Pacific Western Brewery welcomed the community to join in the fun on Saturday. Photos 250News

Prince George, B.C. – The grounds of the Pacific Western Brewery were packed with visitors on Saturday as the company hosted an open house in the afternoon and a tailgate party last night.

Spokesperson Kyle Sampson says the “everyone welcome” open house was “a chance for us to connect with the public and hang out and give back to the community that supports us year after year.”  He noted that “PWB has been around for almost 60 years this year.  Our current owner Kazuko (Komatsu) is celebrating 25 years of owning the brewery and this is just a way to hang out with the public and have some fun, drink some beer.”

There was lots to do in the afternoon.  A DJ was on hand to play some music, people could sample the wide variety of beers brewed at the plant and could also tour the pilot brewery and sample beer there as well.  A green screen was set up for free pictures taken against various brewery backdrops, there was a free barbeque and everyone who turned out received a free takeaway gift.

Everyone was welcome, adults and kids.  Of course you had to be 19 or older to sample the beer.  The open house ran from noon till 4 pm.

PWB owner Kazuko Komatsu was on hand to get her own video of Honeymoon Suite

Then the grounds were cleared for two hours to allow for clean-up and then set-up for the tailgate party from 6 to 10 pm.  The 19+ event was sold out, with 700 guests on hand for Honeymoon Suite.    The opening act, well-known local group Audio Union, kicked it off at 6 and played through until Honeymoon Suit took the stage at 8 and rocked the place until about 10 pm.

And “rock the place” is just what Honeymoon Suite did

Audience reaction to both bands was pretty overwhelming.  Audio Union received many accolades for their original material and their covers of many well-known songs.  The headliner, Honeymoon Suite, ran through several of their big hits and had plenty of help from the closet vocalists in the crowd.  And singer Johnnie Dee certainly did a great job of being an intimately personable entertainer.

The tailgate party included a barbecue and, of course, products of the brewery, and all proceeds from it went to the PWB Foundation, which is involved in many causes within the community and the area.  Proceeds from this event were specifically targeted to re-forestation.

Pacific Western has held an Open House for many years now and last night staged its second tailgate party.   Based on the sold-out status of the event and the fan reaction to the entertainment, It would not be out of the question to suggest that a similar endeavor in the future would be equally well-received.

In fact right before the closing fireworks display the company thanked everyone who turned out for the party and invited them all back next year.