The funny thing is that in the nineties, I don’t think the word ‘craft’ really existed in the world of beer. If you were making good beer, and people were enjoying it, then that was enough. I knew we were making good beer, drinkers were relating to our beer, and working with my dad (the…
Read More
It’s the first week of 2017 and it’s a period of transition for Nickel Brook, as well as a member of its team, Matt Gibson. Previously responsible for sales and marketing at the Ontario brewery, Gibson is in the process of training up a new team member to take on his sales responsibilities, allowing the…
Read More
“I think it’s something of a pendulum swing, but beer is like that it’s cyclical. People were after monster beers but now there is much more of a focus on sessionable numbers. I find drinkers are more inclined to opt for a beer where there is less of a punch in the face, and lager…
Read More
Brewhouse? Check. Tank farm? Check. Centrifuge? Check. Packaging Hall? Check. Canning line? Check. Iain McOustra and the team at Leaside, Toronto-based Amsterdam Brewery were told they were mad when they outlined what they wanted to achieve in 2016. But did that stop them? Of course not. They had their expansion plans in place and they…
Read More
Saskatchewan > Edinburgh > Saskatchewan > Ottawa is unlikely to be much of a well-worn path for many brewers in the industry but, then again, the fact that there isn’t a one size fits all approach in brewing means the sector is all the better for it. However, that particular journey was the one taken…
Read More
“It always has to come back to the beer, and it always has to start with the beer. That’s always been our focus. This brewery is based on family, it’s based on friends, but that doesn’t mean we don’t worry about the beer!” explains a passionate Steve Beauchesne, CEO of Beau’s All Natural. It’s late…
Read More
Acceptance in beer is a process that many have to go through, though not all want to. This acceptance could lie in the letting go of a beer, or a style, that your favourite brewery no longer wants to brew. It could be based in their decision to move away from bottling to canning, or…
Read More
Alongside brewery mergers and acquisitions mergers, one of the prevalent and inescapable issues dominating the modern brewing landscape is that of hops and more pertinently, their supply. Hop shortages, of varying severity, have been well documented, while the adage of necessity being the mother of invention has ensured that brewers are increasingly turning to yeast…
Read More
Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne is currently a very popular individual in the eyes of breweries and beer buyers across the province. On the 15th December last year, she made history by simply buying a six-pack of beer at a grocery store. Commonplace for most, but for Ontarians, she was indulging in a simple pleasure that had…
Read More
Steve Hindy is co-founder and chairman of Brooklyn Brewery, New York, USA which he founded in 1984. He was one of the pioneers of the craft brewing revolution which swept across America and has been highly influential in the UK. Many small UK brewers now brew US style beers using American hops. Hindy is a…
Read More