Granville Island Brewing
 |
|
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters |
Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Products | Beer |
|
Production output
|
60k Hectolitres Est. |
| Owner | Creemore Springs, a Molson Coors subsidiary |
The Granville Island Brewing Company (GIB) was a brewery originally based on Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1984 and calls itself "Canada’s first microbrewery". In 1989, it was sold to the wine conglomerate Andrew Peller Ltd. In 2009 it was bought by Creemore Springs, a subsidiary of Molson Coors, which in 2016, became the third largest beer corporation in the world. Of brewers with locations in British Columbia, Granville is the seventh largest based on sales to the BC Liquor Distribution Branch.
Granville Island Brewing was founded in 1984 by Mitch Taylor. Long-time brewmaster Vern Lambourne joined Granville Island Brewing in 2002. Between 1984 and 2005 five new beers were released. In August 2005, Andrew Peller Wines purchased Granville Island Brewing from Taylor and in 2006 renovated the original facilities beneath the Granville Bridge and expanded into new, larger facilities located in Kelowna. In 2009 Molson Coors Canada purchased Granville Island Brewing through its subsidiary, Creemore Springs Brewing, from Andrew Peller Wines.
Brewmaster Vern Lambourne stayed with the company until 2015; he was replaced by Kevin Emms. In spite of the acquisition by Molson Coors, the company was able to retain the original brewery operating on Granville Island, in a top tourist zone. This facility develops and produces the small-batch beers. The primary brewing is done at Molson’s Burrard Street plant.
Recent awards won by the company's products include a Silver medal for Burly Goat Dopplebock at the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards and a third place in its category for Cypress Honey Lager at the 2016 BC Beer Awards.
Though the larger part of its base of operations moved inland to Kelowna, in the Okanagan Valley, the original brewery continues to manufacture some of the company's products, and offers beer-tasting tours. The original brewhouse is located directly under the Granville Bridge that crosses False Creek into downtown Vancouver. Tours of the small brewery are held daily. In the company's taproom, eight of the company's beers are available on tap, one of which is generally a limited release only available at the brewery.
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