In the midst of the tumult and furor of this time, it's a relief to know that you can count on a few simple pleasures. Having your favourite beer more readily available is the kind of announcement we all want to hear. And that's what we're doing! After 25 years of farming, brewing and keeping it small on the farm, we have decided to sell to with someone who can help give Crannóg Ales both long-term stability and a wider availability.
We are very pleased to announce that Crannóg Ales and BNA Brewing are entering into a long term relationship. Crannóg's classic Irish ales will continue to be brewed according to our long-established recipes, using our same organic ingredients and with hops from Left Fields Organic Farm. We'll keep selling growlers at the Salmon Arm Farmers Market and at the brewery, and you can still come for tours and pick up growlers all summer. BNA's great team of brewers will be making the beers at their facilities in Kelowna and Vernon, and we look forward to getting the Backhand into stores soon - so you can finally get the beer in something other than a growler! But you'll also keep seeing the beer on tap all over southern BC, just as we have been.
"After 25 years, it's time to revision the brewery a little bit. We can't imagine anyone better to work with to broaden our scope while staying true to the values that have always driven the brewery." (Rebecca)
Crannóg Ales has been driven by environmental stewardship, social responsibility and integrity. Creating a farm brewery was a great beginning to the story, and allowed us to root ourselves in seasonality and caretaking a very particular piece of land. Our Irish culture grounded our support of the arts and social justice causes, because a healthy society needs both bread and roses (or in our case, potatoes and beer). This is a tradition of storytelling, close communities and caring for each other. It's a tradition of care for the land and enjoying friends over a lovingly crafted pint. Our sense of social justice and community care will continue to be centred, along with care for the land through remaining certified organic.
Over the years, we have always deeply admired BNA's culture of caring for local history, creating interesting beer and food based in the local food system, and ensuring a strong and healthy work environment. These are commitments we don't see everywhere in this industry, and they've made BNA a very valued member of the brewing community. We have deep respect for their integrity. It is that integrity which has brought us to this partnership: we believe that they will care for Crannóg Ales and allow us to do things we couldn't do while keeping everything on our farm. We can't imagine doing this with anyone else!
"We know that by working with BNA we can bring our beer to a wider audience without compromising quality, and that our identity will stay alive. I'm really looking forward to being able to focus on the fun stuff, and getting the Backhand into more glasses." (Brian)