off one customer, or ripping them both off massively then giving them a bit back. It's a game: if I overcharge you but then give you a freebie, you'll feel more special.
What if you actually just didn't charge that much in the first place? What if you just set a price that allows you to make a reasonable living, pay your employees well and take care of them, and gave that price to everyone? That's been our approach for 20 years. We hope that this way everyone feels fairly treated, and we know we're not ripping anyone off. Unfortunately, it seems that people don't think that way. We would not dream of having our business make money on the backs of our suppliers, and we don't think the restaurant industry should either.
That's not to say that we don't love our customers and give them things when we can, but the idea of setting up our entire business in such an unethical way is repugnant to us.
Of course, with more and more breweries opening, and fewer restaurants, there's huge competition for taps. This has led to more breweries offering more and steeper kickbacks. We're seeing this locally to unprecedented levels - people are asking for payoffs for temporary taps now. Be forewarned: we will not only not give you kickbacks so we can go broke and lose our business, we will let people know who you are and how you do business. We'll let people know that you don't care about your suppliers, only about lining your own pockets. We'll let people know that you expect others to go broke as long as you can make money. We'll let people know that you epitomize the worst of capitalism. Hopefully you don't expect your staff to work one in four shifts for free as well.
Do we sound pissed? Good, because we are. We are sick of unethical behaviour being called "business as usual". We can actually do better, be better - and we owe it to ourselves, to society and to our children to do better and to make a better world, not a worse one.
]]>Greg joined us on April 1, 2006. He came up from Vancouver to see how he liked it and somehow never left. You will all remember his indefatigable energy at festivals and delivering beer, and his pride in being such a critical part of the Crannóg team.
Greg's long friendship with Brian in particular was evident in their shared love of punk rock, art and DIY. In Vancouver, Greg always did high-energy things, from being a bike courier (fearless!) to running a couple of after-hours clubs. Greg was always up for a big team job, and made sure all the details were taken care of both daily and at every event. His energy and joy at events kept us all happy, and he was always up for the after-party too.
Many of you will remember Greg from events at the brewery - stage-diving from our 4" stage at a DOA show, belting it out along with the band and dancing like a demon. Always dancing! On top of that, Greg made sure our long table dinners were served with grace and style, and made sure to always look absolutely smashing.
We will miss Greg's sense of humour, his commitment, and his care. We'll miss his willingness to pitch in and get stuff done, and his high spirits for every festival and event. And his love of kitties. We will miss Greg every day.
There is a memorial fund for Greg's partner, Debra Wheatley. https://www.gofundme.com/f/we-loved-greg-help-say-goodbye?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1https://www.gofundme.com/f/we-loved-greg-help-say-goodbye?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1Cards can be left at the brewery.
]]>
On the plus side, for me, it provides an opportunity to see some amazing bands, share stories, see outstanding dance, and maybe dance a jig or two with some friends. On the minus side, I can look forward to a drunk fest in which green masses of stereotyping takes place. Caricatures of drunken, fighting, ape-like leprechauns abound. In any other context (Chinese New Year isn't celebrated with cartoons) this kind of bigotry would be shocking - but somehow it's OK to mock the Irish. Must be the effect of British colonialism.
If you self identify with having an Irish background, bring it to the foreground and start learning our language, music and dance. Expose yourself to the literature, new and old. Be a cultural activst and know we have a rich diverse vibrant world view. Celebrate don’t denigrate this Wednesday, and drink Crannóg Ales. Try the Pictish Pride and see if it doesn't help shift your worldview.
oh, and for pity's sake don't put green food colouring in your beer. Seriously. Don't.
]]>"Ireland, as distinct from her people, is nothing to me; and the man who is bubbling over with love and enthusiasm for "Ireland," and can yet pass unmoved through our streets and witness all the wrong and the suffering, shame and degradation wrought upon the people of Ireland-yea, wrought by Irishmen upon Irish men and women, without burning to end it, is, in my opinion, a fraud and a liar in his heart, no matter how he loves that combination of chemical elements he is pleased to call Ireland."
James Connolly
"A country without a language is a country without a soul."
Patrick Pearse
You're going to see a lot of pretty posters about International Women's Day today. They'll have elegant profiles, long hair, wimpy fists showing coloured nails, they'll be pink and purple and have inspiring word about kindness, empathy, wishes, peace and joy, love and support. That's nice, but it's not who we all are, and it's certainly not this farm and brewery. (Although we do try to be kind and empathic, supportive and loving.)
