Nearly 20 years ago, I was hiking with my friend, Fergus, in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Over the previous 5 or 6 years we had many adventures together. We drove a van from New Brunswick to Central America, hopped on a sailboat from Panama to the US, rode the Trans-Siberian railway, and backpacked through India, Nepal, Tibet, and China. One day on our hike in Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Fergus and I were trying to figure out how to make some money so we could keep traveling; more specifically, so we could buy a sailboat to sail around the world. We started talking about the possibility of building a microbrewery; an establishment in Fredericton that would somehow embody the adventures we had taken. Fergus and I had worked in bars for years and had witnessed the rise in popularity of craft beer. The industry felt like a natural fit. When I returned home however, I quickly realized the cost of starting a microbrewery was much higher than I had anticipated. Instead, I set my sights on saving money to go on yet another adventure.

In 2014 I had owned and operated bars for over a decade, when the dream of a microbrewery was resurrected. I enlisted the help of 3 local home brewers who went by the name Tough Guy Brewing (Ian Demerchant, Steve Christi and Mark Budd) to start developing recipes. We used my home garage and basement as our workspace and over the course of two years were able to create the jumping off point for Graystone’s first beers.

Today, Graystone Brewing is proud to offer a wide variety of west coast style ales in an atmosphere-centric taproom. We are excited to be in liquor stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and bars across New Brunswick. I have never stopped exploring and adventuring, and Graystone Brewing will always reflect that.