Creativity, passion, and community…
“It’s about harnessing creativity, passion, and community into one thing,” Martin Villeneuve, CEO and managing partner of Spearhead Brewing Company, told me when I asked him about a ‘craft beer lifestyle.’
Sitting at a four-top table looking through large windows into the brewery’s production area, Martin continued: “It’s not an easy lifestyle – it’s hard work… The lifestyle is about finding the right people that have the same connection, but it’s all fuelled by one word, which is ‘passion.’
“That’s the fuel behind every great beer company: people that are passionate about the craft. All the trials and tribulations are really just noise – it’s probably a necessary noise, but it doesn’t matter in the end…
“What matters is when the place is full and someone tells you, ‘This is so great: thank you,’ But that’s really the icing on the cake, and most people don’t see the cake, which takes a lot of work to make. There’s a lot of sweat – and sometimes blood and tears.”
…with sweat – and blood and tears
Beginning operations in 2011, Spearhead Brewing Company worked initially as a contract brewer. They spent a lot of time visiting and working with other breweries while they grew their brand and took serious notes on how breweries work best. Spearhead took their time to ensure they could create their own brewery in an ideal fashion.
Opening 7 years after the birth of the Spearhead brand, in March of 2018, the brewery is located in the west of Kingston. It boasts a large facility that has been outfitted with some of the most recent technologies in the industry, including multi-chambered fermentation tanks.
From under contract to taking contracts
Spearhead Brewing Company’s large facilities are now used to, not only brew Spearhead beers, but also those of others – contract brewers. Their history has gone full circle, as they now accommodate brewers that were once like them. Not only is this smart business, utilizing their new facilities to work at capacity at all times (or at least more frequently), but it also completes the circle of brewery life.
Contract brewing often sparks a debate within the industry, with some arguing that it cannot be proper “craft” if someone else is actually doing the brewing for you. I am not about to step into the ring here. Rather, I want to make the simple point that getting your beer brewed is better than not brewing it at all, and I feel empathetical to those who start out as contract brewers, like Spearhead, who battle their way into their own brick and mortar facility. It ain’t easy: it takes “a lot of sweat – and sometimes blood and tears.”
Shiny and new
A large patio – still being built while I visited – graces the front of the Spearhead building (it’s now finished, and I’d love to head back to check it out!). Entering the front door brings you into a large and bright bottle shop and swag store: a massive fridge full of Spearhead cans crosses one wall; a huge shelving unit covered in t-shirts, hats, glassware, and more crosses another wall.
Walking through the bottle shop into the taproom takes you past a beautiful mural of a beer delivery taking place in what is probably the 1950’s before you are welcomed at the bar. The bar sits in the centre of the room, surrounded by stool seating. 4-top tables are lined across a back wall featuring large windows that look into the brewery’s production area.
Art by local artists are neatly spaced around other walls. Ledges with stools sweep their way along these walls underneath the paintings. It’s casual and comfortable, if not a quiet area away from the production going on behind the glass. (See the full Spearhead photo gallery here.)
More on the patio
I think Spearhead Brewing’s patio build is a story that speaks about the ethos of the craft beer industry. When a brewery opens in one’s neighbourhood, one usually gets pretty attached to it (as long as it’s producing reasonable beer anyways). Those that live near Spearhead are no different. It’s June, and their brewery needs a patio, so why wouldn’t they volunteer to help build it?
That’s right, the day I visited Spearhead Brewing was a day it was hosting a number of its neighbours as they sawed and nailed away, building the Spearhead patio together. Paid in pizza and beer, these regulars are really paid in knowing that they have a patio at their favourite brewery – and one that they can now say they put their own stamp on.
It’s a special thing this – identifying and becoming a part of your local brewery – and something that we should not skim over. I think this is the Thing about craft beer and the lifestyle it involves: bringing people together to share and appreciate each other’s passions.
And if you’re getting free Spearhead beer, then why wouldn’t you?
A brewery’s currency
That’s another special thing about craft breweries: they have their own type of currency – one that’s pretty much as desirable as money – beer (ya, you’re right – it’s more desirable than money!). This is one way most breweries, including Spearhead Brewing, are able to support their local communities: by donating their beer. Every festival and event really requires some beer, and if you can get that donated to you from a brewery, like Spearhead, then you say, “Yes.”
Spearhead recognizes how important it is to be engaging its community. Apart from being great friends with their neighbours, having them by to help build patios, and donating their delicious beer to local festivals and events, they also work to help promote other businesses, including other breweries. While the Spearhead taps have all sorts of Spearhead beer, they also make a point to feature other breweries from the area as well.
Building community
With craft beer, it’s less about your piece of the pie, and more about how big the pie is for all of us. Spearhead Brewing knows that helping to grow other craft breweries will only help to grow their own – and in turn, this helps build the community around them.
Their state-of-the-art brewery does its own part in this regard. Steam used in the brewery is on demand, rather than constantly being used, the way most systems work. They are currently working on revising their cleaning system to optimize it for being greener as well. Spent grain is given to local farmers to be used as feed for livestock. Spearhead even collects the tabs off cans of beer to be reprocessed into wheelchairs for the disabled.