Today, for us, is a time to think of the long struggles that have made the women's movement something to be co-opted for publicity instead of mocked and reviled.
After generations of women have fought for equal (not identical) rights, pay, work and a place in the world, we have gotten to a place where everything has changed and nothing has changed. Women can now be in the military, can be heads of companies, can be heads of state in many places in the world. We can (in the West at least) be anything we want to be - as long as we conform to capitalist roles and expectations set by a white male dominant culture. But we still have grown women referred to as "girls", we still have plenty of men who are revolted by women's bodies and require us to airbrush ourselves into modelhood, young women still strive for beauty first, and we STILL have not learned that equality for all means people of all genders, races, classes and abilities.
So today is a day to think about women whose lives, work and deaths changed the world.
Today, teach your daughter, niece or neighbour how to make a proper fist with a straight wrist and some power behind it.
Claire Culhane, Prison abolitionist
To prisoners all across this country Claire was the voice that would speak on their behalf, no matter what. She was a mother, a grandmother & great-grandmother, a nurse in Vietnam, a union activist and a global community activist, and then her focus turned to prisons. A life that had already been filled by 40 years of social activism would lead her to the doors of Canada´s most impenetrable fortresses - its prisons.
Claire not only campaigned for the rights of individual prisoners - but saw the system as a whole. For Claire, to challenge the prison system was to challenge all of society. In her third book on prisons "No Longer Barred from Prison: Social Injustice in Canada", she would write:
"We can only proceed, individually and collectively, to make whatever improvements are possible in our respective areas of concern, sustained by the hope that others are doing the same".
Claire understood that the system needs wholesale change, and put her body in the way of the status quo.
No longer Barred from Prison: Social Injustice in Canada, Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1991
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/august10/action/claire_culhane.html
Berta Cáceres, Indigenous activist
Berta was a Lenca indigenous woman and human rights defender. For the last 20 years, she was on the front lines defending the territory and the rights of the indigenous Lenca people. She was the general co-ordinator of Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Indígenas Populares – COPINH (Civic Council of Popular Indigenous Organisations). COPINH succesfully led a campaign for the defence of the Gualcarque river, which is the site of a proposed dam.
On 30 November 2018, the Honduran National Criminal Court convicted seven men of the murder of woman human rights defender Berta Caceres. The Court found that the men had been hired by executives within Desa, a company constructing a dam in indigenous Lenca territory, to carry out her killing on 3 March 2016.
Her death showed the world the dangers faced by indigenous and environmental activists throughout the region and all over the world. Every year, indigenous activists are killed by mining companies and the governments in thrall to them all over the world. Many of these companies are based in Canada or have mines in Canada as well, and activists in this country are not exempt from their actions.
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/case-history-berta-c%C3%A1ceres
Emma Goldman, Anarchist
1869-1940
“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be in your revolution.”
Emma Goldman understood in a deeply personal way that revolution is a process of constant change. She challenged state domination, capitalism, militarism, and above all, patriarchy while always understanding that bodily autonomy and social autonomy are profoundly linked.
"In her ability to see the interconnections among systems of oppression and in her determination to make a practical difference in people’s lives rather than remain in the realm of abstract theorizing, Emma Goldman embodied the feminist ethos of care." Pattrice Jones
As a Jew, an anti-fascist activist, and a writer, Red Emma was feared in America. She was a practical thinker, whose writings on anarchism and collective power remain central ideas for contemporary activists. She was not afraid to take physical action, either.
“If they do not give you work, demand bread. If they deny you both, take bread.”
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/goldman/whatibelieve.html
Mairéad Farrell 1957-1988
Mairéad was killed on March 6, 1988, just three days after her 31st birthday. Mairéad and the two comrades she was with, Sean Savage and Dan McCann, were mown down in broad daylight by British Forces. The three IRA Volunteers were unarmed, and no attempts were made to arrest them.
The gunning down of three unarmed IRA activists on the streets of Gibraltar by the SAS was found by to be in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The murders fueled armed activists in the North of Ireland, re-opened claims that the government operated a ‘shoot-to kill’ policy and, yet again, called into question the reputation of British justice. British colonialism has, over and over again, been tested in Ireland and exported to the world.
Mairéad said that ‘we can only end our oppression as women, if we end the oppression of our nation’.
Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam.
