Beers made for Kicking Back and Relaxing
“Six years ago, this summer we actually made the decision to go into business and bought the building in Collingwood,” Freeman points out. “And it was five years on Victoria Day that we have been in full operation.” Five years may not seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things, but in the fast and ever- expanding craft brewery industry, it’s a lifetime. Freeman and his partners jumped in with both feet — a bold decision at the time. “We were quite ambitious with our production facility when we started. We bought the building and sunk a lot of money into it before we even brewed a drop of beer. A lot of people start by contracting their beer production out first, just to get a sales history and get the brand out there before they invest in a facility. So, I guess we were what would be considered ‘old-school’ now. The way the market is now it would seem crazy to do something like that. But it’s just the way we started.
Veteran brewers now, and the market is not showing any signs of slowing down or becoming less crowded in Ontario. It is increasingly difficult to secure retail shelf space now in the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) outlets. But Freeman focuses on the positive and touts the Collingwood area as becoming one of Ontario’s latest beer-lover destinations. “The great thing about Collingwood now is that two other groups have had the same idea. So literally within one month, three breweries opened up in Collingwood. So nowwe have a great beer culture up here. I’m happy about that. And there are more cideries and breweries opening in the near future. It’s great to be a part of the community.” Often, the inspiration behind the types of beer craft breweries develop are driven by popularity and current trends in the marketplace.
by John Allaire
S ometimes the stars line up. You know, the ones where dreams, passion and feasibility all meet and create a big bang. Such was the case with The Collingwood Brewery. One guy with a passion for making beer, and three other partners with foresight and a willingness to invest in a project. Owner, co-founder and brewmaster, Chris Freeman started brewing beer nine years ago. He was working at an office job and battled the ho-hums by getting into home brewing on evenings and weekends. And like many home brewers, after he made his first batch, his thoughts turned to making a living out of his new-found talent and passion. Not one to let the moss grow under his feet, Freeman and his brother started pounding the pavement in search of financing and interested investors. In the meantime, Freeman applied to a college brewing course and moved down to the Niagara area for a couple of years to pursue the brewmaster program. While at school, he secured a summer job with the highly successful Creemore Springs Brewery and was hired on full-time after he graduated. All the while, he was in conversations with potential future partners on starting a brewery in Collingwood. Spotlight on Business Magazine spoke with Freeman about their beginnings, their products, what’s down the road for the brewery, and their support community in Collingwood, a small town on Georgian Bay, north of Toronto.
But Freeman explains that he took a different approach to developing his flagship beer. He was looking for something that was appealing and less represented by the trends. “Whenever you start making your own beer at home, you realize the potential of what you can do with different recipes. So, I started making my own beer, and like most early brewers, it was average to bad. But I was experimenting, so my expectations were in check.” He adds, “Actually, it was my time at Creemore Springs where I really learned about the art of making beer. It’s one thing to make a recipe off the cuff and make a really crazy tasting beer — that’s a very simple thing to do. The real art in the craft is making a well-balanced beer that you can keep coming back to, and that you can make consistently the same every time.”
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NOVEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2019
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