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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1993-06-02, Page 5• More than just beating the beer store. it's a whole new by Times -Advocate, June 2,1993 IhreariV your owa a booming business By Adrian Harte T -A Editor CENTRALIA, EXETER - A whole new industry is taking Onta- rio by storm, and the South Huron region is no exception as hundreds of local people are discovering how to make their own beer and wine without all the muss and fuss of do- ing it at home. Officially dubbed brew -on - premises facilities, but more affec- tionately known as U -brew opera- tions, two separate businesses are entering their fifth month of intro- ducing people to doing it them- selves. As Mel Lather at Centralia's Hu- ron Brewmaster sees it, the key rea- son people have been coming through the doors to make their own beer for the first time is not to save money - although the econo- my of making the equivalent of six cases of brew for only $80 is ines- capable. He says people are drawn by the quality of the final product, which they know is free of chemi- cals or preservatives. "For a lot of people, it's not the price, it's the taste of the beer," he said, for which he has recipes to match virtually any kind of favour- ite ale, lager, pilsencr, or stout. The results arc also consistent. With temperatures tightly con- trolled in the keules, fermenting and cooling rooms, and precise fil- tering and carbonation, the recipe comes out the same each time. That's a big advantage over those who brew beer in the basement or garage at home. "When you make beer at home, you can't get Iwo batches to taste the same," said Lather. With a clean facility and staff ea- ger to help the beginning brewer at every step, Lather sags _!he whole procedure is more of a fun bobby than anything else for most custom - CIS. "It's a night out for some of them," he said, adding many will trade bottles of different recipes they have tried. "It's simple. it's a very simple procedure," he said. Making beer takes about two weeks, depending on the recipe. But after cooking it and drawing it off into a barrel for fernientation, the store staff look after it until it's ready to bottle. They can't do everything for you though. Certain steps must be car- ried out by the customer, by law. "We don't make beer here, or sell • beer. We just have the facilities for you to make your own...otherwise it's called bootlegging," jokes Lath- er. Les Wemham, who operates Pints Unlimited in Exeter, agrees that saving money on beer is a small part of what makes the U - brew business so attractive. Most of his customers he says are brew- ing their own in search of better quality, digestibility, and flavour than they can get anywhere else. They are making a hobby out of searching for that favourite recipe and then custom blending it to their exact taste. "That's what really attracts cus- tomers: that we can tailor a recipe to their specific needs. Taste buds...that's what it's all about," said Wemham. Wernham said he spent six months researching the local mar- .Yet~to determine if the area could use a brew -on -premises facility. He said he realized since the first U -brew business in the province opened in London in 1987, many local people were familiar with concept. "It's not new to a lot of people in this area," said Wernham, who said he also spent a lot of time -deciding which of the five rival brewing sys- tems he would use, finally settling on the Canadian -made equipment from Custom Brew Beer Systems. Pints Unlimited and Huron Brew - master are friendly competitors in the local market, both with substan- tial investments in top-notch equip- ment. Each is eager to point out the particular merits of their differ- ing brewing and bottling systems to the customer. Wemham, for in- stance, notes his copper brewing kettles represent a centuries-old tra- dition of beer making, while Lather observes even the major breweries are switching to stainless kettles. Both agree each brewing method canmake small differences in the final product. Another interesting point is while many people complain about Exet- er's hard water, Wernham says it's ideal for beer making, with its high content of magnesium and calcium. He does, however, filter it through charcoal and remove chlorine be- fore the customer adds the first in- gredients. There ate only four ingredients in beer: water, malt, hops and yeast. Both Wernlam and Lather have containers full of different varieties of ingredients brought from around the world. Namea beer, and an al- most exact match can probably be found. "There are no secrets in the beer industry. We know what goes into the beer," said Wemham. Many U -brew customers, pleased with duplicating their favourite Les Wemham of Pints Unlimited says that interest in wine making is much greater than he expected, and is still growing. Jim Hannah checks on a customer's brew in the stainless kettles used et Huron Eirewmasfer. Customer Mike Barclay (left) looks over the batch of brew he has just started in one of the copper kettles at Pints Unlimited. Beside him, offering help and advice is staff member Colin Triebner. Mel Lather of Huron Brewmaster stands in the temperature controlled cool room where the customers beer awaits bottling. Temperature control, he says, is what really separates his facility from home brewing. brands, are often' ready to try some- thing different. There are light beers, international favourites, and, of course, the "hairy -chested" bit- ters for the truly courageous beer drinker. "Some brave souls go through the recipe book from one end to the other," said Lather. If trying something different, Lather advises you share it out rath- er than get stuck with several cases of something you don't like. "We advise them to get two or three people in with them," he said, but added the experimenting and trading of brews is fast becoming part of the fun. Beer isn't the whole story, though. Neither Lather and Wern- ham had planned on adding wine - making facilities for a while after opening .their doors, but both found the demand exceeded expec- tations, and both quickly added on wine rooms. 1'11 never regret it, definitely not," said Wemham, who is even taking a night course to learn -more INVESTMENTS 01C/FISP • t 1 l Yr. - 5.75% 3 Yr. - 6.625% •� 5 Yr. - 7.375% Segregated Funds 1 YR. - 12.66% 3YR. -12.80% Gaiser-Kneale 235-2420,238-8484 • GIC rates subject to change. Short- term hornterm raies available. Segregated fund rates reflect actual past performance. - Futwe returns will wry. IFIL :E Have a Chartered Accountant review your 1992 corporation or personal income tax return. We can: 1) Discover miscalculations, errors or missed tax deductions that could lead to further tax refunds for1992. 2) Provide suggestions or planning opportunities on how to reduce 1993 and future years' income tax. 3) Estimate the cost for us to prepare and file the 1993 returns. All at no cost to you! EFILE Revenue Canada Authorized Agent HOMUTH, TAYLOR, PINDER " & McNEILLY Chartered A000untants 71 Main Street N. Exeter, Ontario NOM 183 (519) 235.0101 about the art to help his customers. He offers 12 white wine recipes, 11 red, and all the labels, corks and foil wrappers to make a fin- ished product good enough to give as gifts. "Everybody says it's really good wine," agrees Lather, saying his customers' interest in atinemaking surprised him. Wine takes a bit longer to make. After the customer mixes the in- gredients, store staff take care of the wine through fermentation and filtration until the customer is ready to bottle a month later. Those interested in brewing their own beer, or making their own wine may want to get started be- fore August. That's when the province will add a new tax on top of the taxes already on U -brew products. The 260 a Titre tax on U- hrew alcohol will increase the cost of making your own beer by about S13. Both Wernham and Lather acknowledge the surging populari- ty of the brew -on -premises indus- try - to the 'point where U -brews are almost on every street comer in Mississauga - does pose some threat to the major breweries and the province's beer outlets, and a new source of taxation. Some facilities may feel the pinch in the higher overall cost, but if Lather and Wernham arc right, their customers will keep coming back for more reasons than just saving money at the beer store. 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