Travel Tips & Stories
From Skateboards to Sours: How Valley Brewing Poured Its First Pint

From Skateboards to Sours: How Valley Brewing Poured Its First Pint

Prairies to Badlands: Locally Grown Stories
Stories Rooted in Community & Event Partnership

Location: Drumheller, Alberta | Logged by: The Gallivanting Gals

If you ask Nick and Crystal Sereda how Drumheller’s first microbrewery came to be, they’ll tell you it wasn’t exactly a straight pour. “We’d been running the sports shop next door for years,” Nick laughs. “But I lost my job at the time, and after two years off, I thought a brewery would be a cool idea. Honestly, it’s a lot easier to sell a beer to a tourist than a skateboard.”

Inspired by visits to places like Whitetooth Brewing in Golden, and by the growler culture of fresh-filled beer, the Seredas teamed up with friends Jen and Ryan Sisson. Ryan was working up north and wanted to spend more time with his family, and together they started building a dream — one pint at a time.

Nick is a fourth-generation Valley resident, and the decision to stay and build here was an easy one. “We’d already started our family, and our kids grew up surrounded by grandparents and great-grandparents, all right down the street. I can’t imagine raising them anywhere else.”

Even the name Valley Brewing is a nod to geography and home. “We’re in the river valley — it just fit,” says Crystal.

Valley Brewing’s tap lineup is a mix of fruit-forward sours, hoppy IPAs, and deep, dark malts. What ties them together is the philosophy: something for everyone. “Lots of breweries hyper-focus on IPAs, and that’s all you get. We take pride in offering variety,” says Nick. “When someone orders a flight, there should be something on that paddle that makes them say, ‘Wow, that’s my beer.’”

And yes, when it comes to fruit, they go big — really big. We’re talking 120 kilos of purée per 1,000 liters, Nick explains. “You can’t fake it with flavorings. Real ingredients keep people coming back, and that’s the name of the game.”

The Seredas see beer as a way to tell stories about the Valley. From Discovery to Coal Rush, their labels pull straight from local history. “The history in this valley is something I’ve never experienced anywhere else in Canada,” says Crystal. “It’s worth telling.”

Nick chimes in: “People always come for dinosaurs, but we wanted to remind them there’s so much more. At the brewery, we keep the stories upbeat. We save the dark secrets for the distillery.”

And yes, people do drink differently when they know the story. “At first, I worried that no one outside Drumheller would care about our local names. But the opposite happened — people all over Alberta said, ‘Oh, I went there as a kid! I remember that museum!’ It sparks connection.”

Valley Brewing’s taproom looks out onto Munchie Park, a once-forgotten brownfield now transformed into a lush community hub. “Before the brewery, the only people who came were geocachers,” Nick recalls. “Now it’s full of families, flowers, and activity. We feel really fortunate to have that green space right at our doorstep.”

And what do they hope people feel when they walk through the door? Crystal doesn’t hesitate: “Welcome. Always welcome. No matter who you are or where you’re from, you’ll have a good experience here — and hopefully, you’ll come back.”

From custom cans for local festivals like Loud As Hell to pouring at the Prairies to Badlands Dinner Series, collaborations are part of their DNA. “It’s how we stay connected with the community,” says Nick. “It’s extra work, sure, but it’s worth it.”

And if they could design a Dinner Series beer? “It’d celebrate farm-to-glass,” Crystal says. “We’re a tourism town, but agriculture is the backbone. Hard work, grit, and growing good things — that’s Alberta.”

In five years? Expect new beers, new collabs, and
definitely new stories. “We’re already bigger than we
thought we’d be,” says Nick. “But who knows? Maybe
the next can will be Drumheller’s secret Major League
Baseball connection.”

Fun Fast Facts

  • First beer brewed: Capstone (contract brewed at Fahr). First in-house: Prairie Icon.
  • Brewmaster: Nick Patterson
  • Go-to shift beer: Namesake (Nick), Virtue in summer (Crystal), Wolly in winter (Crystal).
  • If Drumheller were a beer: Corpolite (fossilized dino poo), bentonite, and sage.
  • Taproom must-play song: Lumineers, Jack Johnson… and always Closing Time.

So here’s to beer that tells a story — from fossilized poo to blackberry purée, from geocachers to grandparents. Valley Brewing isn’t just pouring pints; they’re pouring Drumheller into every glass.

The Gallivanting Gals

About Valley Brewing

Valley Brewing is Drumheller’s first craft brewery, pouring history and hops into every glass. From fruit-packed sours to dark malts, their lineup is as diverse as the Valley itself — always brewed with real ingredients, local pride, and a dash of storytelling. Every pint connects you to the Badlands, one sip at a time.