A Note From Chris
Summer is Crazy (as always)
Summer finally arrived, and it’s been a challenging one.
The fire that we had in February set us back regarding inventory. We couldn’t brew for two months which meant that we depleted any stock that we had, and we’ve been working at 100% to try and keep up. Our brew team, led by Sean Goddard and our Logistics team led by Jesse Jacques have done a phenomenal job in scrambling each and every week to ensure that beer gets brewed, packaged and delivered. Working at 100% where every litre is critical is exceptionally stressful on people, equipment and systems and I genuinely commend all these team members for doing their best every day. In addition to this, there is now a North America wide can shortage which is making things extremely difficult for many breweries. With can orders getting delayed and even cancelled, we’ve been doing our best to keep a supply of cans via any means necessary. So far it’s not us impacted too severely; however, we’ve been told that this shortage may extend into 2019. We can only assume that this is primarily because of the recent tariffs that have been imposed by the US and have heard rumours that companies such as Coca-Cola immediately bought up two years supply of cans. At this point, we’ve been able to get some speedy orders from new suppliers however the future is unknown for cans which is rather worrying.
Our kitchen teams have been short-staffed since the outset, while a different cause, means the same scenarios in many aspects as the above. They’re all working long hours and operating at full steam every shift. This has resulted in us keeping Riverside closed on Monday’s and Tuesday’s as well as now closing Lakeside on Tuesday’s for the remainder of the summer. The reasoning for this is to both maintain quality when we are open as well as allowing our kitchen team the required time off. I’ve only mentioned a couple of areas of the business above. Everyone in the company is working extremely hard in this busy time; however, I wanted to highlight these two departments that have stood out in my mind. Well done guys!
All of the challenges aside, we’ve been brewing, selling and delivering more beer than ever, to more locations than ever. In fact, in June we sold more than four beers a minute which is pretty cool if you ask us! We have released our first ever canned seasonal (Astrolabe Session IPA – potentially my new favourite), and the kitchen, despite being short-staffed, is operating more efficiently than ever (maybe by force?). When times are so challenging and stressful, it’s essential for us all to remember and highlight the successes and come to the end of the summer, we’ll all get together and spend a day on the river with some delicious, cold beers.
I’d like to close by commenting on by far the worst news that we received in the company’s short history. Just over a week ago we heard that our team member and good friend Adama Blackmore had passed away. This was profoundly saddening to the company as a whole, and I thank everyone for their kind words and support. Adama was not only a hardworking and reliable team member; he was a valued friend to anyone that got to work closely with him and liked by all. He will be sincerely missed.
Cheers,
Chris Thompson
Brewery News
Riverside Season is Coming to an End
Get your fill of BFRs and Bus Eaters while they last. Our Riverside location will be closing Monday, September 3rd. Its been another busy Summer with lots of menu changes and as always we are looking forward to the next. Call 613 582 7227 to make your reservation or visit us online at Open Table.
Tuesdays Snoozedays
It has been a crazy Summer at Lakeside with lots of new and old customers visiting for a pint and a meal. Our staff have been working their tails off and as a result we’ve opted to give them a bit of a break on Tuesdays. Beginning this months the Lakeside Pub will be closed on Tuesdays for the rest of the Summer. The brewery and retail will still be open but don’t expect the smell of bacon as you come in the door. We will be open 7 days a week again in September.
Beer Cocktails
Instead of our usual ‘Cooking with Beer’ recipe we’ve decided to do something a little different. Have a look at the recipe below for our beer cocktail for this month. Just in time for the heat of Summer.
Astrolabe Mendota
Ingredients
9 ounces chilled Astrolabe Session IPA
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) freshly squeezed juice from 1 to 2 grapefruits
3 ounces of pineapple juice
Garnish: grapefruit twist + pineapple chunk
Method
Mix Astrolabe, grapefruit juice, and pineapple juice in mixing glass.
Distribute mix among friends.
Garnish.
Cheers.
Events
Sessions Muskoka
August 4
Over 20 Ontario craft breweries will be at this event in the beautiful Muskokas. Great food, craft beer, live entertainment and the great outdoors are the highlights of this busy festival. For more information look here.
CNE Craft Beer Fest
August 24 – 26
In the middle of ‘Food Truck Frenzy’ will be 11 craft breweries serving samples at the Canadian National Exhibit on Toronto. Come for the Tilt-a-Whirl, stay for the beer. Just don’t do the opposite. Look here for more info.