By Connie Tabbert
Editor
BEACHBURG — The Whitewater Brewing Company is one step closer to opening a restaurant at 22 Fletcher Road near Beachburg in Whitewater Region Township.
Owners Chris Thompson and Chris Thompson (not related to each other), along with Michael Faddock, a consultant with Jp2g, spoke to council during a public meeting Wednesday afternoon to have certain restrictions removed from the site agreement plan, since they are requirements already under the Ontario Building Code. Chief Building Officer Doug Schultz agreed and a motion was passed later at the council meeting.
Whitewater Brewing Company will celebrate its one year anniversary with the launch of its new restaurant, which is expected to be by month’s end, Mr. Thompson said. Along with the two Mr. Thompson’s owning the micro-brewery, there is another partner, James Innes. Mr. Innes, who has been an active partner, recently stepped back for personal reasons, but remains a partner.
The micro-brewery offers four different beers – Farmer’s daughter, which is a blonde ale; The Whistling Paddler, an English style beer; IPA Class V, which is based on the rapids and Midnight Stout, an oatmeal milk stout. They are each brewed differently.
“There’s a lot of care taken with the process,” said Mr. Thompson “It’s definitely a hands-on process.”
While the Mr. Thompson with an English accent continued to brew the beer, the Canadian Mr. Thompson spoke about the company.
Trying to explain the difference between Whitewater beer and commercial beer, such as Molson and Labatt’s, Mr. Thompson said, “It’s a craft beer. It’s a social type of beer, not your hey, let’s go out and get drunk kind of beer.”
There are three main steps to creating a craft beer, Mr. Thompson said. There is the mash, sparge and fermentation/carbonation. Once the grain has been milled, water is run through it for about 90 minutes to take out the sugars. It is then sparged, which means the grain is showered with water for about 30 minutes, allowing any remaining sugars to be filtered out.
It is then boiled, which kills off any bacteria and the hops is added. There are different types of hops, different amounts of hops added, which affect the brewing, he explained. Once this is done, the brew is then put into fermenters for four to five days before it’s ready to drink.
The company, which began operation a year ago, has grown, not only in the numbers of employees, but in other ways, such as where it can be purchased and the sideline businesses, such as a clothing line, promotional items, such as soap made from the beer, mugs, coasters, etc., and now the upcoming restaurant.
Mr. Thompson said locally grown and made is purchased as much as possible. For example, the hops comes from nearby Quebec. Area crafters and farmers also make use of what is created by making the brew. The used grains are fed to area cattle while the left-over hops is used to make candles and soap, he noted.
When the idea for this company was evolving, Mr. Thompson admits it was an adventure the three men came up with. They met nine years ago while working at Wilderness Tours.
“Three years ago, we wanted an adventure to get into together,” he said. “It turned out to be craft beer.”
While the English Chris took a course in beer making, the Canadian Chris shadowed brewmasters in Europe, and Mr. Innes began home brewing.
Working on a shoestring budget, Mr. Thompson believes their hard work has paid off and they are making an impact.
“It’s hard to believe we have stability with only a year in,” he said.
Mr. Thompson admits it hasn’t been an easy year all the time. For example, there were legislation guidelines to be followed, and with help and guidance from municipal and county staff and politicians, it’s come together.
“Council never dealt with a brewery before, so they were hesitant,” he said. “They wanted us to be successful, but weren’t sure how to help us, so they relied on the county people.
“They helped us as much as they could. The county people definitely were looking out for us. They made sure we knew what we had to do,” he said. “They didn’t want us to get tripped up.”
And while there were many hoops to get through, Mr. Thompson said people can now come out, buy beer, have a tour and soon will be able to sit down and enjoy a drink and some food.
What has also been a challenge is friends working side-by-side and still remaining friends, he said. None of them have been paid since starting this adventure together, because whatever money is made goes towards paying their employees and covering their costs.
“It’s a huge capital investment,” Mr. Thompson said. “All of it was self-financed. We want to start paying ourselves by the end of the summer – that’s our plan.”
Smiling, he said, “There have been more good moments than bad, but working 14 to 16 hours days takes its toll on people.”
And that work is paying off. The four types of beer are not only sold at the brewery on Fletcher Road, but at 24 businesses in Renfrew County and Ottawa, including Rafters at Wilderness Tours near Foresters Falls, the Wilno Tavern, the Thirsty Beaver in Pembroke, Frisco’s Grill in Eganville; Rocky Mountain House in Renfrew, Neat Café in Burnstown, Cheshire Cat in Ottawa and Bear’s Den Lounge in Deep River.
At the Fletcher Road establishment, it can be purchased by the growler as well as in 58, 30 and 20 litre bottles and the keg, but the keg can’t be gone too long from the business, Mr. Thompson said. A growler is in smaller amounts yet – 1.89 litres or 950 ml.
There is also opportunity to try out seasonal beers, which they create as they think them up – such as maple beer and rhubarb beer.
“It’s all done by trial and error,” he said, adding with a laugh, “We have plenty of people who are willing to be taste testers.”
And while the next phase of their adventure is about to begin – which is the restaurant – Mr. Thompson said another phase is already being explored. He said they are exploring having space for area crafters to display their work.
“A lot of interesting relationships have developed,” he said. “People have come up with ideas to integrate what we have and they have. We want to showcase local crafts. We want to be a strong voice for things happening in the Ottawa Valley.”
Mr. Thompson said none of this happened by accident. Each of the three partners came together for an adventure with different goals, merged them, and a business venture continues to grow.
The one goal that has never changed, and that is the business motto: Brewed by friends for friends.
