Expansion on tap for local brewery

WINNIPEG — Half Pints Brewing Company has doubled the amount of beer it can brew in its Winnipeg plant.

The local brewery added four new fermenting tanks to its equipment on Tuesday.

“It’s been three years in the waiting, so yeah, it’s kind of nice actually it’s finally here,” said Half Pints master brewer Dave Rudge.

Nicole Barry, the company’s co-owner, said the expansion means 60 per cent more Half Pints beer will be available to consumers.

“We’re excited that there’s room for us to grow. We’re excited that there’s opportunity within our own hometown to be able to put more out.”

The new equipment is just one step in the company’s expansion plan, which includes adding five staff members by this summer, Barry said.

Despite the growing popularity of craft beer, it’s still considered a niche market.

“I would love to be able to see just more visibility of craft beer in the LCs,” said Barry.

Half Pints was established in 2006. It was a time before craft beer was commonplace in Liquor Marts. Now, mainstream beer brands have made appeals to Half Pints.

“We’ve said from day one when we opened, we’d never sell out and we mean that. We are independently owned, we are locally brewed and I hope that stays that way forever,” said Barry.

There is talk of moving to a larger facility as demand continues to grow.