Whitetooth Brewing Launches in Golden
Local brewer is inspired by all things Golden!
Golden B.C. The craft beer scene has found its way to Golden with the official opening of Whitetooth Brewing Co. on December 1, 2016.
Craft beers or microbrews now account for 20 percent of beer sales in British Columbia. According to the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch June 2015 report, craft beer sales increased by 49.7 percent from 2014 to 2015.
Kent Donaldson, a Golden local and part owner of Whitetooth Brewing Co., looked to his passion for his hometown and province as inspiration. From opening the brewery in Golden right down to the equipment and beer names, Whitetooth Brewing Co. has embraced everything local.
“After a three-year process, it is very gratifying for Whitetooth Brewing Co. to open the doors to our tasting room just in time for the holiday season.” says Donaldson, “We are excited to be able to share our beer with the community and visitors.”
Along with his brewmaster Evan Cronshaw and business partner Mark Nagao, Donaldson has developed six distinct beers to launch the brewery. Each beer is named after a different attraction in Golden and has a West-Coast or Belgian flavour inspiration. The west-coast inspired beers are Blower Pow India Pale Ale, named after the incredible dry deep snow on the local mountains, Whitetooth Session Ale, named after Golden’s original ski hill and Speed Metal Foreign Extra Stout, named after Golden’s mountain biking trails. The Belgian inspired beers are Icefields Pale Ale, named after the new wave of Belgian brewers experimenting with Pacific Northwest-Style hopping, Launch Pad Rye Ale, named after Golden’s infamous Mount Seven and Thread the Needle Witbier, named after the whitewater sports on the Kicking Horse River.
Donaldson wanted to buy premium locally made equipment for the new brewery which is why they chose to purchase from Newlands Systems in Abbotsford B.C. Newlands Systems has been designing and creating brewing systems since 1990 and has distinguished itself as a premiere North American brewing equipment manufacturer with over 500 breweries around the world running on its equipment.
What makes Whitetooth Brewing Co. different from other micro-breweries is how it was started. Donaldson has been a home brewer for many years, starting simple and slowly upgrading to better and better systems. A few years ago he built a new garage and designed it around a top of the line custom home brewing system. He then decided to expand his passion for brewing by starting the commercial micro-brewery. Over the past year and a half Donaldson, Cronshaw and Nagao have used it as their laboratory to create and perfect the six beers they have launched.