Callister Brewing Company opened in 2015 as the first co-working, collaborative brewery of its kind in Canada. Callister has supported talented independent brewers to start their business by creating accessibility to equipment, commercial facilities, and keen local customers. Since then they have partnered with 10 different brewing teams to brew and sell their own beers and learn the behind the scenes. The program came to a close in 2020 and they now brew 100% of their own beer.
In 2015, they also offered their own non-alcoholic craft sodas. When they started bottling in 2018, Callister Craft Sodas was born. Focused on unique flavours, cocktail-inspired combinations, and using the highest quality, freshest ingredients from local suppliers. Current soda flavours include Raspberry Earl Grey, Ginger Beer, Hibiscus Lemonade, Cream Soda, and Tonic Water.
Their craft sodas are handmade in East Van in small batches to offer the freshest product possible.
Question: How are you supporting other local businesses?
Answer: We choose local suppliers and collaborate with other local businesses wherever we can! It means our products are fresher, higher quality, and less processed, and they actively support our community. For our inventory, we use CMG, BSG and other local grains and hops from the Fraser Valley. We also source from Glory Juice, Pacific Coast Fruits, Famous Foods, Snow Cap, Koo Produce and Tea Centre in Courtenay.
For services, we work with almost exclusively B.C.-based businesses. We do our accounting with Origami, insurance with Axis, and Spire Refrigeration for repair and maintenance. We get our packaging from Vessel or Mile 37 Craft Canning, and our labels from Royal Labels or Summit Labels.
Question: What social and environmental practices are you proud of?
Answer: We actively hire to promote diversity in our industry and encourage inclusivity. All of our employees work at our location in East Van and also live in the neighbourhood, making all of our hiring hyper-local. We have water recapturing systems in place to reduce our water usage, all of our brewing ingredients go into organics collection, waste citrus peels from Glory Juice to make our tonic, and our packaging is recyclable!
We support many local causes by donating in-kind products for fundraising. We also support the Pink Boots Society, a charity that supports women brewers and diversity in the industry.
Woman Owned
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