Breweries unite for 'nice, bright, fun' beer for Royal St. John's Regatta

Craft breweries from across the province have been quick to act since beingawarded the contract to run the beer tent during this year's running of the Royal St. John's Regatta.

Representatives from breweries from St. Anthony to St. John's, and everywhere in between, made the trip to Landwash Brewery in Mount Pearl on Tuesday to have an official meeting as the Newfoundland and Labrador Craft Brewers Association and begin to planjust how they are going to deliver the goods come Aug. 7.

For Brad SimmsofRagnaRock Northern Brewing Company, it's a chance to get a head start on business before officially opening in St. Anthony.

"For us on the Northern Peninsula, logistics is a big issue. Shipping and so on, the price of shipping and the availability of product, for us it's been a bit of a challenge.But we're getting through it, we're looking forward to it, it's pretty fun. It's all a part of it," Simms said.

RagnaRock will be the only craft brewery on the Northern Peninsula, for the time being, according to Simms.

Its closest neighbour, Crooked Feeder Brewing Company, is located just over 400 kilometres to the south.

"It's going to be pretty neat to bring a new product to that area," Simms said about his company's location on the far northern edge of Newfoundland.

The team effort beer is an opportunity for each brewery in Newfoundland to have some representation, even if their brand is not off the ground yet like RagnaRock and another western Newfoundland breweryBoomstick Brewing in Corner Brook.

A collaborative effort

Right now, Newfoundland and Labrador has 14 craft breweries up and running, with three more still to come.

Most were on deck at Tuesday's meeting to pitch in on a collaborative beer set to released at Quidi Vidi Lake.

"It feels amazing. Some of us haven't even met each other because we're so spread out across this large island, and we're so happy to get together and actually just talk and chat it up, and brew some beer and drink some beer later," said Chris Conway, general manager of Landwash Brewery.

Conway said Tuesday's effort should mark the beginning of what hehopes will turn into a more permanent partnership between craft breweries.

The plan is to make theNewfoundland and Labrador Craft Brewers Association a more concrete entity, and then continue to encourage further collaborations and more beer festivals throughout the island.

"It really is the best time to be drinking Newfoundland craft beer," said Conway.

"Newfoundlanders love to support local and when it's local and beer, it kind of comes together kind of perfectly."

A summer beer

The collaborative beer for this year's Regatta is inspired by Mexican lager, said Christina Cody, brewmaster at Landwash Brewery,where the new community beer is being brewed and housed.

"For the Regatta, we're going to hope for really nice weather.And, everybodyloves drinking nice, bright, fun beers in the summer," she said.

"We're just trying to think of what you would want to drink when it's 20 degrees out by the lake, and we thought a nice, hoppy lager is exactly what we'd like to drink. You want summer in a glass this time of year, even if we've got fog and rain."

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