“I didn’t even realize they were doing it,” said Steven Cavan, founder of Paddock Wood Brewing.

The micro-brewery was recently featured in Chatelaine magazine, along with Lucky Bastard Distillery, another Saskatoon based micro-operation, all without Cavan knowing about it.

“I had no idea it was happening,” he said, but added that the attention was certainly appreciated.

Paddock Wood was Saskatchewan’s first microbrewery, and it’s grown to a point where they now produce 400,000 bottles a year. Their products are sold all over the prairies, but the small brewery housed in a strip mall in eastern Saskatoon as an international reputation.

“I get calls from around the world, even though we’re really tiny and the impact we have on the market is small,” Cavan said.

Before Paddwock Wood actually made their own beer, the company started as a beer-makers supply store. There, Cavan’s expertise (he’s a certified beer judge) got him a reputation as the man to call if you had a question about craft beer. Cavan said he remembers a specific call from Molson that led to him selling the beer giant ingredients.

“I keep thinking that translated into a Rickard’s White,” he said with a laugh.

The magazine’s second Saskatoon-based company was LB (Lucky Bastard) Distilleries, the bridge city’s first micro-distillery. Launched in May 2012, it’s already become popular in Saskatoon.

According to Christie Peters, owner and chef at The Hollows, Lucky Bastards’ gin is irreplaceable. “It’s a very distinct gin,” she said. “So if we have a guest who wants a martini made with Lucky Bastard Gin we have to have it. And people do request it quite often.”

The Hollows focuses on sustainable and seasonal products, and much of their menu comes from here in Saskatchewan. The drink menu is no exception. One of the small restaurant’s two beer towers is always designated for a Paddock Wood brew. They also carry cider made by Perdue, Saskatchewan’s Living Sky Winery.

“The whole thing just works together when you can reflect the philosophy through the entire thing from the food to the drinks to the atmosphere,” Peters said.

As for why Saskatchewan brews are getting recognized on a national scale, Peters said she figures it’s because of the innovative ideas born on the prairies.

“The idea was that there’s not much going on out here and now there’s this big boom and everyone wants to get the scoop on what’s’ going on, and it think there are a lot of fresh ideas coming out of here.”