Burlington’s Nickel Brook brewery is making a mark on Ontario’s craft brewery scene with their growing line of unique beers that are brewed, canned and bottled exclusively in Burlington at the Drury Lane brewery.
Nickel Brook brewery was born out of owner John Romano’s passion for making his own specialty “U Brew” beers. With the encouragement of his brother, Romano decided to quit his job and start a small brewery. “The beer industry really grew around the ‘U Brew’ about 10 years ago and here I was making 20 or 30 kegs of beer a day so I decided to build a little brewery. On paper it was a no brainer, I was going to make enough wort to supply myself and I was basically going to pay my bills and if I sold the kegs of beer out the door that would be gravy.”
However, it took years for the brewery to become properly licensed and while the brewery was under construction, the price of beer dropped dramatically, created a completely different scenario than Romano’s business plan called for. No longer would his original “U Brew” business plan work, so Romano and his brother decided to start a full fledged microbrewery. And Nickel Brook brewery, named after Romano’s children, was born.
As a new microbrewery, it wasn’t easy to convince the local establishments to sell Nickel Brook beer. Most local bars and restaurants had lucrative agreements with the major breweries and weren’t interested in a locally brewed beer. “So I started working my way into Hamilton, Toronto and different cities and found out how difficult it is for the microbrewers.” Romano persevered and now Nickel Brook beer is available across the region.
Romano is proud that Nickel Brook is known for its unique beers and that the brewery is becoming more and more popular. “Things are really taking off with our Green Apple Pilsner and now we have a gluten-free beer that is starting to become very popular. As fast as we make beer in the summer time, it’s gone.” As a participating sponsor for Burlington’s Sound of Music festival, Nickel Brook produced a special beer for the festival, called Headstock, that was available only during the festival.
Romano also found a niche market for non-beer drinkers. Nickel Brook beer also produces an old fashioned style root beer named after Romano’s daughter Brooke. At this year’s Sound of Music festival, the brewery was barely able to keep it in stock, going through four kegs of root beer in one day.
Nickel Brook beer was recently awarded the People’s choice award in the Amber Lager category for their Organic Lager at the 8th annual Ontario Brewing Awards.
As a small business owner, Romano is passionate about buying locally and supporting the local economy. “People need to realise that when they buy a local product, you’re putting 60% back into the local economy. And that’s a big difference. Our labels are made in Guelph and in Burlington. Our boxes are made in Burlington and in Hamilton. Our staff is from Burlington and Hamilton. The core of our business is Toronto to Hamilton.”
Nickel Brook beer is available at the Beer Store, the LCBO or at the Drury Lane brewery. Tours are available, but must be booked in advance. To find out more about Nickel Brook’s unique beers, check out their brew list at www.nickelbrook.com.
