Pacific Western Brewing Company

Pacific Western Brewing Company

Established in 1957 in Prince George, BC on a fresh water spring, the Pacific Western Brewing Co.(PWB) is now British Columbia’s largest independent Canadian-owned brewery. In its first 35 years the brewery changed hands a number of times. Originally named Caribou Brewing, it has been known for a rich and colourful past at the hands of such entrepreneurs as Austrian Eugene Zarek and the illustrious "Uncle" Ben Ginter. In the late 1980’s entrepreneur Kazuko Komatsu began producing a special beer at the brewery for export to Japan. The beer was so well received in the Japanese market that she went on to assume control of the brewery in 1991. The Japanese market is extremely quality conscious, so the first job of the new management was to focus the brewing team producing a range of beers that met and exceeded the Japanese standard for quality. Through a combination of modernization of the brewery and establishment of strict brewing and packaging standards, the brewery’s success was recognized through the achievement of quality standard ISO-9002. PWB was the first North American brewery to achieve this standard. The brewery has focused on innovation and building brands that deliver on the promise of quality. The Brewery’s Organic Beers are just such an example, The Organic Lager first brewed in 1997 is Canada’s first organic Beer. The Organic Amber Ale introduced in 2005, was awarded a Gold Medal in the Brewing Industry International Awards- the Oscars of the Brewing Industry.