“The hardest part of the process was
getting the tanks into the building,” said
Vair. “We have some rather large windows
that open up and that worked well since
we were able to bring the tanks in through
there. We also have high ceilings and some
strong friends, so it worked out well.”
When the business opened, it was
meant to be a mixture of food and craft beers.
Vair and his brother never thought about
canning, and growlers weren’t common at
that time, so they are somewhat limited by
their current location and equipment.
“We would love to expand and have
looked at expanding, but in order to expand
we would have to carve out part of our
dining room and we would lose seats,”
said Vair. “So we focus mainly on being a
brewery. We’re trying to walk the fine line
of being a brewery and a restaurant and bar
all at the same time. Knock on wood, but
it’s working okay.”
100 different varieties
Since they’ve been open, Vair says that they
have likely brewed about 100 different beer
varieties. There are some that have stood
the test of time and others that didn’t last
that long. Their popular varieties include
an Imperial Stout, Seaworthy IPA, Benedict
Arnold Extra Special Bitter Ale and a Hemp
Pale Ale.
New varieties are inspired in different
ways. Sometimes the customers will make
a suggestion, or the brewmaster will see
or hear about a variety that is popular and
try to create her own version. They usually
limit new batches to about 500 litres or
less to decrease their risk. Brewmaster
Papadopoulos also brews beers for special
events including an annual tribute to the
St. John Library (the initial brew being a
whisky pale ale). One of the next projects for
Papadopoulos is developing a hard seltzer,
which has been increasing in popularity
throughout the Maritimes.
Since Vair doesn’t drink himself, he
relies heavily on Papadopoulos and her 30
years of brewing expertise. “I don’t drink
beer, but I have been selling it for a long
time,” said Vair. “I take her advice and
knowledge over what we need. I could
probably make something that would be
alcohol, but I could never make anything
that people would pay to drink.”
Most of their sales come from their own
bar and restaurant, with some additional
sales taking place at liquor stores and
hotels. Growlers have proven popular in
the liquor stores, but it is difficult to sell to
hotels since those businesses tend to want
to offer specific varieties to their customers
each day over the long term and Big Tide
is limited to what is available on tap at a
particular time.
One of the brewery’s popular
innovations has been the creation of the
Mug Club. For an annual $50 membership
fee, members can have their own 25-ounce
mug, but the price to fill it is for a 20-ounce
mug, so they receive a bonus of five ounces.
Vair says he had the idea from his former
workplace where members had their own
handcrafted beer mugs.
Due to their location in Saint John, Vair
says the company has access to hops from
a local grower situated about 20 minutes
“We focus mainly on being a
brewery. We’re trying to walk
the fine line of being a brewery
and a restaurant and bar all
at the same time. Knock on
wood, but it’s working okay.”
– Chris Vair, Big Tide Brewing
A typical night inside Big Tide (pre-COVID-19)
B R E W E RY P R O F I L E
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