Surgenor Beer
Bob Surgenor is the caricature of an all-Canadian guy. He’s fourth-generation Canadian. His kids play hockey on a rink he built in the back yard. Heck, prescription
he even wears a grey cotton t-shirt with “Canada” embroidered across the chest. And just in case there was still any doubt as to his Great White North pedigree, salve
he went and opened up his own brewery.
Surgenor Brewing Company, the Comox Valley’s first craft microbrewery, began production this spring after months of anticipation from local quaffers. And while Bob the businessman takes the success of his namesake brewery very seriously, Bob the fun-lovin’ Canuck makes it very clear that Surgenor ain’t no suit-and-tie beer.
“If Budweiser’s Hall and Oates then we’re probably Led Zeppelin,” says Surgenor with a mischievous grin. “A lot heavier and a little wilder!
“Everybody enjoys Hall and Oates,” he continues earnestly when teased about his somewhat antiquated rock ‘n’ roll analogy. “They’ve got a bazillion singles, I think they’ve got the second-most singles in the world, so that would be mainstream beers. Our beer is sort of the Led Zeppelin. It’s got a lot more culture, it’s heavier and it’s got a lot more character. And probably a lot more stories behind it, wild road stories! Hall and Oates probably just had a great publicist, and probably someone to shave them in the morning, who knows?”
When pressed for the “wild road stories” behind Surgenor Brewing Company, Surgenor simply alludes to some good times had in the brewery’s tasting room following a recent brewery tour. (Apparently a certain out-of town military base has a girl’s volleyball team that knows how to party.)
Perhaps a more appropriate, if less intriguing, story is the all-Canadian tale that weaves together hockey, a creative electrical company, Vancouver Island’s struggling forestry industry and, naturally, beer. It’s the story of how Surgenor Brewing Company came to be.
About nine years ago, Bob Surgenor was running an electrical company (Surgenor Electrical Contracting Ltd., which he still heads) that depended a great deal on large contracts with sawmills and other forestry industry facilities. Unfortunately, around the same time, the forestry industry on Vancouver Island was in a bit of a tailspin and Surgenor increasingly found himself creating make-work projects for his employees.
“We built a shop, an office, a garage—anything to keep them busy,” he says. “I wasn’t totally throwing money away because I got some value out of it, but I needed something that would also make money, not just keep spending it.”
Although Surgenor had been toying with the idea of building his own sawmill—an idea that he admits would have been “a total disaster”—the inspiration for a brewery came as he and a few of his employees were building the aforementioned hockey rink.
“We were having some craft beers as we were finishing the rink in the backyard,” he explains. “We’re all sitting around, it’s like a Friday afternoon and we’re all enjoying the beer. I didn’t say anything to anyone, but that’s when I got the idea to build a brewery.”
The idea was to keep his current staff busy working on electrical and mechanical jobs at the new brewery and at the same time— to borrow from his own analogy—turn down the Hall and Oates and crank up the Zeppelin.
“Our industry had become stifled with anger,” he says. “I don’t know what else to say, it was a very angry industry. My concept was to put some fun back into life. That was the biggest thing, just change it up and do something fresh. Mid life crisis, I don’t know.”
Construction of Surgenor’s $2.5 million, 465 square metre mid-life crisis began in July 2008, and on February 11, 2009 Surgenor Brewing Company was ready to begin production of its first batch of craft beer.
“It was a good feeling,” recalls Surgenor. “It was exciting to be actually doing something.”
The company held a soft opening at its Comox brewery on March 25, primarily as an opportunity to thank its many supporters. An official grand opening is still being planned, but Surgenor and his 12 employees have been so busy filling orders that they haven’t had a chance to nail down a date.
“It’s been very busy,” says Surgenor. “I think a lot of people were very excited,” he continues. “From a sales perspective, we haven’t really had to go door-to-door; probably about 70 per cent of our customers are approaching us.”
With so much excitement in the Comox Valley around the opening of his brewery, Surgenor had to be sure that his products did not disappoint a community thirsty for a beer they could call their own.
