Wednesday, July 28, 2021
MARSH PROJECT - BEFORE AND AFTER
Southpoint Sun - 5
Top Dog Brewing combines great taste with unique branding
By Fred Groves KINGSVILLE — Leamington and Kingsville are quickly gaining a favourable reputation in the expanding craft beer market. For Kieran Buzek and his unique method of branding, it has been an opportunity to tap into a passion that has steadily grown over the past five years. Located on Road 3 East in Kingsville, Top Dog Brewing offers up a variety of blends including Watermelon Wheat, Blue Bronco IPA, Talk to Me Goose, Lemondrop Summer Ale, and – soon to be released – Peach Milkshake IPA. “The feedback has been good. A lot of friends and co-workers pick out the best and I brew them to perfection,” says Buzek. It was 2016, and after a game of baseball when he was in a Windsor establishment tasting craft beer for the first time. He went home, went online and immediately got to work, self-teaching how to brew craft beer. Like any new venture, especially for a young entrepreneur, there are numer-
The Point Pelee Marsh Restoration Project is making great progress as they move to reduce the Phragmites population in the marsh. In the top photo is the view from the Delaurier Trail observation tower prior to work starting in the area. In the bottom photo is the view after the Phragmites was cleared from the area. Photos submitted
ous risk factors. He started out brewing in his parents’ garage, bottling in their kitchen, and now has a well-laid-out facility on his grandparent’s property. “It’s a very humbling business. You could make three great batches in a row and then you have to backtrack,” says Buzek. The ingredients are basic – water, malt, hops, and yeast – but it’s the added extras, mostly local, that set Top Dog apart from the others. That and Buzek’s personable approach and uncanny business savvy, which local pubs seem to gravitate to already. “I just started delivering kegs last week and it sold in three days,” he said. Buzek works 40 hours a week for a local produce company and puts in as many hours at Top Dog Brewery, doing everything from making the beer, to marketing, to delivering. “I am probably the only brewery in Canada that is run by one person,” he says. One person, yes, but he won’t come right out and admit that he has regular companions who aren’t yet on the payroll. Fouryear-old Tulo and threeyear-old Maverick are the canine inspiration to Top Dog. That and the movie Top Gun, which Buzek admits he has seen a hundred times. Maverick is a character in the film and one of Buzek’s beers, ‘Talk to Me Goose’, is named for another. And if you are wondering where the idea for ‘Blue Bronco’ came from, when you see Buzek in his mint 1982 beautifully restored Ford Bronco, complete with the Top Dog logo, you’ll understand. A baseball player, university-educated, and a dog lover, Buzek plans in the future to donate part of his sales to the local Humane Society. It appears his heart is as good as his beer. For more information Kieran Buzek at his Kingsville Top Dog Brewing along go to topdogbrew.ca with his dogs Tulo and Maverick. Fred Groves photo
ANNOUNCEMENT Dr. Robert McCormick Optometrist, Leamington Eyecare Dear Leamington, Wheatley and Tilbury patients, for the time being I am now only available at my Kingsville Eyecare Clinic to assist you with your eyecare and eyewear needs. We welcome you to call 519-325-0123 or 519-733-3560 to schedule an appointment or if you have questions.
Thank you for your continued support.
375 Main St. E., Kingsville www.kingsvilleeyecare.ca
519.733.3560
