Your humble narrator was sipping a frosty pint of Grasshopper last week, when a shudder went down my spine, almost like a million beer drinkers suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.
Tragically, Ed McNally, Calgary’s own beer baron of the modern era, passed away last week at the age of 89.
Those readers who have lived in Alberta for a while may recognize Ed McNally as the founder of Big Rock Beer, whose taps first started flowing in Calgary back in 1985.
Born and raised in Lethbridge, Ed McNally had a successful career as a lawyer long before he became a beer baron.
It was during a legal battle representing a group of barley growers against the Alberta Wheat board that Ed learned Alberta grows some of the world’s best malting barley. Seeing an opportunity, Ed traded in his fancy lawyer-in’ suit and became a farmer.
Like many farmers, Ed enjoyed a good beer at the end of a hard day. Unfortunately, in the 1980’s, the market was dominated by big-name breweries from eastern Canada. Ed found these mainstream beers too bland for his taste, and preferred the more flavourful imported beers.
Always the entrepreneur, Ed wondered why Alberta was blessed with world-class malting barley and clean hard water from the Rockies, but still didn’t have a local beer. In 1985, our prayers were answered when he founded the Big Rock Brewery, named after a glacial erratic boulder near Okotoks.
It was a fortuitous accident for the small upstart brewery that the summer of 1985 saw simultaneous strikes of the workers at both Molson and Labatt, meaning that Big Rock was the only beer available in Calgary during the hottest days of summer.
Ed himself rallied the troops to rise to the occasion, with the entire staff working 24 hours a day to meet demand – even Ed McNally himself was on the production line day and night. Sales skyrocketed overnight, and Big Rock was now seen as a serious contender in the marketplace.
From those humble beginnings, Big Rock has grown every year in its history, and has recently opened a new brewing facility in Vancouver just to keep up with demand.
Now in its 28th year of operation, the aura of Ed McNally still casts a long shadow on the brewery he founded at the age of 62, when most men his age were slowly coasting into retirement.
Ed McNally was at the helm until 2012, when he finally retired as the Big Rock CEO at the age of 87, in order to devote more time to his philanthropic endeavours.
Theatre buffs may recognize the Big Rock Eddies Awards show, which sells out the Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary every year. Originally conceived as a one-off fundraiser for the arts community, it quickly became an annual event, and still runs to this day. All ticket proceeds go to local theatre and performing arts organizations, with hundreds of thousands of dollars raised every year.
A humble man at heart, Ed McNally also quietly donated vast sums to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Calgary Women’s Shelter, the United Way, and many other worthy causes, which made him one of Calgary’s most beloved philanthropists.
The business world recognized his success as well, making him a Laureate of the Calgary Business Hall of Fame, and his community involvement led him to receive the Order of Canada in 2005, as well as a long list of awards too numerous to mention here.
True to Ed’s original vision, Big Rock continues to produce full-flavoured craft beer, a shining bulwark of resistance to the tides of bland lagers pumped out by the megabreweries.
Indeed, the current brewmaster at Big Rock, only the third to bear the sacred responsibility of shepherding the brand through the ages, has made great strides in returning the brewery to its crafty roots, with an ever-changing rotation of small-batch seasonal and experimental brews that can be found where beer nerds tend to congregate.
We have lost a pillar of the community this week, and this world will not soon see another of his ilk. Fortunately for us, Ed McNally’s legacy will live on in our bottles and pint glasses.
Many local booze merchants are honouring Ed’s contributions by discounting all Big Rock products this week, so pay Ed McNally your last respects by tipping a glass in his honour!
