He could have easily retired instead.

Of all the staggering numbers tied to the tale of Ed McNally, it’s the figure that stands out the most.

Not the umpteen hectolitres of beer, or the millions of dollars made, or the dozens of daring varieties McNally bottled as founder, chairman and CEO of Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery.

Nope. The really impressive number in the story of Ed McNally is 60. As in 60 years old.

That’s how old the former lawyer, rancher and grain farmer was in 1985 when he started the project that would end up defining his life — and at an age when ordinary mortals are planning for retirement and the twilight years, McNally was literally just getting started.

“The thing I liked the best about Ed, is that he hated rules. He hated rules, and he hated bureaucracy, and he rolled against all of it,” said Jim Button, a former VP of Big Rock and a current partner in Calgary’s Village Brewery.

That good-natured rebellion is what defined McNally — and it’s why an entire province is now mourning the loss of Big Rock’s founder. It’s not because we lost a great businessman when McNally died on Tuesday night at the age of 89, but because the province lost another great character.

“It was just whisky talk,” is how McNally once explained Big Rock’s start to the Sun. Ed and his German friend Otto Leverkus were sipping a lot of whisky, when they began to lament the lack of good beer in Alberta — and when McNally suggested they open a brewery, Leverkus took him seriously.

A short while later, the German called McNally from Europe, saying he’d found a brewmaster: “I said: ‘Otto, what would I want a brewmaster for?’ He said: ‘Don’t you remember? We agreed we would build a brewery.’”

It’s one of the countless anecdotes McNally shared over the years, all light-hearted embellishments on what must have in reality been a very scary move.

“He’d had so many careers when he decided to get into brewing at the age of 60, but starting then doesn’t surprise me,” said Button.

“Ed used to shuffle along — he had a bum knee he’d decided never to get fixed — and at the age of 85 you’d see him shuffling along, bad knee, bad hip and his shirt hanging out, and he didn’t give a rat’s ass, because that was Ed.

“He was an icon, and an enigma all rolled into one — he was a brilliant man.”

The news of his passing comes just two years after McNally retired as CEO of his company, saying he was “look(ing) forward to having more time to spend with my other two passions: my wife Linda and my berry plantation.”

Retirement didn’t keep McNally from Big Rock, and he was a regular visitor, asking endless questions about new beers.

“This brewery was his baby,” said Big Rock’s current CEO, Bob Sartor. “Few people have that kind of fire and drive,”

Even as advancing age slowed him down, Ed and Linda McNally also remained fixtures at McNally’s other lasting legacy, the Big Rock Eddies, and what started as a fun contest for amateur beer commercials is now of the city’s most anticipated social events, complete with red carpets and glamorous gowns.

McNally clearly liked to share his success, though one of his long-serving brewmasters remembers how daring it was to convince Alberta to try craft beer.

“At that time everyone questioned Ed’s sanity, starting a brewery making ales in the west, when everybody knew the west drank lagers,” said Larry Kerwin, now the brewmaster at Village.

The story goes that McNally’s first beers, Bitter and Porter, sat on the shelves as the usual cases of Molson and Labatts went out the door.

But then a serendipitous beer strike in 1986, and the appearance of Traditional Ale, both worked in Big Rock’s favour. Suddenly Albertans were interested in this flavourful beverage — and when the strike ended, many drinkers refused to go back.

Kerwin, who left his job at Molson to join Big Rock, said McNally’s vision established Alberta as a province with a palate for craft beers.

“He was an inspiration to everybody and he was the guy who started craft brewing in Alberta. He was a unique individual and it’s a big loss,” said Kerwin.

michael.platt@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @SUNMichaelPlatt

Big Rock released this statement shortly after the news broke on Twitter:

"Big Rock, which has become the largest and longest-running independently-owned craft brewery in Canada, was founded by Ed in 1985.

His aim was simple - to make great-tasting all-natural beer - and he was often quoted as saying, "to create a masterpiece, no compromise may be tolerated."

Prior to embarking on his brewing venture, Ed had already been an accomplished lawyer and barley farmer, two areas of expertise which proved to be valuable in the beer business.

Ed's success with Big Rock and in his life in general led to recognition on many fronts. He was awarded both the Order of Canada and the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005 and was inducted to the Calgary Business Hall of Fame in 2009.

Ed was also very involved in the community, including many years of service with organizations such as Junior Achievement and the Alberta Barley Growers.

Big Rock President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Sartor, expressed his sentiments on behalf of the entire Big Rock team: "Ed leaves behind a legacy larger than life and we will forever be grateful, not only for this great company he created, but also for the lasting impression he has left on the lives of everyone who had the privilege to know him."

