This is part of a year-long ‘Love for Local’ series called NB365: portraits of New Brunswick entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations. Huddle is a media partner with Love for Local. Today, we hear from Stephen Dixon of Grimross Brewing Co. in Fredericton.

GRIMROSS BREWING CO. SEEKS TO CRAFT WONDERFULLY TASTY MARITIME BEERS. ALTHOUGH WE DON’T INTEND TO PRODUCE A SINGLE “STYLE” OF BEER, I AM INSPIRED BY THE BREWERS OF BELGIUM AND NORTHERN FRANCE.

Belgian brewers have produced a wide array of tastes and are renowned for their irreverent approach to brewing. Belgian brewers were some of the first to explore using different ingredients such as spices and fruit and explore different approaches to fermentation. I am particularly interested in the effect of different yeast strains.

Most commercial brewers use one or more of the yeast strains of Saccharomyces. Grimross explores the wild and wonderful array of organisms that can produce beer, including Saccharomyces, but also a “wild” yeast called Brettanomyces and the bacteria Lactobacillus and Pediococcus.

By using these various organisms in different ratios and at different stages in fermentation, Grimross seeks to produce a variety of new beers, including sour and funky tastes and aromas. Grimross was created by a family and will always want to remain as a family business.

A good portion of Grimross’s employees has been nieces, nephews, daughters and more. As well as those who are not blood-related are still considered family because the entire Grimross team is a family.