Our Story
OUR BREWERY
Ravens Brewing is a family-owned brewery and distillery located in Abbotsford, BC. Paul and Jocelyn Sweeting have owned Ravens since the beginning in 2014. Proud of their heritage and community, Ravens Brewing is an Indigenous Corporation focused on developing partnerships with local suppliers and businesses in the development of beers, spirits and other similar products. We have won multiple awards for our beers including being one of a handful of BC breweries to consistently win a BC Beer Award every year for the last 5 years and winning best Gose at the World Beer Cup in 2018.
In creating our beers and spirits, we strive to source as local as possible. Sourcing Abbotsford grown hops, fruit and herbs, and grains from Peace River, to use consistently in our beers and gins. Also partnering with chocolate, tea, and coffee suppliers in Abbotsford for collaborative products and projects. We have recently begun exciting work with local producers to develop new crops and partnerships that could be used in future production.
Over the years, Ravens has emphasized the importance in giving opportunities to many groups in the community. We have worked with the Abbotsford Arts Council to showcase their products and support the creative endeavours of our local arts community. We have sponsored sports programs, arts and film festivals, and many charities including the MS Society and Canucks Place. It is our goal to continue to support the community through growth and education programs in culinary arts and additional business mentorships.
OUR OWNERS
Paul and Jocelyn are local business owners who have been raising their family in Abbotsford for the last 20 years. Jocelyn, originally from Ontario, moved to BC to attend University to become a special education assistant. After working in the school district for many years she decided to partner with Paul to open Ravens Brewing. Jocelyn’s heritage is First Nations, Anishinaabe, and shares her heritage proudly with the team and customers.
Paul was raised in Abbotsford, going to school for business at BCIT. Paul owned and ran a private liquor store for 15 years before starting Ravens Brewing. The idea for starting the brewery came from a love of the liquor industry born from owning and operating the liquor store. Paul and Jocelyn have been committed members of the community through coaching minor sports and involvement in charity events. They take pride and joy in their evolution in the industry and hope you enjoy their beers and your time at Ravens Brewing.
OUR BREWER
Dan started homebrewing back in 2013 and quickly developed a passion for it because he’s a big nerd and this provided him a way to look cool (or so he thought). Shortly after, Kwantlen Polytechnic University announced a brewing diploma program and Dan saw this as a perfect opportunity to stop selling video games for a living (we told you he’s a nerd, right?). He was accepted into the first class in 2014 and against our better judgement we brought him on as Assistant Brewer in April of 2015. When he graduated a year later, we thought, “he can’t be that bad, right?” and we brought him on full-time. And a year after that, our former Head Brewer realized that Dan is completely insufferable and he left, so Dan was promoted to the position because we couldn’t be bothered to look for anyone better. His first beer recipe as Head Brewer was the Corvus Lingonberry Lime Gose, which went on to win a few awards including a Gold at the World Beer Cup in 2018. And as Dan likes to say, “It’s all downhill from here…”