Breakwall Brewing Co. ‘crazy busy’
Fred Davies has brewed up a hit in downtown Port Colborne with Breakwall Brewing Co.
The micro-brewery is something Davies started making a reality last year. It opened its doors Feb. 22.
Since then, people have been coming in droves to try out the locally made craft beer and locally sourced menu items the brewery and restaurant combination has to offer.
“It’s been a whirlwind since (opening),” he said. “It’s been crazy busy. The response from the community has been overwhelming.”
He said people are really enjoying the beer, which is brewed, served and canned on site. Davies said the setup is also unique because of the open concept that allows people to see the brewing in action.
Each of the various brews is named after local landmarks or stories. For instance, there is the 9 O’Clock Whistle, named after the curfew whistle installed during the Second World War and that continued to sound for decades afterwards, and the Shrinking Mill, named after the phenomenon of the mill that seems to shrink the closer you get to it while travelling east down Lakeshore Road.
There is also a beer called the Cronmiller and White Maple Lager, which is a harkening back to Port Colborne’s original brewery, Cronmiller and White Brewing and Malting Co. Ltd., which closed in 1919.
Davies said including these bits of Port Colborne’s history into his brewery was important to him because he wanted Breakwall to be a part of the city, not just be a business that happened to be located there.
“A lot of people really appreciate that it’s not just crazy names for a beer, it’s actually a reflection of the community itself,” he said, adding that he feels residents have really embraced what they’re doing.
As Breakwall continues to grow, he said the company will continue to name things in this way.
Another way the establishment is keeping local is through having locally sourced food items on the menu.
Davies said as much as possible, it gets local ingredients for the food served, which includes burgers, fries, sandwiches and pizza. Being environmentally friendly is also on the list of things the business does. He said the place has been designed to recycle and repurpose as many things as possible.
He said Breakwall is brewing at full capacity in preparation for the warmer weather and, hopefully, even more traffic. Canal Days is something he and his staff are looking forward to.
One of his goals is to contribute to and build a strong downtown core for Port Colborne with the hopes of encouraging others to come invest in the area.
Right now, Breakwall’s brews are available for purchase at the Clarence Street location, including cans in the on-site store. There are a few other places that are starting to serve the beers as well and the hope is to eventually have cans sold in retail locations.
Breakwall opens daily at 4:30 p.m., except for Tuesdays when it’s closed. The hope is to have a lunch service starting in May. Breakwall Brewing Co. can be found at breakwallbrewery.com and on social media.