Kichesippi Beer Co. To Take Over Heritage Brewing

While I was out having a liquid lunch, I missed a tweet from the good people at Kichesippi Beer Co. about some important news. It turns out that they will be taking over Heritage Brewing Co. as of December 14th.

I spoke with Kichesippi owner Paul Meek back in April, for a short 'bar snacks' piece in TAPS, and even then he mentioned that he'd like to operate his own brewery in Ottawa one day, and, as of December 14th, after brewing Kichesippi at Heritage on a contract basis for seven months, that will become reality.

"I'm very excited about this news," said Meek this afternoon over the phone. "It's great for Kichesippi Beer as we'll be able to expand our production," he said.

"When we started Kichesippi seven months ago we knew that the contract brewing aspect would only be temporary, that we'd be looking to operate our own brewery one day, in Ottawa. This opportunity arose and it's perfect for us. We look forward to taking the things Heritage has accomplished, and what we've been able to accomplish, and put them together for our future goals," said an excited Meek who will be solely focusing on the Ottawa region for the time being.

In a post from an Ottawa based blog, Apt613, the site that broke the story, the author indicates that current Heritage owners, Ron Moir and Donna Warner are second time grandparents and are ready to move onto something else, something Meek confirmed.

He also stated that Kichesippi will be keeping the Heritage staff who will work together with the Kichesippi staff to take the brewery forward. Kichesippi will continue to brew the two Heritage beers -  Premium Lager and Traditional Dark Lager, but unlike what another site previously mentioned, the Scotch Irish brands were not part of the deal, and there is no word on their future at the moment.

The husband and wife team (Ron and Donna) have been two very passionate people in the Ontario brewing industry and will be missed with their departure from the scene.

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Kichesippi Natural Blonde is currently available in 33 locations across the Ottawa region and 6-pack long-neck bottles are currently in the works for LCBO approval. Meek also noted that with the purchase of Heritage, the company will be able to expand production and will take a look into a seasonal program, which will start with the brewing of their Anniversary beer to mark their 1st year in business.