A new craft beer is ringing in a positive note during the COVID pandemic.
The Nanaimo Craft Beer Society, in collaboration with Longwood Brewery and soon-to-open Bayview Brewing Company in Ladysmith, have created 7 Belles Saison, a spicy dry ale released last month. The ale is now being promoted to hail the efforts of health-care workers during the pandemic.
The beer started as a B次元官网网址渂lack boxB次元官网网址� challenge, sponsored by the craft beer society and organized through the Island Brewers Union.
B次元官网网址淚t was our idea to do it, but weB次元官网网址檙e not a brewery. WeB次元官网网址檙e a non-profit,B次元官网网址� said Stuart Setch, Nanaimo Craft Beer Society director.
In the contest, home brewers came up with their own beer recipes from beer kits supplied for the challenge. Of the 21 submissions, a recipe by Alfred Elviss, of Bayview Brewing Company, bubbled to the surface when the brews were tasted at the Island Brewers Union home-brewing competition in September. The prize was to have the winner collaborate on a commercial scale with Longwood Brewery.
B次元官网网址淣anaimo Craft Beer Society, about a year ago, partnered with the home-brewing community to give them a bit more organization and a bit more validation,B次元官网网址� said Setch. B次元官网网址淗ome brewing is, kind of, the heart and soul of craft beer. Every commercial craft brewery started out as a craft beer, so that was sort of the idea with the society, is to try to bring that community up within Nanaimo.B次元官网网址�
The next step was to come up with a name for the winning brew.
B次元官网网址淭he name we hadnB次元官网网址檛 thought of, but the whole project was always geared toward health-care workers and a shout-out to them,B次元官网网址� said Harley Smith, Longwood Brewery partner.
The B次元官网网址�7B次元官网网址� in the beerB次元官网网址檚 name is a nod to the 7 p.m. tradition of giving a cheer to health-care workers.
B次元官网网址淭he idea was [to have] a morale boost for health-care workers,B次元官网网址� Setch said. B次元官网网址淲e tried to replicate that with the beer. So, as opposed to clanging pots and pans, itB次元官网网址檚 cracking a beer and cheers-ing them. ItB次元官网网址檚 a way of saying, youB次元官网网址檙e seen and youB次元官网网址檙e loved.B次元官网网址�
Belle Saison is the name of the yeast used in the aleB次元官网网址檚 brewing process.
Setch said the cheers-to-health-workers concept is catching on through the social media channels as people have been giving #7belles hashtag shout-outs to their favourite health-care workers as they raise a glass.
B次元官网网址淲e have been getting traction online with people uploading photos and videos and tagging health-care friends,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e taken a few four-packs to my doctor buddy, to my nurse buddy. ItB次元官网网址檚 just a kind of way to get that going. So, thatB次元官网网址檚 the whole idea is to just get some social momentum.B次元官网网址�
Setch said the Nanaimo Craft Beer Society formed in 2016 as a B次元官网网址渟ort of a group of craft beer nerds and enthusiastsB次元官网网址� who thought Nanaimo was a bit behind in craft beer culture relative to other cities on the Island.
B次元官网网址淪o we all got together and saidB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址楲etB次元官网网址檚 just do something,B次元官网网址� so we formed a non-profit society,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e are primarily an event-driven organization. We were doing Nanaimo Craft Beer Week every year, which was very popular, but obviously COVID shut [it] down.B次元官网网址�
The society, Setch said, has been B次元官网网址渢widdling its thumbsB次元官网网址� since the start of the pandemic and the 7 Belles Saison campaign is a way of making some B次元官网网址減ositive noise.B次元官网网址�
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