A strong sense of community is always the main footing for a craft beer brewery, and Spearhead Brewing is on some solid footing it appears.
Hangin’ with Martin
I had a long chat with Martin Villeneuve – the guy likes to talk, and thankfully has some really interesting things to say. Along with his partners, Josh Hayter, Richard Ward, and brew master Tom Schmidt, Martin has come a long way in building Spearhead Brewing Company. His friend Dimitri was the catalyst for the project, and who’s passion for beer sparked Martin’s own interest; but Dimitri has since moved on, in 2016, before witnessing the rise of Spearhead’s own facility.
The first craft beer Martin drank was the “60 Minute IPA” from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, and it left its impression. Spearhead modelled its brand after what Dogfish was doing south of the border, and aimed to be the Dogfish of the north, pushing extremes and experimentation. The Spearhead Brewing flagship, the “Hawaiian Style Pale Ale” is a pineapple-infused beer, produced before adding fruit juices to beer was as popular as it is today. Their recently released “Chardonnay Summer Ale” weaves a similar story of their experimentation.
Today, I would say, Spearhead Brewing is not the most experimental brewery north of the border – there’s some really funky things come out of some of the smallest systems. And, for one anyways, that’s because they’re on small systems! Part of owning such an incredible facility is that there are certain limitations to what you can brew – or at least commit to brewing. Small batches can more easily afford to have mistakes, in other words.
I don’t think Spearhead would trade their brewery in now though – no way – and nor would I if I was them!
Martin was a gracious host, and took me on an extended tour of the brewery after our discussion in the taproom. Before I left though, Martin was excited to give me some Spearhead Brewing beers (I actually had to tell him, “Not so many!”), and I was excited to take those beers with me for some pairings.
Pairingwith… Spearhead Brewing Company – “Chardonnay Summer Ale”
The “Chardonnay Summer Ale” from Spearhead Brewing Company is a new offering available for, well, the summer. It makes for an excellent pairing with the Gord Edgar Downie Pier in Kingston.
The pier and beach area at Breakwater Park went through a revitalization, officially opening to the public last July. A project headed by Swim Drink Fish, with help from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, had the goal of creating a new environment that encourages a greater connection to the waterfront for its visitors. The incredible pier area and beach-connecting bridge are unique structures that provide fresh and exciting ways to enjoy the water and sun around the corner from Queen’s University.
I came loaded with a way to enhance this experience on the Gord Edgar Downie Pier: I brought a Chardonnay Summer Ale from Spearhead Brewing that provided the prefect refreshment for my afternoon in the sun. Pouring a slightly hazy golden colour with a thick head that dissipates quickly, the beer has a pleasant, mild aroma of muted white wine and citrus. The taste follows the nose, featuring cereal grain, orange peel, coriander, and a subtle sweetness of the chardonnay grape. Light-bodied and super-sessionable, this is made for days by the water in the summer sun, and at the Gord Edgar Downie Pier, you’ve got one awesome afternoon in store.
Stretching out and catching a tan; jumping off the pier into the water; sipping on my summer ale, and preparing to do it all again: here’s to summer time ale!
Gord Edgar Downie Pier
Walking along King Street, down the road from Queen’s University, in July will see you unavoidably arrive at a scene that screams summer: crowds of sunbathers basking on the beach, children jumping as cannonballs into the water, families spreading out picnics, and all sorts of balls and frisbees being bounced and tossed around. You’ve likely arrived at Breakwater Park and the Gord Edgar Downie Pier.
A unique and beautiful park, the revitalized area features a new promenade, pedestrian bridge, shade structures, pier upgrades, new seating, an upland beach, newly planted landscaping, and accessibility improvements. It’s a special place really. I still can’t get over how cool the bridge is.
The revitalization project was led by Swim Drink Fish, a not-for-profit organization with the aim of safeguarding water; keeping it swimmable, drinkable, and fishable. Gord Downie, the lead singer of Canadian iconic band The Tragically Hip, was an advocate of accessible water, and a board member of Swim Drink Fish for a number of years before his passing. Gord had lived across the street from the park, and when the project was deciding a name for the new pier, Gord Edgar Downie Pier won the title in a unanimous vote.
Edgar was the name of Gord’s father, adding to the tribute the pier pays for the Downie family. The project got its support from the funding of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, and worked in conjunction with Swim Drink Fish’s “Great Lakes Challenge” initiative.
While I didn’t drink or fish the water, I certainly enjoyed a swim in the lake – and off the incredible pier itself no doubt. It’s really quite an awesome spot on the lake that should not be missed – even in the winter.
Pairingwith… Spearhead Brewing Company – “Big Kahuna” Imperial IPA
The “Big Kahuna” is an imperial IPA from Spearhead Brewing Company that was originally produced back in 2013, and was brought back late this spring in celebration of the brewery’s one year anniversary of their new brewing facilities in Kingston. It’s available as long supplies last, and we suggest not waiting to try it.
