Blessed brew
P.E.I. brothers with craft brewery in old New Brunswick church overcome challenges
Charlottetown brothers Jeff and Peter Grandy took a different approach when they decided to open up a taproom, coffee roast and craft brewery in a converted church in Alma, N.B.
Charlottetown brothers Jeff and Peter Grandy took a different approach when they decided to open up a taproom, coffee roast and craft brewery in a converted church in Alma, N.B.
After costly renovations and dealing with water issues, the brothers are hoping to have the first pint of their own craft beer poured for a customer in September.
“We’re within striking distance,” said Jeff Grandy during a recent interview. Grandy, 36, has a background in insurance marketing. But after realizing that wasn’t the right career path, Grandy went to Olds College in Alberta to study brewing operations. Grandy’s brother and co-owner, Peter, 32, has a background in mechanical engineering and experience as an electrician and a teacher. P.E.I.’s Ian Hillier is a third owner of the business – Holy Whale Brewing Co. and Buddha Bear Coffee Roasters.
To get started, the business received loans from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Business Development Bank of Canada. It also received an equipment grant from Opportunities New Brunswick, and the brothers used some of their personal finances, explained Grandy. Originally the plan was to set up in Moncton. But, after a
location there fell through, the Grandys eventually bought the St. Stephen United Church in January 2016 for $52,500.
As a gateway village to Fundy National Park, the community of Alma is a prime location for tourist activity. And Grandy says locating the business in a church appealed as a way to provide customers with a unique and memorable experience.
But the church, which was rebuilt in 1932 after a fire and later decommissioned,
needed some work.
Some of the projects included a new roof, new bathrooms, siding and dealing with structural issues. The building also had to have its electrical wiring and plumbing upgraded to meet the needs of a microbrewery.
Grandy says costs of renovations and upgrades, as well as equipment purchases, including the vats, was around $650,000. He says there were times when he wondered if the business would have been better
off in a modern building.
“The marketing aspect is nice, but when you’re down the road and the bills keep piling up, that romanticism is gone, is void,” he said. “The frustration was so high. We love what we have now, but at one point in time, we didn’t.”
Now he’s happy with how the church turned out.
“I can’t say enough that we did get through it.” Another challenge for the business was a water quality issue in Alma. When the brothers approached the village about setting up the business, there was a boil order in place due to turbidity issues.
To deal with that issue, Peter bought a house next to the church so they could brew with filtered well water instead of the village’s water supply. The well water has been tested and approved by the province, said Jeff.
The brothers serve craft beer from the Maritimes and Quebec and will continue to do so after their own products are approved and available.
The business may be in line for a big tourist boost in the next couple of years. After years of talking about it, the New Brunswick government is now poised to connect the Fundy Trail Parkway to Fundy National Park.
The brothers hope that means tourism will increase with a more direct and scenic route via Saint John and St. Martins to the park and Alma. Jeff Grandy says the link could make the parkway “the next Cabot Trail.”
“Definitely, we’re looking forward to that,” he said.
And, despite the challenges, Grandy said he’s happy he stuck with it and that everything is coming together.
“This is exciting for us, and we’re excited people want to come here and buy what we have to offer,” he said.
For anyone thinking about getting into the craft brewing business, Grandy has some advice: “stick with it” and stay motivated, even when people are telling you the idea won’t work.