Editor's note: The following is the another installment of a new series BarrieToday will be providing to our readers, examining local businesses and organizations, while also finding out what made them choose to open their doors here.
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Most families enjoy catching up over a cold one once in a while, but for the Williams family, beer has become the family business.
Kari Williams, along with her husband Doug and children Darci and Devon, own Redline Brewhouse on Bayview Drive in Barrie’s south end. And while she admits they did also enjoy the odd brew from time to time, prior to opening their doors a little over six years ago, they actually knew very little about the craft brewery industry.
“People have these very romantic ideas about going into the brewery business. We didn’t. Somebody had suggested it and we were going to go into partnership with someone who was already in the brew business," Kari Williams tells BarrieToday.
While that partnership may not have panned out, the family decided to forge ahead anyway despite the lack of experience, having already made significant investments in the equipment and space.
“We had a lot of money tied up in brewery equipment and we were already under construction, so we dove in,” she says.
And during the process, they met a lot of great people in the craft beer industry who helped them learn the ropes.
“We don’t have that long history of saying ‘we’ve always done this.’ … It was new and it was a challenge, but it’s been a great learning experience (and) learning about the craft beer community has been really wonderful. There have been a lot of people, local breweries, etc., who have stepped in when we didn’t know what we were doing to help.”
All four live in Barrie, she says, so opening up their brewhouse in the place they all called home was a no-brainer.
“Even though we’ve watched Barrie grow, it still has a small-town feel to it. There are things about it that are growing, but there are still things small town about it,” Williams says. “I know a lot of people in Barrie… and they know me."
As a business, she says they love being able to work hand-in-hand with various local organizations and charities.
“It’s easy for me to reach out to them, and they reach out here to us.”
Once the beer started brewing and the doors officially opened, word quickly got out about what Williams believes is one of Barrie’s “best-kept secrets."
“We quite methodically chose to build something that was different. We’re not a bar, our hours are not late. We are a craft beer brewery with a tap room. That creates a different mindset, and we get a crowd that feels very at home and comfortable here,” she says.
“We recognize that our door is small, but when they walk in the door it’s always amazing to see the vastness of the space… and we’ve become a regular destination for a lot of people. I sometimes say we are Barrie’s best-kept secret because as much as we work very hard to get people to know us, they will often say they’d heard about Redline, but never been.”
Just like the many different types of beer they offer up, the clientele they welcome is just as diverse.
“We have young people that like craft beer. We have a lot of women that come because they feel safe and comfortable. We have a lot of couples that come on date night, and we get an after-work crowd," she says.
They also have an event space upstairs, so there are birthdays, anniversaries, retirement parties, work parties, engagement parties, "and we’ve even done a few weddings,” she said. “If you come in during the day, you see them brewing and you see the steam rolling off, so there’s an atmosphere that I think people like.”
Like any new business, Redline has had some good days and it has had some bad days.
“We’ve made some epic mistakes, (but) we can look at them now and laugh, but that’s all part of being in the business," Williams says.
With more than 15 of their in-house craft beers currently available, she says her current favourite is a beer that is just about to hit the shelves at the LCBO, a brown ale, which their website describes as a brown ale that serves up sumptuous aromas of baker's chocolate, vanilla, almonds, and tobacco.
“When we got into this, I wasn’t a beer drinker. My take on beer wasn’t great, so it’s been a huge learning curve as I have tried everything, figured out the ones I like and the ones I don’t like… and I have come to realize I like dark beer,” Williams says, adding Redline has developed a reputation around Barrie — and beyond — for making good IPAs.
Craft beer has exploded in recent years and while Redline admittedly opened bigger than most, Williams says they are thrilled to see so many small, local craft breweries popping up. With more shelf space at Ontario LCBOs being opened up to various craft beers, it’s allowed a wider range of people to experience what the hype is all about.
“We now have five beers in the LCBO, which means we get shelf space and people can just see our can and decide to try it. That has exposed a lot of people to craft beer that I think before they’d have just automatically picked up their big box,” she says. “Now they’ve suddenly realized that there is value in understanding craft and we work very hard to stand by that.”
Even though the crew at Redline are always brainstorming about their next great brew — and trying to determine what will best get their brews a spot on the shelf, Williams says they will always stay true to where they got their start.
“We like being close to Toronto, but we are so grateful that we are not in Toronto. Barrie is such a wonderful place to live. Even though it’s grown, it still has that small-town feel, and that’s what appeals to us the most.”
