Canada, MB: Heritage Farms Brewing Company to open its own brewing facility in Winkler

Heritage Farms Brewing Company, a locally born beer brand that has quickly built a following across Manitoba, is preparing to open its own brewing facility in Winkler. The new site, located on George Avenue in the southeast corner of the industrial park, will mark the city’s first craft brewery, Pembina Valley Online reported on September 15.

For company president and shareholder Johnny Trinke, the move is the culmination of a long-held vision.

“I think we've tried to take basically every opportunity that has presented itself to us over the past year or so,” said Trinke. “Any opportunity that we've had just to kind of share our story, share our product, help support local events, whether it be golf tournaments, curling tournaments, charity events, any sort of beer festivals, that type of thing, we've said yes to.”

The new George Avenue facility is designed with growth in mind.

“It’s an L-shaped building… the L-shape is perfect because then you can separate your storage, your loading, and your cold storage area from your production area as well too,” explained Trinke. “It has a very nice flow going from brewing to cellaring… to packaging with our canning line, and then over to the side into our storage as well as shipping area.”

The facility also has a large back lot that could support future expansions. Though nothing is set in stone, Trinke says the goal is to have production underway by spring, pending licensing approvals.

Trinke said that one of the things he is most excited about actually has nothing to do with the product they will be making.

“I am stoked to create new jobs and to be able to use more local suppliers, be closer to our farm as well, which will better allow us to use our own grains,” Trinke said.

The plan is to begin filling positions once the brewing licenses are secured and production dates are confirmed. With space to expand and semi-height loading docks designed for growth, Trinke says the facility is built to support a larger workforce over time.

He added that having this facility so localized will allow them to experiment with crafts more than they would have been able to otherwise.

Beyond logistics and licensing, Trinke says he’s most excited to bring brewing home to Winkler. “I'm just super pumped to be able to produce within Winkler and be Winkler's first craft brewery as well,” he said. “I think that in a small way, this is a representation of Winkler's growth economically, kind of philosophically as well.”

Above all, he says the project is meant to build community connections.

“We're really looking forward to growing over the next few years and seeing how else we can embed ourselves into the community and just make beer a positive thing here.”