E-Malt.com News article: Canada, ON: Elora Brewing Company to enter the Ontario craft beer industry by the end of July

At the end of the month, there will be one more reason for visitors to climb the hill toward the centre of town in Elora, Ontario, Guelph Mercury reported on July 7.

The Elora Brewing Company and Gastro Pub is scheduled to open its doors at the end of July, making it the newest craft brewery to enter the burgeoning local beer scene in southern Ontario.

The primary focus of the business will be the beer, said Matt Lawson, one of the founders of the company. In a phone interview on July 6, the 38-year-old said he and his neighbour had been doing their own homebrew for years and talking about how great it would be to have a brewery in town to call their own.

After nearly two years of planning, the pair teamed up with three others and are now set to open later this month. Alex Nichols has been named the head brewer of the business.

"We're just one more piece of the creative puzzle that is the Town of Elora," he said, adding he hopes the Elora Brewing Company can become a central pillar the community can rally around.

"We're trying to provide something that Elora is missing: a beer to call its own," Lawson said.

The craft beer market is really going to expand over the next few years, Lawson said. If and when the market contracts again, he said he wants the Elora Brewing Co. to be established as providing a real experience to customers.

According to Beer Canada's 2014 annual statistical bulletin, the number of licensed breweries in Ontario has doubled since 2011, from 70 to 140.

Even with all these breweries starting up in the same vicinity as one another, Lawson said he's not worried about competition. The more the merrier.

"It's a big group hug for craft breweries and everybody is on board with that. We borrow stuff from each other and it's just really supportive," Lawson said.

"The craft beer community needs to be really supportive because there are three beer companies out there that own, you know, 90 per cent of the market share," Lawson said, referring to Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Sapporo Breweries Ltd.

Four large 4,000-litre fermenters are set up at the back of the site, the stainless-steel units brightly reflecting the construction going on around the future brewery.

Lawson said the brewery won't focus on producing specific styles of beers, but rather, it will allow the local, seasonal foods to dictate the style of beer it’s paired with.

"Some dishes are going to give rise to some really interesting beers, and some beers are going to give rise to some really interesting dishes," he said.

"It's about that experience of the food and the beer melding to create interesting fusions."


08 July, 2015