MLA celebrates local brewery with comments to Legislature

Prince Rupert's Wheelhouse Brewing
Company  received a shout out in
the Legislature on Tuesday

The opening statements portion of every morning during sessions of the BC Legislature provide time for a thumbnail sketch of communities across the province with MLA's taking those in the Leg on a tour of their constituency, highlighting people, places or things that add to the fabric of community they serve.

This week, it was a tip of the hat and perhaps a tip of an elbow or two from North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice who
Tuesday saluted the local Wheelhouse Brewing Company as a "place of refuge with great atmosphere".

Noting how the local establishment is a favourite of fishermen, longshoremen, city workers, businessmen and politicians alike who enjoy congregating in the local gathering spot to share an ale and perhaps debating daily events on the North Coast.

In her short presentation to the Leg, Ms. Rice offers a short biography of the three partners in the project and the success of their efforts in the short period of time that the Wheelhouse has been part of the city's entertainment scene.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice
in the Leg on Tuesday with a tribute
for the Wheelhouse Brewing Company

Included in her tribute, was a celebration of the Wheelhouse's accomplishment at the 2016 Canadian collected a bronze medal for their Smokehouse Porter brand.
Beer Awards, where the Brewery

The full statement to the Legislature can be found below, forever to be catalogued in the Legislature Archives from the minutes of the Tuesday morning session.

The tribute can also be viewed on the Legislature Video Archive, with the tip of the elbow towards the Wheelhouse coming at the 10:15 mark of the Tuesday July 26th morning session.



Wheelhouse Brewing in Prince Rupert is a place of refuge, lively discussion, great parties and, often, live music. Three nights a week, fishermen, longshoremen, city workers, businessmen and politicians alike congregate there. They might be drawn to the energy, but they stay for the award-winning beer. 

Brewmasters James Witzke, Craig Outhet and Kent Orton all have day jobs. Their wives and families have patiently tolerated this basement hobby transformed into a high-calibre successful business. They are a production brewery with a tasting room and a retail store. 

Wheelhouse beer is available in most local restaurants in the B.C. liquor stores, and it's winning awards. The Wheelhouse has three delicious brews on tap. The flagship pale ale is described as a bold citric, hop-forward, medium-bodied west coast pale ale with a multi-backbone. The Gillnetter golden ale is described as a crisp, clean, light-bodied German stout kolsch ale, with hints of fruit flavours. The Blacksmith brown ale is a full-bodied dark brown, sweet and toasty ale with caramel notes, a true British Columbia brown ale, malt from the old country and hops from the new world. In addition to these three standard beers, the brewmasters craft seasonal beers such as the award-winning Smokehouse porter and the Scurvy Dog spruce ale. 

The Wheelhouse Brewery is the brainchild of three friends that share a deep appreciation of both the north coast and of high-quality beer. It showcases the vibrant nature of the north coast through quality beer that represents the people and the historical culture of the northwest coast. Indeed, the north coast was well-represented this spring, when the Wheelhouse took bronze for their Smokehouse porter at the 2016 Canadian Beer Awards. This is quite an accomplishment, and we on the north coast are proud of our local brewery's success. 

I want to thank Craig, James and Kent for all that they have given back to our community and for providing a place of refuge with a great atmosphere for when the seas are rough for so many of us in Prince Rupert.

More items related to Ms. Rice's work at the Legislature can be found on our archive page, while items that focus on the city's commercial sector can be found here.