Finishing touches are underway at Port Moody’s newest brewery, Rewind Beer Co. (2809 Murray Street), brought to us by the team behind The Parkside Brewery. If everything continues to shape up nicely and as planned, doors will open within the next few weeks.

Co-owner Sam Payne gave me a tour of the space last week, to fill us in on his retro-vision and what’s in store for visitors to Brewers Row in the very near future…

THE CONCEPT | As the name of the brewery suggests, Rewind is all about the throwback. Though the branding, design details, movie posters on the walls, cheeky sub-references and enthusiasm are locked on the mid-80’s to mid-90’s era, Payne is quick to point out that, theoretically, one could just as easily rewind two minutes as they could two decades – a technical truth that leaves loads of room to play should they ever run out of 80’s and 90’s inspiration.

The likelihood of that happening, though, is low. From Saved By The Bell, Knight Rider and The Princess Bride to Pac-Man, Ninja Turtles and cell phones as big as your arm, the material is there in surplus. All that’s needed is the addition of a sense of humour and a desire for fun.

Payne explains: “Our hope is that first and foremost, people have fun at Rewind! We wanted it to be a bit of a time warp, and while there are heavy 80’s/90’s/00’s [references], as those are the eras we grew up in, the brewery is really about influences from any time in the past. It will be about great beers with friends, listening to great music and eating tasty food!” The timing is perfect – who isn’t ready for a cold beer, a good laugh and a flashback to simpler times of frosted tips and neon accessories?

THE SPACE | Construction on Rewind started five months ago, and at the time of my visit it was looking pretty close to ready, minus a few finishing touches.

I walked through the Murray Street garage door entrance into a spacious room featuring a high ceiling dotted with colourful neon shapes casting spots of pink, yellow and blue glow onto the white walls.  The tasting room’s bold blue banquette and deep green tiles remind me of 80’s roller rink or movie theatre furniture.  A vintage concession stand style menu board is on the way, (Detroit style pizza will be item #1) and a carefully edited selection of movie posters in “Coming Soon” display cases are being prepped to be hung throughout. The bar, with a base of solid glass blocks backlit by multi-coloured lighting, features 16 taps (I’m told the handles will be made from 90’s mobile phones – and there is undoubtedly enough purchase on those suckers to make it work). Basically, the tone is set for time travel.

THE BEER | Behind the time warp tasting room is a 20-hectolitre brewhouse (by comparison, Parkside is 30). The smaller brewing facility means smaller batches, more often. While touring the space, I note that I can almost throw a can of beer from Rewind to her sister brewery (Parkside is located only six doors down the street). When I ask how the beers at Rewind will be unique, the team explains:

“We don’t really look at it as what will be different [from] Parkside. We want to create a strong identity for Rewind on its own. Rewind will be about lots of styles, trials, and having fun brewing beer. We plan to make some beers that are loud, like the eras we are inspired by, and also some beers inspired by the beers of eras past. There won’t be much that we won’t try.”

THE TEAM | No matter how much fun the concept is, taking on a new project these days is bound to make anyone nervous. On this matter, Payne says, “Well, let me first say that we are very wary, and it wasn’t an easy decision. We started thinking about this pre-Covid, and then walked away from it. We had another opportunity to look at it, and we felt it was the right move for us to do, despite the obvious concerns of making an investment like this right now. The biggest reason? Our staff! We want to provide opportunity and growth for them, and we are so excited about the energy, excitement and passion going into this project. It is truly a group effort, and we really love our talented team.”

The team is pretty impressive: Sam Payne and co-owner Vern Lambourne are joined by Anthony Morelli (Senior Sales Representative); Sara Martin (Ambassador, Sales, Merch and Marketing); Hamish MacRae (Head Brewer); Chloe Rhodes (Production and Logistics Manager); Devon Byerley (Art Director); Jon Dick (Tasting Room GM); Brittany Laing (Assistant GM); Travis Mclean (Social Media/Marketing); as well as their Brew Team: Steve Thomas, Clarke Malcolm and Bryce Taylor.

HOURS | Although the crew have been joking around that hours will be “All Night Long” (a Lionel Richie reference), the City of Port Moody might not get the joke, so they are aiming for Monday-Sunday Noon-10 or 11pm.

Keep an eye on Rewind’s Instagram feed for the official opening date. While you’re waiting, take a look inside…

Rewind Beer Co

Neighbourhood: Port Moody

2809 Murray St.

WEBSITE