After months of anticipation from thirsty locals, the Sons of Kent Brewing Co. is mere weeks away from quenching that thirst.
The operation on King Street East, inside the old Cinema Six building, is still undergoing renovations at this point, according to Colin Chrysler, one of the business partners.
“We just poured all the concrete into the building. The first load of equipment arrived today,” he told The Voice Friday.
That equipment was about a dozen huge stainless steel vats where the beer will be made.
Chrysler, along with Tim Copeland and brothers Alf and Doug Hunter, comprise the Sons of Kent. After leaving the area for a number of years, Chrysler admitted something was calling them all back.
“We kind of went off and did other things along the way, but the ultimate goal is to now brew here in Chatham,” he said.
Chrysler said he ran into Alf Hunter while out in Vancouver and struck up a conversation.
“Alf and Doug Hunter build craft breweries around the country. But they don’t run them. This is their dream,” he said of the Sons of Kent brewery.
Copeland is an award-winning brewer, and Chrysler is an experienced Ontario craft brewer.
“Our team is excited to be bringing our collective experience together to create great beer and a destination for C-K folks to call their own,” Alf Hunter said in a media release.
Sons of Kent will develop craft beer that will utilize traditional brewing methods with creative styles.
“We want to bring amazing experiences to their doorstep and partner with area farmers to use as much local content as possible,” Copeland said in a release.
Don’t expect a mirror image of Erieau’s Bayside Brew Pub in Chatham. Chrysler said the focus will be on a tasting room and eventually a patio, but there won’t be a large restaurant on site.
“We’ll have more of a beer hall influence to our atmosphere. We’ll have tours and events,” Chrysler said. “We want to focus on the idea we’re building a brewery, not a restaurant.”
He added the tasting room is slated to have room for about 75 people, and that there would be a banquet hall for private functions.
The owners love their location.
“This is an awesome building. It has some great history in Chatham,” Chrysler said. “The fact it’s an old theatre works for us, and we also like that it is located downtown. Our main idea for the project is to be part of the community.”
Given the fact they have about 16,000 square feet to work with, there is a lot of room for Sons of Kent to grow.
“Our goal is to build a craft brewery that’s in Chatham, but also to service the Southwestern Ontario region, and eventually all of Ontario,” Chrysler said.
He said the Sons of Kent will start out with a “decent-sized system” to pump out a “decent amount” of beer.
“We’ll evolve as time goes on. We have some beers and recipes in place that we’ve been working on,” Chrysler said. “We want to have beer that suits the taste of Chatham-Kent. We want to have IPA’s, some lager, and also do some more adventurous brewing.”
As for when the beer will start to flow, Chrysler said he would like to see it happen this month, but is more realistic. They’d like to be open within the next couple of months, but possibly have some beer available at the end of November, through special tastings.
The partners are also establishing a Sons of Kent Members Club, where by signing up on their website you will join the Sons of Kent movement and get access to pre-launch activities, be the first to try exclusive beer releases and receive access to limited edition merchandise.
People over the age of 19 can visit www.sonsofkent.com to join and get information on upcoming events and the launch schedule.
