There's big expectations for Big Tide.

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Craig Pinhey

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Saint John is a beer town. It has a pretty long beer history, perhaps not European-length, but we're well established for North America, so we really should have more breweries. With Moosehead we have one successful medium-sized brewery, but those of use who are into beer, and I mean REALLY into beer, want more variety than this iconic brewery chooses to provide.

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In an ideal world, every town of a reasonable size would have at least one or two breweries. That is the way things used to be, pre-prohibition, and I'd like to think we are eventually, if inexorably, returning to those heady times.

This is why the Saint John beer community is so excited about Big Tide Brewing Company, opening soon on Princess Street, just up from Sebastian and across the street from another well know watering hole, O'Leary's. This beer-loving city has big expectations. We perked up when we first heard the rumour, then got all giddy when their temporary sign went up proclaiming a spring 2009 opening, and have been waiting impatiently for the tap to start dispensing beer, glorious beer, ever since.

The latest word is that they will open their doors later this month. Cheers hoping.

There are three main players behind Big Tide: Owner Chris Vair, Kitchen Manager Tom MacArthur, and Brewmaster Wendy Papadopoulos. All three worked at some point at the old Tapps brewpub that shut its King Street doors a couple of years ago. Tapps had a pretty loyal local following, although an up and down reputation with respect to beer quality, mainly due to outdated equipment. It is important that Big Tide separates itself from Tapps.

The best way to do that is to make great beer, and Papadopoulos has the experience, and now new equipment, to make this happen. Before the KVHS grad returned home to work at Enterprise Saint John in 2000, she had a brewing career out west. She also has a BSc. in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill, which is a great degree for a brewer; clean beer is a necessity.

In Alberta she worked as Assistant Brewmaster, then Brewmaster and Plant Manager, at The Bow Valley Brewing Company in Canmore, then became Vice President, Operations, when Bow Valley merged with Banff Brewery to become Peak Brewing Company.

With a full-time job as Executive Director of Elementary Literacy friends Inc. in addition to her role at Big Tide, Papadopoulos knows that she has her work cut out for her.

"I was cleaning up the last of the water on the floor," she laughs, "and my eight year old daughter asked 'Mommy, are you the janitor here, too ?'"

Small brewery brewers must be part chef, plumber/pipefitter, accountant, manager, artist, and, yes, janitor. She has help, though, from Chris Welch, a local engineer who is also an avid home brewer and beerlover. "We will most likely require additional staff," she says, "however right now it's Chris and I. We both have full-time day jobs, so all of the brewing right now happens on the weekends."

Vair has been in the hospitality industry for much of his life, starting as a busboy at Sherlock's but ending up managing the place. "I know that sounds like a corny Cinderella story type thing but it's the truth," he says. After that he worked at Zappas on King Street, then Tapps, where he tended bar for 12 years.

Vair had previously talked about a new brewpub idea/dream with Papadopoulos and MacArthur. With Tapps closed, he decided the time was right. "There is no craft brewing presence in Saint John anymore and it is a large and growing market," Vair explains. "The city has a lot of new projects being started; tourism and especially the cruise ships are booming. People are moving back uptown and the area that we are in is turning into a destination for diners and drinkers."

There have been plenty of new restaurant and bar openings in Saint John in the last couple of years, but this doesn't bother Vair. "You can have many different experiences in a very small area. I believe that people attract people."

The three key players have not been the only ones involved in the project. "Many of my former regulars at Tapps who are looking for a brewpub to drink in have been helping us with the renovations," offers Vair, "from moving the brewing equipment in to lugging the garbage out. They have been painting, building walls and tearing up floors. My wife has been tiling some of the floors and my brother in-laws have built the bar, stairs and walls for the bathrooms."

Sounds like a team effort; no doubt they'll expect some free beer when all is said and done!

Big Tide will have roughly 100 seats, with 12 bar stools, and will be open for lunch and dinner. Seats in the main section are situated with a view through to the brewery whereas the other section has huge window that opens up to Princess Street. There is a possibility of a back courtyard in future.

Many local pubgoers have been speculating on what type of cuisine and beer will be on offer. MacArthur, who most recently wore his chef's hat at Moncton seafood specialist Pisces, has a varied background, having cooked at Steamers/Water Street Dinner Theatre, top-end hotels, golf courses and oilfield camps in the West.

"The one thing I had never done," he notes, "was to be involved with the opening of a restaurant, which has been a great experience, especially working with Chris and Cathy (Vair) and Wendy."

He claims the Big Tide menu is not easy to pigeonhole. Besides the pub standards like wings and nachos, he is featuring some modern versions of 'old-school' British pub food.

"There'll be Scotch Eggs and a variation on the Ploughman's lunch," says MacArthur, "with Maritime smoked salmon as an option. There's also an interesting cross between Shepherd's Pie and Yorkshire Pudding that has been a big hit in taste tests so far. Club sandwiches will be there, but in four different varieties, so there should be something to pique everyone's interest. There'll also be, I hope, a better selection for vegetarians than is found in most pub settings.

"And of course," he enthuses, "Wendy's beer features prominently in many of the recipes!"

From a beer standpoint, it was expected that Big Tide would have a lager as its flagship, since Papadopoulos won a Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup with a lager when she brewed out west. It may not be there on opening day, but she's working on it. "It should be available soon after we open," she adds, "It's a slight variation on the traditional European-style pilsner. It will be crisp and hoppy, with a clean finish."

They'll have plenty to choose from, though, she promises, at least four or five styles at any one time, including seasonals. "I have a list as long as my arm of beers I would like to make," says Papadopoulos, "a hefeweizen is near the top."

So far, she's been enjoying brewing with the new system, which is a little different than what she remembers from her youth. "My fascination with beer developed when I was about 10," recalls the Brewmaster, "and allowed to pour my dad a beer "" it didn't happen very often, and back then it was a cold Ten Penny. I remember being allowed to sip the foam off the top to get the whole can in to the glass. Summers also saw our annual brewing of rootbeer "" even then I remember the most important thing in the process was making sure the bottles were clean. We 'brewed' in a big wash tub in the back yard."

These days she and Welch are utilizing a new DME (a brewery fabricating company in PEI) 5 hL brewhouse, along with a keg filler. Papadopoulos explains that they have plenty of capacity to service the restaurant and do off-sales. The beer will be unpasteurized but filtered, although the filtration is much coarser than a big brewery uses, so the beer will be bright, but will not have the heart and soul filtered out of it.

If Vair, Papadopoulos and MacArthur feel pressure from the high expectations Saint John beer nerds have for Big Tide, they aren't showing it. "It feels really good to be brewing again," says Papadopoulos. "It is something I love to do, and I hope that is reflected in what we produce. There have been a lot of people that have contributed their time, energy and sweat to make this dream a reality, and it has been a lot of hard work. And I know it will be worth it. I think we have created an environment that is reflective of the passion for good food and good beer, without a lot of pretense. Right now, despite the fact that there is painting left to do, and sawdust on the floors, a personality is emerging; it is unique and original, and it's an ambiance where anyone can relax, feel at home, and have a good time, no matter whether you're a tradesperson, a tourist or a rocket scientist."

We'll drink to that.