About Us
Crafting a truly unique beer requires a great recipe, the best ingredients, and a consistency that can only be achieved through countless hours of practice.
About Us - The Canadian Dream
The dream of Side Launch Brewing Company started on a Thursday night in a hockey dressing room during the winter of early 2007. The Global Financial crisis followed closely behind and therefore it was shelved, but it was a dream that did not die. In 2011 the dream was alive again and a business plan was developed. Knowing Collingwood was the desired location, the original plan was to build from scratch but then an opportunity to rent the perfect space was presented and this allowed plans to be accelerated. This location has served us well and the contents and staff have grown as Side Launch has grown.
The company is named to honour Collingwood history. The local economy had shifted toward tourism and smaller businesses, away from its history as a shipbuilding and trading hub. The hope was that a business that was resolutely local could capture people’s imagination.
We borrowed the name from town history and celebrates the deep-rooted history of shipbuilding that fuelled our town since the late 1880s. For over a hundred years, Collingwood was responsible for building lake freighters and due to the geographical constraints of the bay, these massive ships couldn’t be launched into water the conventional way: bow or stern first. Instead, they were launched sideways or “side launched”.
We believe in the integrity of a truly local craft brewery. In part, we were inspired by a shared love of Collingwood and the idea that we could create jobs in our town.
The first batch-size brew in the new plant was pitched Easter weekend 2014, and Side Launch Brewery was off and running and the doors were open!
Today we have grown from 4 beers in 2014 to 5 Core LCBO beers, rotating LCBO Seasonal beers and countless Small Batch beers only available in the taproom and online. We are available throughout Ontario in LCBO’s, the Beer Store and grocery stores.
Our taproom is a fun, welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, often you will find bachelor parties playing corn hole, friends playing cards, dogs lapping up spilled beer, and just joyful conversations by all. We welcome you to visit our taproom and beer garden (weather permitting) for drinks, tasting and games!
Our mission is to create different, better and special craft beverages, designed by a company that is ideas led and business driven, cultivated by a team that is inspired to intrigue and delight people…everyday.
The Brewery
Our brewery is nestled in the heart of Collingwood, among 27,000 square feet of immaculate brewing space. This is where our award winning beer is carefully made. We have a 35 hectolitre 4 vessel brewhouse with 35, 70 and 140 hectolitre fermenters, 5 bright tanks and a new centrifuge, installed in 2021. All our beer uses Collingwood water, filtered through our in-house filtration system, a blend of imported and domestic malts, and European and North American hops.
