Vancouver beer lovers are in mourning after the passing of the man credited with laying the groundwork for the city's craft beer industry. Dan Small, owner of Dan's Homebrewing Supplies at 835 Hastings St., passed away last Wednesday in hospital after a struggle with lung cancer. He was 49.
Paddy Treavor, a friend and beer blogger, said Small inspired Vancouver's burgeoning craft brewing scene.
"He taught people how to build recipes, about the science of brewing," he said. "Everyone who has brewed in Vancouver has been in his shop."
Small took an interest in brewing at an early age. According to his younger brother Tom, owner of the winemaking shop next door to Dan's, he helped his father with small batches of beer on their farm outside St. Thomas, Ont. He moved to Vancouver in 1991 and purchased an ailing U-Brew shop located on Commercial Drive.
"It was a mess. There wasn't a lot of stock," his brother said. "Dan was complaining about it, and [the owner] said 'if you're so smart, why don't you try it?'"
"The state of brewing was pathetic," added Treavor. "We were looking at the big breweries [and nothing else]."
He estimates that around a dozen microbreweries currently operate in Vancouver. Small would relocate his shop a total of three times. He spent time selling equipment out of the Storm Brewing facility at 310 Commercial Dr. - one of the city's first microbreweries. A move across Hastings Street last June was brought on by a rent increase and a need for more space in the face of increased demand, according to new manager Chris Booth.
James Walton, owner and brewmaster of Storm Brewing, first met Small shortly after he opened his first Commercial Drive location.
The two bonded over a skid of dextrose sugar Walton had acquired during his work at a pharmaceutical plant. Walton, who was then a home brewer, learned from Small that the corn sugar was ideal for priming beers.
"After talking to him for awhile, I realized that I didn't know as much [about beer] as thought I did. He always had time to talk to people about brewing," he said.
Friends describe a man who was hard living at times, a musician and extreme sports enthusiast who "smoked like a chimney," said Walton.
"He had a lot of fun," added Treavor.
Small's diagnosis came last September. Booth took over management of the store while Small was in treatment.
His four years at the shop have seen a huge growth in interest in craft brewing, with new people coming in daily to buy a $70 startup kit.
He said that Small brewed his last batch of beer in November. Forty Ninth Parallel brewing plans to create a 30-keg batch of Strathcona Pale Ale in Small's memory. He thinks the hoppy beer would suit Small well.
"He was a pale ale guy, a bitter guy," he said. "He got more bitter towards the end there, a little more IPA. I don't think he realized his impact on what's happening in Vancouver as far as beer goes."
me@jonnywakefield. com twitter.com/jonnywakefield
