Step into Camp Beer Company in Langley, British Columbia, and you’ll find more than just a tasting room; it’s a journey into the heart of the province’s wilderness. Owners Kevin Larsen, Dave Henry, and Jamie Schreder infuse their love for the outdoors into every aspect, from the cozy cabin ambiance to the cartoon labels depicting their outdoor escapades. 

When you walk into the tasting room at Camp Beer Company in Langley, British Columbia, you would not be remiss to think you have walked into a cabin somewhere in Northern British Columbia. 

There are light wood features everywhere, accompanied by the occasional plaid blanket, a cozy fireplace in a nook and an extra area with a centre feature that resembles the plentiful trees you would be walking amongst in beautiful British Columbia. 

This warmth and dedication to the branding isn’t just performative, but a part of what owners Kevin Larsen, Dave Henry, and Jamie Schreder truly love in life. Before their days in perfecting the pints pouring from their taps, Kevin and Dave respectively spent time loving the outdoors in their own ways.  

Kevin recalls fondly summers spending time with his family, both growing up and with his own kids, experiencing the great outdoors in the most authentic way possible. As for Dave, his avid outdoorsmanship has been unaffected by the rigours of being the head brewer at Camp. Dave spends whatever free time he has fly fishing, something he has been doing for two-plus decades and continues to this day. 

This love of the outdoors and personal connection truly bleeds into their tasting room, and even more so into their branding. All of the beers that Camp produces have cartoon-esque labels of people enjoying the outdoors of B.C., and if you know the people behind Camp, you can recognize these cartoons as caricatures of the ownership, employees, and the canine companions they all love so much.

It is because of this commitment to their passion for beer and the outdoors that the masses flock to Camp when they release a new beer or have one of their many innovative events they host – from a Mario Kart competition night to a friendly competition for the best West Coast IPA in British Columbia.

When asked about how Kevin, Jamie, and Dave met and how this adventurous endeavour came about, Dave and Kevin recall their days of starting Full Barrel Homebrew club, a club that continues to host events in their tasting room showcasing some enterprising brews that Dave happily gives feedback on to help the next generation of homebrewers.

The pair forged a friendship that saw them traveling from tasting room to tasting room trying anything they could get their hands on to concoct a new creation. It was in these adventures that Jamie encountered the two of them and felt their infectious love and excitement around the craft beer industry, and he made it his mission to create something special with the two of them.

While it wasn’t as short of a venture as it seems from above, Dave and Kevin both agree that where they went from meeting Jamie at a brewery in Maple Ridge and getting his business card to opening a highly successful brewery during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was as rewarding as it could possibly be.

Kevin recalls the day they met Jamie, “we were doing some brewery hopping in Maple Ridge, talking to all of the employees, seeing the equipment and talking about beer styles. Jamie approached us and asked if we were in the industry, because he was interested in doing something of his own.”

They chalked it up to just another conversation throughout their day and moved on to the next brewery, where they once again ran into Jamie. “He approached us again and made it clear how serious he was and that he could see our passion for it and wanted to get in touch”, Kevin recalls. They hardly knew what adventures lie ahead for them when they finally met up with their soon-to-be business partner.

Kevin and Dave had already been working on a business plan in their free time, chasing the dream of owning their own place like most homebrewing folks do. This plan was brought to Jamie, and things got rolling quicker than expected, becoming a reality in mere months. And while this would seemingly be a premonition of a perfect existence, Camp Beer Company opened up just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in British Columbia, creating an instantaneous summit for them to climb.

Tasked with the arduous trial of trekking through an unknown path, they made the changes they needed to in order for the business to stay healthy and successful.

“We went from planning on just having a few cans here and there, to having our tasting room filled with pallets”, Dave recalls. His title might have been head brewer, but as he says, “I was doing a bit of everything from brewing, to cellar work, to packaging, deliveries, and anything else that needed to be done.”

They have showcased flexibility with their changes in their business plan, where they originally planned to be an entirely on-site sales model with a hand seamer for just a few cans here and there, to having to pivot to a wholesale program shortly after opening to stay afloat during the lockdown. But much like anyone in this industry, they had help from some friends, one in specific that they credit heavily for helping them realize this dream is Tony DeWald.

“We got a lot of help in our early goings from people in the industry, especially Tony DeWald, who got us into the cask nights at Trading Post Brewing and then inviting us out to events to meet people like James Walton of Storm Brewing and Gary Lohin of Central City”, people who they credit with helping them understand the industry and avoid the pitfalls of brewery ownership. And they are looking to pay it forward.

And through all of this, Camp Beer Company, with Dave, Jamie, and Kevin leading the summit seeking group behind them, has continued to push forth to higher peaks. They have embraced the highs, answered to the ebbs of the industry and brewery ownership with success, and continue to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed about their prospects, which Kevin says he thinks are so bright they are “giving out sunglasses”. These new trails they are traveling has them seeing opportunities outside of Langley, among plenty of exciting and intrepid new beers coming to their portfolio. Camp Beer plans to continue as they have went, embracing the fact that adventure is always out there, especially when looking for the perfect pint.