By: Mac Lenton
Second-Year Brewmaster Student
Today* I sat down with Mike Foniok, Head Brewer and Co-founder of The Establishment Brewing. After being open for just over a year, I wanted to chat with Mike and discuss how their brewery came to fruition, what they are currently working on, as well as to get his take on Alberta beer in general. Since opening in early 2019, The Establishment brewing has been one of the most successful new breweries to open in Alberta. The venue boasts a dynamic and spacious taproom which surely catches the eye and impresses consumers. Currently they have eight beer options on tap, varying from light -such their Pilsgnar German pilsner- to dark, with their Fat Sherpa porter. They even have hoppy beers with the very popular Afternoon Delight New England Pale Ale. If all of this wasn’t impressive enough they also offered two barrel aged sour beers on their opening day.
As I have been a fan of The Establishment I figured it was worthy to sit down with Mike and talk about how their brewery became a dream. “I first got started in brewing through take home kits, which is the usual way people get started in brewing, but it was a blast to play around with and experiment with different styles and techniques.” After a couple kits, it then turned into using all grains for subsequent brews. Mike has been home-brewing for twelve years since that initial home kit. He is a BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) National Judge and member of the Yeast Wrangler home-brewing club in Calgary. Through the home-brew club, Mike met Dave and Brandon who are also involved in the brewery today. “It’s kind of a neat story, we had all been home-brewing at this point. We were on a trip and found a sign that said “The Establishment” that we brought back and put it in the house we were in. In 2013 the flood wiped out everything in the basement, so I decided to turn the basement into our new brew space as opposed to my garage. Once we decided we were opening the brewery, it wasn’t a tough decision what to name it.”
Mike, Dave and Brandon pride themselves on producing a wide selection of beers, while being stylistically accurate, with overall balanced beers. They don’t discriminate against any beer styles so there is always lots of selection. “At the end of the day, the consumer is going to drift to a beer that is well balanced for their palate. If they are saying, I like it but, it's too sweet or something like that, they often won’t order another one. We want to focus on balance and increase drinkability, as that is what the customer is going to come back for.” In addition to their on tap selection, The Establishment has a unique theme for their taproom, barrels.
They have 60-80 barrels that are visible from the seating area and are full of many different and complex projects. From barrel aged saisons, fruited sours to (hopefully in the future Mike hinted) lambics and spontaneously fermented beers. “it is quite the challenge and I love it. You are at mercy of the bugs and you must be able to control the cold side to get a good result, but at the end of the day, yeast is the boss.” The barrels have been included in the plan since concept of the brewery. “The cool is thing, coming from an engineering background, is that barrel aging is a mixed of technical and artistic finesse. When checking the barrel, you need to judge between the flavors you get versus the changing gravity. The longer the beer stays in there, the more it changes, which creates a challenge when bottling, and putting out a good tasting beer.”
Their main slogan “Slow beer takes time” relates to a lot of the workload that was done in the making of the brewery itself. “It’s a nod from what my dad used to say about work when I was a kid. Pretty much relates to building a brewery because there isn’t really a timeline. So many unknowns on either side of the spectrum. Could be faster, could be slower.” This quote I feel really embodies The Establishment, specifically the barrels because the beer is in them for six months at a minimum. For the beer to get to its highest potential, it needs that time.
After having the opportunity to chat with Mike, I am even more excited to see where The Establishment team goes from here. Their creativity and mission to create drink-able products I believe will help them to push the envelope and continue to succeed.
*Interview took place in Early 2020
Image: The Establishment Brewing Company [2020] [Website] Retrieved from: https://establishmentbrewing.ca/