In February 2021, her niece (also Mairéad Farrell) was elected as a Sinn Fein MP for Galway West, and is currently the party's spokesperson on Public Expenditure and reform.
https://stairnaheireann.net/2021/03/06/otd-in-1988-the-gibraltar-three-three-unarmed-ira-members-mairead-farrell-danny-mccann-and-sean-savage-were-shot-dead-by-undercover-members-of-the-special-air-service-sas-in-gibraltar-3/
Both Crannóg Ales and Left Fields are hiring thåis season.
Starting April 1, we are looking for someone to fling kegs all over the Thompson-North Okanagan as well as helping with cellaring tasks, on-site sales of growlers, and potentially assisting with farmers markets and tours. The ideal person will live close to the brewery and know their way around the region, and will have a clean Class 5 license as well as an up to date Serving It Right and of course your own vehicle. You'll have to be strong, able to lift 50-60 lbs and handle kegs weighing more than 160 lbs (handle, not lift), and of course have no issues with alcohol or drugs. Assets: previous experience, forklift license, computer literate with experience with spreadsheets or other basic software, homebrew or brewhouse experience, understanding of the importance of record-keeping, cleanliness and sanitation, able to handle repetitive tasks and work with a team.
- Must adhere to company ethics and politics, no racists, sexists or bigots
Wages start at $15.00/hr. Medical and dental benefits and wage increase at 3 months. PPE (including appropriate boots) supplied. Initial hours 2.5-3 days/week, increasing to 4-5 days as season progresses. Winter hours may decrease, depending on demand.
We are an equal-opportunity employer: women please apply!
Contact the brewery directly for a full job description or to apply with your resume and references.
]]>While the farm and brewery continue to be intertwined in our daily processes, separating our websites will clarify shipping and purchases as well as allowing us to provide more information on our farm activities. Check out the new site, where you can find details on our sheep flock, our whole farm cycle, resources for hops growing from machinery to research. And of course, you can find all the hops rhizomes we have available and order what you need for this growing season!
Here's the link to our Local Line store. You can order from each participant from one portal - just make yourself an account (if you don't already have one), and start filling your basket.
When you're done, you'll check out from each vendor separately and pay. Each vendor has their own payment options and protocols, please read carefully.
Not only will you be able to pick up your growlers for the holidays, you'll also be able to sample all our beers, including some special beers. We'll have all our swag available - t-shirts, glassware, badges, mustard & BBQ sauce - plus Om Naturale beer soap!
We are also doing some special gift packs, check our online shop or contact us for more information or to reserve your pack.
Our special guests this year will be PURE, with super delicious Dutch baking from Armstrong. Their cookies, energy bites and treats are based on almond flour and butter, many are gluten free, and all are incredibly delicious. In addition, Forest and Food Fixations will bring their sourdough breads, mushroom bread and other fantastic treats. And of course, we'll have Left Fields wool, wool craft, yarn & spices, as well as Wolf Springs honey.
Pre-order your brewery swag and beer from our Shop, or just come by!
The brewery will be open our usual hours all week: Weds-Saturday 8:30 - 4:30, closing at 4:00 on Saturday only.
We will be open December 23, and closed Dec 24, 25, 26.
We will also be closed Jan 1, but open the rest of that week usual days.
]]>For us, there are many more to remember, and the wars are not over.
Across the world today, there are wars raging. Canadian forces are present as peacekeepers - or absent. We are not living in a time of peace, except within our own borders. Many of those who are dying now are not combatants, not voluntarily giving their bodies to a cause, but simply victims - and if they are not dead, they are refugees. Our foreign policies have helped create and support many of these conflicts. So how can we simply stand up and say "we remember the fallen heroes of past wars" without also thinking about how our actions as a nation are still creating victims? The white poppy symbolizes both unwilling victims and the hope of peace. It's another reminder that our responsibility is not over.
The Easter Lily is the symbol of respect for the women and men who have fought - and continue to fight - for Irish freedom from British colonial rule. It is an emblem of unity between the different traditions within the Irish nation. By contrast, the poppy is the symbol for the British and their allies in a particular war fought to protect colonial interests: it simply does not belong to a people who have been victims of colonization. For this reason, you will see Brian wear an Easter Lily all year long. "Canada is a multicultural society," he says. "Irish people are a part of that, to deny us our way of honouring our sacrifice goes against Canadian values."
