Brews News: Caps Off in St. Thomas celebrates sixth anniversary

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Can a hobby that became a business, only to be kicked in the keg by a pandemic, survive? Sure, if you’re a tiny brewery with a big following.

Caps Off Brewing, the other brewery in St. Thomas, first started brewing in tight quarters on Curtis Street in 2019. Opened by Rick (the brewer) and Fran Dunseith, things were going tickity-boo for a new craft brewery until March 2020. We all know what happened.

But that was then and this is now. On a roll, just like the city around it, Caps Off is marking its sixth anniversary this month.

“Our community is incredible,” Fran said. “It’s great for people who stop in to our little city for a brewery tour so that they can visit both us downtown and Railway City Brewing Co. just on the edge of town.”

The physical size of Caps Off makes it almost a walk-in, back-out kind of space once there are a few quaffers inside. An outdoor patio relieved the seating pressure, but hope springs eternal it will one day find more square footage.

“A challenge we have faced is our space being small, but who knows what the future holds,” Fran said.

Personally, I’d love to see them as the catalyst to reviving one of the historic storefronts in downtown St. Thomas, but I digress.

To celebrate the sixth anniversary, Caps Off has tapped BackRoads Hops of Parkhill and running clubs throughout the region.

Rick used to run in marathons and compete in triathlons. Hops from BackRoads – which also has a craft beer and running shoe setup in London called BackRoads Brews and Shoes – is one of the go-to suppliers of varieties such as Triple Pearl and Cascade for Caps Off beers.

Caps Off, which hosts its own run club that’s also six years old, is inviting runners to the brewery Sept. 13 for a run. There are four different routes totalling 21 kilometres. Participants can run  one route of five kilometres, all four for 21 kilometres or any combination.

When runners (and non-runners, too) get back to the brewery on Curtis Street, they’ll find a new beer waiting, a session IPA made with BackRoads hops. The style, with a low alcohol content, was chosen because it’s a good post-exercise recovery beer.

Hats off to Caps Off. They’re setting a good pace.

NEW AND NOTED

Three things to know about former Ontario Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Steve Peters: He loves St. Thomas, history and beer. In his backyard, he’s grown heirloom hops from a plant transplanted from an old St. Thomas hop yard established circa 1869. Christened as the “Hop Ness Jumbo Monster” the four-metre tall hop plant is ready for harvest with the cones heading a short walk away to Caps Off.

While Caps Off is one of Ontario’s younger, smaller brewers, one of the province’s oldest is also marking an anniversary this month. Wellington Brewery in Guelph is 40 years old. Wellington is the oldest independently owned craft brewery in Ontario. Forty Fest is on at the brewery today (Sept. 6) with a Latin Craft Beer Carnivale in the afternoon and Boots and Brews country-themed party in the evening. Wellington is best known for its Special Pale Ale.

There’s a new Japanese-style lager at Powerhouse Brewing in London. A fresh collaboration with clothing company Illbury and Goose, it’s a rice lager with hibiscus. Triple decocting gives it added depth. The brewery describes it as having the crisp character of a Japanese lager with the complexity of a Czech pilsner.

Hang on to summer for as long as you can with the Organic Cerveza from London Brewing. A sale on this brew must mean cooler space is needed for colder days ahead. Those dark beer ingredients are being assembled as we speak.

Cider fan? Georgian Bay’s Thornbury Craft Cider took home best cider of the year for its Tragically Hip Road Apples at the National Wine Awards of Canada. Thornbury also nabbed a gold medal for its Raspberry Apple Cider. The area around Thornbury is rich with cideries and orchards, a must visit in the autumn.

Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London. BrewsNewsTravels@gmail.com