BEST IN CLASS

A LITTLE MORE THAN THREE YEARS AFTER OPENING ITS DOORS, TIRE SHACK BREWING OF MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, WAS CROWNED ‘BREWERY OF THE YEAR’ AT OUR VERY OWN BREWERS CHOICE AWARDS AT THE END OF 2022. AND ALTHOUGH ACCOLADES ARE ALWAYS WELCOME, FOR BREWERY FOUNDERS ALAN NORMAN AND JERRICA KENNEDY, THEIR FOCUS IS ON GIVING THE COMMUNITY SOMEWHERE TO CALL THEIR OWN AND SOME FANTASTIC BEERS TO ENJOY ALONG THE WAY.

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I think our tears are embedded in the walls of this brewery.”

Like many breweries that have come before them, those early pages in the story of Tire Shack Brewing were far from straight-forward. But for co-founders Alan Norman and Jerrica Kennedy, the blood, sweat and tears they’ve spent along the way have been more than worth it.

Opening a matter of months before the global pandemic took hold, the Monctonbased brewery has gone on to establish itself as a destination for the local community and visitors alike. And they remain indebted to that very community for the support and encouragement it gave them along the way.

“We started planning this whole thing back in 2016, so when we finally opened three years later, there was a real sense of fulfilment,” recalls Norman.

Kennedy adds: “It was pretty overwhelming because we did a lot of work on it ourselves. We watched a lot of YouTube tutorials, and were hands-on from the start.

“I think there is sense of accomplishment when we look around this place. Our heart and souls are poured into every single wall you look at and I think our tears are embedded in the walls of this brewery.”

Located at 190 John St, Tire Shack is based moments away from Victoria Park. And location is all-important for the duo, an asset they attribute to the way the brewery has grown and evolved since day one.

“I think it really helps that we’re in a neighbourhood here. So when we were starting out, the community could see what we were doing. Each and every day we were painting, tiling and getting our hands dirty. They bought into what we were doing and probably asked themselves who are these crazy people they kept seeing!” laughs Norman.

Kennedy adds: “They would always stop by, so we felt part of this community before we had even opened. This area was once a really vibrant neighbourhood and you could say it probably fell on hard times. But thankfully it’s on its way back up and it feels really cool to be part of that.

“What I’ve always appreciated is the way that breweries can play a role in helping transform a neighbourhood. I’ve seen it happen a lot across the US, where a business takes a risk and then others follow suit. It’s something to be proud of and we certainly feel that too.”

Before Tire Shack Brewing came to be, Alan Norman and Jerrica Kennedy took possession of the building that was an auto-garage which had sat abandoned for over three years. The amount of discarded drug paraphernalia was astounding, they recall.

“The space and the neighbourhood were up against hard times. However, we saw a real opportunity to bring back a sense of pride to what is a very old and historically significant part of the city. We feel the neighbourhood has really undergone a massive transformation in the three years we have been here, and we are super excited about that and also for the future of the neighbourhood,” says Kennedy.

Norman adds: “At the Tire Shack everything we do is about community. We take pride in offering a community space that is inviting and that welcomes anyone no matter your background, beliefs, gender, age.

“Inclusion is one of our core values and we endeavour to lead by example. Beer is such an inclusive beverage with such a vast history. We get excited about the fact that we can use a product as simple as beer to bring people together from all walks of life into our taproom where everyone feels welcome and comfortable.

“Community service is also very important to us, and we directly contribute to the Peter McKee community food garden where we grow food in the neighbourhood for the neighbourhood to feed less fortunate members of the community.”

In addition, the business is also very active in supporting charities in the Moncton area. In the past they have brewed beers specifically for the SPCA and Inclusion Advocacy SENB where they have donated 100% of the profits to each charity. They have also supported UNICEF on a national level at their Halifax Gala. Other charities in the community that we have had the pleasure of working with this past year are: Crossroads for women, Laubach literacy NB, United Way, Maritime Assistance Canines, Natoaganeg First Nation Community Food Centre, and Moncton Taco Week which raises funds for United Way.

While Tire Shack Brewing is three years young, the story of husband and wife team of Alan Norman and Jerrica Kennedy goes back much further. While they are both originally from Moncton and living in Toronto, they would meet back in Moncton at a mutual friend’s Christmas party.

Travel for work would being them to many breweries in Europe, the United States and Canada. In doing so, they always fell in love with the amazing sense of community and unique offerings each brewery offered. It was so inspiring to them that they began planning for many years about opening something similar in their hometown.

