After years of planning and a massively successful Kickstarter campaign, Dominion City Brewing Co. finally opened it doors to the masses this past Saturday, and then watched as thirsty customers bought up everything that they had to offer.
“People kept commenting, ‘We’ve been waiting a long time for a brewery to open in the east end,” said Josh McJannett, one of the firm’s three co-founders. “It was an awesome first day. Everybody got a high five on the way in.”
The brewery is capable of producing 700-litre batches of beer. It sold more than 620 litres on Saturday in growlers, large glass jugs capable of transporting just shy of two litres of beer. It also prepared several kegs for four Ottawa area bars that specialize in craft beer offerings. The kegs were dropped off on Friday, and four have already been emptied and replaced.
It’s a good problem to have, admits McJannett and another co-founder Alex Monk, who both believe that if they take pride in their offerings and continue to brew with high quality and local ingredients “that hopefully the crowds will keep coming.”
“The community is so tight and the customers are dedicated. You have to show that you care,” said McJannett.
Dominion City will source as much of its ingredients locally as it can, he said. The Earl Grey tea it uses in its Earl Grey Marmalade Saison comes from local coffee/tea house Bridgehead. He describes the business as a “community” startup, thanks to a successful crowd funding campaign that raised $19,000 for the fledgling brewery and support from family and friends along the way.
The trio have been planning the brewery for the past two years after growing a home-brew hobby into an obsession. The name Dominion City is a play on the country’s old status as the “Dominion of Canada”, and Ottawa’s role as the capital.
Seeing the business finally open its doors is something that seems a little surreal, they admit.
For the time being, the three will maintain their day jobs while expanding the brewery. Retail hours at the Canotek Road location will only be held on Saturdays.
The new brewery’s opening happened one week before Saturday’s National Capital Beer Festival, which will see dozens of the city’s top microbreweries converge outside Ottawa City Hall to showcase their offerings. While McJannett would have loved to be part of the festival, the brewery needs to focus on increasing production to meet early demand. He said Dominion City will likely participate next year.
Ottawa is quickly becoming a mecca for craft beer lovers. The city and its surrounding area will feature as many as 24 different microbreweries by year’s end.
For the time being, Dominion City has three beers it will be offering on a regular basis. The beers have all been created by the brewery’s three founders after years of home brewing and playing with various recipes. Here are a few details on those brews:
Town & Country Blonde Ale
Score: 78
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5 %
International Bitterness Units (IBUs): 15
A smooth, easy drinking and very accessible offering that is sure to please even those who are a bit shy when being offered unfamiliar beers. The beer pours a deep, clear straw colour with a thin white head. The beer smells of sweet malt. Flavour is that of a well balanced beer that finishes with a hint of bitterness.
Earl Grey Marmalade Saison
Score: 80
ABV: 5.5 %
IBU: 21
This is a unique twist on a massively popular style of beer. Each batch uses more than five cases of oranges. The flavour isn’t lost in the beer, which is an accomplishment considering that fruit additions to beer usually disappear entirely in the finished beer. Although the Bridgehead Earl Grey is hard to detect in the final product. The beer pours a hazy dark straw colour with a thin white head. It smells of citrus, banana and clove. The flavour is what you would expect from a saison: peppery, slightly sour and citrus-like. The orange flavour helps to round out the beer. It’s an easy drinking offering on a hot summer day.
Two Flags IPA
Score: 78
ABV: 7 %
IBU: 63
Don’t let the higher IBUs scare you off — this beer is better balanced than many would think. While that may turn off some IPA fans, who look for that bitter hop kick in the teeth, it leads to an easy drinking beer that even the less adventurous beer drinker will likely enjoy. The beer pours a hazy copper colour. Aromas include pine, brown sugar and citrus. The flavour is malt sweetness and slight sugary undertones, finished by a slight hoppy bitterness.
