We drive down Murray Street in Port Moody on a Thursday afternoon. Traffic is quite heavy, but consistent as most people are simply trying to get home from a busy day at work. On the right is the entrance to Rock Point park, and on the left is a row of small industrial buildings that house some of the best craft breweries in the city. We are here to meet with Darren Binnema, the lead brewer at Yellow Dog Brewing Co, about the interplay of his faith and his work.
The atmosphere in the tasting room at Yellow Dog is light and upbeat. A small group of people gather to unwind after work with an IPA, ale, or witbier and some laughs. We sit down at one of the tall tables
“I actually started here in the tasting room serving people, which really helps you see all aspects of it. Busy Friday night or a busy Saturday night you see all the people come in and what they enjoy, or don’t.”
Darren didn’t start out in the brewing industry. He started off as a chemist, working in a local lab testing food samples. It was a good position with good pay, benefits, and opportunities for advancement, but there was something intriguing about the process of brewing beer.
“It started when I started brewing beer at home with a home brew kit from a local store here in the area. I was really enjoying this hobby and basically found myself reading more and more about beer and getting more interested in all the complexities of it.”
Changing careers is never easy, especially trying to make the move between industries, and it proved to be no picnic for Darren either.
“I spent a lot of time working full time at the lab and part time at Yellow Dog, which was really crazy for a while. It helped get my foot in the door and see if this is something I really wanted to do as my full time job.”
Now he works as the lead brewer, which means he oversee all the brewers. Much of his work is ensuring the brewing process goes smoothly, managing other employees, and training them in the process. He is also currently writing up a number of standard operating procedures to help with quality control and training in the future. He started as one of the first employees at Yellow Dog, and has been a part of all the different aspects of the business, except delivery driving.
The culture at the brewery is very cooperative, as each person sees themselves a part of making the beers a success.
“We have a head brewer and he comes up with all the recipes, but he couldn’t do it without us. Like, we couldn’t win these awards without everyone. It takes everyone to make it all happen, which makes it a lot of fun.”
This collaborative culture is also reflected in craft brewing as a whole. Quite a few collaborative beers have been developed by a number of different brewers working together to develop something new.
“We think that good collaboration should come organically as one brewer says, ‘Oh I want to brew this kind of beer.’ And you come together on an idea and make it happen. That is usually what happens for our collaborations, anyway. And it’s a good way for us to learn things we wouldn’t normally know. You’re trading process and ideas, basically, and that makes it fun.”
This culture is quite surprising in a world which most industries are characterised by intense competition and can feel very cut throat. Many of the breweries work together and share what they are discovering, even though they are often in competition with each other for awards and a rather small market segment.
“At the end of the day it’s about team work and helping each other out. There are times when you will need help and it’s nice to be able to rely on other people for that.
While it may be surprising for some to see a Christian working in the brewing industry, it is something Darren feels very passionate about and feels called to.
“I see it as a calling because I feel passionate about it, and I constantly want to learn more. I just want to be good at doing it. That’s what I strive to do now. There is so much you can do to become a better brewer.”
This desire to develop and become the best at what he is doing reflects the call to live our lives to the best of our abilities. God calls us all to use our gifts and talents to make the world a better place, to the best of our abilities. He recognises the dangers of over indulgence of alcohol, but notes that problem is not only a danger for this industry.
“There is an inherent danger in over indulging in alcohol, but with alcohol it is very evident when you over indulge. I think there are probably a lot of other things that we over indulge in already, and alcohol is probably just one of those and is probably more evident. But there are a lot of things that we probably over indulge in in this culture already, like technology and things on line and just being busy.”
While there are times when people over indulge, for the most part Darren’s work has given him an appreciation for the ability of his work to bring people together.
“There are communities here that have been formed simply by this place being open. Like that guy over there, he just works down the road and often stops in after work on his way home to hang out and unwind a bit. There is a community here with the employees, and within the industry as well. Often the end goal of what we do here is to help others enjoy their night with good people.”