Downtown Langley City is getting a new watering hole this summer, with the opening of a brewery on 56th Ave.
Farm Country Brewing–the first craft brewery in Langley City– is currently under construction at its 20555 56th Ave. location, and is expected to open in the summer, according to owner and founder Arnold Tobler.
Tobler, who grew up in Langley and now resides in Cloverdale, has never been a businessman before–he currently works as an electrician–but his love for beer is what sparked the new venture.
“I’ve been a huge craft beer fan for years and so has my business partner Travis, so we figured Langley is a good place to open up a craft brewery,” explained Tobler.
The full production brewery is also planned to have an 80-person tasting room and a 20-person patio that will serve light snacks.
A special events area is also being constructed.
Tobler revealed the brewery will simply serve “good craft beer.”
“We’re going to focus on sessionable beers. Beers that people can drink multiples of. Crisp, well-balanced beer. We like the weird beers as well and there will probably be a bit of that but for the most part you want to socialize over a few beers, so this is the place to come and do that.”
As for Tobler’s favourite beer–he said he enjoys beers that are “well-balanced.”
“That’s a hard question. I like a lot of different styles and I’m a seasonal beer drinker so it changes with the seasons. [I like] beers that are well-balanced, that you can drink more than one of in a sitting. That’s my kind of beer.”
Tobler said his brewery will bring “great quality beer” and good “atmosphere” to Langley City.
“We’re hoping to have live music and events going on. It’s going to be a great spot.”
The name of the brewery was inspired by Tobler’s experience growing up in Langley.
“We grew up in farm country and that’s what Langley was when we grew up here, so we thought ‘that’s perfect’ and it stuck.”
In August 2018, Tobler received possession of the brewery building, but he said the plan has been in the works for about three years altogether.
Crafting the different varieties of beer will be Jack Bensley, head brewer of Farm Country Brewing.
Bensley resides in White Rock, but taught in the Langley School District for seven years and said he’s “looking forward to coming back.”
For approximately 12 years, Bensley has been creating craft beers, but started long before that as an amateur.
“I was a long-time home brewer [and] being a cheap university student, I started making my own beer in the late 1990s. Eventually I managed to get some course work done and luck into a brewing job.”
At Farm Country Brewing, Bensley said he plans to concoct beers that are “drinkable.”
“I’m a big fan of beer that’s drinkable. That’s always the goal for me–’do you want to have another one?'” said Bensley.
For more information, visit: https://www.farmcountrybrewing.com/
