CREATE - The Podcast

Remo Trotta is the hilarious 'sales and marketing manager' of Spolumbo's Italian Deli, located in Inglewood, Calgary. Remo shares how the Deli has evolved over the past 30 years to become one of Calgary's most iconic brands.  Spolumbo's was started by two former Calgary Stampeders football players, springing the business out of Calgarian roots while simultaneously intertwi...

A brewery with no TV’s?? Yep, you heard that right.  Cael Tucker and Mike Macleod are the incredible owners of Tailgunner brewery, a new local hotspot in downtown Calgary. In this episode, they share their extraordinary story of how their unique vision came to fruition. This isn’t to say that they didn’t have to face tremendous obstacles to achieve their vision.  Their inspiring story explores the...

A while back I met up with my friends Jennifer and Geoff to discuss Bottlescrew Bill’s Pub - which is truly a Calgary icon - and their latest project BSB Brewing .  Jennifer and Geoff are siblings working in a family-run business - which is a great recipe for some interesting stories.  Over the years, their family has overcome many recessions, and some severe floods - so let’s see how the latest p...

I recently met up with my friend Jordan Beatty with Sherlock Holmes Hospitality Group (SHHG) in Edmonton, Alberta.  Jordan has been with SHHG for 20+ years and for many he’s considered the soul of the company.   On the podcast we discuss the challenges SHHG has overcome as a group in the past few years and why Jordan is excited about their future.  We also discuss Jordan’s personal battles and how...

I met up with Sebastian, Owner of The Butchers Son in Edmonton, Alberta to talk about all things entrepreneurial and meat…we talked a lot about meat! Sebastian is a 5th Generation Master Craftsman Butcher from Germany who stepped into his parent’s footsteps to keep the family tradition going for yet another generation. In Germany, there are two passions – meat and beer.  So, we are excited to have...

I recently took a little road trip along the Southern Alberta Ale Trail from Blairmore to Medicine Hat.  When I arrived in Medicine Hat my first stop was at Travois Ale Works to meet up with George Best - their General Manager and life of the party! George came to Canada with the British Military and never went back!  His story is as interesting as the beer at Travois and I know you'll enjoy...

I recently took a little road trip along the Southern Alberta Ale Trail from Blairmore to Medicine Hat.  Along the way, I stopped in Lethbridge and met up with Kalti with Theoretically Brewing for the podcast. These self-described nerds have built a “quirky, nerdy little brewery bent on environmental sustainability” and are making amazing beer. It was great to connect with Kelti, and it was certai...

Today I met up with Rob Engman, President of Taps Media.  Rob is in Calgary with his team hosting the Canadian Brewing Awards & Conference . I’ve been lucky to have spent some time with Rob over the past few days and have learnt about his journey as an entrepreneur.  Aside from the Canada Beer Awards, Rob produces beer festivals in Ontario and is the Founder of Sawdust City Brewing Company . R...

I met up with my friends Mike Garth and Don Saviak to talk about how things are shaping up for this weekend’s Cooking With Beer Seminars at the Calgary International Beerfest .  Mike and Don will be hosting the seminars - so if you like beer and BBQ, you should probably join them! Before the podcast, we sat down to eat meat and drink beer.  The goal was to decide what beer they would pair with Don...

On today’s podcast, I met up with my friends Vern Raincock and Chris Heier about how they are involved in the Brew For Ukraine Project. Vern has been an important part of this worldwide project from the beginning.  When he asked Chris and the team from Half Hitch Brewing in Cochrane to brew a beer they were happy to show their support. On March 15th, in partnership with some amazing companies in t...

On today’s podcast, I met up with my friend Peter Keith, Co-Founder of Meuwly’s in Edmonton, Alberta.  We discuss how Peter and his partners built Meuwly’s - taking the typical model of how a business “should'' be built and doing the exact opposite!  Meuwly’s is all about showcasing the amazing food producers and artisans in and around their community.  They aim to reconnect their custom...

I was in Hamilton, Ontario and had to go check out Collective Arts Brewing to see what all the fuss is about - and now I get what all the fuss is about! After a tour of the facility, I met up with TK to learn more about her journey that brought her to Collective Arts.  She describes the culture that they have created and what makes them unique.  Their passion for sharing artists’ stories is inspir...

On the podcast, I met up with Laura and Jay - two of the Co-Founders of Prairie Dog Brewing in Calgary, Alberta.  There are some breweries that make amazing beer and have a neat little restaurant attached -  and there are amazing restaurants with a cute little brewery attached.  Prairie Dog chose to do the best of both - they built an amazing brewery and an amazing BBQ restaurant in the same build...

