WESTLOCK – A friendship between Dean Demitor and Bob Hnatko while hanging out at ringette games and talking about beer, helped sparked the vision for Pembina Brewing Ltd.
The new microbrewery at 9928 107th Street will soon be a reality in Westlock, following council’s recent approval of a zoning change to the land-use bylaw that allows for breweries, wineries, and distilleries in the downtown district.
“We thought how cool that would be to have something like that in our community,” said co-owner, Demitor, an X-ray technologist with Alberta Health Services, adding they purchased a small home brewing system and began trying new recipes and experimenting with different ingredients. “That’s where it started and then we said let’s go headfirst into this and try to open something in our community.”
The downtown brewery will differ from a typical bar where many patrons go to watch a sporting event, in several ways, including atmosphere and quality of the locally made beer.
“I think a brewery revolves around the product … and at a lot of microbreweries, you’re able to bring the entire family there,” said Demitor. “It’s just a place where people can come together as a community and socialize.”
Demitor noted his travels across the country and south of the border, trying different beers, combined with their passion for beer and business partner Hnatko’s knowledge and expertise as a local grain farmer in Westlock County, will no doubt contribute to the success of the new venture.
“I feel it would do really well in Westlock. It would give people a viable option, a different type of atmosphere to come in and try some beer that’s locally made with local grains,” he said.
The microbrewery will include indoor and outdoor seating when weather permits and will display some historical features of the current building as well.
“We’re hoping to bring back a rustic look inside, the original woods,” said Hnatko. “We want to open that up and have all the original wood exposed so when you go in (there’s) higher ceilings, it’s open and we do want to have our (brewing) equipment available to see in a separate area,” added Demitor.
While there is no planned restaurant or food service, Demitor did note there will be snack foods such as potato chips and locally made beef jerky available, and they are also considering inviting food trucks to the location. As for the beer, Pembina Brewing Ltd. will provide several types of beers for customers to try, including wheat beers, wheat ale, light beers, dark beers, lagers, pilsners, fruity beers as well as some specialty beers.
“We’ll pretty much be able to make a variety of different types of beer. Our hope is to have a handful of beers to start out with on tap and then you just grow from there,” explained Demitor. “You’re able to make some seasonal beers, some smaller batch type beers that you can make for special occasions like St. Patrick’s Day — if you want to make an Irish red beer, we’d be able to do a smaller batch for sale for a limited time.”
With much support for local products these days, including locally made foods, drinks and other items, the business duo is anticipating the same kind of support for Westlock’s first microbrewery from the community and the region.
“Everybody I’ve talked to, it’s all been positive. Everybody’s looking forward to a locally made beer,” said Hnatko. “The craft beer seems to be (something that) everybody wants to try and experience something local.”
Renovations for the building are set to begin later this fall with hopes of opening the microbrewery by next summer, said Demitor, adding the entire process will take time to complete.
“We’ve already reached out to some contractors and got some quotes on renovations, so that’s in the works right now,” he said. “It is going to take some time to get things open, as far as making sure everything is renovated properly, all the permits are purchased and any licensing that needs to be done is done and of course, all the equipment purchased as well.”
For updates on progress or information about the microbrewery visit their website at www.pembinabrewing.com or on social media including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
