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Lighthouse Brewery


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#1 G-Man

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Posted 12 January 2007 - 09:08 AM

Lighthouse brews up major upgrade
New beer canning line will improve output and productivity

Lighthouse Brewing Company owner Paul Hoyne is preparing for the biggest year ever.

Andrew A. Duffy, Times Colonist
Published: Friday, January 12, 2007
Lighthouse Brewing Company is preparing for its biggest year yet as the Victoria craft brewery is about to undertake a major investment in infrastructure to radically improve productivity.

A state-of-the-art, high-speed canning line to be installed in April, will mean the brewery's production will increase five-fold and allow it to keep up with demand for its four canned products.

It's a $500,000 investment for the company, but the stress in spending that kind of money will likely pale in comparison to the harried pace of the brewery last summer.

"We were pulling our hair out just trying to keep up and there were a few times we had to delay a couple of orders," said owner and brewmaster Paul Hoyne. "Last year, we were running 14-hour days just to get beer out the door."

The new canning line will allow the brewery to produce 17,000 cans of beer during an eight-hour shift without the need for additional labour.

"It will be for meeting present demand and future demand over the next five years," said Hoyne.

It should also mean a healthy bottom line for Lighthouse which has a strong track record of sales growth since it started in 1998.

The private company does not divulge sales figures, but Hoyne said the brewery recorded sales increases over its first six years when it sold only draft beer to bars and restaurants.

That turned into doubling sales figures when they introduced cans of beer two years ago.

"The first year we had 100 per cent increase in sales -- the last two years have been phenomenal," said Hoyne, noting they have been using a small "introductory" canning operation to test the waters.

Clearly, the market passed the test.

That's no surprise to Hoyne who pointed out B.C. is "a can market" that prefers its beer containers to be light and portable and easy to pack around golf courses, into boats and into packs when hiking and picnicking.

"It's the lifestyle," he said. "All these places that people typically aren't supposed to be drinking beer but do."

He said cans made sense on a cost basis and environmental basis. Cans are 100 per cent recyclable and the B.C. market returns 90 per cent of its beer cans.

That also spoke to the company's philosophy of adhering to a triple-bottom line -- financial, community (they sponsor a number of sporting events and support a variety of local associations) and environmental (all liquid and solid waste for example is delivered to organic farmers).

It's a philosophy that cut into the early returns for the brewery.

"It was one of the most difficult decisions and we made it in the first year and a half," he said. "I designed the brewery to be environmentally friendly, which costs more money, and it's money being spent that doesn't help our financial bottom line and that's really tough."

But Hoyne stuck with it and the company has flourished.

Indeed there are more expansion plans in the near future.

Once Hoyne has the new canning line up and running in the spring, he intends to set up a business plan to take over another 5,000 square feet in the four-unit Esquimalt warehouse they inhabit and establish a bottling line. He holds three of the four units and has designs on the fourth.
"When we do that we'll get into seasonal beers and specialty beers," he said, noting he will continue to sell them in standard-sizes -- likely a 341 ml bottle to complement the 355 ml can rather than opt for the larger bottles favoured by some craft brewers.

"I'm not a big fan of the larger bottles. I went through that years ago and apart from a small percentage the market just doesn't accept it," he said. He also noted that to compete and take some of the massive market share of the large brewers like Molson and Labatt you have to play on the same field. "One of the downfalls

of a lot of the microbrewers was they

didn't put it in a package that was widely accepted.

"(Molson and Labatt) spend millions on market research, and we can take advantage of that," he added.

Lighthouse is the No. 2 craft brewer in Victoria based on volume behind Vancouver Island Brewery. The two lead the way for craft brewers who claim about 10 per cent of the local liquor store market, but have established a strong presence in local bars and restaurants with between a 30-35 per cent share.

Hoyne said while he goes head-to-head with Vancouver Island Brewing, he doesn't see the point of fighting over a small share of the market when they should be focused on a bigger prize.

"It's the other 90 per cent of the market that we want and the way to do that is to promote buying local, fresh beer," he said, noting the rewards of convincing a few to switch from Molson to craft beer can be huge. "If we can convert three per cent of the market we could have 20 Lighthouse Breweries."

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

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#2 Rorschach

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Posted 13 January 2007 - 07:37 AM

I like my beer on-tap or in a bottle. But it is a hassle returning bottles. It's just as much hassle returning cans. But if the beer tastes good, that's all that really matters to me. If they put Phillips IPA in a can, I'd buy that. I'd buy the Phoenix Gold Lager in a can too.

