Victoria’s Swans Brewpub bids farewell to brewing
In a bittersweet twist for Victoria’s beer lovers, Swans Brewpub, one of the city’s longstanding craft beer pioneers, has brewed its final batch of beer.
After over three decades of crafting unique recipes, the downtown pub has decided to retire its in-house brewing operations to spotlight a wider range of offerings from other local craft brewers.
“Every business has an evolution, so this is part of the story of what makes Swans relevant in the community today,” owner Mike Boyle told Daily Hive.
Boyle said the decision was mostly influenced by patrons’ growing demand for a broader selection of craft beers and ciders.
“As more craft breweries grew [since Swans opened in 1989], it diluted down what made Swans special,” he said. “It used to be a unique offering.”
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Now, with Victoria’s craft beer scene flourishing, it’s become clear to Boyle that Swans could better serve its community by offering a more diverse menu of brews.
“What we heard from guests was that they were wanting more choice — they wanted to taste all the great craft brewers from around Vancouver Island at Swans,” Boyle said. “By ceasing operations and freeing those lines up we can provide those options.”
While Swans will no longer produce its own beer, the pub isn’t stepping away from innovation entirely.
Boyle told Daily Hive that they will now have more room to bring in unique international ciders and beer and focus on their spirits, like Swans barrel-aged cocktails, including an old-fashioned aged for 90 days in oak barrels.
With enough beer in the tanks to keep the taps flowing until October, Swans, luckily, isn’t going anywhere — it’s just turning off the taps and letting other ideas flow instead.
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