Betting on Inclusion with Annex Ale Project

by Andrew Bardsley

Tap handles at Annex Ale Project

Annex Ale Project is a brewery founded by Andrew Bullied and Erica O’Gorman. They are an award-winning businesses embedded into their community. They were also early integral to the creation of Hop Forward Society. We interviewed Andrew Bullied about their commitment to DEIA and their vision for the future.

What made you and Erica want to start your own brewery and what were you doing prior to Annex?

Erica and I were both working in start-up businesses before Annex. Erica was at Village Ice Cream and I was at Village Brewery.  We learned a lot through the mentorship of those two businesses.  in 2015, we decided it was time to offer the growing Alberta beer scene a smaller tap room focused model which would take inspiration from the Pacific Northwest.  We wanted to attract people towards tap rooms for a richer experience, fresher beer, with newer more interesting styles.  

How has Annex changed over the last seven years?

While Annex might have started being very taproom focused it has expanded past that.  We still place lots of value on a great taproom experience that isn't designed specifically for what would generally be accepted as the archetype for a craft beer consumer.   We want a fuller experience without the noise and interference from phones and TVs.  We want to include people that aren't into beer or aren't even into alcohol.  We want excellent food that compliments the ever-changing line up of beers that we release.  And we also want that experience to be available to people outside of our physical space as much as possible. 

How did you come to be involved with Hop Forward and what value do you think it has in the larger brewing community?

For me specifically, it was about Hop Forward having a vision for an equitable, inclusive, accessible and diverse brewing scene.  I believe that craft beer is currently at a bit of an existential crossroads where if we continue to cater exclusively to the old archetype, then it's not going to continue to grow.   The only way to continue to grow this market is to actively include as many groups of people as we can.  

How do you and Erica see Hop Forward being a beneficial part of Annex Ale?

For us it's been really beneficial to have Hop Forward lead the charge on the educational aspects of running our business.  It takes intentional thought and effort to be equitable, inclusive and accessible to achieve the sort of diversity we would like to see.  Hop Forward is a great resource to help focus that thought and effort.  

What do you hope to learn from Hop Forward as an owner and how can Hop Forward help other owners?

I hope that as a business owner, I can continue my journey towards equity, inclusion and diversity at Annex, and that it has an impact on the hospitality industry in our city, province and country.   I hope I can help recruit other business owners so they can also increase their learning.