I have been writing about beer in Edmonton for a number of years now. At first, the pickings were slim in town, and I found myself highlighting good imports, simply because that was the best on offer in most places. That has been changing. The last couple years have been a remarkably optimistic time for guys like me. More beer available in stores; more restaurants and pubs willing to take a chance on local, craft beer. Beer dinners, beer tastings, cask events. All have been slowly popping up.

This new movement has been anchored by independent, locally-minded establishments – as it should and will be. Supporting local business is a central tenet in the craft beer movement, and so I encourage all of you to drink many local craft beer at your favourite independent pub.

However, I cannot help myself but notice that the bigger boys are paying attention. Now, I am not talking about Boston Pizza or even the Elephant and Castle – both remain craft beer wastelands. However, there are a couple places in town that a couple of years ago were completely off my radar, as they had nothing to offer a guy like me aside from discount coupons for Canadian.

But that may be changing. It has become evident enough that I decided to write a piece about, and it is my latest Vue Weekly column. I look at two mid-sized corporate players – Hudson’s and Local Pub (owned by the Earl’s and Joey’s family) and their effort to highlight craft beer.

At the moment both are imperfect efforts – and both may be eclipsed by the new pubs opening in Calgary – but I find that the fact that a couple of chain operations are making a real effort to offer craft beer as the beginning of a new era in town. When the (sort of) big boys start feeling the need to promote craft beer, that means the public is demanding it.

I have been in Halifax for the last couple of months, where almost every pub in town, including the big chains, feel an obligation to offer at least a couple of local taps. I suspect they learned they exclude Propeller and Garrison at their peril. Yes, most of their taps are still devoted to Keith’s and Coors, but the local micros are present, which is a big victory. The west is not there yet, but Halifax is a good example of how craft beer can slowly work its way into the centre of the beer scene in a town.

So read the Vue piece and take it for what it is worth. But I want you to consider what this nascent trend might mean a couple of years from now – and maybe then you might get a sense of my optimism.