GrainsWest Winter 2021

Winter 2021 grainswest.com 31 anadian beer is one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Michele Tse, who co-owns Far Out Exporters with her husband Don. “American, European and German beers are popular all over the world. Canadian beer just hasn’t gotten out there yet.” In December 2018, the couple set out to rectify this. Knocking on international doors with a list of high-quality, export-ready Alberta brews has helped them unlock market opportunities. Don refers to himself as The Don of Beer, a good-natured brag of a title that is well earned. He is a frequently published beer writer and holds accreditation with the international Beer Judge Certification Program. In fact, he has taken notes on the flavour profiles of more than 23,000 beers. Michele is also a true beer afficionado and was the initial CEO of Craft Beer Importers Canada, which Don now operates. The suds-loving couple even take beer-themed vacations. In recent years, Don mulled the launch of an export business to complement the import operation. In the Tses’ travels on beer business and pleasure, they became aware of the scarcity of Canadian beer abroad. They also found Canuck craft brewers were willing to export but too busy with day-to- day operations to consider orchestrating international trade deals themselves. They were coincidentally approached to create a beer business by two friends experienced in supply chain risk and management. The four launched Far Out. When revenue was slow to materialize, the friends amicably sold their stake to Jeff Orr, a co-founder of Calgary’s Toolshed Brewing Company who had recently sold his interest in that business. A veteran brewery operator and IT wizard, he joined Far Out in December 2019 and streamlined its databases and processes related to quotes and tenders. Able to speak the language of the brewers Far Out hoped to do business with, Orr helped bring a number of them on board. As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in early 2020, Far Out carried on discussions with prospective buyers. The pandemic has caused lingering uncertainty in trade, transport and retail marketing, but two ambitious businesses were eager to secure deals immediately. Far Out completed its first export deal with Phoenix Beer of Perth, Australia, and shipped a get-acquainted selection of 900 litres of Alberta craft beer, piggybacked on a partially full container being moved by a generous Singaporean contact. The Canadian beer was well-received, and Phoenix ordered a full container shipment of various beers. In late December 2020, Far Out collaborated with Pacific Rim Distributors, a B.C. export company, to ship close to 35,000 cans of beer to Perth. Alberta breweries represented included Big Rock Brewery, Blindman Brewing, The Dandy Brewing Company, The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company, Toolshed, Troubled Monk, Village Brewery and more. This deal illustrated important truths about the global craft beer marketplace. “We didn’t think Australia would be a primary market for us,” said Don. “Australia has lots of breweries and we thought the market would be well served and that emerging beer markets would be more interested.” Given its geographic isolation, beer imports to Australia often faced lengthy, unrefrigerated travel time and quality suffered noticeably. Though Australia’s domestic industry is very competitive, its craft beer consumers crave the new products and tastes the global market offers but also demand freshness. In 2015, Phoenix struck a deal with California’s Sierra Nevada to import its beer in refrigerated shipping containers. “That makes a hell of a difference to the quality of the beer,” said Duane Rodgers, the company’s head of procurement and inventory control. “It was like a floodgate opened. We could not keep enough beer on our shelves to satisfy the market.” While Phoenix delivers a continuous supply of Californian and German brands to Australia’s biggest alcohol retailer, it has instituted a rotating global pre-order system for its bread- and-butter independent retail customers. Each month, a container imported from sources such as Belgium, Norway and Japan satisfies consumer demand for fresh, novel craft beer products. “We’ve become a one-stop shop for anyone wanting something from overseas,” said Rodgers. “C Don and Michele Tse formed Far Out Exporters when they realized Canadian craft beer was little known outside the country. Their first shipments departed for Australia and Sweden in late 2020. Photo:ZoltanVaradi