This beer is an appropriate pairing while sitting on a tank and feeling like a big kahuna yourself, which is something not exactly rare in the Kingston area. The city is full of military landmarks, and if you’re marching by the Kingston Military Community Sports Centre while enjoying this beer, then hopping on top of a tank like this is really an obvious thing to do.
Let me explain further. Coming in at a solid 10% ABV, and a whopping 100 IBUs, the Big Kahuna lives up to its name. The IPA, which has been brewed with a lot of pure pineapple juice, pours a deep copper colour, and features an aroma of citrus, pineapple, and caramel. The medium-bodied, creamy mouthfeel delivers a complex taste that nicely balances a pronounced caramel-malt backbone and the sweetness of the pineapple juice with a citrusy hop-bitterness and the alcohol. Big flavour from the Big Kahuna.
I know: Big Kahuna makes sitting on top of tanks an obviously intelligent thing to be doing… Crack that can; rinse that snifter glass; pour that IIPA, and sip slowly: we be rockin’ the world here, and there ain’t no one that’s slowin’ my tank down!
Pairingwith… Spearhead Brewing Company – “Hawaiian Style” Pale Ale
**DISCLAIMER** UNLESS THE BEER MASTER OF THE BREWERY RECOMMENDS GARNISHING YOUR BEER WITH FRUIT (HIGHLY, HIGHLY UNLIKELY), NEVER GARNISH BEER WITH FRUIT!! I HAVE DONE THIS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE REASON OF MATCHING THE INSPIRATION SHOT (SWIPE!!), OTHERWISE, THIS WOULD NEVER OCCUR… AND NEVER MIND DRINKING BEER FROM A STRAW…
The “Hawaiian Style Pale Ale” from Spearhead Brewing Company is the the beer that put this brewery on the map early in this decade, and is the brewery’s flagship beer. It’s a surprisingly fantastic pairing with this t-shirt appearing in the season premiere of Brooklyn Nine-Nine this past season.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Hawaii is “vacation.” And then I think “pineapple.” Spearhead was thinking “pineapple” when they made this beer, and pumped a whack of pure pineapple juice into the brew (making this beer a bit of a “pineapple slut”), which actually does the job of cutting through some of the bitterness of the beer. Without the pineapple, this may be aggressively bitter; with it though, the beer is crisper and contains a more approachable (vacation-ready?) bitterness.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) begins Season Six bitter for losing his bid to become commissioner, and head’s on an impromptu vacation. The sudden vaca means the Captain failed to pack, so purchases some novelty t-shirts at the hotel gift shop. The “pineapple slut” shirt I wear here is the final shirt he wears on the vacation.
Putting on the shirt puts me in the mood for a vaca, and enjoying a Hawaiian Style Pale Ale from Spearhead is a nice complement. Pouring a deep amber with a faint haze, the beer produces a wonderful head with solid lacing. A whiff of pineapple and caramel meets the nose. Bready and caramel malts greet your lips, and are followed by mild citrus flavours that lead to a piney-bitter finish. A versatile offering here that can work for many occasions (especially vacations).
Don’t be too bitter, Holt, just head away and clear that mind of yours… He simply just needed to crack a can of the Hawaiian Style, crack open a pineapple, and then get crackin’ at being a slut: at least one of those are going to put you in a good mood, but all of them?!
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a sitcom set in a police precinct in New York City, was actually canceled after five seasons by Fox last spring. The next day, NBC, who was originally pitched the show and had passed on it, quickly picked it up to continue the series, airing a sixth season.
Season Six premiered on January 10, 2019, with the episode titled, “Honeymoon.” Here, we find Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) learning that he has not received the commissioner job he was up for at the end of Season Five. He falls into a depression, and promptly decides to head away on vacation.
Meanwhile, the show’s two leads, Jake (Andy Samberg) and Amy (Melissa Fumero) are heading away on their honeymoon to Mexico, and they are shocked to find their captain, Holt, in the hotel lobby when they arrive. He’s also surprised to see them.
Holt’s abrupt decision to head away on vacation though, means that he left without packing any luggage, so he purchases some novelty t-shirts to get through his vacation comfortably. Each shirt proves to up the ante on the inappropriateness of the last one. The final shirt, the “pineapple slut” shirt, both confuses Jake (“Is the pineapple the slut, or is it calling someone else a slut?”) and captivates him (“Just out of curiosity – asking for a friend – where did you get the shirt, and how much did it cost?”).
The hilarious first episode of Season Six provides a new image of Holt, the normally buttoned-up captain of the precinct, which is something those familiar with the show will not forget – and they shouldn’t, because it is unlikely that we will not see Holt out of uniform and in such garb again.
This is my way of ensuring that memory remains.
Quick Links
- FULL SPEARHEAD BREWING COMPANY PHOTO GALLERY
- PAIRING OUTTAKES
- Spearhead Brewing Company WEBSITE
- Gord Edgar Downie Pier at Breakwater Park
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
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