Before opening this year, Matron Fine Beer quietly created buzz as they built their brewery in beautiful Prince Edward County. The Bloomfield brewery is now sending its delicious brews to select locations east to Ottawa and west to Toronto.
The founders, Mallory Jones, Jessica Nettleton and Justin Da Silva are long-time friends and industry veterans. What they have built is a great brewery, but also a business with a very focused culture.
The three friends had long aspired to own their own brewery. The transition from a dream to reality took a big step forward when Jones and Da Silva purchased a used brewhouse in Bloomfield and invited Nettleton along for the ride.
We’re all thinking the same thing, How much fun would it be to open a brewery with your three besties?! Turns out the answer is both really fun and terrifyingly hard.
The trio quit their jobs and headed to the County to build this business. Mallory sums the adventure up as such: “This experience has been a clusterfuck of ups and downs, learning lessons, belly laughing and stress management. We don’t regret a thing. Well maybe one or two things, but that’s pretty good considering the size of the project.”
The location is a great setting for a brewery, PEC is between Ontario’s two major urban centres. The area has had a growing foodie scene, already boasts wineries and breweries and has a strong tourist draw. The region’s history and strong agricultural sector were important for Matron because they could work with and build off of it. “For us this makes PEC an incredible place to situate our brewery, it constantly inspires us and allows us to remain focused on carrying out our vision for a modern farmhouse brewery,” says Jones.
Regional brewing suppliers Barn Owl Malts and Pleasant Valley Hops are perfect neighbours. As of today, their Yeasayer Lagerbier is using at least 50% PEC-grown barley, Janky IPA is using 50%+ PEC-grown hops, and Bobo, their farmhouse-style wheat beer, uses 70% local wheat and barley from Barn Owl.
As impressive of the beer is the corporate ethos that guides Matron. “We are passionate about beer, but we are perhaps even more passionate about designing a healthy, safe and satisfying work environment for the team – which we hope you can feel if you spend some time here,” says Jones, “A big part of hitting most of those marks includes honest, straightforward communication and respect. Early on, we wrote down exactly what we wanted to strive for, on paper, as a commitment. It is nice to have something to reflect on if you are in need of focus.”
Matron is one of those new companies you cheer for and, considering their focus and their beer, we should be cheering for them for a long time. And if you aren’t in Bloomfield, you can enjoy their beers here.
