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Mayor urges Brick to stay
MICHAEL HAMMOND
PHILIP WALKER, RECORD STAFF
Jim Brickman, founder of Brick Brewing, joins Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran in a toast to the Waterloo brewery's new beer, Waterloo Wheat, launched in honour of Waterloo's 150th anniversary. Halloran also urged the company to maintain a local presence, even if bought out by another brewer.
WATERLOO (Jun 28, 2007)
Brick Brewing Co. Limited is raising a glass to its hometown.
The brewer launched its limited edition Waterloo Wheat Beer yesterday in downtown Waterloo to mark the city's 150th birthday.
Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran lauded the new Belgian-style wheat beer at the event, while urging Brick to retain its local presence even if it ends up being purchased.
"They have been such a strong corporate citizen," she said.
Brick is expected to reveal the details of its strategic review of operations in the coming weeks. The brewery launched the review May 14 when it hired CIBC World Markets to look at its operations and investigate the merits of a possible sale, among other options.
During yesterday's launch at the LCBO store at King and William streets, Brick's founder and executive chair, Jim Brickman, would only say that he expects to have details of the review ready to release in the coming weeks.
Halloran said it makes sense for Brick to stay in Waterloo, since the city has always been friendly to the brewing industry.
David Kuntz opened the Spring Brewery in 1844, which was the city's first. That brewery changed ownership a number of times. Carling O'Keefe began brewing in the city in the early 1940s at King and William streets. Labatt took over the Carling plant and operated a brewery there from 1977 to 1993.
Waterloo Wheat will be sold in 650-millilitre bottles at LCBO stores throughout Waterloo Region. It will also be available at the Brick's store on King Street as well as LCBO outlets in Elora, Fergus and Guelph. Several Waterloo pubs will also serve the beer on draft.
The special brew will be available for a month or until supplies last.
Brickman said his company experimented with a few recipes before coming up with the wheat beer.
The process of producing a special brew was a labour of love, he said.
"I love it here. I raised a family here. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but Waterloo."
The beer is also known as a white beer because of its cloudy white appearance. The brew contains orange peel and coriander, which give it a hint of citrus flavour.
The brewer tested the beer in the region and in Toronto a month ago. Brick marketing manager Sean Dennis said customers scooped up four cases just minutes after tasting samples.
Launching a limited edition beer required integrating special bottles and larger labels into the production process at Brick's packaging plant in Kitchener. Brickman said the Bingemans Centre Drive facility is flexible enough to handle the limited run.
The new beer features Brick's warthog mascot on a gold label that is similar to the Waterloo Dark label.
Meanwhile, in Cambridge, Grand River Brewing Co. has begun selling its first two beers, Ploughman's Ale and Galt Knife Old Style Lager, to area pubs.
The two brands are also sold in 1.9-litre bottles at the brewery's Ainslie Street store in old Galt.
Robert Hannenberg, the brewery's president and owner, said he plans to launch a third brand, Mill Race Mild, for the Mill Race Festival in old downtown Galt beginning Aug. 3.
The brewery plans to sell its beer in 500-millilitre bottles at LCBO outlets in the coming months, he said.