Leading the drive for quality is German brewmaster Martin Escbaumer, who left a prominent brewery in Munich to join the Surgenor team in June. A true master trained in the rich Bavarian beer-making tradition, Escbaumer’s expertise has already done huge things for Surgenor, whose previous Vancouver-bred brewer lacked such lofty credentials.
“We’ve all learned something from Martin,” says Surgenor humbly. “Germany has been brewing beer for many, many years and… it’s all strictly controlled, whereas in Canada, with microbreweries and small breweries, it’s like the Wild West. You get everybody who can make a cup of tea making beer. I brought Martin in to give us some sort of structure, to give us some real quality control so we get the best product every single time.”
With Escbaumer at the helm, Surgenor Brewing Company has continued to develop its two inaugural products—its signature “Red House Ale” and “Steam Donkey Lager.”
Red House Ale, named after Surgenor’s striking red brewery, is a traditional Irish-style ale with a rich amber color and a full body. Its tasting notes describe it as “pleasant,” “thirst-quenching” and “deceptively complex.” Steam Donkey Lager, christened in tribute to the steam-powered winch used in the forestry industry before the advent of internal combustion, is significantly lighter but still has more body and much more complex flavors than traditional lagers. Steam Donkey Lager is a true working man’s beer, with a malty bite that goes down exceptionally well after a hard day’s work.
While many qualities distinguish Surgenor’s products from others in the beer cooler —“glacier fresh” Comox Valley water, designer hops grown in the Pacific Northwest and a high content of flavorful specialty malts—none is more immediately apparent that its packaging. Amidst row upon row of boring brown bottles (Hall and Oates, anyone?), a six-pack of Surgenor practically jumps off the shelf with its eye-catching aluminum bottles.
Surgenor got the idea for using aluminum bottles from Pittsburgh’s Iron City Brewing Company, which experienced a renaissance in sales after introducing aluminum bottles in 2004. While presenting a fresh and visually appealing alternative on beer store shelves, the silver aluminum bottles cool beer more quickly when refrigerated (although once cold, claims that aluminum bottles keep beer cold longer are likely misled). They also present a much more eco-friendly alternative to glass bottles.
“Environmentally it’s way better,” says Surgenor. “It’s like huge better. For glass bottles, almost 90 per cent of the amount of energy that it took to manufacture the bottle is required to recycle it again. You might as well make a new bottle.”
Recycling aluminum bottles, on the other hand, requires only five per cent of the energy needed to fabricate a bottle from virgin aluminum.
At the brewery itself, Surgenor’s aluminum bottles present yet another advantage. In the shadows of the towering stainless steel brewing tanks, hundreds of just-filled bottles are rattling along a conveyance system toward two employees who are packaging them for delivery.
In most breweries, these employees would have to wear protective eyewear, and likely gloves, against the possibility of glass breakage. They’d also likely need earplugs against the deafening clang of glass on glass, and yet here at Surgenor the brewing floor is quiet enough to clearly hear the Led Zeppelin tune that’s belting over the radio (a pure coincidence, says Surgenor).
“You don’t really get how much your glass bottles mean to WCB (Workers’ Compensation Board) for injuries,” says Lee Everson, who’s in charge of Surgenor Brewing Company’s public relations. “You don’t really consider that until you see the aluminum bottles go through and they’re getting bent and that’s it. If it were glass you’d have shards, you’d have eye protection; it’d be a whole different scene.”
In case we’re still not completely sold on aluminum bottles, Surgenor points out one additional selling feature—more beer. Each 355-millilitre bottle is weighed before leaving the brewery to ensure that it has been overfilled. Says Surgenor, the aluminum bottles are so lightweight that consumers would be skeptical that a true 355-ml fill actually contained the proper volume of beer.
Once packaged, Surgenor and his staff take turns delivering the beer to customers throughout the Comox Valley and as far away as Duncan, Tofino and even Vancouver and the Gulf Islands. They hope to expand their reach all the way to Port Hardy, but because they distribute all of their beer personally the logistics will need to be worked out before expanding up Island. Self-distribution, however, does come with its advantages.
