A pair of Winnipeg restaurateurs is preparing to boldly go where no Manitobans have gone before.
Brothers Chris and Lawrence Warwaruk are planning to build Canada's first estate brewery in Neepawa, a community less than two hours west of Winnipeg, a facility they hope will not only provide tasty craft-brewed lagers and ales for beer connoisseurs but become a tourist destination, too.
(Estate breweries are different from traditional breweries because they use raw ingredients, such as hops and barley, which are grown on site.)
"It's no different than the estate wineries in Kelowna, B.C.," Chris Warwaruk said.
The brothers--who grew up on a farm near Minnedosa--plan to christen their trailblazing facility next spring.
They are already in the taste-testing phase with their first beer at the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre, a Winnipeg-based non-profit organization that provides technical assistance to the malting barley and brewing industries.
Their plans are a direct result of recent changes to Manitoba's liquor laws, which include enabling restaurateurs to brew beer on site.
The pair are far from industry rookies. They have worked in the hospitality industry for more than a decade and the last four years as the proprietors of Luxalune, a pub in Winnipeg's Osborne Village, which offers more than 150 different beers in bottles and draught.
from Western Investor August 2011
