Medicine Hat’s craft brewing & distilling market set to double

Hoping to open in the next two to three weeks, director and co-owner Todd Wiebe said it’s been a long journey to get to this point.

“It’s a 1939 original I-XL brick building and we’ve had to restore it to current 2018 building code, which I’m sure people can imagine is a big task,” said Wiebe.

They won’t be the only new kids on the block however, as Grit City Distillery is aiming for a mid-October opening at its South Railway Street location as well.

Jen Schmunk co-owns the building with her husband Andy and said it made sense for them to jump into the craft alcohol production market.

“The craft distillery movement is definitely coming full force in Alberta as of lately, so what’s better than to move into this field and try it out, see how it goes,” said Schmunk.

Grit City Distillery will make gin and vodka over their first year of operation, while their rum ages for one year and their whiskey ages for three years.

The explosion of the city’s craft facilities can be traced back to 2014, when the provincial government eased regulations on small brewers and distillers looking to set up shop.

Set to open one of the smallest craft breweries in Alberta, Wiebe said it levelled the playing field for those wanting to break into the business.

“It made having a craft brewery in Alberta a lot easier for people that don’t have $10 million in the bank,” he said. “And, when the group kind of got together, we looked at the metrics and the business plan and were like, ‘Yeah, this is feasible.’”

Hell’s Basement was the first brewery to crack the Medicine Hat market, opening their doors to the public just over two years ago.

Co-owner Mike Patriquin said he isn’t worried about the new faces to the party, in fact he added it’s a good thing for the industry.

“It’s creating a critical mass and we think there’s going to be supply industries that grow up around this now,” said Patriquin. “And, we’re seeing a boost in tourism as a result, because people want to come and tour all the craft facilities now.”

Both Travois Ale Works and Grit City Distillery will be joining Hell’s Basement Brewery and Medicine Hat Brewing Company on the city’s brewery tour this fall.

Despite both trying to find their footing in the craft alcohol marketplace at the same time, Schmunk and Wiebe agreed that they don’t view each other as competition.

“I don’t see any full competition with each other, we all have our strengths in different departments and stuff,” said Schmunk. “So, I think we’re going to come out with a quality product, so we have no worries.”

“We don’t consider our other two brew brothers competition, they’re actually a compliment to the craft sector,” said Wiebe. “Our competition is ‘big beer.’”

Wiebe added he’s excited to see what paths Travois Ale Works and other future craft brewers and distillers will carve in the months and years to come.

“The first three months, our customers are going to tell us what we are,” he said. “And, they’re going to tell us, ‘This is what we want in a craft brewery, this is what we expect.’ And, we’ll adjust based on that.”

The first big event for the two businesses will be Medicine Hat Beer Fest, which will be held at the Medicine Hat Lodge on Friday night.

by Scott Roblin

Medicine Hat’s craft brewing & distilling market set to double

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