When you live in a rural community with the world’s largest axe made from seven tonnes of stainless steel, standing fifteen meters tall overlooking the Saint John River what better name for a brewery and a festival than Big Axe? Nackawic, New Brunswick is home to the world’s largest axe, the Big Axe Brewery, and for the last 6 years the Big Axe Craft Beer Festival. Peter Cole, founder and owner of Big Axe Brew- ery, first spoke with Spotlight on Business in July of 2020 when we featured the brewery and shared the story about his entrepreneurial success in the brew- ing industry operating a business from rural New Brunswick. After being laid off as manager of a recruiting company where he had worked for nine years, Cole began looking for a new career path. “I wanted to do something I was passionate about and I was passionate about craft beer,” said Cole back then. Talking with Cole today, he has not lost that passion if anything it has only grown stronger. Coming from a family of carpenters, Cole always liked the idea of creating a product – of making something he could be proud of and that people could enjoy. Cole discovered brewing was part of his family history, a story he loves to tell his customers. “When I was 16 or 17 years old, my grandfather raised horses and grew vegetables and strawberries, that he would sell to the public. Cars would show up and people would leave with a bag of vegetables and strawberries. I thought that was a cool way to make a little money.” One day, he discovered his grandfather behind the farm in a shed that Cole had always assumed was just for gardening tools and supplies. However, that day, he noticed the stack on top of the shed had a lot of steam coming out and went to investigate. As it turns out his grandfather had another side business. There was still in there, and he was making moonshine. It was also then that Cole realized the vegetables and strawberries were just a front for what people were actually coming to get from him. But don’t get us wrong the vegetables and strawberries were good also.
“I wanted to do something I was passionate about and I was passionate about craft beer”
SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 3 31
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