DISTILLATION EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES
12” COPPER CONDENSERS
24” COLUMN CONNECTIONS
The now Molson-owned Creemore Springs specialized in very approachable German-style lagers. And that’s where Freeman really grew to appreciate the value of consistency. As he explains, “You can ramp up the hops and other ingredients in certain beers and make them a real punch in the face, and people will say ‘wow what a great beer.’ But they get through one of them and they have to move on to something else.” With the prospect of opening his own brewery in the near future, Freeman was seriously pondering what kind of beer he wanted to lead with and make his flagship. “I was looking at themarket at the time, seven years ago, and there weren’t many craft breweries that made an American style pale ale as their flagship brew. As it turned out, by the time we launched, the whole market had turned that way anyway. So, our Downhill Pale Ale was actually my final project in college. I had to design and brew a beer for the course, so I decided that I was going to brew the beer that was destined to be my flagship when I started my own brewery. I brewed Downhill at the college and probably brewed it another 10 to 15 times again at home before I finally made it at the brewery a few years later when we opened.”
Well, let’s call that one a success. Downhill Pale Ale is definitely the kind of beer that you can have four or five of over the course of a hockey game on TV, and not feel that your mouth has been assaulted. In fact, based on what the industry and the current market is churning out for IPAs, it’s actually lighter in hops without sacrificing the body of the beer. Freeman mentions that this drinkability was definitely by design. “Yes, we were trying to find that sweet spot where it wasn’t too light — there was a nice body going on — and the hops aren’t dominating. They are in there with a nice hop character. So that was my real goal, to hit that right balance between all those elements and make it so you can drink a number of them in one sitting. And to this day, Downhill is our number one seller. None of the other brands have out-sold it yet.” Collingwood’s other styles availableout in the retail outlets are just as approachable as the Downhill. Freeman points out that he lets his own taste buds do the thinking for him. “Honestly, in the end, we make beer that we like to drink ourselves. So, when I’m designing a beer, I’m not really thinking of what’s popular in the marketplace of the moment. I’m thinking of what am I going to be able to drink a couple of personally, and then I kind of hope the market takes to it.” Collingwood’s ESB, or Extra Special Bitter, is a well- balanced English-style pale ale. “People who try it and possibly don’t expect to like it end up loving it. Out of all of our beers, it probably has the most cult-like following. People who love it really love it. But it’s not as massively popular as the Downhill,” explains Freeman.
4000 LITER KETTLES
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NOVEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2019
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