“We’re sort of a unique anomaly,” says Surgenor. “There aren’t many of us like this that can self-distribute. You get better quality control over your product because it’s not sitting on a shelf or in the back corner of a warehouse re-fermenting.
“Many times I’ve drunk a beer and had a really bad beer. Tons of skunkiness, and those are the ones that are in cans where it’s supposed to be a non-issue. I suspect they probably sat in the back of a warehouse for maybe six months.”
With personal delivery directly to his retail customers, Surgenor is able to ensure that his beer is always fresh when placed in front of the final customer.
Of course, product freshness is never an issue when your beer is flying off the shelves as quickly as Surgenor’s is. The brewery has been producing approximately 8,000 bottles per day, plus about a third that volume (and rising) in keg sales despite a production capacity estimate of just 25,000 bottles per week.
Plans are already being developed for the introduction of Surgenor Brewing Company’s third beer—a märzen. A traditional Bavarian-style lager, a märzen typically demonstrates a rich, amber color and a mild sweet malt character.
All signs point to an optimistic future for the Valley’s first craft brewery and the pride of so many local beer drinkers. In fact, Surgenor admits that he was already thinking of expansion before construction of the brewery had even been completed, and he expects that his company will outgrow its current facility in a couple of years.
Surgenor dreams of a new, high profile facility that would be a focal point for the Comox Valley. His ideal vision for a new brewery also incorporates a bustling market, something along the lines of Vancouver’s Granville Island, also the site of an increasingly popular brewery.
“You could do a really great architectural job, and that’s sort of where I see us in a couple of years,” he says. “It’s all about getting something we’re really proud of in the Valley; something we’d all be happy with and excited about.”
For the time being, Valley residents can enjoy Surgenor’s Red House Ale and Steam Donkey Lager at more than 30 local restaurants and pubs, and bottles can be purchased at most local beer and wine stores.
So what’s the best way to enjoy an ice-cold Surgenor beer?
“Surgenor beer is good anytime,” responds Everson, a true public relations specialist. Bob the businessman appears to agree, until Bob the fun-lovin’ Canuck suddenly seizes control.
“Remember what Led Zeppelin was like,” he says with a sparkle in his eye. Then he belts out, in true rock ‘n’ roll party animal form: “A wild patio party!”
Bob the fun-lovin’ Canuck grins and looks sheepishly at Everson. “I’m always getting in trouble for saying stuff.”
Surgenor Brewing Company is located at 861 Shamrock Place
in Comox. For more information call 250-339-9947 or visit
www.surgenorbrewing.ca.
Bob Surgenor is the caricature of an all-Canadian guy. He’s fourth-generation Canadian. His kids play hockey on a rink he built in the back yard. Heck, dysentery
he even wears a grey cotton t-shirt with “Canada” embroidered across the chest. And just in case there was still any doubt as to his Great White North pedigree, find
he went and opened up his own brewery.
Surgenor Brewing Company, the Comox Valley’s first craft microbrewery, began production this spring after months of anticipation from local quaffers. And while Bob the businessman takes the success of his namesake brewery very seriously, Bob the fun-lovin’ Canuck makes it very clear that Surgenor ain’t no suit-and-tie beer.
“If Budweiser’s Hall and Oates then we’re probably Led Zeppelin,” says Surgenor with a mischievous grin. “A lot heavier and a little wilder!
“Everybody enjoys Hall and Oates,” he continues earnestly when teased about his somewhat antiquated rock ‘n’ roll analogy. “They’ve got a bazillion singles, I think they’ve got the second-most singles in the world, so that would be mainstream beers. Our beer is sort of the Led Zeppelin. It’s got a lot more culture, it’s heavier and it’s got a lot more character. And probably a lot more stories behind it, wild road stories! Hall and Oates probably just had a great publicist, and probably someone to shave them in the morning, who knows?”
