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No pub for Old Town - yet NWT Brewing Company rejects Government Dock space as too small
Lyndsay Herman
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, June 5, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Those holding their breath for an Old Town brew pub will have to hold it for a little longer as the NWT Brewing Company is resuming its search for a location.
Miranda, left, and Fletcher Stevens stand in front of a shed in their yard where Fletcher has set up his brewing equipment. The sign above the couples' heads is from their wedding, where they had their personal brews on tap. - Lyndsay Herman/NNSL photo |
"We're still positive," said Miranda Stevens, half of the husband-wife team that makes up the NWT Brewing Company. "We're not discouraged and we've learned a lot ... we know what we're looking for."
What the pair are looking for is space large enough for brewing equipment that would make distribution possible for the company.
Miranda's husband Fletcher, the company's master brewer, explained that beer must be brewed on site in order to be sold in a brew pub. Since alcohol not brewed on the premises must be sold through the NWT Liquor Commission, they would have to sell to the liquor commission and buy it back at a marked up price if it were brewed elsewhere.
Wayne Guy, the owner of the building NWT Brewing Company was originally planning to operate out of in Old Town, said he is still looking for an operator and intends to move forward on plans to open a lakeside restaurant at Government Dock.
NWT Brewing Company has evolved considerably since Miranda first bought Fletcher a home-brewing kit three years ago.
"My brother and brother-in-law got really into it and seeing as how beer costs so much up here," said Miranda.
"(Fletcher) has a knack for baking, recipes, all the measurements, things like that.
Fletcher interjected with the bottom line, "It took me by storm."
Fletcher estimated his brewing library has between 30 and 40 brewing-related books, and the time spent reading them is complemented by learning via podcasts and brewers' forums.
"I realized there was no turning back," said Miranda. "When you see someone so passionate, how can you say, 'No'?"
Now Fletcher makes each batch from scratch, right from milling his own grain. He'll toast coconut in the oven, use baker's chocolate, vanilla beans, juniper berries, and a wide assortment of other ingredients to make a range of beers.
Each batch takes about eight hours to brew, 24 hours to clean up and a few weeks to ferment, depending on the recipe. However, flavours don't reach their peak until after four months.
"Wine is more dependant on the crop," Fletcher explained. "You can blame bad wine to a certain extent on a bad year but with beer you can only blame it on the process."
The couple said hosting beer dinners for friends and family, where attendees could give feedback on the beers they did and didn't like, was helpful in identifying the best beers but better at proving that people have very varied tastes.
For now, NWT Brewing Company plans to attend a Western Canada brewing conference and continue its search for the right fit for their brew pub vision.
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