Brews News: New breweries rising after pandemic-era closures (2024)

Phoenix, anyone? From the ashes of closures during and following the pandemic, a handful of new craft breweries are opening.

A plan to re-open Formosa Springs Brewery in rural Bruce County has Midwestern Ontario abuzz. A new brewpub in Tavistock, Mad Mash, leverages a Scotland theme. In the Eastern Ontario community of Corbyville, the charming Signal Brewing brewpub reopened under new ownership in mid-March.

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And in Brantford, tucked inside what was once a baler twine and rope factory, is the new and cheekily named Sassy Britches Brewing Co.

Operating in space formerly used by the defunct Mash Paddle, Sassy Britches is one of the best reasons to visit Wayne Gretzky’s hometown.

The best beer-drinking atmospheres give a new use to old buildings. For Sassy Britches, it’s Brantford’s Artisans’ Village. Think London’s 100 Kellogg and Toronto’s Distillery District as similar destinations.

In its heyday, the factory was the largest twine producer in the British Empire and employed several hundred workers. It closed in 1972 and is now a collection of eclectic local businesses.

Sassy Britches, which opened March 5, is owned by Tracey Gooding and Shawn Norris, who are partners in business as well as life. Brewers are John Brown and Matty Buzanko.

Does it take pluck to open a brewery when so many are closing?

“For sure,” Gooding said in an email. “Pluck or sass. Whichever way you look at it, we’ve got it.”

Sassy Britches is or will be running the table with beer styles from lagers, IPA, double IPA and stouts to seltzers. Its light lager has been christened Sassy in the Spotlight. Its oatmeal stout is Breakfast in Belfast. Its tangerine IPA is New Girlfriend.

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“The sky’s the limit with our talented, imaginative crew,” Gooding said.

But beer here isn’t the whole story. As much as it’s a small brewery, it’s also a live music and workshop hive. In just the past month, Sassy Britches has hosted or announced events such as a Ukrainian egg workshop, candle making, charcuterie and creating a terrarium with succulents.

Sassy Britches is canning its beer for takeout.

NEW AND NOTED

Where there’s smoke, there’s a new beer. Illibury and Powerhouse Brewing have collaborated for Old East Village clothing company Illbury Smoked Lager. It’s malty with a wisp of smokey flavour. At 4.5 per cent alcohol, it’s sessionable. Illbury Smoked Lager is sold in 473 ml cans at Powerhouse for $3.50 or, for Ontario residents, through the Powerhouse online store. This is the latest of several Illbury and Goose-Powerhouse beers.

What do you get when you cross a Scotch ale with an IPA and American brown ale? Black Swan in Stratford has done it to create Tail Feather, a new six per cent alcohol small batch beer. Tail Feather has characteristics of each of the three styles, caramel of a Scotch ale, bitterness of an IPA and colour of a brown ale. In the brew, Black Swan used brown sugar and Warrior hops for bittering.

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There’s a new IPA at Sons of Kent in Chatham. West Coastin’ is a classic recipe West Coast IPA with a citrus flavour and moderate bitterness. Sons of Kent used Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra hops. West Coastin’ is 6.4 per cent alcohol and sold at the brewery.

Nice to see Beerlab, the lone craft brewery in downtown London and the smallest in the city, open seven days a week once again.

Custom cans of craft beer are a great way to connect with customers. Just ask Forked River Brewing in London, whose corporate cans include a recent for Paton Bros. Plumbing.

Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London.

BrewsNewsTravels@gmail.com

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