The Bavarian purity law of 1516 dictates that beer must be made with only four ingredients: water, barley, hops, and yeast. But for the folks at Townsite Brewing, the recipe isn’t complete without one more essential ingredient: community.
Community and local resilience is not a new idea in Powell River. In fact, the town itself was founded on principles of the Arts & Crafts movement, a philosophy that correlates good design with good society and emphasizes craftsmanship.
And the brewery’s artisan tradition doesn’t end with the beer; in fact, that’s just the beginning. Local artist Meghan Hildebrand is the main creative mind behind their artwork, creating the logo as well as label art that evokes the area’s culture and history. Community is also very important to Hildebrand, and she loves the fact that Townsite has woven it into their core values. “This is the best design job—I get to create the visual identity for a company that is truly local and committed to our community, for a product I love that makes people happy and proud to be here,” she said. “These are exciting times for Townsite and Powell River!”
The brewery’s commitment to social responsibility also includes fundraising. Townsite donates one dollar from every filled growler to Powell River non-profits. The success of this program—to date it has raised more than $8,000—inspired the Townsite team to develop a similar program for the Sechelt Peninsula.
“We are very proud of the growler program,” said Director of Sales, Michelle Zutz, “and have long discussed how to expand it along the Coast. The key for us is keeping it uniquely local, but growlers really don’t travel past the Saltery Bay ferry. However, our Suncoast Pale Ale is draught-only and available only on the Sunshine Coast, so we decided to use that.”
This new program, dubbed “Toast the Coast,” pledges ten cents to Sunshine Coast non-profits from every pint of Suncoast sold from Langdale to Earl’s Cove and runs from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
So don’t just break bread together, toast the Coast. Is there a more satisfying way to build community?
Taps involved in the program are at the Backeddy, Lighthouse Pub, Ruby Lake Resort, the Gumboot, and Sita’s Spag Shack. The first recipient of the program is FUSE and the Hop Yard Collective.