I saw a beer vending machine in a liquor store selling Vancouver Island canned Beer. I do buy and prefer the local products.

#3 m0nkyman

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Posted 13 January 2007 - 08:25 AM

"It's the lifestyle," he said. "All these places that people typically aren't supposed to be drinking beer but do."


This line has inspired me to switch to cans. :twisted:

#4 G-Man

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Posted 13 January 2007 - 09:50 AM

Yeah that is awesome isn't it!!!

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#5 Galvanized

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Posted 13 January 2007 - 11:35 AM


Past President of Victoria's Flâneur Union Local 1862

#6 Mike K.

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Posted 13 January 2007 - 12:39 PM

I can see why that can needs to be hidden. I'd rather be caught chugging on a pepsi than a Miller Lite...hardyhar! :lol:

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#7 Holden West

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Posted 13 January 2007 - 12:49 PM

LOL

I bought a couple of those from Tony's Trick and Joke shop years ago. It was my greatest white trash moment.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#8 homebrewer

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Posted 18 January 2007 - 02:46 PM

I like my beer on-tap or in a bottle. But it is a hassle returning bottles. It's just as much hassle returning cans. But if the beer tastes good, that's all that really matters to me. If they put Phillips IPA in a can, I'd buy that. I'd buy the Phoenix Gold Lager in a can too.

I saw a beer vending machine in a liquor store selling Vancouver Island canned Beer. I do buy and prefer the local products.


I prefer draught beer, hence I built a kegerator (keg fridge) :)

#9 Rorschach

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Posted 19 January 2007 - 07:35 AM

I prefer draught beer, hence I built a kegerator (keg fridge) :)


My beer gut would get way out of control if I did that. You have to drink a lot of beer fast to keep that stuff fresh even in a pressurized keg. However, I know that Swans sells its stuff in kegs. I think the smallest is 20 liters. That would be sweet.

Where do you get your kegs and where do you get the CO2 cylinders refilled? What is your favorite local brew that makes it to the kegerator?

#10 G-Man

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Posted 19 January 2007 - 08:29 AM

We often grab a keg for parties. Of course we still using the old pump method.

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#11 homebrewer

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Posted 19 January 2007 - 09:39 PM

I prefer draught beer, hence I built a kegerator (keg fridge) :)


My beer gut would get way out of control if I did that. You have to drink a lot of beer fast to keep that stuff fresh even in a pressurized keg. However, I know that Swans sells its stuff in kegs. I think the smallest is 20 liters. That would be sweet.

Where do you get your kegs and where do you get the CO2 cylinders refilled? What is your favorite local brew that makes it to the kegerator?


I had a 6-pack until I built the kegerator. I'm a homebrewer, so I use my own beer in them. Although I also have sankey adapter on the one side, I've not yet purchased a commercial keg (very hard for a homebrewer to do ) here in BC. I am seriously thinking about acquiring a keg of Phillips Longboat double chocolate porter however. It's a hard beer to beat.

#12 m0nkyman

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Posted 19 January 2007 - 10:17 PM

When I was younger and better behaved, the Ottawa rep for Brick Breweries put one of their keg fridges in my house. Something about being one of his top ten accounts..... I miss that kegerator. It was a conversion from an old fifties fridge...
Not quite as cool as this one, but close:
[url=http://www.craigerator.com/bonebox.htm:de455][/url:de455]

#13 Holden West

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Posted 14 December 2007 - 11:37 AM

Push on to make low-alcohol beer cheaper

In Victoria, there are seven breweries, four brewpubs and three microbreweries.


"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#14 G-Man

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Posted 14 December 2007 - 11:59 AM

^ Dumbest thing I have ever heard. You think that we move forward as a society and then pow the Temperance Movement makes a comeback.

Well perhaps we should ask women to wear corsets again too!

Ask a guy drinking molson canadian if coors light tastes just as good and you will certainly get the opinion of an enlightened palette.

I say they dump this idea before it gets out of hand.

#15 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 14 December 2007 - 12:30 PM

Assistant researcher David Segal recently completed a study where 34 male University of Victoria students played dominoes, ate pizza and drank two unmarked beers – low alcohol on one occasion and regular strength on the other. While half were able to identify the lighter beer (and some complained about the taste), all rated their enjoyment of the event equally.


Dominoes? This whole study is flawed because they used geeks as the control group.

#16 Holden West

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Posted 14 December 2007 - 01:24 PM

Hugh Hefner, 2006:

“I’m bored of the hanky panky. I’m still active but it’s different. I like to play dominoes with my girlfriends.”


"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

 



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