In Germany, somebody with a title like the one held by Franco Corno would be treated like a god.
But Corno never planned to chase down the barley crown. The Kamloops native was well on his way to becoming an accountant when his life changed course.
Corno and Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Co. founder Dave Fenn were buddies in university. When Fenn needed someone to manage the company's brewing operation, he called Corno. Corno turned out to be a good fit.
Corno doesn't look like the stereotypical brewmaster. He's missing the small beer belly, the rosy nose and a beard that could catch the foam off a well-poured glass of stout. But once you get Corno talking, it's not long before he reveals his encyclopaedic knowledge of beer trivia.
Corno learned the trade under the "grandfather" of B.C.'s microbrewing resurgence, John Mitchell. In 1981, Mitchell and Frank Appleton, another of Corno's tutors, pioneered North America's first modern craft brewery when they started Horseshoe Bay Brewery.
Eleven years later, Corno is tweaking his own speciality recipes. Last year, Corno created 26 types of beer. The Howe Sound Brewing Co. has 13 North American Beer Awards and seven Canadian Beer Awards under its pints.
"It just shows us we can be competitive," Corno said. "It gives us confidence."
Production has grown, too. Five years ago, Corno was running a one-man-show and generating 3,000 litres of beer per week. Now Howe Sound Brewing employs 14 people and turns out 19,000 litres of swill a week.
Last year alone, the brewery's eight double and three single frementers produced 600,000 litres of beer, just 150,000 litres below the brewery's top capacity. And for the first time in the company's history, Howe Sound Brewing began selling its products in cans.
Howe Sound beers are exported throughout B.C., Saskatchewan, Alberta and in five U.S. states. The company currently has an application in with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. With all the developments, it's becoming clear the Howe Sound Brewing Co. needs a bigger home, Corno said.
"The craft beer just keeps going up. We haven't found a lack of sales."
The company aims to double its in-house production in the next six months, Fenn said. Within the next two years, Howe Sound Brewing's goal is to build an additional off-site brewery.
Howe Sound Brewing owns one of three parcels of land behind the current facility. The property was bought with the intention of developing the land for the brewery. However, as the company's beer grows in popularity, the lot has begun to look smaller. Fenn has been in negotiations with different property owners around the district.
"Our intention all along is to remain in Squamish," Fenn said.
It's an exciting time, Corno said. By fall, the brewery expects to hear back regarding its application to sell its products in Ontario. In the meantime, Corno continues to cook up new recipes. With 3,000 different beer flavours with which to experiment, he's not getting bored any time soon.
"You get to be very creative," he said.
