E-Malt.com News article: Canada, ON: Dominion City Brewing Company adds its business to Ontario craft scene

Two years ago Josh McJannett, Andrew Kent and Alex Monk, co-owners of Dominion City Brewing Company, decided to turn their hobby for making beer into a business. In January the three friends took over factory space in Ontario and McJannett says they hope to open a brewery in early summer, Ottawa Citizen reported on March 23.

“There’s not a lot of sleep, but it’s what we want to be doing,” McJannett says. “It’s an adventure.”

It’s clear McJannett loves the craft, explaining with exuberance each step of the brewing process, the specially selected ingredients for Dominion City’s three inaugural brews and their go-local focus for the grains and hops they’ll buy. But as much as he’s excited about his brand, McJannett says something bigger than their brew is going on in Ottawa.

“I think it’s not an overstatement to say that we are the national capital of craft beer,” McJannett says. “I know that’ll be controversial in Vancouver or parts of Quebec, but I think what’s going on here with the folks who are already out there brewing, and what’s coming is some of most exciting beer in the country. People are quality focused, but they’re experimenting and pushing boundaries.

McJannett says the company has made it a priority to partner with local companies for ingredients. He says they’ll move from 15-gallon batches once their May machine shipment arrives to loads 14 times the size. He estimates the seven-barrel brewhouse can handle about 300 “growlers” worth of beer each session. A growler is a large glass jug.

McJannett says opening shop will cost several hundred thousand dollars.

The group has secured financing from a bank and they’ve also turned to the community for support. An online kickstarter campaign has raised more than C$12,000 from 177 backers. It’s one of the reasons McJannett calls it a “community-built” shop. And friends have also come out of the woodwork to build thousand-dollar items, like the engineer who made a keg washing system.

McJannett says there’s room in the craft beer market for one more business.


26 March, 2014