So, the other day I posted about a recent trip to Kamloops to experience some of the food, wine and beer sites it had to offer. I teased all of you about a 2-month old brewpub called the Noble Pig. Through Canadian Beer News and other sources, I had heard a brewpub had opened in Kamloops, but I knew nothing about it. Our “lifestyle media” tour gave us considerable time at the pub, billing it as a beer and fooding pairing. It was far more than that.

We met with brewmaster and owner David Beardsell, who toured us through the brewery, offered samples from the conditioning tanks and generally exposed himself as a passionate lover of beer. When we went back up stairs I spent quite a while chatting with David (the other guests, realizing this was my area, respectfully tolerated David’s and my beer geek talk). I learned a ton. Not the least I found out that David is a Canadian craft beer pioneer, having opened Bear Brewing in the 1990s, then selling it and helping open a number of breweries and brewpubs since. This is his first major venture since Bear.

Your Author and David Beardsell talk beer

Beardsell was very clear. “I would not have tried this 10 years ago. It wouldn’t have worked. People weren’t ready for this kind of brewpub.” But he felt the time was right, and he has been proven correct. After two months, they are on year five of Beardsell’s business plan in terms of production. I can attest that on a Tuesday night, the place was packed, while every other bar downtown was sparsely patronized. He is clearly onto something.

The beer and food pairing was fun, with some fascinating gourmet food choices, such as mussels and chorizo and mocha porter chocolate cake. Although I must admit my favourite was the deep-fried pickle paired with the Fascist Pig Pilsner. As for the beer it was all uncompromising, quality craft beer. Each of the offerings revealed the brewer to be an experienced hand. We had two from the conditioning tanks (the Xmas beer and a Scotch Ale), and then I sampled eight other of their offerings, everything from a basic lager to a pumpkin beer to a Belgian strong ale spiced with black pepper. They all fit the promised style and all left me wanting more.

I want to be clear about this. I found the beer at the Noble Pig to be on par with the best beer in Canada. Beardsell knows what he is doing, and he is not prepared to cut corners. For example, he uses seven different yeasts (Beardsell calls himself a “yeast geek”) and 18 varieties of hops. His barley is locally sourced (as much as possible), and he has designed a brew system like no other I have ever seen. It provides a three vessel process in two tuns, using a patented blade system to replace the lauter tun.

It was important to me to offer a post exclusively on the Noble Pig. It deserves promotion all on its own, not mixed in with wine and ginseng factory tours. In very short order, I suspect beer lovers will consider it one of the best brewpubs in Canada, alongside Spinnakers in Victoria, Bushwakkers in Regina and L’Amere A Boire in Montreal (among others).