Canada, ON: Guelph's Wellington Brewery to expand

In order to keep the taps flowing, Wellington Brewery in Guelph has been brewing 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the past two years to meet the growing demand for craft beer in Ontario, CBC reported on April 22.

Now, the company is hoping to meet that demand with a 12,000-square-foot expansion of its Woodlawn Road facility next year.

Vice president Brent Davies says there's so much demand for beer, the company has not been able to build up inventory.

"We have purchased a state of the art canning line, bottling line and labeler and a new brewhouse," said Davies. "The beer is brewed there and then it's transferred from the brewhouse to the fermenters, ferments for about 14 days, then we package it."

With the new expansion, Wellington should be able to do in four days and 16-hour shifts what they're now doing in seven days, working 24 hours a day, Davies said.

The company, which has been brewing beer for nearly 30 years, currently has 45 employees, although Davies believes it will be hiring more people in a variety of departments such as production, marketing and sales.

Now, Wellington brews about 27,000 hl a year, which is the equivalent of around 330,000 cases of 24-packs of beer. With the expansion, it will be able to make up to 200,000 hl a year.

"It's all natural, it's small, it's locally sourced and locally brewed," said Davies about what makes Wellington a craft brewer. Wellington beers are available in Ontario, generally between Ottawa and Windsor.

24 April, 2015