Tag: craft beer industry

Port Moody inventor makes it easy to get your beer home by bike

This story first appeared in the Tri-City News on Nov. 21, 2021

For Nathan Thomson, necessity was indeed the mother of invention.

Along with a thirst for craft beer.

The 26-year-old criminology graduate who works in government said he’s never designed or built anything, nor had any entrepreneurial inclinations.

But riding his Kona bike two blocks from his Port Moody home to the city’s renowned Brewers Row to meet friends and enjoy the latest offerings at its five craft breweries changed that.

Frustrated by the challenge and inconvenience of toting a pack of a newly discovered beer he really liked home on his bike, Thomson developed the To Go bag. It’s a canvas cube-shaped sack that tucks underneath the saddle of his Jake the Snake bike and is large enough to accommodate four tall cans.

It sounds like an obvious idea, but after Thomson had his light-bulb moment last spring, he discovered no such saddle bag existed.

So he started sketching out ideas and sampling materials to build a prototype.

Creating a beer conveyance for cyclists, it turns out, isn’t as easy as it sounds at first blush.

Thomson said the bag had to be large enough to hold the four cans, but not too bulky to be an annoyance on the bike. It had to be strong, but not overly heavy.

And it had to be easy to use, without complicated flaps or straps, but still secure.

“I didn’t want it to throw you off balance,” he said.

Using mock-ups Thomson created out of cardboard, friends were enlisted to try his designs and provide feedback.

Angle proved to be the key factor.

Thomson said by finding the right pitch to suspend the bag, it wouldn’t sway from side-to-side or interfere with the cyclist’s pedalling motion.

Material was another challenge. Nylon was too flimsy, leather too heavy and expensive.

Instead, a canvas exterior with nylon lining offered the optimal combination of strength, durability, weight and insulation. The straps that secure the bag to the seat rails and seat post are made of synthetic leather.

Thomson said the development process took several months, but by July, he’d enlisted a manufacturer and was ready to go to market.

Online sales have placed Thomson’s bags under bums across Canada and into New York State and Minnesota. They’re also on the swag shelves of a couple of Metro Vancouver craft breweries: Container in East Vancouver and Five Roads in Langley.

He said he’s had discussions with others, even explored co-branding opportunities.

Thomson said he’s continuing work on more refinements, like adding side pockets and more colours.

He said there seems to be a natural connection between cycling and beer that makes his ToGo bag the right product at the right time.

And considering its genesis on Port Moody’s Brewers Row, the right place as well.

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These competitors on Port Moody’s Brewers Row are joining forces

This story was first published by the Tri-City News

Port Moody’s Brewers Row is getting smaller.

But the number of individual craft breweries will stay the same.

Brave Brewing and Twin Sails are merging. 

The Site B community space and The Fountainhead Network co-working space will also operate under the same umbrella.

Tech entrepreneur Chris Peacock, who’s part of a group that owns Brave and Site B, said the consolidation will to build community through the business partnerships.

“Our reason for being has always been about community and community thrives when the desire to buy, support and say local is paramount,” he said.

Twin Sails’ Clay Allmin said joining forces with Brave is better than the alternative, as the craft brewing industry in British Columbia faces challenges like higher costs and changing consumer tastes. Several breweries have closed in recent years, such as Studio in Burnaby and Broadway in Port Coquitlam, while others like PoCo’s Taylight and Train Wreck on St. Johns Street have changed ownership.

“This consolidation allows us to push forward and scale our ability to offer high quality, locally crafted places and products to our community,” Allmin said.

He added Twin Sails will use Brave’s excess brewing capacity to launch new products while its sales team will be able to help promote and improve distribution of its new sister brewery’s beers.

“This opportunity allows both breweries to get back to their roots of creativity and providing customers a unique experience every time they come to our tasting rooms,” Allmin said.

Mike Arboit, co-founder of The Fountainhead Network, said tightening his alliance with the breweries and the Site B event space with which he shares a warehouse on Murray Street, strengthens the collaborative eco-system he’s been trying to build where work, play and community engagement co-exist and help boost each other.

“This merger will create the time, resources and confidence to grow,” said Arboit, who’s also promoted professional wrestling events at Site B.

The event space was recently granted a three-year extension of its temporary use permit by the City of Port Moody and several members of council said the concept has been such a success hosting gatherings like holiday sales, weightlifting competitions, long-table dinners, wedding receptions and even roller derby, they’d like to see the arrangement made permanent.

Peacock, who co-founded tech start-up Traction Demand that grew to more than 1,000 employees before it was acquired by Salesforce Professional Services, said he’d like to bring the concept to other communities.

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