Big Rock Brewery

Big Rock Brewery is a Canadian public company with offices and a brewery located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Big Rock distributes its products in Alberta and several other Canadian provinces. HistoryThe brewery was founded in 1985 by Ed McNally. A lawyer by trade, McNally was representing a group of barley growers in a legal action against the Alberta Wheat Board in the 1980s. Through the course of the legal action, McNally learned that the Alberta climate produces 2-row barley that is ideally suited for malting, and had access to glacial water from the nearby Rocky Mountains. At the time, most barley production in Alberta was used as cattle feed. With an entrepreneurial background, McNally decided to open a craft brewery. The name "Big Rock" was chosen from a large glacial rock located outside of the town of Okotoks, 18km south of Calgary. The first brewmaster was Bernd "Peppy" Pieper, a German brewmaster for Heineken International. In the summer of 1986, when Big Rock had been in production for only a year, there was a strike at the Molson and Labatt, the two largest domestic breweries. This proved to be a windfall for Big Rock, as it was the only beer available in Alberta that summer. The brewery operated around the clock to meet demand for the entire summer, and sales doubled. The second brewmaster was Larry Kerwin, a former brewmaster for Molson. Kerwin started as a brewer at Big Rock under Pieper in 1994, and took over as brewmaster in 1998 when Pieper retired. The third (and current) brewmaster is Paul Gautreau. Gautreau joined Big Rock in 1986 as its fourth employee, and worked in marketing and operational capacities before replacing Kerwin as brewmaster.

Big Rock Brewery is a Canadian public company with offices and a brewery located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Big Rock distributes its products in Alberta and several other Canadian provinces. HistoryThe brewery was founded in 1985 by Ed McNally. A lawyer by trade, McNally was representing a group of barley growers in a legal action against the Alberta Wheat Board in the 1980s. Through the course of the legal action, McNally learned that the Alberta climate produces 2-row barley that is ideally suited for malting, and had access to glacial water from the nearby Rocky Mountains. At the time, most barley production in Alberta was used as cattle feed. With an entrepreneurial background, McNally decided to open a craft brewery. The name "Big Rock" was chosen from a large glacial rock located outside of the town of Okotoks, 18km south of Calgary. The first brewmaster was Bernd "Peppy" Pieper, a German brewmaster for Heineken International. In the summer of 1986, when Big Rock had been in production for only a year, there was a strike at the Molson and Labatt, the two largest domestic breweries. This proved to be a windfall for Big Rock, as it was the only beer available in Alberta that summer. The brewery operated around the clock to meet demand for the entire summer, and sales doubled. The second brewmaster was Larry Kerwin, a former brewmaster for Molson. Kerwin started as a brewer at Big Rock under Pieper in 1994, and took over as brewmaster in 1998 when Pieper retired. The third (and current) brewmaster is Paul Gautreau. Gautreau joined Big Rock in 1986 as its fourth employee, and worked in marketing and operational capacities before replacing Kerwin as brewmaster.