When pressed for the “wild road stories” behind Surgenor Brewing Company, Surgenor simply alludes to some good times had in the brewery’s tasting room following a recent brewery tour. (Apparently a certain out-of town military base has a girl’s volleyball team that knows how to party.)
Perhaps a more appropriate, if less intriguing, story is the all-Canadian tale that weaves together hockey, a creative electrical company, Vancouver Island’s struggling forestry industry and, naturally, beer. It’s the story of how Surgenor Brewing Company came to be.
About nine years ago, Bob Surgenor was running an electrical company (Surgenor Electrical Contracting Ltd., which he still heads) that depended a great deal on large contracts with sawmills and other forestry industry facilities. Unfortunately, around the same time, the forestry industry on Vancouver Island was in a bit of a tailspin and Surgenor increasingly found himself creating make-work projects for his employees.
“We built a shop, an office, a garage—anything to keep them busy,” he says. “I wasn’t totally throwing money away because I got some value out of it, but I needed something that would also make money, not just keep spending it.”
Although Surgenor had been toying with the idea of building his own sawmill—an idea that he admits would have been “a total disaster”—the inspiration for a brewery came as he and a few of his employees were building the aforementioned hockey rink.
“We were having some craft beers as we were finishing the rink in the backyard,” he explains. “We’re all sitting around, it’s like a Friday afternoon and we’re all enjoying the beer. I didn’t say anything to anyone, but that’s when I got the idea to build a brewery.”
The idea was to keep his current staff busy working on electrical and mechanical jobs at the new brewery and at the same time— to borrow from his own analogy—turn down the Hall and Oates and crank up the Zeppelin.
“Our industry had become stifled with anger,” he says. “I don’t know what else to say, it was a very angry industry. My concept was to put some fun back into life. That was the biggest thing, just change it up and do something fresh. Mid life crisis, I don’t know.”
Construction of Surgenor’s $2.5 million, 465 square metre mid-life crisis began in July 2008, and on February 11, 2009 Surgenor Brewing Company was ready to begin production of its first batch of craft beer.
“It was a good feeling,” recalls Surgenor. “It was exciting to be actually doing something.”
The company held a soft opening at its Comox brewery on March 25, primarily as an opportunity to thank its many supporters. An official grand opening is still being planned, but Surgenor and his 12 employees have been so busy filling orders that they haven’t had a chance to nail down a date.
“It’s been very busy,” says Surgenor. “I think a lot of people were very excited,” he continues. “From a sales perspective, we haven’t really had to go door-to-door; probably about 70 per cent of our customers are approaching us.”
With so much excitement in the Comox Valley around the opening of his brewery, Surgenor had to be sure that his products did not disappoint a community thirsty for a beer they could call their own.
Leading the drive for quality is German brewmaster Martin Escbaumer, who left a prominent brewery in Munich to join the Surgenor team in June. A true master trained in the rich Bavarian beer-making tradition, Escbaumer’s expertise has already done huge things for Surgenor, whose previous Vancouver-bred brewer lacked such lofty credentials.
“We’ve all learned something from Martin,” says Surgenor humbly. “Germany has been brewing beer for many, many years and… it’s all strictly controlled, whereas in Canada, with microbreweries and small breweries, it’s like the Wild West. You get everybody who can make a cup of tea making beer. I brought Martin in to give us some sort of structure, to give us some real quality control so we get the best product every single time.”
With Escbaumer at the helm, Surgenor Brewing Company has continued to develop its two inaugural products—its signature “Red House Ale” and “Steam Donkey Lager.”
Red House Ale, named after Surgenor’s striking red brewery, is a traditional Irish-style ale with a rich amber color and a full body. Its tasting notes describe it as “pleasant,” “thirst-quenching” and “deceptively complex.” Steam Donkey Lager, christened in tribute to the steam-powered winch used in the forestry industry before the advent of internal combustion, is significantly lighter but still has more body and much more complex flavors than traditional lagers. Steam Donkey Lager is a true working man’s beer, with a malty bite that goes down exceptionally well after a hard day’s work.
