The Story of the Young Lions
In the winter of 2017 Sean approached his team of young brewers with an opportunity and said: “You guys are great brewers. You’ve learned so much over the past several years, now you’re ready to take the next step…”
“…I would like the four of you to collaborate on designing your own recipe. Here are the rules: there are none. You get to select malt and hops from anywhere in the world. You get to use any yeast strain you deem necessary. You get to name the beer. And you even get to come up with the design for the label. This will be your baby. Of course I have veto power but I don’t expect to have to use it. Good luck!”
Thus began our Young Lions Series. After considerable deliberation, Dave McNaughton, Chris McCrodan, Dylan Hoyne and Antoine Foukal decided upon brewing a Belgian White IPA and because they had been given free reign, they appropriately named the beer ‘Carte Blanche’. On the label is an illustration of the four of them in front of a fermentation tank. This beer was widely loved and every time we brew it, it sells out immediately.
The Young Lions have gone on to produce a Saison called ‘Terra Firma’, a German Weizenbock and lastly a strong espresso Stout called ‘High Voltage’ (a variation on our original Voltage recipe).
While a couple of the original members on the team have ventured off on their own pursuits, Chris and Antoine have welcomed Jay Bell and Bryce Michaud to the Young Lions team. We look forward to their next great creation. We have always believed that the history of brewing is one of the passing down of knowledge and we are proud to be able to continue that great tradition and encourage the next generation of brewers towards a career in excellence.
