Problem solving is nothing new for former IT consultants and thirty somethings Adam Crandall and Dan Helmer, except now they rely on their palates to crack the big dilemmas, like say, what kind of beer to make. From humble beginnings as passionate home brewers to living the craft-brewery dream, Moody Ales is Metro Vancouver's newest start-up microbrewery, appealing to the masses from a Tri-Cities postal code.
Moody Ales was on the map in record time. Construction began at the end of June 2014 and the doors opened under four months in mid-October. The endeavor from concept to completion took a little longer, but not much, or as Adam breaks it down, "one year, one month and one day," from when he told Dan his plan to start a brewery, accompanied by an invite to collaborate, and finally, to brewing their first batch of IPA.
Self-professed beer geek and friend James Smith came on board full-time in August wearing many hats: managing the 24-seat tasting lounge and overseeing social media, marketing and PR. "Dan's head brewer but it's all pretty collaborative," says James. "Adam and I help out wherever; we're always tasting our test batches, discussing new beers, or any beer, really."