“After living in Toronto together for 16 years we felt it was time to move home to Moncton and set out to accomplish our dream of opening a craft brewery,” Norman says.

Kennedy adds: “The building was completely gutted and after an insane 11 months of renovations we opened to the public on November 9, 2019 (just in time for Covid). We had a dream of creating a community space where anyone felt welcome no matter what your background or beliefs were.

“Opening only four months before the pandemic was definitely challenging but we could not believe how much support we got from the community. It was an amazing feeling, and I personally delivered every delivery order in an extreme show of gratitude to our customers. It also allowed for us to connect on a much deeper level with our customers in a way that would not have been possible.”

Tire Shack Brewing has gone on to experience phenomenal growth in those first three years of existence, and are currently in the process of building a new 5600 square foot addition on to the brewery. The new space will allow them to have more fermentation capacity, additional cold storage, and a high-end packaging line.

In addition, they are building a rental space that can be used for weddings and corporate functions The expansion will also have a beautiful, four season, glass atrium roof top patio that there are rightfully excited about, and they also feel this will be an amazing addition to the rapidly growing city of Moncton.

With a wealth of projects in the pipeline, those early days back in 2019 could feel like a long time ago. Especially with everything that was to come several months later.

“Let me tell you a little story of when not to open a business.... November 2019!” smiles Norman. “We did not include global pandemic in our risk assessment of our business plan. The pandemic impacted every aspect of our business and still does to this day. We could easily focus on the negatives of Covid-19 but, I want to focus on the positives because there were a lot!”

Kennedy explains: “I can’t believe how supportive the community was and how much they got behind us and went out of their way to support us. I personally delivered every order in an extreme show of gratitude. We were so thankful, and still are to this day. The way the community came together really made us feel at home and we knew that we made the right decision moving back home to Moncton being surrounded by such incredible people.

“As Covid lingers on all of us in the business community can at least have the peace of mind to know that we have each other’s backs, and we also have the support of an incredible community that will get us through even the greatest of challenges.”

Another positive, they point out, was that rather than compete against each other, businesses found a way to band together and support each other through unique collaborations. Some of the businesses that they have collaborated with in the past: Epoch Chemistry, Halo Donuts, Euston Park, Black Rabbit.

“For the past few years, all we’ve known is controlled chaos,” she says. “It’s never been normal so I’m really excited about things such as us having tourists coming in for the first time, and being able to be at full capacity and give people the full experience that we dreamed of when we opened this thing.”

And, unsurprisingly, a key facet of this offering is the beautiful beers on offer. Central to this side of the business is brewmaster Henrique Soares and the creative flair he brings to brewing. Originally from Rio de Janiero in Brazil, Soares has lived in Canada since 2016. Moving to Canada as a qualified brewer, he took on positions at Niagara Brewing Company and Niagara College before brewing at Neustadt Springs in Ontario. Then in April 2019 he joined Tire Shack as its brewmaster and production manager, a role he’s had since day one.

The brewery started out with three core beers, ‘The Specialist’ Blonde Ale, ‘Realignment’ Juicy Pale Ale and Toasted Marshmallow Stout ‘Secret Society’. Soares has gone on to brew countless other beers since, and relishes using a variety of often unusual ingredients such as herbs, carrots, coffee and doughnuts to name a few.

“I have a culinary background so I enjoy visiting local markets and working with ingredients that I think would work well with a beer. My mindset is always how I can make a beer interesting and of the highest quality,” he explains.

Norman adds: “We want to change people’s perception of what beer can be without compromising on quality. For the longest time, mass market beers have had a tight grip on people so when you offer someone a beer brewed with something like doughnuts you are challenging their idea of that product. It’s a lot of fun.”

These beers have picked up numerous awards, and the business behind them secured the top accolade at our very own Brewers Choice Awards at the end of 2022.

“We never ever would have thought we would win Canadian Brewery of the Year and we are still a little in shock,” says Kennedy. “We are so grateful for all the incredible support we have received from the community, and we are so fortunate to have such a fantastic team that truly makes every day better than the last. We are having an amazing time and are very much looking forward to the future!”

And The Future Is Bright

“What does a successful 2023 look like? Perhaps an expansion without a major disaster happening. That would be great! Kennedy laughs. “Winning awards won’t change our philosophy as we just want to keep our heads down, make the best beers that we can and give people somewhere warm and welcoming to enjoy them. We are hopefully doing just that.”