Situation Brewery: A Tasty Local Brew Now Available at the Yardbird Suite
Edmonton Jazz Society (1973) conducted several surveys over the last couple of years with Patrons, Volunteers, and the public. An on-going theme that came out of the surveys was the desire for the Yardbird Suite to support local. With changes due to COVID, the operations team began looking at different businesses in the Whyte Avenue area to create partnerships. One business is Situation Brewery.
Micro-Breweries
In 2013, Alberta had only 13 small brewers listed with Alberta Gaming and Liquor (AGLC). During that same year, AGLC commissioned a review to determine what could be done to improve the situation and encourage more local beer production. Many respondents indicated it was not feasible due to start-up costs and maintaining a clientele to produce and sell a minimum of 500,000 litres of beer.
Regulatory changes were eventually made for brewers in 2016. When the rules changed, Calgary microbrewers Tool Shed Brewery and Half Hitch Brewing were the first two Albertan companies to take advantage of the new regulations. Early in that same year, Wayne Sheridan (worked in engineering and home brew hobbyist) and Kale Edwards (chemist and craft beer connoisseur) were in Portland, Oregon for a weekend and came up with a brewery for Edmonton.
Situation Brewery
The building where Situation Brewery is located was a former bookstore and they downsized and went to a different space. Curtis Webber, involved in Situation’s sales and delivery, relayed a bit of Situation Brewery’s name and philosophy.
Just coincidentally this building was available…We wanted to be situated where people would drink beer…We could make the beer and people would come and drink…A space for the community to just come in.
The name Situation Brewing was about situating a brewery close to where people were…It’s more than just the beer. We want customers to be in the restaurant eating and drinking beer…We focus a lot on the consistency of quality.
Our philosophy is great tasting craft beer brewed locally, served in an atmosphere where it can be enjoyed with friends.
We’re trying to…provide an environment with good food…good value and try to not do the standard things…an evolving menu…. Pork shoulder wrapped in banana leaves and slow roasted for 20 plus hours with special spices for our tacos or the mussels…Things that are not that common. We strive to do some interesting things for when people come here…and hopefully they’re surprised.
We’re committed to the local scene…We hang out in this area. We support other businesses. Then you kind of meet people and you team up and you do fun things…We can help each other out.
Webber provided insight on Situation’s Beers.
Brew masters. So, we’ve had a couple over the last six years…they get to pick what kind of beers they are excited about without it being too crazy. We want to still pay homage to traditional styles, but they can put their own twist on it which is how we ended up very early making the Afternooner Tea Saison….
We want people to walk away with the feeling of a lot of care and love goes into making this beer. Again, it’s very important to us that our batches are always tasty and consistent. And you know, you can count on…. I just want people to know that we’re there for them. This is a two-way relationship. We hope that the beer they get into drinking is tasty and fresh. They can count on it.
I think for the most part, we want people to just understand that Situation is part of this community. We want people to come here for the experience and the food…. It’s very family friendly.
Come out and try the new line up of Situation beer. A listing of the beers and a brief description will be available at the Yardbird Suite bar. If you would like to support Situation Brewery, they are located two blocks south of the Yardbird Suite at 10308 81 Avenue.