Canada, ON: Kensington Brewing Company to have its own facility

Kensington Brewing Company is finally getting ready to set up shop in its namesake neighbourhood, after two years in business, torontoist.com reported on May, 1.

Augusta Ale will actually be made on Augusta Avenue starting later this year.

On the surface, it doesn’t quite make sense that a brewery named Kensington Brewing Company—which has beers named after Kensington Market’s Augusta Avenue and Baldwin Street, and which borrows images from the neighbourhood for its branding materials—to brew its products in Guelph. But brewery founder Brock Shepherd says it’s not as odd as one might think.

Kensington Brewing Company is what’s known as a “contract brewer,” meaning it makes its suds in rented facilities, on rented equipment. “Contract brewing is a good way to start out,” Shepherd says. “The cash outlay is minimal. If things don’t work out, you’re not out this huge half-million- or million-dollar investment.”

As a result, Kensington Brewing Company’s line of products has never actually been made in Kensington Market. The company’s beers were initially made at Etobicoke’s Black Oak Brewing Company, and are now produced at Guelph’s Wellington Brewery.

That said, Shepherd always wanted to make the beer in the Market. Now, after two years in business, with two successful products in bars and the LCBO and a third product ready to launch, he’ll get his wish. Kensington Brewing Company has a lease, and is in the middle of setting up its own facility. The new brewery is set to open this fall.

“Once people can come in and have a pint, people will understand us and we’ll start to get more involvement from the community,” Shepherd says.

He started the brewery two years ago after becoming disenchanted with his previous business, Burger Bar.

“Burger Bar had six taps that I was rotating with various small, interesting craft beers,” he said. “Eventually, we had the opportunity to get our own beer made, the Burger Bar house beer.”

“Eventually I just decided that the restaurant was annoying me, and beer was going well, so I figured, why don’t I put that energy into something I was enjoying.”

One of the ways Kensington Brewing Company is raising money for the new facility is through what Shepherd calls “Community Supported Beer.” Inspired by the concept of community-supported agriculture, the brewery is essentially selling future beer at a discount, to help get the facility up and running.

“It’s basically crowdfunding,” says sales manager Mike Gurr.

Shepherd and Gurr say that Kensington is part of a larger boom in craft brewing in Ontario. Both men say that in the last two years, the number and quality of craft beers in the province has grown exponentially.

“The growth in terms of the number of beers offered is obvious, but one thing we can really speak to is the growth in the quality of beers,” says Gurr.

Eventually, both men say they’d like to see their brewery act as a template for other small, neighbourhood-based breweries.

08 May, 2013