A brew of their own: Manitoulin Brewing Co. introduces first beer.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay

For the denizens of Manitoulin Island, who flock to the popular vacation spot when the warm weather hits, summer is filled with sun, lakes, barbecues --and now, a homegrown beer.

In June, Manitoulin Brewing Company (MBC) launched its signature brew, Swingbridge Ale, joining the growing number of independent craft brewers popping up across the province. Reviews for the easy-drinking beer have been effusive, with more than 21 restaurants and bars in the region now offering it on the menu.

"We knew it was going to be popular, because craft beer is really picking up across Ontario, and we had an idea it was going to be popular, but we didn't know it would be as popular as it is," said Blair Hagman, who founded the company with his longtime friend and brewing partner, Nishin Meawasige.

The venture began two and a half years ago, when the pair, friends dating back to high school, reconnected while attending the Hillside Music Festival in Guelph where the craft beer flowed freely.

"We just had this idea: 'You know, it would be so cool to actually start a brewery,'" Hagman recalled.

But neither had brewed a day in their lives.

Their research began, supplemented by helpful advice from other craft brewers around the province, and the pair test-brewed various recipes in Hagman's garage for two years before coming up with Swingbridge Ale, named for the iconic span that connects the mainland to Manitoulin at Little Current.

MBC now employs Mark Lewis as its brewmaster, but the company's big break came while the friends were attending the Ontario Craft Brewers Conference, where they met an enthusiast who would become an important investor.

Swingbridge Ale is quintessentially Manitoulin, from the bridge depicted on the cans to the hawberry embedded in MBC's logo. (A bush grown on Manitoulin, the hawberry gives its name to Manitoulin-born residents playfully called "haweaters.") The tap handles were fashioned from steel and ash by ironworker Kathryn Corbiere, who hails from the Manitoulin First Nation of M'Chigeeng.

Now, Manitoulin Brewing Company's retail outlet, strategically located in Little Current along Highway 6, is poised to open by the fall. From there, they will aim to produce 60 hectolitres (6,000...