Jul. 13, 2011 - Issue #821: The Beer Issue
Amber’s Brewing
Good for what ales you
It started with a trunk full of photographs from a motorcycle trip Gibbon's grandparents took in the 1920s. The photos represent a piece of Gibbon's history, but also represent the idea of a man and his community, written through the language of craft beer. He has managed to turn his aspirations into success: Amber's Sap Vampire Maple Lager is currently the highest selling beer of over 200 at Calgary's Craft Beer Market Restaurant and Bar—a marvelous feat considering the dominant marketing power that macrobreweries have.
"Microbreweries have to work five times as hard because we have to earn the trust of the consumers," says Gibbon. "People see a lot of ads on television and [the big beer brands] almost become the expected beer."
A fourth-generation Edmontonian, Gibbon believes in his beer and Amber's philosophy of being "something Edmonton can be proud of." It's his own history, as well as Edmonton's, that has inspired his line of beers. "History makes you feel attached," he says. "It makes you proud of these guys."
From the icons on the beer boxes to the character of Amber herself, every detail of the finished product is a testament to Edmonton. As the flavours of Amber's make their way throughout Alberta and slowly filter into Saskatchewan, Gibbon still struggles with the concept of making citizens as proud of Amber's as he is.
"This city has a lot of great beer people and a lot of great bars," says Gibbon. "How do we get people to demand Alberta beer?"
Amber's Brewing
Established: 2007, Edmonton
Notable products: Sap Vampire Maple Lager, Australian Mountain Pepper Berry, Lunch Pail Ale vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
Privacy Policy:
Vue respects your privacy. We will not forward your personal information to any other organization except as required by law, and will use your e-mail address only to respond to your comments. We reserve the right to edit and remove comments for length, clarity and/or if they are illegal or inappropriate. Your email address is never shown to visitors to vueweekly.com. Read the whole policy at: http://vueweekly.com/privacy
Comments policy
Comments go online directly without first being seen or reviewed by editors at Vue. Don't personally attack people, don't be defamatory, don't be spam-atory, don't hawk your band, don't pretend to be someone else, be clear, be on topic, be nice. Read our extended comments policy here. »
We use Disqus for our comments system. What's that all about?
We found that managing the comment community at Vue was easier to do with a system like Disqus. If this isn't straightforward to you, get help here.