GUELPH, ON & KINGSTON, ON – Naming a brewery after the nickname of its home city is a model that has been followed by several Ontario start-ups in recent years, including Railway City in St. Thomas, Sawdust City in Gravenhurst, and Bell City in Brantford. And now, a pair of similarly monickered breweries from two sides of the province are getting set to join the club.
In Southwestern Ontario, Royal City Brewing is setting up shop at 199 Victoria Rd South in Guelph. Founded by Russell Bateman and Cameron Fryer, Royal City plans to launch with two flagship brands – Smoked Honey Brown Ale and Dry Hopped Pale Ale – along with rotating seasonals including Morning Coffee Stout. Updates on the brewery’s progress are being posted on Facebook and Twitter.
Over in Eastern Ontario, 275 Princess Street in downtown Kingston will be home to Stone City Ales. The team behind this project is currently brewing test batches of various styles on a 70 litre pilot system purchased from Uncle Leo’s in Nova Scotia while waiting for a full scale 7 barrel system to arrive from DME in Charlottetown. Stone City’s progress can be followed on Twitter.
Royal City and Stone City are both aiming to open in June.