TORONTO, ON – After two years of operating as a contract brewery, the Kensington Brewing Company (KBCo) is finally on the verge of opening a proper home in its namesake Toronto neighbourhood.
Launched by Brock Shepherd in 2011, KBCo was originally envisioned to be a nanobrewery located in Burger Bar, a restaurant in the north end of Kensington Market that Shepherd also owned. But as reported today by blogTO‘s Ben Johnson, Shepherd recently sold Burger Bar, and the permanent KBCo location will now be in a new building being developed at 299 Augusta Avenue, a few doors south of the restaurant.
The new KBCo facility will open with a 15 hectolitre brewhouse, doubling the capacity that the brewery has been leasing at Wellington Brewery in Guelph. The brewery will include a retail store selling cans of KBCo flagship brands Augusta Ale and FishEye PA, as well as 650 ml bombers and growlers of rotating specialty brands, and a tasting room to serve beer along with complementing food sourced from merchants in the Market.
While the opening date will be dependent on permits and construction, Shepherd tells blogTO that he hopes to have the brewery open by the Fall of 2013.