Building a Brewery as a Young Craft Beer Pioneer in Muskoka, with Darren Smith
Welcome to a new episode of Building Business in Muskoka, featuring Darren Smith, President & CEO of Lake of Bays Brewing Company.
Darren Smith is known as a craft beer pioneer in our region and one of the youngest business owners in this space.
“For 10 years, Lake of Bays Brewing Company has been a mainstay of the Ontario craft beer scene. The brewery started as an idea by our president and founder, Darren Smith, in his university apartment. At the young age of 23, his dream became a reality, as patrons from around the area gathered to witness LB’s official ribbon cutting in May 2010.
Since then, our beer lineup has broadened to include everything from light lager to double IPA to stout, and we’re always experimenting with more styles and new flavours to bring to our fans. Our brewery has continued to grow over the years and now employs over 50 people.
But we haven’t stopped at just beer: in 2018, we introduced our first ever restaurant, the Huntsville Brewhouse, located in downtown Huntsville. The Brewhouse is now known for our delicious locally sourced menu and exclusive beer selection. Inside you’ll find our microbrewery where we come up with new recipes for our beers that you can only try at the restaurant. In 2021, we opened the Bracebridge Barrelhouse, located in Bracebridge, ON. Visit us at any of our three locations, where you can try our current lineup, brand-new flavours, and even the occasional retro beer from our back catalogue!”
Stuart & Sarah speak with Darren about how he got into the brewing industry, behind the scenes of starting up a business in the alchologic beverage space, marketing tactics that have been successful in the business, advice as a young entrepreneur, and much more! Hear about the highs and lows of running a brewery including some of the misconceptions many people may have, the differences in starting up the brewery versus opening the restaurants, the expansion of the business in the past few years including now employing over 100 staff across three different locations, and the benefits of starting a business in Muskoka!
Listen in to learn more about:
1:00 - Introduction & background
5:00 - The Craft Beer Brewing Industry
12:00 - Profitability in the Alcholic Beverage Industry
22:00 - Craft Beer Demographics & Marketing Tactics
30:00 - Expanding into the Restaurant Industry
36:00 - Hiring & Managing Employees
44:00 - Challenges Faced in the Brewery Business
47:00 - Time Management as a CEO
52:00 - Doing Business in Muskoka
1:01 - Family & Business
1:06 - The Challenges of COVID-19 in the Industry
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Resources:
Website: https://lakeofbaysbrewing.ca/ [https://lakeofbaysbrewing.ca/]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lb_brewing/ [https://www.instagram.com/lb_brewing/]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lb_brewing [https://twitter.com/lb_brewing]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lbbrewery/ [https://www.facebook.com/lbbrewery/]
Connect With Us:
Instagram: @buildingbusinessinmuskoka
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-business-in-muskoka-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-business-in-muskoka-podcast/]
Podcast website: https://anchor.fm/muskoka [https://anchor.fm/muskoka]
