Beer in the 'Bourg

Wow. It was certainly a week of firsts at the little brewhouse on William Street. We had some extra hands available to us because of March Break and we did our best to hit the gas and race towards our soft opening. Unfortunately, a mid week snowstorm broke our pace a little bit. However, things are so close we can taste it...and it tastes a little bit hoppy!

The theme for this past week was really about presentation. We worked hard to finish the store, installing flooring, painting trim, creating our blackboard menus and prepped for the installation of the bar and draught system.

We are also working hard on our labels. We really want to have something fun and interesting in that regard and could not be more excited to unveil what's coming down the pipe. The William Street label will stand out, that's for sure.

Tending mash is excellent for
opening your pores!

Obviously, the biggest news is that we brewed our fist test batch at the brewery on Thursday. We're still not at full capacity because of an incomplete brewhouse set up. However, we could wait no longer so we ran a 1bbl batch of a Cascade SMASH, just to get a feel for things. We wanted to be sure that we had all of our pumps, fittings hoses, chillers etc. in order so that we can hit the ground running when our final components arrive.

Truly, the brew day was not our most precise or dignified, but what can you expect with so many new tools. Despite some leaks, a scalded thumb and some wet pant legs, we managed to hit our numbers and our house yeast strain seems happy in their new home.

Lucky Duck!

We were also able to donate our spent grain to a small farm who were kind enough to stop by and collect it, as well as sending us some pics of their poultry diving into it. It's our goal to keep all of our spent malt out of the dumpster, so email me if you have any hungry animals who might be interested.

We still aren't able to confirm our opening date. However, what we can confirm is that we will be opening soon with limited product availability which will increase dramatically over the following days. What we can say for sure is that you should keep a
close eye on our FB Page for an announcement. We want to be sure that our friends get the first crack at Cobourg's beer. So stay tuned for short notice!

Seeya soon!