FAQ

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Are minors allowed in the tap room?

Yes, as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. We have house made, non-alcoholic kombucha on tap as well as a great selection of sparkling water and soft drinks for our young friends.

Are dogs allowed in the tap room?

Unfortunately no, the powers that be have recently put a stop to dogs being allowed in breweries and we must adhere to the provincial rules. Please feel free to tie your pup up outside and we will always have a fresh bowl of water and usually home made dog treats with our spent grains available to keep them happy!

Do you take reservations?

While we would love to, our tap room is quite small and we typically get pretty busy throughout the week. We are a first come, first serve space but typically you can walk right in, grab a table or a piece of the bar anytime.

Do you serve food?

We serve small snacks. We have sausages from the Sausage Factory, pretzels from Paul’s Bakery, and roasted mixed nuts from Chatters, that all have our beer in them. If you’re looking for a bigger meal, feel free to order in from our partners across the alley at the Alpenhorn Bistro or any of the other amazing restaurants in Smithers.

Where can we find your beer?

In the brewery, we have 8 taps of rotating beer, one BC cider and one non-alcoholic, in house, brewed kombucha. You can also find our beer on tap at amazing restaurants in Smithers, Terrace and Prince George. Our canning line will be up and running soon and we will have beer available for purchase at local retailers across the north in 2019.

Do you fill growlers?

Yes, we fill growlers in the brewery. We have our own for purchase or feel free to bring in growlers from other breweries to fill as well. Our growlers are purged with CO2 and if unopened, will stay fresh for up to a week. Once opened it’s best to drink within 24 hours (like it will last that long anyway!)

Can we purchase a keg for our private event?

Absolutely you can. We sell both 20L and 50L kegs with a pump. Our beers are always changing and rotating so when you know a date for your event, please get in touch with us and see what we have available. Call the brewery at 778.640.2739 or email BEER@smithersbrewing.com for availability and booking.

Do you host private events at the brewery?

Yes, although we try to keep the amount of private events minimal. Please call or email us regarding your event and we will see what we can do for you. We have an in house PA system, HD projector and screen for use as well.

Are your beers filtered or pasteurized?

SBC’s beers are neither filtered nor pasteurized. Contrary to popular belief, it is more often the yeast – not wheat or oats – that can make a beer hazy. Filtering and pasteurization are good methods of killing and removing yeast from the finished product… but they come at a cost. Many beers derive some of their flavour from yeast and their fermentation byproducts. Filtering and pasteurization can strip the beer of these important flavour compounds. At SBC, we strive to provide our patrons with full-flavoured beers, and opt not to filter or pasteurize our products.

Are your beers vegan?

Yes… mostly! While we don’t use gelatin in any of our beers, we do use fining agents derived from seaweed in some of them. These agents use ionic charges to encourage the yeast to flocculate – a fancy word that means “clump together and drop out of the beer.” These finings are 100% vegan. All of our mainstay beers, and many of our seasonal offerings are vegan-friendly.

Occasionally, we do add lactose and honey to certain seasonal beers. Lactose is a sugar derived from milk, and is therefore not vegan. Honey is an animal product that some vegans choose to avoid. We will always advertise if any of our beers contain lactose or honey on our draught board and packaged goods.

Why do some of your beers contain lactose?

Over centuries of selective breeding, brewer’s yeast has evolved to be able to metabolize most kinds of sugar. That means that adding sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, etc. won’t make a beer any sweeter – it all gets eaten by the yeast, and turned into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Lactose is one of the only readily available sugars that brewer’s yeast can’t metabolize. Because of that, it is sometimes added to certain beer styles to add extra sweetness and a fuller body. SBC will always advertise if any of our beers contain lactose on our draught board and packaged goods.

What ingredients are in your beers?

Every beer has four basic ingredients: Water, barley, hops, and yeast. Those four ingredients form the basis of beer recipe formulation. These days, it’s not uncommon for brewers to add different grains, such as rye, wheat, and oats, as well as fruit, alternative sugars, herbs, or spices to beer. In our ever-changing tap list, SBC hopes to offer a variety of different styles of beer. All of them will contain the main four ingredients. Some will contain more, which will be explicitly advertised. Our beer will never contain preservatives, or artificial sweeteners, flavours, and/or colours.  

Where do you source your ingredients?

At SBC, we try to balance making beers that both support the local economy, and are true to traditional styles. This means that we try to source as many of our ingredients from right here in the Bulkley Valley, Northwestern BC, and Canada. Many ingredients, however, are very specific to certain parts of the world, and are vital to brewing stylistically correct beers. We source our ingredients not only from local and Canadian farms, but also from the UK, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Belgium, Slovenia, Australia, and New Zealand.

How long does beer take to make?
The time it takes from beer to go from grain to glass depends on a number of factors. Simply speaking, there are only two types of beer in the world: ales and lagers. Most ales are fermented at a higher temperature, which allows the yeast to finish fermentation quickly. Unless it is a very strong beer, most ales are ready to drink between 2 and 3 weeks after brewing. Lagers, on the other hand, are fermented at a lower temperature, which increases the amount of time it takes the yeast to finish fermentation. Lagers also undergo a lagering period, where they are held just above freezing for several weeks. This lagering period allows them to develop the crisp, clean finish most people associate with lagered beer. Lagers are typically ready to drink between 3 and 5 weeks after brewing.
I really liked a beer I tried at SBC. Will it always be available?

It depends! We do our best to make sure that our mainstay beers are available year-round. These include our Last Cast Lager, Twin Falls Pale Ale, Bootlegger Brown Ale, and Hudson Bay ISA. Many of our other offerings are recurring seasonals, and will be available at certain times of year. Others are simply one-off experiments. Our bar staff will be able to tell you which is which.

This batch of my favourite SBC beer tastes different than the last one did. Why?

SBC is a craft microbrewery, which means that our products are brewed by hand in small batches. While we do our utmost to ensure consistency between batches, the nature of craft brewing makes it nearly impossible to brew identical batches each time. We are also constantly assessing and tweaking our products, as we believe there is always room for improvement. Part of the craft beer experience is knowing that the beer in front of you is a unique creation that may never exist in that form again!

Why don't you advertise the IBUs of your beers?

IBUs, or international bettering units, is a system for measuring the amount of bitter compounds found in beer. Most of these bitter compounds come from hops, but some can come from tannins and roasted grains. IBUs are very important for brewers during recipe formulation. A brewer will use IBUs to balance against residual malt (grain) sweetness, and ensure each beer has an appropriate amount of bitterness for its style. That said, the IBUs of any given beer won’t tell anyone – even a brewer – much about the beer’s actual flavour. At SBC, we don’t advertise our IBUs because we want to encourage people to stop avoiding certain beers based solely on a number. The only true way to test a beer is to taste it!

Sorry, not a beer drinker! Do you have anything else available?

Yes! Here at SBC, we have local BC cider on tap, BC wine, as well as an assortment of non-alcoholic drinks, including our in house brewed kombucha.

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