Fox Mountain Brewing in Williams Lake is one of 6 breweries that collaborated on the new EXPLORE BC Peach Farmhouse Ale, a special release beer created in celebration of BC Craft Beer Month that is now available at select locations around British Columbia.
We asked the folks at Fox Mountain Brewing to tell us a bit about their brewery — and to also let us know how they like to eat a peach. Because, you know, the beer has peaches in it.
1. What’s the story behind the name of your brewery?
Fox Mountain is the name of the mountain right across the road from the brewery. It’s a beautiful, dry Douglas Fir forest right in town that’s loaded with great mountain biking and hiking trails. It’s a real gem for Williams Lake. I live at the bottom of Fox Mountain and spend much of my free time there with my family, so there’s a personal connection as well.
2. What sets your brewery apart from others in BC?
Other than distance? We’re the only brewery in Williams Lake. Our beers are awesome, but there’s no shortage of great craft beers in BC these days. I think what sets us apart is our taproom experience. We have great food, super friendly staff, and our beautiful patio. The brewery is perched up on a hill and we have an awesome view with consistently great sunsets. A few beers with friends and great homemade food on a sunny patio can’t really be beat. We’re also family friendly and have a dog friendly patio, so it’s great to be able to provide a location where everyone can gather and enjoy themselves.
3. How do you interact with your local community?
We have had excellent support from the community since we opened in June 2020. This was early days of Covid which was pretty scary for us as a new business, but the community came out and stood behind us, braving the cold temperatures on the patio when that was the only option, and ordering lots of growlers and takeout. Now that we’ve weathered the worst of Covid we’re trying to give back where we can.
We work closely with the Williams Lake Cycling Club and help them with things like beer and food specials on trail maintenance days. We’re also donating prizes for bike-to-work week and offering discounts to people who ride in. Williams Lake is a big mountain biking town, so we look to support that wherever we can.
We’re also really excited about a new disc golf course that is going in at Boitanio Park, right next to the brewery. We’re working with the Williams Lake Disc Golf Association to sponsor one of the new baskets. We’re really excited to have a new disc golf course right in the middle of town.
4. Are there any unique challenges to brewing in your area?
We aren’t known as a great hop-growing region so we aren’t able to get out to see our local hop suppliers as much as I would like. Other than that, freight is an issue that all breweries have to deal with, but it did pose a challenge when the Fraser Canyon and the Coquihalla both washed out last year.
5. What did you bring to this collaboration (a unique ingredient, idea, technique?) or what does it mean to you to be part of this collaboration?
It was a lot of fun kicking around ideas for the collaboration beer and developing the recipe. We came together pretty quickly on a recipe that would showcase the best of BC. After that it was just a bit of fine tuning and everyone worked well together to come up with the final recipe.
We’re really excited to be involved in this collaboration as the beer will be available across BC. We currently only distribute within the Cariboo so we’re looking forward to showing people who may not have heard of us before that we make great beer.
6. What was your favourite part of the Brew Day?
Getting to meet and hang out with everyone. Being a relatively new brewery it was great to make connections with other breweries across the province.
7. What is your favourite way to eat a peach?
Fresh from the Farmer’s Market. You can’t beat a fresh peach!
The EXPLORE BC Peach Farmhouse Ale is a collaboration between six breweries from across British Columbia. BC peaches present a beautiful golden-orange colour, while the Lærdal Kveik yeast and BC hops provide fruity, floral flavours above a clean rounded malt base that elevates the whole beer. Lastly, a pinch of BC sea salt makes this ale sparkle. This limited edition Peach Farmhouse Ale is a true representation of our province that pairs perfectly with BC’s natural beauty.
The EXPLORE BC Beer Series, brought to you by the BC Ale Trail in partnership with Destination B.C., celebrates the fall season with a new limited-edition craft beer, and new special offers to explore the province’s vast Ale Trail network. Created for BC Craft Beer Month, the EXPLORE BC Peach Farmhouse Ale, is a collaboration by six breweries representing all of the province’s major tourism regions, and produced by Ravens Brewing Company, will be available at select liquor stores, restaurants and craft breweries across the province.
“EXPLORE BC is an Official Mark of Destination BC Corp., used with consent.”
