I'm really looking forward to tasting the "old styled" lager....I can visualize a few "noggins" of that sliding downBrewing up a new idea
Ray Martin, Cambridge
(Apr 12, 2007)
Bob Hannenberg and Rob Creighton have yet to officially tap their first keg, but businesses are already interested in selling their new beer.
Two years ago, Hannenberg needed a change after 35 years in the horse business. He decided to pursue his passion in craft brewing. He has since started the Grand River Brewing Company and is in the midst of setting up his brewery in a rundown red brick building at the south end of Ainslie Street.
"I was originally going to set the business up in Brantford. There are a lot of funky old buildings down there, but people are sitting on them thinking they are going to make big money," said Hannenberg. "My wife drives by this place every day on her way to work and told me to take a look. I walked in the door and fell in love with the place."
Hannenberg purchased the former Galt Knife building on Ainslie Street South, and has spent the last 18 months cleaning up and converting the former foundry to its new use.
"The low point had to be when if was freezing in here and we were power washing all the walls, but things are really starting to come together now," he said.
The former foundry has a linear layout with plenty of windows which is proving to be ideal for the new business. At one end of the building, a retail outlet and tasting room are being planned. The tasting room has large windows filling the east and west walls, and the roof is supported by thick, square wooden posts while overhead rests the large wooden rollers that once powered the plant's machinery.
Hannenberg has also saved several of the machines that were once used in the plant with the intention of cleaning them up to display in the tasting room. Once the business is running, Hannenberg plans to run plant tours and rent the tasting room out for private functions.
In the centre of the building Creighton is busy setting up the production facilities that will be the heart of the new brewery.
A self-proclaimed "hired gun", Creighton shies away from the title of
"brewmaster" and prefers the title bestowed on him by his friends.
"I'm the beer guy," he said. "A brewmaster sits in an office and runs the entire operation. I just want to make good beer."
Creighton has been a brewer for the last 30 years, starting with Labbatt and then moving on to help establish a series of smaller breweries across Ontario including Upper Canada, Algonquin, Sleemans, and Formosa.
Creighton joined the Grand River Brewing Company in February and intends to launch the new company with two primary beers - Plowman's Ale, a robust red-hued ale with 5.4 per cent alcohol and Galt Knife Old Style Lager.
In addition to primary production, Creighton plans to produce a series of seasonal brews which will be available for several months each year. What will set Grand River's beers apart from its competitors will be its water.
"The water here is really hard, which makes it ideal for our purposes," he said. "Cambridge has a long history of brewing and we'll be carrying that on here."
Hannenberg and Creighton hope to crank up their brewing operations by the end of the month and will definitely have products on the market this summer.
They wares won't be found any time soon at the Beer Store, though. Instead they intend to grow their market with on-site sales and through a number of area restaurants and taverns who have already expressed an interest in having Grand River beers on tap.
"There seems to be a real pent-up demand for beers like ours in the market and we want to meet that need," Creighton said.
The new business is even growing an environmental conscience. Creighton said the beers produced will be unpasteurized, which will significantly reduce water use in production. Used grain will be recycled into animal feed and the brewery's large windows will reduce electricity used for lighting.
Interesting to see what the hard water/pH will do for GR's hearty lager.
