Celebrating The Grand Opening Of Our New Distillery & Brewery
Posted Jun 23, 2016
What a day!
On Saturday, June 18 we celebrated the Grand Opening of our new state-of-the-art distillery and brewery in Guysborough, Nova Scotia. It was a day full of family, friends, the community and a whole lot of laughter! A great big thank you to everyone who came out for this momentous occasion, including our special VIPs!
The day started out with Authentic Seacoast™ Proprietor Glynn Williams welcoming members of the community.
As a thank you for helping with the facility’s construction, Glynn gives a “bung hammer” – a traditional tool used to seal barrels – to Dale Archibald, Project Architect. As well as being signed by Glynn, the “bung hammer” also included a personal message of gratitude.
Glynn unveils a plaque commemorating the Grand Opening with VIPs Honourable Lloyd Hines, Minister of Natural Resources, Bret Mitchell, President & CEO of the NSLC and Glenn Squires, TIANS Board Chair.
The day continued with tours of the new facility. Here Glynn leads a VIP tour through the Brew Hall, stopping to explain how the facility has been set up to craft all of Authentic Seacoast’s™ beer and spirits brands – Rare Bird™ Craft Beer, GLYNNEVAN® Whisky, Sea Fever™ Rum and Fortress™ Rum.
Authentic Seacoast™ Brand Ambassador Mike McLean takes an impressed group through the Brew Hall, which consists of four 30-barrel (3,600 litres) vessels, with an ultra-modern Siemens Braumat automated control system.
The Still House accommodates three Copper Stills made by Vendome Copper & Brassworks of Louisville, Kentucky, one of the oldest providers of stills to the US distilling industry. There are also two high-output Continuous Column Stills able to operate 24-7, and a 250-gallon Pot Still, which allows us to further refine our whisky and rum.
Mike McLean leads a tour through the Packaging Hall where we bottle our beer and spirits. Our automated 16-head beer filler can fill 1.4 beer bottles a second. It also minimizes any oxygen introduced into the bottle (which would otherwise reduce shelf life) and comes equipped with a fobbing system. Our highly customized spirits filler is specially designed for bottling high alcohol liquids. Furthermore, all spirit bottles are individually coded for quality control purposes.
After the tours, we got a chance to raise a glass with members of the community in the distillery’s Hospitality Room. Sláinte!
Occasions like this require a memento. Here Glynn signs a bottle of award-winning GLYNNEVAN® Whisky for a member of the community.
Glynn’s daughter Kendra Williams joins a detachment of Cannoniers/Bombardiers from the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site to fire a cannon in high heels in celebration of the day!
On behalf of Glynn and the entire Williams Family, thank you for celebrating the Grand Opening of our new distillery with us!
If you missed the big day, that’s OK! Tours and tastings are available at 2pm throughout the summer and by appointment during the winter months. To book a tour, please call 902-533-2078. We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Guysborough, Nova Scotia!
