A powerhouse that makes beer now.
The river ran this building for almost fifty years. We kept the generator, the crane and the marble switchboard, and put eight taps where the power used to leave.
Breaker Room is a concept by Kootenay Made Digital: the brewery and the Dynamo powerhouse are invented.
Built in 1923 to light the valley.
The Dynamo powerhouse went up in 1923 on a reservoir stretch of the Kootenay River, on what is now Highway 3A between Castlegar and Nelson. The walls are board-formed concrete. You can still see the grain of the wooden forms in them, under a flat parapet.
Six tall arched steel windows face the river. Behind the building, two green riveted penstocks come straight down the hillside. They carried the water that turned the turbines, and the main line carried the power out to the valley.
The station ran until 1971. The green front door sits in the smaller wing at the landward end, level with the parking lot, and the machine hall opens up just past it, all on one level.
- 1923The powerhouse opens with two generators on the machine hall floor.
- 1948The flood knocks the station out for three days. The valley calls it the blackout.
- 1971The generator we kept runs for the last time.
- NowEight taps on the old switchboard, and a brewhouse behind glass at the north end.
What we kept in the machine hall.
Twelve metres from the floor to a riveted steel truss. The two Francis turbines sat under the floor where the long tables are now. What stayed above it, we left where it was.
- The generator
- One of the station's two 1923 generators, in the middle of the floor behind a low railing. Its copper coils are still inside. You can see them through the inspection port.
- The gantry crane
- Still yellow, still on its rails overhead, running the length of the hall.
- The switchboard
- White marble, eight panels, two brass meters on each. We put a faucet under every panel. It is our tap wall now.
- The walls and the floor
- Cream glazed tile with one deep green band at shoulder height, and grey terrazzo with brass strips underfoot.
How we brew.
Small batches, cold cellars and patience. Most of the craft is in waiting for the beer to be ready.
Behind glass
The brewhouse sits behind glass at the north end of the hall, so you can watch the mash from your table. On a brew day you can smell it from the car park.
Cold and slow
Mainline Lager spends five weeks lagering cold and comes out clear without a filter. River Rail gets part of its mash decocted, the old slow way.
Small and often
Hazy beer is best in its first few weeks, so Turbine Hazy is brewed small and often. When its keg drops under 20 percent, the next batch is already in the tank.
From down the valley
Toasted malt from a small Creston Valley maltster for Copper Coil. Whole raspberries from a farm outside Creston for Floodgate. Spruce tips for Surge, picked each May on the hill above the penstocks.
Every name is a piece of the station.
Mainline Lager
Mountain lager · 4.8%
The main line was the feeder cable that carried the station's power out to the valley.
River Rail Pilsner
Czech-style pilsner · 5.1%
Named for the rail spur that once ran down to the station to bring the generators in.
Surge Pale Ale
Citrus pale ale · 5.4%
A surge is the jump in load when the whole valley switches its lights on at dusk.
Turbine Hazy
Hazy IPA · 6.2%
The station's two Francis turbines sat under the floor where the long tables are now.
Breaker IPA
West Coast IPA · 6.7%
The breaker room was the gallery where the main circuit breakers lived. We named the brewery after it.
Copper Coil Amber
Amber ale · 5.6%
The generator in the middle of the hall still has its copper coils inside. You can see them through the inspection port.
Floodgate Sour
Raspberry sour · 4.9%
The floodgates are still up the river at the dam. On a spring melt you can hear them from the patio.
Blackout Porter
Robust porter · 6.0%
The 1948 flood knocked the station out for three days. The valley called it the blackout.
Four rules for the room.
19+ at the bar
The bar rail is adults only, 19 and over. Bring ID. Private events are 19+ after 8 PM.
Kids until 8 PM
Yes, with an adult, inside and on the patio until 8 PM. There is a kids' menu, highchairs and a change table. The bar rail is adults only.
Dogs on the patio
On the patio, yes, on a leash. There is a water bowl by the railing. Inside, only service dogs.
The driver drinks free
Plan it before the first round. The driver of your table drinks free all night from the no-alcohol list: root beer, hop water, cold brew, coffee and pop. The bar will call you a cab, and the Castlegar to Nelson bus stops at the highway, a six-minute walk.
Come and see the generator.
The powerhouse and brewhouse tour runs on Saturdays at 1 PM and 3 PM. It takes 45 minutes and costs $25, with a flight of four at the end.
19+ · Up to 14 a tour · Closed-toe shoes for the brewhouse floor
