We opened our first Brewery Lane in 1993. Our goal was to help others avoid the pitfalls we encountered by offering the highest quality products while providing our customers with modern information and techniques used by commercial wineries and breweries. Today we have two physical stores plus clickabrew.com for on-line shoppers.
In 1985 Newfoundland beer drinkers had a problem—there was no beer! Workers from the three major breweries went on strike and there wasn't any local beer produced for the best part of that year. The Newfoundland Liquor Corporation imported American beer during the strike but it didn't suit the taste of most Newfoundlanders so quite a few of us tried brewing our own. That's when brothers Bill and Ken Reddy started their foray into home-brewing.
It started with a simple pail and a tin of malt extract from the supermarket. To be honest that first beer was awful! and most of it went down the drain. A few more attempts were tried with similar results. Bill knew there had to be something he was doing wrong. After all, good beer had been made in kitchens for centuries, long before commercial breweries came on the scene. So Bill was determined to find the information necessary to make great-tasting beer.
Bill set out on his journey by reading everything he could find on winemaking and brewing. There was no internet back then so many hours were spent at the library and book stores. On one trip to the library Bill came across "The Joy of Home-brewing" and the answer he had been looking for was in the pages of that book. To make good beer you needed quality, fresh ingredients while using modern brewing techniques.
There was nowhere in our province at that time to get fresh, quality products. The craft brewing wave hadn't hit the province yet and home-brewing wasn't even on the radar so mail-order was the only option.
Armed with fresh ingredients and newly gained knowledge, Bill was ready to try again. That's when everything changed. He remembers the look of surprise on Bernadette's face when she took her first sip of that beer. "Wow! That's really good! How did you do that?" she exclaimed. A brewing nerd was born and Brewery Lane followed soon after.
In 1992 Bill's work place of 21 years closed out. For a long time, he had dreamed about owning and operating his own business, and now the opportunity had arrived. Through his years of avid brewing he had garnered a vast amount of brewing and winemaking knowledge. This is what he knew and loved best but could he turn that passion into a business? He had to give it a try. In March of 1993 Bill and Bernadette opened the doors to the first Brewery Lane on Highland Drive in St. John's. Our friendly customer-oriented service combined with our premium products and expert advice made our launch an immediate success. Within one year Ken opened the second Brewery Lane in Mt. Pearl. In 1996 we had outgrown our fist location in St. John's and we moved to Coaker's Meadow Plaza on Torbay Road.
In January of 2019 Ferment-on-Premise became legal in Newfoundland. This allowed Newfoundlanders the convenience of having their wine and beer made on our premises.
For a reasonable fee we provide all the equipment, expertise and labour required to have your wine made on our premises. This has opened a new and exciting chapter in our business. We have expanded our facilities to accommodate this new business and we're looking forward to our new adventure. You can find out more about our Ferment-on-Premise here.
You'll be crafting commercial-quality wine and beer at an affordable price! You'll get the best service, the best advice and world-class products. Plus you'll have the peace-of-mind knowing that you are dealing with a business that's been here since 1993. if you have a problem we'll be there to fix it. If you need advice we'll be there for you.
We are one of the largest stores of our kind in Atlantic Canada and the market leader in Newfoundland and Labrador. The big players in the industry want their products on our shelves. We carry the leading brands from the two largest manufacturers — RJS Craft Winemaking and Winexpert. When you shop with us you're getting the same products used in commercial wines and beer.
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