Sustain the Stoke: Mt Begbie Brewing

Mt Begbie was founded by Tracy and Bart Larson, who traded city careers for the mountains and never looked back. Bart came from a background in nuclear particle physics, having worked on a hydrogen collider, while Tracy brought a zoologist's eye for the natural world. That science-meets-nature combination still shapes the brewery today.

Bart remains head brewer, and both owners are on site daily alongside a crew of about 20 staff, now operating out of their third Revelstoke location.

Long before a beer is canned, Mt Begbie's edge comes from the mountains around Revelstoke. Their water is from Greeley Creek, glacier-fed, soft, and low in calcium and magnesium.

The water is a credited key reason their beers keep winning awards on the world stage, including a win for best Kolsch in the world, beating out Germany, and a top-5 finish for world's best cream ale in 2022.

Touring the brewhouse, the small, deliberate choices add up fast.

CO2 recapture. Carbon dioxide produced during fermentation is captured, compressed, and reused to carbonate the beer instead of sourcing it elsewhere.

Heat exchange. Heat generated from the kettle is recycled back into the boil, cutting down on energy loss.

Centrifuge over filters. Rather than paper filtration, a centrifuge clarifies the beer, producing less waste along the way.

Spent malt to local horses. Leftover grain doesn't go to a landfill; it goes to feed horses in the area.

In-house yeast propagation. Bart grows and maintains the brewery's yeast cultures in his own lab, keeping the same lineage going continuously rather than constantly resourcing new yeast.

Mt. Begbie Brewing's Revelstoke Lager is a 1950s recipe from Enterprise Brew, a local company once pushed out by bigger breweries, gifted back to Mt Begbie by the family for the brewery's 25th anniversary.

In the brewery, a paddle stands above the mashing area. This was the original paddle Tracy used to stir the malt back in the day!

Near the back door, by the canning area, faint bear prints can be found. When concrete was being poured for the new facility, a bear wandered in and left a trail of prints.

Even the art on the walls, all by local artist Rob Buchanan, keeps things rooted in Revelstoke.

Every beer at Mt Begbie sticks to just four ingredients: water, malt, hops, and yeast. No preservatives, unpasteurized, guided by the Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian purity law dating back to the 1500s.

Keeping the ingredient list short is a sustainability decision: less processing, less waste, and fewer inputs to source and ship.

The taproom is open for tastings and food, with a kitchen run by chef Andreas bringing Colombian-influenced dishes like empanadas, chimichurri, and tacos to pair with the lineup.