Brasserie Valkyrie has the wind in its sails | The Press

After suffering some delays due to the pandemic, Brasserie Valkyrie, founded in 2020, can finally look ahead. It has recently put its first product on sale: mead Beyla.

“We can finally distribute our product. We had 500 reservations for about 200 people from all over Quebec, explains one of the owners, Gabriel Lavoie.

Mead, with 10% alcohol, is more traditional. It is sweet and can be eaten as an aperitif with cold meats, cold meats, smoked salmon and cheeses that have a slightly stronger nutty taste”.

This first product, whose recipe has been in development for four years, will not be the only one for long. The three entrepreneurs are currently working on a drier mead and another without alcohol.

“We were lucky to be helped by sommeliers who advised us on both development and ageing”.

Challenges

Like many other companies, it has suffered the repercussions of the pandemic. High material costs slowed the construction of the customer space. A bottle shortage also hampered production.

For now, only the brewery is operational. Gabriel Lavoie hopes to find financing in order to be able to welcome customers on site in the winter.

“Without being a restaurant, it will be a space where we will offer paninis, nachos, cheeses, foie gras and local products. It will have a Viking, Scandinavian theme and we can play board games there”.

To operate the customer area, hiring is planned.

The purchase of equipment for the brewery section also represented a major challenge for the three entrepreneurs. “It requires a good networking of contacts. At first glance, you won't find stainless steel tanks on Amazon! You have to know the names, the specifics. We had the help of certain microbreweries”.

Canvassing

The mead is sold directly on site at the Lamarche branch, at 134, rue Principale. But other points of sale are planned.

The company is currently canvassing in order to diversify its points of sale. Recently, she participated in her first event, the Great Harvest Festival, on August 28 and 29.

It mainly targets specialty grocery stores. Due to her artisanal production permit, she will not be able to find herself in the SAQ, for the moment.