A Salmon Arm couple’s dream which started in the kitchen of their studio apartment has foamed up and spilled over into a soon-to-open craft brewery.
Adam and Genean Morrow have wanted to own a brewery since Adam’s first experiments with home brewing. After putting plenty of sweat equity into the former Windmill Meats location on Lakeshore Drive, they plan to open the Morrow Beer Company in November.
Since January, work has been underway to turn the former butcher shop and deli into a functional brewery and tasting lounge. All the equipment necessary for beer making has been installed in a back room and the front deli counter has been swapped out for a white pine topped bar.
The Morrows say they are putting finishing touches on the lounge space and are awaiting a final inspection, after which they will receive their license to start brewing.
Adam says he plans to brew up a range of beer varieties with something for everyone. He said a kolsch, hazy pale ale, IPA, fruited wheat ale and an oat porter will be among the first batches to hit the Morrows’ taps.
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Adam and Genean met when they lived in Victoria and Adam began experimenting with home-brewing beer on the kitchen stove. Although a few early batches were destined for the drain, Adam said successfully making beer just made him hungry to brew more, and he began applying for jobs at breweries in order to learn new skills. He said he started off washing kegs and making deliveries, but was soon given the opportunity to begin developing his brewing skills.
“I’ve been doing it for five years now, six in total with the home brewing, and I’m still learning something new every day.”
The Morrows knew early on they wanted to open up a brewery and said Salmon Arm, Genean’s home town, seemed like an obvious location.
The initial license the Morrows expect to receive will allow them to fill growlers and offer small tasting glasses from the taps behind the bar, but they won’t be pouring pints until they receive a lounge license which they hope to have early next year.
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Along with the Lakeshore Drive location, the Morrows plan to have beer on liquor store shelves. They are currently set up to can beer and Adam said they hope to move on to bottling as well in the future. Genean added they plan to distribute kegs to select restaurants in the area as well. Distribution will initially focus on the Shuswap and communities between Salmon Arm and Kelowna.
Genean is working to give the brewery’s tasting lounge a unique look by offering its walls up as rotating gallery space for local artists, allowing them a place to sell their work. She said artists have already shown significant interest.
The Morrow Beer Company won’t have a kitchen on site, but they plan to partner up with food trucks and host special events like farm to table dinners.
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