My friend Rob Sawchuck grew up in Lloydminster, Alberta and after years in the Calgary area, he has returned to build Border City Brewing with his lifelong friends!  I’ve worked with Rob on a few projects and always admire his vision and attention to detail.  I’ve been watching him build the brewery from an idea into a reality and now that he has beer to drink I thought I would check in to see whe...

Jochen Fahr, Founder of Fahr Brewery, had the vision to make the best beer in the world!  In only a few short years, Fahr’s hefeweizen was awarded the best in the world - so mission accomplished.  I don’t think he’s quite done yet though - he has some big plans to expand the brewery and their distribution.  So what is Terra’s role at Fahr?  She is the glue that keeps the machine together!  One of...

Today I connected with my friend Graham Sherman to discuss Tool Shed’s new non-alcoholic beer called Zero People Skills .  The non-alcoholic beer category is booming and I wanted to learn a little bit more about why it is growing so quickly.  We also discuss how he’s healing after a crazy mountain bike accident he had last year.  Graham has always been a ball of energy and is so much fun to chat w...

Emily Baadsvik is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wild Tea Kombucha, one of Canada’s premier kombucha producers since 2015.  Emily is also an Olympic Athlete and represented Canada in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia as a member of our Bobsleigh Team. Alberta Beer Festivals: website | twitter | instagram Wild Tea Kombucha: website |  instagram 

On today’s episode of the Let’s Meet For a Beer Podcast , I connected with my friend Bob Sutton to discuss his career and how he helped to shape the Craft Beer Community. Bob has been a large part of the craft beer movement across North America and built relationships with many people who eventually became legends in the beer industry.   Bob’s expertise and mentorship has helped many Alberta brewe...

On today’s episode of the Let’s Meet For a Beer Podcast , I connected with the team behind Harmon’s Craft Brewery - one of Canada’s fastest-growing non-alcoholic breweries. I first met Steve Abrams over ten years ago after he started Mill Street Brewery - which he eventually sold to Labatts Brewing Company .  Rob Doyle is a former Brewmaster at Mill Street and currently works as a Professor at Nia...

To celebrate the 50th episode of the Let’s Meet For a Beer Podcast , I met up with Michael Allemeier who is one of five Canada Master Chefs !  We discuss what first attracted Michael to the kitchen and his journey to becoming one of Canada’s elite chefs. After 35 years, Michael has travelled the world as a chef and is just as passionate today as when his career began.  As a Culinary Educator at SA...

On today’s episode of the Let’s Meet For a Beer Podcast , I was in Banff to meet up with Stewart Brown - Brewery Operations Manager with Three Bears Brewery & Restaurant. Stewart has brewed across Canada and around the world.  Before moving to Banff, Stewart was brewing beer in the Cayman Islands.  In 2019, he decided to swap his flip-flops in for a snowboard and is glad he did.  It was great...

On today’s episode of the Let’s Meet For a Beer Podcast , I met up with the Co-Founders of The Establishment Brewing Company - Mike Foniak and Dave Ronnegerg When we connected for the podcast they had just been awarded “Canada’s Brewery of The Year” for 2021 at the Canadian Brewing Awards .  We discussed their journey in beer that started when they were passionate home brewers and what their visio...

On today’s episode of the Let’s Meet for a Beer Podcast, Cam Dobranski joins me as co-host for part one in our series about mental health in the hospitality industry. Today we are joined by Dr. Pratap Chokka, Founder of The Chokka Center For Integrative Health .   On the podcast, Dr. Chokka talks to us about what we can do to identify signs that someone may need help and how they can access that h...

On today’s episode of the Let’s Meet for a Beer Podcast, Cam Dobranski joins me as co-host for part two of two in our series about mental health in the hospitality industry. Today we are joined by Nina Wallinder who recently lost her son Skyler to suicide.  Nina’s son, Skyler, was a cook at Cam’s restaurant WineBar Kensington and his death impacted Cam and the team deeply.   Nina joined us on the...

On today’s episode of the Let’s Meet for a Beer Podcast, I connect with my friend Cam Dobranski for part three of our series on mental health in the hospitality industry.   On the podcast, we discuss how the stigma of mental health makes it so difficult to talk about and how we can change that.  We also discuss how we can practice empathy and encourage open dialogue within our work environment.  T...