E-Malt.com News article: Canada, ON: Hogtown Brewers enter the Toronto craft beer market

Founded by six guys who play rugby together, Hogtown Brewers was born out of a desire to create a local beer that had a decent amount of flavour but wasn't so complex or heavy that you couldn't drink a half a dozen or so in an evening, Blogto.com reported on January, 20.

The idea, according to Pete Shippen, one of the brewery's founders, was to develop a beer that was "just drinkable enough not to alienate." With the help of experienced brewmaster Jay Cooke, that seems to be precisely what they've done.

Hogtown is probably Toronto's only Kölsch-style beer, a lagered beer that is essentially Germany's answer to the British Pale Ale. It's a beer with a rich brewing tradition in Cologne, and the style choice is a reflection of brewmaster Cooke's training at brew schools in Germany.

The beer is currently being poured at the Duke of Devon. There are plans to take Hogtown to other bars, but in the meantime Shippen and his partners are happy staying a little bit exclusive. "We've had a lot of interest," he notes, "but we want to be able to expand the right way." The plan seems to be a level-headed approach not to get too far ahead of themselves and to grow the business in a way that ensures they can still service whomever opts to pour their beer.

Shippen brings just some of what seems like considerable business-savvy to a group of brewers/rugby players that comprise a few financial industry types, as well as a current student and a gum salesman. For now, they seem content to take it one step at a time, but during a conversation that included reference to the Duke of Devon as a "focus group" and a chat about their contract brewing (at Cool Brewery) as a "less capital intensive" approach, it seemed clear that the guys from Hogtown Brewers have their sights set on eventual distributing to a wider market. Given the rate at which people seem to be downing pints of their tasty Kölsch-style beer, Toronto's beer drinkers will likely be ready for them when they do.


25 January, 2012