In the third of what has become my week of new brewery profiles is Bench Creek Brewery, founded by Andrew Kulynych. Bench Creek is planning to be a “rural destination brewery”, meaning they hope to collect not only locals but travelling tourists on their way to Jasper.

At first it might seem out of the way, about 15 minutes west of Edson on Andrew’s acreage (Edson is a small city about 2 hours west of Edmonton on the way to Jasper). However, once you get there you can see the appeal. “Bench creek is the creek that goes through Edson. It originates in wetlands behind my property,” says Andrew. “My land seemed a perfect place to build a brewery.” Andrew speaks of the beautiful hills and forest that stretch out beyond his property, making an ideal place to have a pint or two. An onsite tap room will serve both as a retail location and a go-to spot for people to have a beer. “The taproom vision is about the experience of sitting down and having a pint in nature”.

The AGLC policy changes were what sparked Andrews to make the jump. “I am just a big homebrewer and when they changed the licensing requirements I saw this was my opportunity”. While his capacity would have exceeded the previous minimums, the new openness the changes suggested gave him a sense that the time was right.

Andrew has kept costs in control by building the brewery on his property, essentially upscaling from his homebrew system. He is currently installing a 20 hl system and hopes to launch by the early fall. His plan is to focus on the local area with keg and growler sales and supplement with retail sales across the rest of northern Alberta. He is joining the growing trend to packaging only in cans, and as a result hopes to expand his reach.

As a self-described “hophead”, he admits he wants to make a “big IPA which is very citrusy”. Such an IPA is planned to be a part of his initial release, along with a Pale Ale that is “Full Moon-esque”, as well as a Porter.  He sees the Pale Ale “bridging the gap between what most people drink and craft beer” and the IPA as the solid offering for the beer geek. He also hopes for regular seasonals on top of a regular list of 5 beer.

He wants to attract tourists on their way to Jasper, but his initial plan is to win over the locals. “We want to start local and teach the people in this area what good craft beer is like. We are very much supportive of the local community,” says Kulynych. “We want them to get to know us – figure out the connection between the beer and the person making it for them”.

Initially he plans to open the taproom Friday through Sunday “for about 6 hours a day”, but will expand the hours as demand increases.

Andrew jokes that he will make beer with “nothing but the best Alberta gluten”, meaning no adjuncts or unnecessary additions. And he is committed to reflecting the local atmosphere. “This is where I live. There is a great opportunity to grow the market.” His main focus initially will be to win over local residents but he hopes quickly to “expand to Edmonton” for retail sales.

If nothing else, Kulynych gives us a good reason (finally) to stop in Edson.