A group of friends sit together laughing, joking, and sharing a cold pint. Before long, one of them jokes that brewing beer doesn’t seem that hard. Maybe they could do it themselves.
When they sober up the next morning, the idea is still there. It may be crazy, but with a little luck and a little effort, they might be able to pull it off.
Variations on this story are common among the founders of Ottawa’s several craft breweries. But this is not the only thing that they share. The craft beer industry in Ottawa is not a competition between businessmen, but is instead a collective of craftsmen working together.
The craft beer industry is booming. The latest operational report of The Beer Store states that the amount of Ontario craft beer sold at their stores increased from about 4 million litres in 2006 to just fewer than 6 million litres in 2010, which is an increase of about 33,000 kegs.
According to a report released by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, sales of craft beer reached $190 million in 2010 and in 2011 craft beer led the LCBO in sales.
“We’re riding the wave right now. Now is the time to open a craft brewery,” co-owner of Cassel Brewery Mario Bourgeois says. Based in Cassel, Ont., the brewery opened in July 2012.
This wave has carried in other brewers as well. Two new craft breweries, Big Rig Brewery and the Hogsback Brewing Company, opened in Ottawa in the past year.
Big Rig Brewery brewmaster Lon Ladell says that people are expecting more out of their beer and are turning away from the traditional industry giants like Molson and Labatt. He says that massed produced beer does not offer the flavour or the character that can be found in microbreweries.
According to Bourgeois the craftsmanship is not present at the big breweries and they use poor ingredients like rice and corn that have taken away all the flavour in beer.
“For a long time, beer was known to taste like water,” he says.
Ladell says that there is little attention paid to the ingredients and that the processes used at the big breweries ruins the quality of the beer.
“It’s less art and more science.”
Ladell says this is attitude is in contrast to those in the craft beer industry who focus on ingredients and craftsmanship.
“Right across the globe, beer drinkers are looking for beer with a real story,” co-founder of Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company, Steve Beauschesne says.
As the oldest microbrewery in the region, Beauschesne was the trailblazer who needed to convince customers to try craft beer. His company also acts as a big brother for emerging breweries, offering advice and supplies to the newer brewers.
“We gave Broadhead bottles and we gave Kichesippi bottle caps. We’re a family that supports each other,” Beauschesne says.
Bourgeois and Ladell were quick to credit Beauschesne for helping them get settled into the beer industry. They say there is a bond between the brewers because they are all competing together against the larger beer manufacturers.
Being friends who don’t take themselves too seriously doesn’t hurt either. Beauschesne says that Beau’s currently has 70 employees who are mostly made up of family and close friends.
“I’ve hired all my unemployable friends,” he says.
“We hang out together. There is no competition,” says Bourgeois. “It’s a brotherhood between brewers.”
Paige Cutland, one of the four friends who founded the Hogsback Brewing Company, also stressed the importance of camaraderie among craft brewers in Ottawa.
“We represent less than three per cent of the entire market, we fight the big guys,” Cutland says.
This support is great for new brewers since there is a huge time commitment involved before the first keg of beer is tapped. According to Ladell, it usually takes over a year to secure the capital and make all the preparations necessary to open a brewery.
Even if a brewery can survive that process, success is not guaranteed.
“It’s been a pretty steep learning curve. We were over-optimistic about our sales. We needed to learn the beer industry,” Cutland says.
The Hogsback Brewing Company is one of the newest breweries in Ottawa and doesn’t have its own physical facility yet.
Cutland says that they are still making beer in another brewery, a process which is called contract brewing. This allows them to develop their brand in a low-risk situation—without the huge capital investment of their own building.
But Beauschesne says brewers do not feel any pressure from competitors as “rising tides lift all ships.”
He says this feeling is common throughout the industry. He credits this to customers’ desire for a relationship with their brewers.
“The market was dominated by large companies that people didn’t have a connection to. Being able to have a relationship with the restaurants goes a long way,” he says.
As more people are brought into the craft beer family, more relationships are created and local businesses are able to succeed, creating a viable and healthy business community.
Maybe starting a brewery isn’t such a crazy idea after all.
– @alexsbrockman
