Here's a look at the Island's newest craft brewery

There's a new brewery in Montague, P.E.I. and after months of fundraising and extensive renovations, it's ready to open its doors.

Owner David McGuire has been working toward opening Bogside Brewing for over two years. While the process came with some challenges and setbacks, McGuire said the space is ready to welcome its first round of customers.

"We're going to open the doors, we'll have some guest taps on and our kitchen will be open and just invite people in to see the space and see what we're doing," McGuire said. 

Bogside will be open to the public for the first time on Friday evening for the brewery's soft launch. McGuire said crews are still working on putting the final touches on the building and getting the brewery's own beer ready to serve, but he's excited to show the community what the space has to offer.

The 10,000 square-foot building is now home to the brewery's production facility for brewing beer and cider, a restaurant and 90-seat taproom as well as a weekly farmers market. He said he researched hundreds of breweries throughout Atlantic Canada and abroad to create an atmosphere that would set it apart.

"We just tried to put together that combination of different things that would provide an experience for the customer," McGuire said.

Brewing up a beer hall experience

McGuire said the brewery's taproom was inspired by beer halls he visited in Germany, using long lines of tables to encourage customers to interact with each other. 

He said incorporating a restaurant within the brewery is also something he hopes will draw people in. 

"The food side has been a big focus for us. So we've got a restaurant attached to a brewery versus a brewery with some food and that's kind of an important distinction for us," he said.

Dave Mottershall, the chef at Bogside Brewing, said he's focused on serving up an authentic barbecue menu, offering ribs, brisket and seafood.

"We're really just going to highlight local ingredients, try to give the best of P.E.I. right here," Mottershall said.

"We have this awesome beer hall style where it's long tables where guests can sit together and talk about the food and then come up and actually order their food right here at the kitchen and get to talk to us about it."

The brewery will also host a weekly farmers market on Saturday mornings beginning in July. There are already about a dozen vendors signed on to participate.

"Really fabulous support from the community at large and especially the brewing industry, everyone's been very helpful," McGuire said.

Starting from scratch

Head brewer Mark Patriquin said the brewery will be ready to release its own beer by next week and he plans to start with five different beers on tap.

He was previously brewing in B.C. and said he's looking forward to experimenting with recipes and introducing some new styles and flavours to the Island's palette.

"We wanted to make beers that each focused on a specific ingredient," Patriquin said. "A lot of people are still craft-curious … so we do want to keep our beers approachable, but we do want to bring new styles to the Island."

McGuire said the brewery will also begin canning its beer later in the year. He said the brewery currently employs about 10 people, but he expects to hire more staff once the summer season starts.

Bogside Brewing will be open for its soft launch Friday at 4 p.m. 

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