Brian writes:
We are sure this will inspire discussion, as it is meant to. This is a time of sacred remembrance, yes, but also a time to think about how what we are now doing carries on the same patterns. How can we stop needing to build new monuments to new wars and war dead if we do not change? Take a moment, as you honour their sacrifice, to think of what your parents, grandparents, sisters and brothers died for. Was it to defend small nations? Was it to stop genocide and tyranny? or was it to protect oil fields and increase trade opportunities, to increase "first world" control over resources and people? Do we really want to keep creating victims?
In Rebecca's tradition, remembrance carries responsibility. Let's try that.
]]>Date: Sunday August 30, 5 - 9pm
Ticket price: $80 inclusive of taxes, gratuity and drinks.
Tickets go on sale July 30 at 9:00 AM on our website and by phone or email.
No pre-reservations, please: this is first-come first sold.
The Hundred Foot Feast is our periodic long table dinner, featuring food grown within 100' of your dining table! This year, everything is a little different, of course. We will not be setting one long table. Instead, everyone will be at separated bistro style tables, in groups of 2-4 people only, to allow for safe enjoyment and service. Tickets will therefore be sold only in groups of 2 or 4.
We are also using this feast to showcase all the people who have made up the Left Fields and Crannóg Ales community over the last 20 years. Look for food from a whole bunch of local farms, all of whom have a close relationship with us. Some of the farmers lived and farmed here before starting their own places, some have been long-time collaborators, some have been our inspiration and mentors. We are deeply grateful to the many extraordinary farmers, artisans and brewers who make up our community: without community we would not have gotten this far!
Our chefs this year are an all-star cast from our history: Geoffrey Couper and David Colombe will both be creating the menu of local seasonal delights. They will be pairing each course (at least 5...) with a different beer, some created only for this dinner.
It made a sneaky return last week, so in case anyone is in danger of missing it: we have another week of this wonderful beer!
Bright, tart, full of berry flavour yet also light (by our standards at any rate) and totally suitable for this little bit of sunshine we're getting. Haskap berries have wonderful colour and flavour, and we are lucky to be able to brew with them. Our berries come from our organic neighbours at Wolf Springs Farm - check them out at local farmers markets with their fresh or frozen berries, honey and Haskap Smash.
Mac Tir will be around for this week only, so order today!
]]>Want to make sure you get some? Order online through our website - but please note the shift in our market schedule for this week as well.
The brewery will NOT be at the All Organic Farmers' Market on July 15 ONLY. We'll make sure to keep Haskap Ale for this market for the following week! Check out all the other great vendors (including Wolf Springs, who farm next to the brewery and grow the Haskaps for the beer) live at the market or order online here. We will be back the following week - or phone/email the brewery to arrange a pickup in Salmon Arm on Friday at 2:00 (pre-orders only).
In the meantime, the brewery is open for growler sales Weds - Saturday, 9-4:30. We will also be attending the Enderby Market on Friday from 10-1:00, and the Sorrento Farmers Market on Saturday from 8-12.
We will also be unable to deliver growlers to Vernon or Kamloops the week of July 14-18. We're sorry!
And we are open for tours, including tastings. Groups are limited to 6 people total, masks are mandatory if you want to enter the brewery. Book ahead only, phone the brewery! 250-675-6847.
]]>Auntie Fa Brown Ale is back! Poor old Auntie had a bit of a nap, but all the injustice and racism that's thriving in people's heightened state of paranoia woke her up, and she's a wee bit irked at the state of things. She'll be supporting the front-liners to deal with racism, bigotry and cruelty. And when everyone gets to the point of settling down and talking things out (changing hearts and minds is her favourite thing) she'll be there with a nice pint of beer and a buffet of seasonal, local and organic food. Because that's what Aunties do.
Markets: Find your pipsqueak or growlers at the All Organic Farmers' Market on Wednesdays in Salmon Arm from 2-5 (yes, we're on this week despite the holiday), or at the Enderby Farmers Market on Fridays 10-1, or Sorrento Farmers' Market Saturdays 9-12. Or of course come to the brewery! We'll be closed on Wednesday this week but open Thursday - Saturday.
Tours: The brewery is also open for tours (that's how you get the tastings as well), Friday and Saturday afternoons. You MUST book ahead, group size max 6 people. Please phone or email the brewery to book.
]]>We are seeking a part-time delivery driver and brewery assistant!
Must have clean driving record and Class 5 license, must be strong and able to handle kegs, must appreciate craft beer (not too much!) and be responsible and ethical. Job starts immediately.
Please email or phone the brewery for details and to submit your resume with references.
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