Our Brewery
BREWHOUSE & TANKS
We started construction of our Brewery in October of 2016 and brewed our first beer August 1st, 2017 (Solera, Anniversary Farmhouse Saison). Our brewhouse and brew vessels are all 100% Canadian with a 12,000 HL capacity. We have 8 - 70 HL Fermenters (FV) and 6 – 10 HL Innovation Fermenters (RD).
Our brewery’s equipment has been sourced from several North American and European manufacturers, including Canadian 35-hectolitre and 5-hectolitre brewhouses, German bottling lines, and French oak foeders. All TCB beers are developed, brewed, and packaged in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
FOEDER & BARREL PROGRAM
WHAT IS A FOEDER?
Foeder (pronounced FOOD-er) is a large wooden vat used to ferment or age beer. Brewers use Foeders to impart complex characteristics into the beer with notes that can range from delicate oak vanillins pulled from the wood, to funk-forward profiles derived from wild yeast.
TRANS CANADA BREWING CO. FOEDER PROGRAM
In 2017, we installed six French Oak Foeders and began our specialty Foeder Aging Program. Currently many of these beers are still aging; continuing to develop characteristics unique to each batch. Once the Brewmaster deems the batch to have reached its desired profile, the beer is transferred out of the Foeder and a new batch of beer is introduced into the Foeder.
FOEDER RESERVE: SOLERA ANNIVERSARY FARMHOUSE SAISON
Solera Inspiration and Story
On August 1, 2017, our long awaited dream became a reality. After many years of planning and two years of building, we were officially ready to brew, and that we did! Our inaugural brew, batch #001, drew inspiration from the deep rooted history of the prairies, a land rich with agriculture and the stories of the families who work it. Farmhouse Saison is a historic style of beer that was originally created by farmers who would brew batches of low-alcohol beer to quench the thirst of their farmhands during the hot summer months. This style of beer incorporates ingredients that are tightly woven into this land and its water, air and people.
We wanted batch #001 to forever live in the brewery, so we decided to introduce the complex and unique method called Solera. We set aside a portion of #001 and cellared it for one year. On August 1, 2018, we brewed the same recipe and transfered it into Foeder No. 5. We then took a portion of #001 and blended into the 2018 batch, allowing the beers to introduce themselves into one another and slowly soak into the French oak of the Foeder, creating a Solera effect. Now every August 1, our brew-anniversary, we bottle the blended beer from Foeder No. 5, knowing a part of that original 2017 brew lives on.
We release 750mL Bottles of Solera every October to celebrate the anniversary of Trans Canada Brewing CO.