While many qualities distinguish Surgenor’s products from others in the beer cooler —“glacier fresh” Comox Valley water, designer hops grown in the Pacific Northwest and a high content of flavorful specialty malts—none is more immediately apparent that its packaging. Amidst row upon row of boring brown bottles (Hall and Oates, anyone?), a six-pack of Surgenor practically jumps off the shelf with its eye-catching aluminum bottles.
Surgenor got the idea for using aluminum bottles from Pittsburgh’s Iron City Brewing Company, which experienced a renaissance in sales after introducing aluminum bottles in 2004. While presenting a fresh and visually appealing alternative on beer store shelves, the silver aluminum bottles cool beer more quickly when refrigerated (although once cold, claims that aluminum bottles keep beer cold longer are likely misled). They also present a much more eco-friendly alternative to glass bottles.
“Environmentally it’s way better,” says Surgenor. “It’s like huge better. For glass bottles, almost 90 per cent of the amount of energy that it took to manufacture the bottle is required to recycle it again. You might as well make a new bottle.”
Recycling aluminum bottles, on the other hand, requires only five per cent of the energy needed to fabricate a bottle from virgin aluminum.
At the brewery itself, Surgenor’s aluminum bottles present yet another advantage. In the shadows of the towering stainless steel brewing tanks, hundreds of just-filled bottles are rattling along a conveyance system toward two employees who are packaging them for delivery.
In most breweries, these employees would have to wear protective eyewear, and likely gloves, against the possibility of glass breakage. They’d also likely need earplugs against the deafening clang of glass on glass, and yet here at Surgenor the brewing floor is quiet enough to clearly hear the Led Zeppelin tune that’s belting over the radio (a pure coincidence, says Surgenor).
“You don’t really get how much your glass bottles mean to WCB (Workers’ Compensation Board) for injuries,” says Lee Everson, who’s in charge of Surgenor Brewing Company’s public relations. “You don’t really consider that until you see the aluminum bottles go through and they’re getting bent and that’s it. If it were glass you’d have shards, you’d have eye protection; it’d be a whole different scene.”
In case we’re still not completely sold on aluminum bottles, Surgenor points out one additional selling feature—more beer. Each 355-millilitre bottle is weighed before leaving the brewery to ensure that it has been overfilled. Says Surgenor, the aluminum bottles are so lightweight that consumers would be skeptical that a true 355-ml fill actually contained the proper volume of beer.
Once packaged, Surgenor and his staff take turns delivering the beer to customers throughout the Comox Valley and as far away as Duncan, Tofino and even Vancouver and the Gulf Islands. They hope to expand their reach all the way to Port Hardy, but because they distribute all of their beer personally the logistics will need to be worked out before expanding up Island. Self-distribution, however, does come with its advantages.
“We’re sort of a unique anomaly,” says Surgenor. “There aren’t many of us like this that can self-distribute. You get better quality control over your product because it’s not sitting on a shelf or in the back corner of a warehouse re-fermenting.
“Many times I’ve drunk a beer and had a really bad beer. Tons of skunkiness, and those are the ones that are in cans where it’s supposed to be a non-issue. I suspect they probably sat in the back of a warehouse for maybe six months.”
With personal delivery directly to his retail customers, Surgenor is able to ensure that his beer is always fresh when placed in front of the final customer.
Of course, product freshness is never an issue when your beer is flying off the shelves as quickly as Surgenor’s is. The brewery has been producing approximately 8,000 bottles per day, plus about a third that volume (and rising) in keg sales despite a production capacity estimate of just 25,000 bottles per week.
Plans are already being developed for the introduction of Surgenor Brewing Company’s third beer—a märzen. A traditional Bavarian-style lager, a märzen typically demonstrates a rich, amber color and a mild sweet malt character.
All signs point to an optimistic future for the Valley’s first craft brewery and the pride of so many local beer drinkers. In fact, Surgenor admits that he was already thinking of expansion before construction of the brewery had even been completed, and he expects that his company will outgrow its current facility in a couple of years.
