Schooled in the art of beer: Highlander Brew Co. plans expansion, brew school.

AuthorKelly, Lindsay
PositionSMALL BUSINESS

In 2012, the completion of the South River bypass improved Highway 11's driveability, but rerouted traffic out of the village, which had relied on the business from travellers to stay afloat. Three years later, Highlander Brew Co. is embarking on a multimillion-dollar project that could inject some new life into the town.

Operating in South River since 2012, Highlander has outgrown its existing facility and is undergoing a major expansion that will increase its production capacity and establish a training school for brewery technicians.

"We ran (the brewery) as a kind of pilot project to learn the business, and we soon got to the state where we couldn't make enough beer," said president Dwayne Wanner. "We went from 20 LCBO stores to 200, and we were distributing to other areas as well."

Most of the support for Highlander has come from the local community: residents and their summer guests attend concerts there and continue to buy Highlander's beer after they return home to the GTA. But the company had to balance the good of the community with a wise business decision.

"We want to have something good for the community, but our primary goal is to sell beer and make money," Wanner said. "If we can do that in a way that also enhances the life of the community, so much the better."

Facing a choice to either expand or move to southern Ontario, the provincial and federal governments stepped in with an offer of $2 million toward a new building, which will be owned by the village and include the brewery, an event space and a training school.

Highlander is currently brewing 1,200 cases a month and the expansion will increase its capacity by five times that. But the growth of the company is such that "we already know that will be too...

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