Taproom

The tasting room at SBC was designed and built to showcase the local beauty, talent, and community spirit of Smithers. The timber-framed construction, intricate joinery, and stunning bar tops were all made by local craftspeople, from locally sourced and milled wood. Our dual custom-built garage doors offer sweeping views of Hudson Bay Mountain, and – in the warmer months – open onto dual patios. The open-concept room itself is an excellent venue for meeting friends, grabbing a 4-pack to go, listening to local DJs spin their favourite vinyl, or taking in local live music. There are a total of 12 taps, offering 4 mainstay beers and 5 ever-rotating seasonal offerings, as well as a seltzer, our in-house brewed kombucha (N/A), a nitro cold brew coffee, and a BC red and white wine.

Production Area

One of the main advantages of custom building Smithers Brewing Co. was having full control over the size, layout, and overall flow of our production space. It was designed with efficiency and future expansion in mind. The space itself measures 2000 ft2 and is where all of our beer and kombucha is produced. The main brewing system is a 15hL, 2-vessel, steam-fired brewhouse, manufactured by Specific Mechanical in Victoria, BC. All of our mainstay beers and many of our seasonal offerings are brewed on this system. The space also features a 1.3hL electric pilot brewing system manufactured by Ruby Street Brewing in Colorado. This smaller system allows us to offer very experimental beer styles and one-off batches, usually available exclusively in our tasting room. In addition to the brewing space, the production area includes our cold room and draught system, capable of storing and dispensing another 90hL – or 180 full-size kegs of beer.

In early 2019, we began canning our beer! 4 and 12 packs are available inside the brewery and various retailers around the north.

Our story

// Longtime Friends //

Adin Bennett and Blaine Estby had been friends for more than 20 years when they finally got serious about following through on their dream to open a brewery in Smithers. Both originally from Smithers, have followed one other around the province over the past two decades, working together in various jobs in both Vancouver and Prince George. Between the two of them, they have worked for large scale breweries, food and beverage distribution, and various sales and marketing jobs across the province before settling with their families back in the valley.

The Team!

// Dream Turned Reality //

What started as a dream became a reality while chatting with local business owners, Sascha Hillebrand and Jeremy Roth. The two own the well-known Alpenhorn Bistro and Bar, their own catering company, and operate multiple food and beverage establishments in the community and around B.C. While still looking for a place to rent and retrofit, Sascha offered up their empty lot on 3rd Avenue as a potential option. As planning continued, budgets were set, then reset, then reset again, until a final decision was made to go forward and the first shovel hit the dirt in late September of 2017. Nine months later, the 3,000 sq ft custom built brewery in downtown Smithers emerged and Smithers Brewing Company was born.

// Connections Made //

Through the process, Adin and Blaine met Cam McKeigan, a school teacher and brewer at Wheelhouse Brewing in the neighboring town of Prince Rupert. After the initial meeting they all walked away feeling optimistic about the future. Cam’s passion for perfection and creativity in brewing shone through, and within days they had come to an agreement for him to be the Head Brewer and partner with Smithers Brewing Company.

Throughout the entire process, and still to this day, the brewery wouldn’t be open if it wasn’t for our amazing families, friends, staff and the community we have surrounding us. We can never thank you all enough.