Surgenor dreams of a new, high profile facility that would be a focal point for the Comox Valley. His ideal vision for a new brewery also incorporates a bustling market, something along the lines of Vancouver’s Granville Island, also the site of an increasingly popular brewery.
“You could do a really great architectural job, and that’s sort of where I see us in a couple of years,” he says. “It’s all about getting something we’re really proud of in the Valley; something we’d all be happy with and excited about.”
For the time being, Valley residents can enjoy Surgenor’s Red House Ale and Steam Donkey Lager at more than 30 local restaurants and pubs, and bottles can be purchased at most local beer and wine stores.
So what’s the best way to enjoy an ice-cold Surgenor beer?
“Surgenor beer is good anytime,” responds Everson, a true public relations specialist. Bob the businessman appears to agree, until Bob the fun-lovin’ Canuck suddenly seizes control.
“Remember what Led Zeppelin was like,” he says with a sparkle in his eye. Then he belts out, in true rock ‘n’ roll party animal form: “A wild patio party!”
Bob the fun-lovin’ Canuck grins and looks sheepishly at Everson. “I’m always getting in trouble for saying stuff.”
Surgenor Brewing Company is located at 861 Shamrock Place
in Comox. For more information call 250-339-9947 or visit
www.surgenorbrewing.ca.
The waters of the Comox Harbour were as smooth as glass as ‘After Ours’ made her way out of the marina for our Tree Island Adventure. My husband, this
Ron, sick
and I felt at ease with Ric Rennison in command of the boat, as he skillfully guided the vessel across Baynes Bay to Tree Island. We did not follow a course “as the crow flies” because, according to Rennision, there are only a couple of channels you can navigate across without risk of running aground on a sand bar.
My earlier research had revealed some of the history of this special place. The Department of National Defense used Tree Island for military exercises until 1966, when it was designated as Sandy Island Provincial Marine Park.
Located about five nautical miles from the Comox Marina, Sandy/Tree Island is a 33-hectare island oasis. Although you can walk to Tree Island from Denman Island’s Longbeak Point at low tide, many Comox Valley residents have never stepped foot on its shores. Perhaps this is because if you don’t walk back to Denman before the tide rises, you’ll be spending far more time there than originally planned! Aside from that, the only other access to Tree/Sandy Island is by private boat or sea kayak.
We arrived about noon to discover an exceptional expanse of smooth sandy beach. Several boats were already anchored just off shore—you need to use a smaller boat or zodiac to actually get to the beach—and a handful of people were picnicking, walking or splashing in the water. It was easy to see why they had come here.
The beaches offer excellent swimming, beachcombing and sun tanning, as well as breathtaking mountain and valley vistas. The island is crowned with an abundant forest of mature trees, including arbutus, Douglas fir, blue elderberry and black Hawthorne, native crab and big-leaf maples. When we tired of the heat on the sandy beach, a stroll through these towering timbers soon cooled us down.
Although there are few land animals on Tree Island, the treetops are filled with bird life, including a bald eagle’s nest. We were told that on its shores and shoals you may spot harlequin ducks, Brant geese, Caspian terns, western sand pipers, loons, great blue herons and more. Harbor seals, dolphins and sea otters frolic in the water. (Be sure to bring binoculars and a camera!)
Aside from the occasional overnight tent campers, there are no permanent residents. The Island’s human population is zero and there are no creature comforts. If nature calls, there are pit toilets and there is no running water.
The shores of Tree Island are varied. Fine white sand, peppered with sand dollars and seashells, can be found on the Baynes Bay side. But walk across Tree Island, to the Seal Islets on the Georgia Strait side, and the pebbled beach is a frenzy of activity with tiny crabs and snails. At low tide, the tide pools are about ankle deep and as warm as bathwater. I was glad I had worn water shoes to be able to walk here, but other people—in sandals and sneakers—had to turn back. I used this time to myself to reminisce about the days when my children were young…. and how much they loved to explore tide pools when we went on family vacations. For a fleeting moment, I found myself wishing I had a small child with me… perhaps a grandchild… so I could share this amazing experience. I laugh out loud and realized that it must be time to get out of the sun.