Canada, ON: Charlotteville Brewing Company gets Norfolk council’s go-ahead
Norfolk County, Ontario’s reputation as a fully-integrated beer-producing region continues to grow – albeit at an extremely slow rate, Simcoe Reformer reported on October 13.
The latest addition to the trend is the Charlotteville Brewing Company at 1207 Charlotteville West Quarter Line southwest of Simcoe.
This week, Norfolk council gave the go-ahead for owners Melanie Doerksen and Tim Wilson to proceed with a microbrewery with an area of about 2,200 square feet.
They also have the green light for a small restaurant, an outdoor patio, and a space where they can sell beer brewed on-site. The couple is also allowed to host weddings in the picturesque rural location for up to 100 guests.
Doerksen and Wilson introduced themselves to council on October 11 as a professional couple with an interest in environmental issues and wholesome food. They intend to produce organic beer using hops and grains produced on 41-acres of farmland attached to their brewery.
“Our logo is a snail on a hop because we do things slowly,” Wilson told council. “It’s taken us five years to get to this point.”
Wilson is an anatomy professor at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry in London who has also taught in the United States. Doerksen is a culinary arts expert who has designed courses and taught at Fanshawe College, also in London.
Doerksen emphasized her environmental credentials. She is a member of the Green Party and supports the “slow food” movement. As opposed to fast food, slow food promotes the preservation of traditional regional cuisines while encouraging the cultivation and consumption of native plants and animals.
Both Wilson and Doerksen subscribe to the belief that businesses should be accountable for impacts imposed on the environment during the production of goods and the pursuit of profits.
Examples include carbon dioxide loading in the atmosphere through the production of greenhouse gases and the degradation of water quality through the production of chemical fertilizer runoff in agricultural zones.
“We really shouldn’t be charging the environment for the food we’re producing,” Doerksen said.
The couple’s planning application sailed through the public meeting on October 11 without complication.
“The proposed uses are compatible with the surrounding agricultural operations and help to preserve the remaining lands for agriculture by creating a higher demand for a specific type of crop, therefore supporting a thriving agricultural industry and rural economy,” Norfolk planner Mat Vaughan said in his report to council.
“Planning staff consider the proposed uses to represent good planning in the form of a small, value-added agricultural business with accessory uses and recommend that the application be approved.”
16 October, 2016
