\n Photography by Dean Palmer<\/em><\/p>\n
Until two years ago, Cameron Fryer\u2019s experience with beer included a robust appreciation for the beverage and jobs that included almost every aspect of beer aside from actually making it. \u201cI sold it, promoted it, served it, mopped it off of floors and delivered it,\u201d says Fryer of his history with beer. \u201cIt just seemed like a natural thing to transition into making it professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fryer, BA \u201904, and Russell Bateman launched Royal City Brewing Co. in 2014, turning their passion for beer into a thriving Guelph-based business. \u201cRuss and I started up the business because we really like beer, and we saw an opportunity in Guelph to come in and be a more local player,\u201d says Fryer.<\/p>\n
Starting their own brewery allowed them to be their own boss, but neither of them had much beer-making experience.<\/p>\n
Fryer\u2019s brewing knowledge was limited to a crash course on beer making he received while working an earlier job at Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto. After learning the basics from the head brewer, he began making beer at home. The learning process was \u201ctrial and error \u2014 mostly error,\u201d says Fryer. Since then, he and Bateman have honed their beer-making skills into an art.<\/p>\n
Royal City Brewing\u2019s small scale and unique flavours set it apart from other breweries. When it opened, the brewery had just enough equipment to brew beer for its taproom and a handful of licensees. Since then, the brewery has expanded in size and capacity, and has made about 200 different types of craft beer. By next year, Royal City Brewing expects to be \u201cone of the bigger small breweries in the province.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fryer studied history and German at U of G, but it was an elective beverage management course that piqued his interest in craft beer. Drinking his first Rauchbier, a German smoked beer, was a pivotal experience, introducing him to the diversity and flavours of different beers. \u201cIt\u2019s now one of my favourite styles and has inspired a lot of our own brewing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Fryer and Bateman grew up together in Aurora, Ont. They both attended U of G, but Bateman left before graduating to start his own business.<\/p>\n Royal City Brewing is brimming with Guelph pride (the city is also known as the Royal City). The walls of the taproom are lined with posters of their beer labels, which reference Guelph landmarks such as the covered bridge and Exhibition Park.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we first got going, we really wanted to be Guelph\u2019s brewery,\u201d says Fryer. \u201cWe wanted to share the enthusiasm and the love that we have for this place through what we\u2019re doing beer-wise.”<\/p>\n Two-thirds of the brewery\u2019s 15 staff are U of G graduates, including freelance graphic designer Cai Sepulis, BA \u201902, who designs their retro labels and packaging. \u201cWe want to be Guelph\u2019s brewery and she draws Guelph,\u201d says Fryer. \u201cShe does some of the best labels and design work in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n The label for Gordon Hill Hefeweizen, for example, depicts a cyclist on the arduous Gordon Street hill. \u201cI used to ride my bike up that hill every day,\u201d says Fryer. He now lives in the Ward \u2014 a short walk from the brewery \u2014 which inspired their 100 Steps Stout.<\/p>\n Smoked Honey, Hibiscus Saison and Exhibition IPA are the brewery\u2019s core brands, followed by its \u201cRoyal City regulars\u201d: 100 Steps Stout, Suffolk St. Session Ale and Two Rivers Unfiltered Ale. Other beers such as Earl Grey Porter and Autumn Ale make seasonal appearances, while specialty blends such as Pear Vanilla, Octoberfest and Chocolate Raspberry are brewed once a year. Rotational brews and one-offs are also added into the mix.<\/p>\n Fryer and Bateman came up with the idea for Smoked Honey before they started the brewery. \u201cThat was the one recipe we knew we were going to go with,\u201d says Fryer, describing it as a hybrid of his two favourite beer styles: an English brown ale and a German smoked lager. The flavour is created using beechwood smoke malt and local honey, which is fermented out for a light finish.<\/p>\n [pullquote]Craft beer is not determined by the size of the brewery, but by the way it makes its product,\u201d says Royal City Brewing Co.\u2019s Cameron Fryer. The main ingredient in a craft beer is grain, whereas macro brews typically use corn syrup, a cheaper alternative with a similar sugar profile that produces light-coloured, light-bodied beers.[\/pullquote]<\/p>\n For Hibiscus Saison, Royal City Brewing works with The Custom Tea Company, which provides the hibiscus tea, and Escarpment Labs, which provides the yeast. Both companies are run by U of G grads, and received funding support from the Hub, an entrepreneurship program run by the University\u2019s Centre for Business and Student Enterprise. \u201cWe just started it in May, and it\u2019s been flying out the door,\u201d says Fryer of the hibiscus brew. The tea infusion gives the beer a pink hue and a juicy tartness.<\/p>\n Fryer describes the current popularity of craft beers as a \u201creawakening\u201d of beer tastes in Canada from the standard light lager. \u201cI think people\u2019s paletes are really adapting and changing now,\u201d says Fryer, adding that his father is among the newly converted.<\/p>\n When developing new flavours, Fryer and Bateman work backwards, starting with their vision for the final product, then selecting the ingredients and processes to get there. \u201cWhat do we want the final product to taste like?\u201d says Fryer. \u201cWhat do we want in that glass?\u201d<\/p>\n Much like a chef decides which flavours pair well together, Fryer and Bateman try to come up with flavour combinations that make good brews. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to imagine what goes well together and tastes well together, and how to get it in beer,\u201d says Fryer.<\/p>\n Certain flavours come from the yeast itself, whereas other flavours are added at different stages. \u201cYou can affect the outcome of the flavour of the beer at every stage of the brewing process,\u201d says Fryer.<\/p>\n He compares the beer-making process to making a cup of tea: just add hot water to grain instead of tea leaves. Mashing replaces steeping, where water is added to the grain and heated to extract the sugar. The resulting liquid goes into a kettle along with other flavouring agents. The starch is broken down into simple sugars such as glucose and maltose, which are easier for the yeast to digest, and then rinsed.<\/p>\n The sugars are boiled for pasteurization to eliminate any bacteria that can negatively affect flavour and to evaporate excess water. Hops represent the majority of flavouring agents and are added early or late in the brewing process. A heat exchanger rapidly cools the beer from 100 C to 20 C to kill any remaining bacteria. Fermentation takes about two weeks.<\/p>\n Despite the work perk of regular taste testing, working with beer all day has its downside. \u201cMy overall beer consumption has gone down quite a bit since we opened,\u201d says Fryer, adding that brewing beer is hot and heavy work. \u201cYou\u2019re covered in it and wearing it at the end of the day. You don\u2019t always want to drink it when you get home.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"rcb-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/rcb-2.jpg\")
<\/a>After graduating, he got a job teaching English at a high school in Nuremburg, Germany. \u201cI actually landed in the beer heart of Germany,\u201d says Fryer of the fortuitous post. Aside from teaching there for just over a year, Fryer spent time \u201clearning about beer and tasting a lot of beer, and that furthered my interest in it.\u201d<\/p>\n