Kichesippi Brewing Co. Welcomes New Brewmaster

I mentioned in my Beau's Winterbrewed post last week that I was in Ottawa over the family day weekend, which provided me with the opportunity to finally stop into Kichesippi Beer Co., formally the site of the Heritage Brewing Co.

Paul Meek, Kichesippi's founder and owner, who is also the new owner of the building, the Heritage brands and the Sgt. Major's brands, was on hand to show me around the brewery, which is going through some renovations, sprucing up the aesthetics. He shared some new information with me that will have to remain under lock and key for now (and it is exciting), but one piece of news that can be shared is the imminent arrival of Kichesippi's new brewmaster - Don Harms, formerly of Halifax's Propeller Brewing Co., who is expected to start next week.

"We're very excited to bring Don to Ottawa to look after the brewing operations," stated Meek. "Ancil Hartman, who has been brewing here for years, will continue to do what he does, but Don will tighten things up by bringing his vast experience to the brewery."

There are some other things in the pipeline taking place behind the scenes at Kichesippi, which, when they're ready to be announced, they will be posted here.

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.

Beau's New 12 Packs - Wooden Crates

When I was in Montreal for Mondial de la Biere two weeks ago, Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. had a booth slightly beside/behind us, giving us the opportunity to chat over the five day festival.  One of those conversations led to a "what's next at Beau's?" chat and Beau's foot solider, Darren Stevens (a guy who knows how to throw a killer party - his business card says that), told me all about their new 12 Pack wooden crates.

This newest initiative from Beau's is cool.  The cases are made from wood, have handles on both ends, look like old milk crates, and are big enough to fit vinyl records in them when the beer is gone.  They're even stackable.

They will be available at select Beer Stores soon and will retain for $60.  You can get them at Beau's retail store as we speak and if you take the crate back to them when you're done the beer, they'll hand you back $15.  But really, who would return one of these?

I can picture the stiffs at the Beer Store right now, grumbling to each other every time someone orders a case!  Priceless.







Here is a video that has owner, Steve Beauchesne, speaking with /A\ Morning News news last week.

Cheers to Vrienden - Beau's Welcomes Koningshoeven Brewers

Beau's All Natural Brewing Company was commissioned months ago by the Dutch Embassy in Ottawa to produce a unique beer to mark the 65th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands, and yesterday the beer flowed from the taps to mark the start of the festival of Dutch and Canadian Creative Culture, taking place at the House of Orange.

The beer, a 5.5% Belgian Style Wit produced using ingredients common to both Canada and the Netherlands (juniper berries and organic maple syrup), was given the Dutch name Vrienden, which translated in English means "friends." It was, in part, brewed in collaboration with Lodewijk Swinkels, brewmaster with the world famous De Koningshoeven Brewery.

Swinkels was to come to Beau's brewery to participate in the production of the beer with Beau's brewmaster, Matt O'Hara, but due to the Icelandic ash clouds Swinkels couldn't make the trek.  However, O'Hara kept in touch with Swinkels through phone conversations and email, and the beer was brewed according to the recipe the two brewmasters concocted. 

As mentioned, the Vrienden was officially launched yesterday at the House of Orange (56 Byward Market Square aka Mercury Lounge) were it will be available until May 23rd.  The beer will be making a special appearance tonight at the Dutch Embassy where Princess Margriet of the Netherlands will taste it for the first time, and rumour has it that her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven, is well versed in 'good beer', so his review will be one worth obtaining.  Tomorrow the beer will be served at the home of the Governor General of Canada.

Video of Vrienden being poured into a Beau's glass yesterday:


Pic* L-R Beau's Steve Beauchesne, Koningshoeven's Lodewijk Swinkels  & Gijs Swinkels, Beau's Tim Beauchesne (pic and video submitted by Darren Stevens of Beau's)