Page 50 - Beverage Master_JuneJuly 2021

International News

(Continued from Page 46) bottle shops that have opened across the province.
to work with people who are asking what is the Before the pandemic, restaurants in Ontario were
native microflora? What is the flavor of Ontario? So not legally able to sell takeout alcohol at all. Since
whatever [yeast] is on the grapes, that’s what fer- restaurants were forced to close for most of 2020
ments them. We put that in our beer, and you get and now into 2021, the government amended that
that terroir carrying over.” law, enabling restaurants to offer takeout beer,
wine and even cocktails in sealed containers. Many
By incorporating wine into their beer, Reverence restaurants have transformed their operation into
is appealing to a whole new demographic of drink- full-fledged bottle shops, offering an array of craft
ers. Being located close to wine country, it makes beer from across Ontario made by small producers
sense to utilize these ingredients and draw in wine that are not available in regular liquor stores. These
lovers who are touring the area. Reverence has shops have helped get RBW’s beer into the hands
released several of these wine-beer hybrids, includ- of a community that would otherwise never get to
ing a Chardonnay barrel-aged brett Saison aged on try their products.
orange wine skins and a Flemish red ale aged for
two months on Cabernet Franc skins. These beers In their own bottle shop, RBW does not offer tast-
are alive with personality and flavor, bringing the ing flights. Their beer is sold only by the can or bot-
taste of the region to life. tle in order to encourage their customers to expe-
rience the full product. “I’m not a fan of speed dat-
Located an hour west of Toronto, Reverence ing,” Duimering said, “and I often find when people
Barrel Works is not only surrounded by wine coun- do flights, they’ll get a heavy stout and a light lager
try but also by expansive farmland and sprawling and a fruited sour and then some hoppy IPA, and
forests. Naturally, Hunter and Duimering also grav- it just wipes your palate. We want people to really
itate to incorporating some of the region’s other get to know the beer and enjoy it more.”
fruit and flora into their beer. They’ve utilized
wild foraged sumac to create their “Patience & The bottom line for Reverence Barrel Works is
Fruition Sumac,” a tequila barrel-aged golden sour quality. Duimering and Hunter want to do things
with notes of lemon and raspberry. They are now right and ensure that when people taste their
awaiting warmer weather to incorporate other wild beer, it’s the best it can be. Whether it takes a few
edibles into their recipes, including dandelion, for a months or a couple of years to produce, they’re
natural bitterness. turning out unique products made with love and
passion, and that is something craft beer lovers
As a young brewery, the two brewers are continu- want.
ing to experiment and expand. Many of their beers
are extremely small batch and don’t make it onto Consumers are starting to move away from what
their website or bottle shop. As a result, Reverence is trendy and looking for something different –
Barrel Works has started a “Barrel Club,” offer- something unique that tells a story and represents
ing its members exclusive access to these limited a person or a place. By going back to more tradi-
edition beers. Each member receives 12 different tional methods of production, using local ingre-
beers a year not available to the public. Other ben- dients and taking their time to create quality,
efits include access to pre-order unreleased beers small-batch beer, Reverence Barrel Works is able
and double bottle limits on limited edition beers. to capture the attention of their target audience
The Barrel Club allows RBW to showcase their most and make a name for themselves in an otherwise
experimental beers as well as brews that would extremely saturated market. They are definitely a
never be feasible to produce on a large scale due brewery to take note of while exploring the flavors
to cost and labor. They can also test their products that Ontario craft beer has to offer.
this way and get a sense of what people like before
producing large quantities. The club has been a
great success for the brewery, with all 75 spots in
the club selling out last year.

Another reason RBW has been successful, even
amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is the support from

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