When Cole turned 21, he began experimenting with beer kits and eventually moved on to all-grain kits. He also began to research more about brewing and craft breweries, with mentors like Sean Dunbar from Picaroon Traditional Ales, brewing beer with Stephen Dixon from Grimross Brewing, Shane Steeves of Ham- mond River Brewing, and others around New Bruns- wick and Southern Ontario building his knowledge of brewing and developing the craft brewing skills nec- essary to one day open a brewery of his own. In 2014 Cole opened Big Axe Brewery using a one-bar- rel system with two-barrel fermenters, and supplying beer to restaurants and bars in Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John. In 2017, the brewery expanded to
a 10-barrel brewhouse with 20-barrel fermenters and opened the doors at their new facility in April of 2018 and the brand has continued to grow ever since. It was the same year that Cole came up with the idea of bringing beer enthusiasts to the banks of the Saint John River for Atlantic Canada’s Largest Outdoor Craft Beer Festival. The inaugural Big Axe Craft Beer Festival had over 25 craft vendors and a solid attendance of 500 people. But like his business, Cole was passionate about growing this event that will see more than 1500 people attending the festival this year along with some of the best craft brewers and distillers in
32 SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 3
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