As Manitoba continues to expand in the craft beer market, Brandon will be added to that list with a new brewery on the horizon.  Black Wheat Brewing will be moving into a new commercial building at the corner of 10th Street and Louise Avenue.

“We start with grain and end up with beer,” said co-owner Ted Birch. “We don’t buy it somewhere else and just truck in kegs and call ourselves a brewhouse or anything. We’re actually making it at our place.” The brewery will house fermenters and will be grain-to-grass with the signature brew made with black wheat.

“Beer lovers seem to like that really heavy, hoppy beer, but it’s not for everybody, so we’ll have lighter and darker beers,” said Birch.

Brandon, Manitoba isn’t a stranger to the brewing process as two facilities – Brandon Brewery and Empire Brewing Company – were the first but closed in the 1930s.

Birch says he is surprised more craft breweries haven’t open as many people from Brandon travel to Winnipeg to get a cold brew. “I think Brandon is pretty big on its local and I think just having locally brewed craft beer is certainly going to pique some interest and I think it’s going to turn a lot of people onto craft beer.”

In addition to having a taste room, the brewery would like to start selling to local bars and restaurants and in provincially run Liquor Marts.

The tentative opening date is sometime in October.