A new brewery heading to Guelph isn't looking to be the next beer giant.
For the owners of Wrinkly Bear Brewing, it's about making a good local beer and having some fun in the process.
But in order to do what they wanted to do next, Larry and Sherry Matlashewski needed more space. So operations are now moving to 355 Elmira Rd. N., Unit 121 in Guelph, relocating from its Grand Valley location, where they've been since summer 2021.
"(We were in) a very small town," Larry said of Wrinkly Bear's original location.
"(The) restaurant part did very well with it, but craft beer wasn't to a level we wanted it. Now we're getting to a point where we're going to get into larger manufacturing, we need bigger space.
"Guelph had the space. Guelph has the customers. We figured Guelph is the place to go."
The new location comes with about 3,000 square feet of production space, which is what they had in Grand Valley including the restaurant.
When you walk in, there's a number of tables and high top chairs set up, along with a bar and a pinball machine.
The restaurant portion will not be moving over, but will remain in Grand Valley under different owners.
"The restaurant was there because we started as a brew-pub," Larry said. "The restaurant was an entity that we had to have to get started. Once we saw that everything was going good, we decided to go with a manufacturing licence.
"And with the manufacturing licence, it has now become a separate entity from the restaurant. The restaurant was part of the process to get us to the manufacturing designation that we got now, so the restaurant was sort of a stepping stone."
While the menu won't move to Guelph, Wrinkly Bear's five main beer selections will.
Four are in cans, and one is on tap, with the hopes of getting the fifth one canned at a later date.
More beer is being planned with more space. With this new setup, Larry said the brewery can expand into specialty beers.
"We'll do smaller batches, say a couple hundred litres," he said. "If the small batches work, and they sell really good, then I can go to a larger production."
The brewery is also targeting grocery stores to sell, and is hoping to introduce its lager to stores in the near future.
The Matlashewski's are also pleased to be joining a bustling craft beer and alcohol fraternity in the same plaza, joining Fixed Gear Brewing's beer store and Dixon's Distilled Spirits.
"It's amazing because all breweries seem to stick together," Sherry added. "We do a lot of beer shows, and they all help one another, it's really great."
Larry admits things are a little slower, now that the Grand Valley location is officially closed.
But he said production isn't hurting the company, noting they have a fair stock and could go another couple months with its current stock levels if needed.
For now, the focus continues on getting everything ready to open up shop in Wrinkly Bear's new home, an operation the two are looking to keep small.
"I'm not worried about a production running 24/7. When you get to that point, it becomes work. I'm done with work," Larry, a retired Brampton firefighter, said. "I want to have fun now.
"It's still work but it's fun work."
A grand opening date has yet to be announced.
