It was while he was living in Kitsilano that Lance Verhoeff found the next step in his career.
Living in the trendy Vancouver neighbourhood while his wife Marissa was earning her teaching certificate at UBC, Verhoeff discovered his next venture.
“The inspiration came from all the breweries my wife and I experienced when we were living in Vancouver two years ago,” he explained.
“You almost see every little town and every big metro city popping up with a bunch of breweries and when we moved back, we realized that Langley was a little bit of a black hole in the craft brewery scene.”
“That is where the vision and passion started from.”
This was about 18 months ago. Verhoeff scoured the area for locations to fill the void, and the Trading Post Brewing Company is set to open its doors at 107 20120 64 Ave. on Feb. 13.
The name is a nod to Langley’s rich history as a trading post.
The craft beer scene has a couple of key components, Verhoeff explained.
The first is having a tasting room or lounge area on site, where people can come in and enjoy a pint right at the brewery where the beer is produced. The second is the fact customers can come in and purchase a growler — a refillable one or two-litre bottle — to take home with them.
The brewery has six beers on tap that Verhoeff describes as unique and adventurous.
For example, there is a breakfast stout, which is brewed using dark roasted malt and cold extracted coffee from Fort Langley’s Republica Roasters. The jet black oatmeal stout features notes of chocolate and espresso and is described as big, bold and surprisingly smooth.
But another aspect of the craft brewery scene is that it brings people together to engage, collaborate and mingle over a pint of local beer.
“Our goal is to inspire people to build relationships and create community by offering an inviting tasting room in the same space we brew our beer,” he said.
“You won’t find any TVs or loud music in the tasting room.
“(And) being in such a busy area, we felt that for commuters coming and going home, it is a great place to stop in and pick up a growler or fill a growler.”
Originally, Verhoeff had hoped to find a location in Fort Langley, close to where he lives. Unable to find a suitable location in the village, they changed the plan to Willoughby.
They are also working on an eatery and taphouse in Fort Langley — on Glover Road and 96 Avenue — which is expected to open this spring once renovations are complete.
Verhoeff moved to Langley from Calgary to attend Trinity Western University and play on the Spartans basketball team.
He studied business, earning his bachelor of arts in corporate financing in 2011. He spent the next few years working in sales, first in the technology industry and then in the power tool industry, before venturing off to start his business.
Verhoeff will handle the business side of things while he has assembled a strong team for the day-to-day operations.
John Ohler is handling sales and business development, as well as serving as the director of brewery and culinary operations, and Tony Dewald is the brewmaster.
“It was a difficult process to find this team, but now that we do, it is just making a world of difference,” Verhoeff said.
“They have a ton of experience and are creating something awesome here.”
