Riot Brewing Co. was conceived in 2009 when Aly Tomlin and Ralf Rosenke hatched the crazy idea of opening a brewery. That crazy idea turned into an epic journey that took 7 years. Although incorporated in 2013 it wasn’t until the right investor was found in 2105, that the brewery moved closer to becoming a reality. Shortly after, a custom made building was built, equipment was ordered and staff  were hired. Riot Brewing Co. finally opened its doors in November 2016. Head Brewer Fabian Specht, formerly of Central City Brewers & Distillers and Howe Sound Brewing, joined the team in early 2016 and embraced Riot’s commitment to sessionable true-to-style beers. Riot Brewing Co. beers can be found on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and throughout BC, for now.
Riot Brewing Co. first two years of business have been impressive to say the least. Only months after opening their Good Vibrations Classical Pilsner won a Silver Medal at the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards held in Ottawa. In Nov 2017 they won “Best New Business” in the Island Savings online Awards. They were awarded “Business of the year – Agri Food & Food Production” in the 2018 Business Examiner Awards hosted in Victoria in Jan 2018. In April of 2018, Riot Brewing Co. won the “Business Achievement Award – 1-10 Employees” at the 2018 Black Tie Awards held at Brentwood College. In May of 2018, Riot Brewing Co. took home two medals at the World Beer Cup Awards held this year in Nashville, TN. Deemed the “Olympics of Beer”, their seasonal beer, Breakfast of Champions Coffee Lager, brewed in collaboration with Drumroasters Coffee of Cobble Hill, took home a Bronze award and their year round offering, Working Class Hero Dark Mild was awarded a Gold medal. Riot Brewing Co. was the only Canadian brewery to be awarded two medals.  Quickly following the win at the World Beer Cup Awards Riot Brewing Co. was awarded a Silver medal for their Robust Vortex Porter at the 2018 Canadian Brewing Awards in Halifax.