Year in Review

Wow! What a year it has been here at Trestle Brewing Company! As most of you are probably aware, our project has been in the works since spring 2015 so it’s been incredibly exciting and to see it all coming together. There were many landmark moments for us this past year that wouldn’t have been possible without the constant support of our community here in Parry Sound. Thanks to you all for making it special.

A year ago we were in the process of hiring a Brewmaster and had just given a job offer to Matt. While we had interviewed several candidates we always knew that he was the best fit for the position and were thrilled when he decided to join the team. It was a big move for him and his family to buy a home in Parry Sound and move from Victoria to get on this crazy train ride. He started work in June and has been busy making delicious beer ever since. Along with our flagship beer, Trestle Golden Ale, and our first seasonal release, Trestle White IPA, Matt has been busy brewing pilot batches to tune up the recipes that will be “Brewed by the Bay” this coming year. We are looking forward to sharing these releases with you. Think of beers such as Rye Porter, Thai Wit, Belgian Tripel, West Coast IPA, Imperial Stout, and Tart Mango/Passion Fruit Ale. Matt truly is a beer ninja! Thanks for all your hard work Matt. We are looking forward to a great year ahead!

Another highlight this year was being able to share a taste of Trestle with you this summer through the restaurants and golf courses in the area that served our beer. Thank you to all our partner establishments! An especially fun part of this was the opportunity to host Craft Beer Cruises on board the MV Chippewa III. We hosted cruises co-hosted by Pedaling for Parkinson's, Hospice West Parry Sound, Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve and Barnstormer Brewing. The pairing of tasty beer, great local food from Moose on the Loose and Food & Fervour and a Georgian Bay cruise always made for a good time even though the weather was less than ideal. We’re all looking forward to warmer summer days and more craft beer cruising in 2018!

Our team attended three beer festivals: KW Rib and Craft Beer Show in Kitchener, Session Muskoka in Bracebridge and Head for the Hills in Georgetown. While all of them were great, Head for the Hills was our personal favourite and lived up to its reputation as the best craft beer event in Ontario. Somehow, to our surprise, we managed to have the most popular tent at the festival pouring the highest number of samples out of all 35 breweries in attendance!

As summer came to an end construction on the brewery kicked off and has been ticking along ever since. High winds in October and November and recent frigid temperatures have inevitably slowed things down but the crew was able to get working inside in December and we’re on track to be brewing on site this spring. This is an important waterfront development for our area and we’re lucky to have the opportunity to develop this property into something truly special.

In October, Trestle Golden Ale was approved for sale in grocery stores. It’s especially cool to receive photos by email from beer lovers elsewhere in the province discovering our beer and contacting us with feedback and interest in visiting the brewery when we open. Matt at Sobeys Parry Sound has been a huge help getting our beer out to thirsty customers this fall and has sold a Trestle glass to seemingly almost every one of the residents here. Sampling days at Sobeys are some of our favourite times for the Trestle Team because of the interaction we get to have with you - our supporters.

On December 19th at 10:41am Trestle Golden Ale was approved for sale on the shelves of LCBO stores and kudos have to go out to Jennifer and her staff at Parry Sound LCBO for welcoming us so warmly in the middle of the holiday LCBO frenzy! By opening time on December 20th her team had our product on the shelves and heading out the door. Over 20 other LCBO stores had our beer on their shelves by Christmas. It was a long road to get this done but that is part of what made it wonderfully rewarding heading into the holidays!

These are just a few of the highlights of our year and we look forward to hitting new highs in 2018!

Thanks for being part of our journey!

There is a crazy year ahead no doubt… please join us for the ride.