History
The brewery was founded in 1985 by Ed McNally.
A lawyer by trade, Ed McNally was representing a group of barley growers in a legal action against the Alberta Wheat Board in the 1980s. Through the course of the legal action, McNally learned that the Alberta climate produces 2-row barley that is ideally suited for malting, and had ready access to fresh glacial water from the nearby Rocky Mountains.
At the time, most barley production in Alberta was used as cattle feed. With an entrepreneurial background, McNally decided to open a craft brewery.
The first brewmaster was Bernd "Peppy" Pieper, an internationally renowned Swiss brewmaster for Heineken International.
The second brewmaster was Larry Kerwin, a former brewmaster for Molson. Larry Kerwin started as a brewer at Big Rock under Bernd Pieper in 1994, and took over as brewmaster in 1998 when Pieper retired.
The third (and current) brewmaster is Paul Gautreau. Gautreau joined Big Rock in 1986 as its fourth employee, and worked in a number of marketing and operational capacities before replacing Larry Kerwin as brewmaster. It is interesting to note that Gautreau is the first "home-grown" brewmaster that has not been hired away from another brewery.
Read more about this topic: Big Rock Brewery
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