E-Malt.com News article: Canada, ON: Big Rig Brewery to open in June

Brewmaster Lon Ladell expects to make his first batch of Big Rig Brewery pub beer next week, Ottawa Citizen reported on April, 27.

The pub takes its name from one of the principal investors, Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Phillips.

Chris has three partners, all with extensive experience in the brew pub and food service industry. Overseeing the beer end is brewmaster Lon, formerly of the famous Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria, B.C., with 16 years experience. Lon is a partner in the brewing operation, but not the restaurant side.

Joining Chris as partners in the brew pub/restaurant is Pierre Cleroux, a founding partner at Clock Tower Brew Pub and Ottawa restaurateurs Jimmy Zourntos and Angelis Koutsos.

“Our first batch is going to be our flagship brand, Big Rig Gold,” Lon says, with the pride of a new dad.

“We’re almost there. All that’s left now is to clean everything. The equipment check was done today, and with a couple of days of cleaning we’ll be ready to do Big Rig brew No. 1 — that’s 2,000 litres. I’ll do another Big Rig Gold a few days after that so we’ll have bottles for sale at our launch.

“My growler bottles at 64 ounces come in next week, so we’ll be selling growlers as well as six-packs of 355-mL bottles. We’ve already got 108 cases of 355-mL bottles, which are larger than the regular 341-mL beer bottles. And we’re going to be releasing beer to the LCBO as soon as our packaging is approved, starting with some local LCBO stores and expanding from there as we ramp up to supply the Ontario market.”

Installed equipment includes three 2,000-litre fermenters, three 2,000-litre bright tanks for conditioning the beer, a 1,000-litre mash tun and 1,000-litre brew kettle.

Six different brews will be on tap when the place opens in June, increasing to eight by mid-summer.


27 April, 2012