OutSpoken Brewing is a microbrewery based in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. This past January, it closed for the majority of the month without so much as an explanation. Co-owners Vaughn Alexander and Graham Atkinson have discussed the closure on social media, outlining a myriad of challenges due to a result from the pandemic.

“In all honesty and transparency, we really need your help right now,” Alexander said. “It’s been a very tough year. We have product to move. There’s beer. There’s cans. There’s kegs. We need you to come in and stock up.”

“We’ve done our best to be a part of that economy downtown and part of that revitalization,” he said. “And we’re hoping you’ve had a great experience in (the pub). You’ve enjoyed the patio, you’ve enjoyed the sunny days. We hope for that to continue.”

“The last couple years have been really hard on us at OutSpoken,” he said. “I think they’ve been hard on everybody. The pandemic has taken its toll.

“We’re relying on you.”

“We’re on the same page as everybody else,” he said. “We’re really looking for your support here.”

OutSpoken is one of two well-known microbreweries in the region.

“But if opportunities present themselves and we can accommodate growing bigger … We have to keep the whole microbrewery framework in mind.” “We are very resourceful,” Atkinson said in 2014. “Our business plan and our business model, from the beginning, is to not stretch ourselves outside of our means. So we’ve been very careful with how we’ve gone through procurement processes.”

SOURCE:  The Daily Press (Timmins)

Photo courtesy of OUTSPOKEN BREWING/Facebook