Yea? …Why wouldn’t we?

There’s the start. The very beginning of 2.5 years of research, budgeting, business plans, learning, and building. It all started with a few simple words uttered over a ping pong table – the same pong table that has found a new home in the brewery today. The reasoning behind it was simple. We loved great local craft beers. We saw an opportunity to create a business for ourselves in our awesome home-town, and we thought – “well if we don’t do it now someone else is going to!” To this day I still don’t recall who won that game of pong – (it was me) – but the idea that was created during that fateful game completely transformed our lives.

Why did it take so long for a craft brewery to start in Parksville / Qualicum Beach? Left to be what was undoubtedly the single largest population center left in British Columbia to not have its own local brewery, what now seems obvious I guess, wasn’t before. Why wouldn’t PQB have a brewery? As a community we have all the ticks.; a population base with a huge demand for locally made products – check, a thriving tourist scene – check, a sophisticated and maturing restaurant scene – check, a unreal access to some of the best outdoor adventure available on the Island – check …and now a craft brewery – CHECK!

So, in 2.5 years we went from a couple of guys playing a game of ping pong on a sunny afternoon, to opening the doors of Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company.

I’m not going to say it was easy – because it wasn’t, but looking back I can definitely say that it was all worth it.

– Matt Hill