A little over three years ago, my buddy Steve and I set out on a journey to create something. But a little more than three years ago we encountered a problem that in retrospect we should have seen coming. Hey, did you know that breweries are expensive things?
Now, neither of us came from money. Neither of us had a particularly high-paying job or were especially good at saving. Neither of us won the lottery or were sitting on a big inheritance or struck it big in the stock market. Nope, the two guys that wanted to open a brewery more than anything in the world had literally nothing to start a brewery with. To start at zero would have been a leg up; we were starting at less than zero.
Actually, when I think back maybe we did see it coming. It was more like we didn’t care. Hell, it was baked right into the company name. Devil May Care Brewing doesn’t care about rules, we said, and it certainly didn’t care that bank after bank and lender after lender turned us down.
So, we did what two idiots sitting on a pile of debt would naturally do. We got a bank loan! Just a small personal loan that would allow us to take a bigger business loan that would allow us to get started. Our families kicked in what they could and in June 2018, that became a reality and we purchased some equipment and entered the contract brewing world.
We put our heads down and we went to work.
Since then, we’ve not looked back. We’ve been through a location change, a pandemic, some growing pains, some great times, and some not-so-great times. We’ve had a wild roller coaster ride in these last three-and-a-bit years of making beer for you.
I’d be lying though if I said there wasn’t something missing. It’s the question we get asked the most beyond “when is Arabica coming back?” It’s the big elephant in the room with Beelzebeer’s face on it. It’s the thing we’ve wanted most since DMC was just a glimmer in our eyes. We didn’t have a home.
So, we did what we do. We put our heads down and we went to work.
Well… heads up, 7-Up. This one’s a big deal.
Devil May Care Brewery & Taproom – COMING TO 155 FOrt St
Minutes from Portage & Main, The Forks, the Canada Life Centre, Shaw Park, and surrounded by a thriving, eclectic business community–we’re putting down some roots smack in the middle of the city. We’ll be brewing beer and slinging pints in historic Downtown Winnipeg… something that still seems crazy and surreal even as I type this.
We’re starting out small, focusing on exclusive batches served in-house and for take-out. With smaller capacity comes flexibility, more potential creativity, and more of the unique craft beer experience that you’ve come to expect from us. We’ll be able to dream, play, and create. And you, lucky DMC fans, will be able to reap the rewards! We have a great many plans, ideas, and dreams that we’ll finally be able to turn into reality. We promise, you’re going to love what we’ve got in store for you. (Most of the time, that is. We reserve the right to miss the mark every now and again.)
Quite frankly, we’re antsy to get brewing. We can’t wait to tap new beers in our very own taproom, host special events, and put out special can releases. Our dream space will be community-oriented; it will be safe, tolerant and celebratory of the abundance of diversity in our beautiful city. We’re already pumped to see your smiling faces in our taproom and are itching to start giving back to the city that’s supported our dream.
A little patience will have to do, though. We’re targeting a Spring ‘22 opening, which I know will come sooner than we think.
As for the other stuff – have no fear. Your favourites will still be around and our beer will still be available wherever you get it now. We wouldn’t let you down like that, so nothing there is changing. We’ll be working with our trusted friends at Torque Brewing to make sure those taps don’t run dry of DMC beer.
We absolutely could never have come this far without all of you out there – our customers, our friends, our families. Please know that this project is only happening because of you. You’re all wonderful and we hope we make you proud.
We’ll release more details as things come a little more into focus and they develop. For the time being though, there is much to be done. Exciting times are on the horizon.
Time to put our heads down again. Time to get to work.