AgNow | October 2026

STEINBACH, MAN. THE CARILLON n C3

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026

www.thecarillon.com n

Agriculture Now Slow and steady as brewery faces growth Continued from page 2C

“Some mild maltiness and grassy stone fruit hop flavours make this ses- sion IPA something you’ll want to keep going to back to, even against Tante Martha’s wishes,” the description con- cludes. Additional flavours include the Brommtopp Braun Honey Brown Ale and the Menno Light Easy-drinking Lager. The lager is described as “light, crisp and easier to swallow than a sermon on modesty.” “Menno light won’t make you a Mennonite, but after a can or two, suspenders might start to seem prac- tical and you’ll begin to wonder how to grow cucumbers in your condo,” it reads on the can. Olfert made the decision to get out of the dairy business, but a brewery wasn’t on his mind at first. “I struggled for a while wondering what to do with this barn,” he said. A mutual friend suggested he get to- gether with Von Riesen who was one of the founders of Rendezvous Brewing, who had recently sold his shares. The two put their heads together and came up with the brewery concept. And while the physical changes were challenging, they paled in comparison to the complicated steps they had to go through to get their licence and ap- provals from various agencies. Still, 11 months after beginning the process they were ready to begin. Von Riesen is the brewmaster while Olfert said he focuses on the marketing and other tasks. The pair tested their product on the Pembina Valley market, first having people over to the brewery and then starting sales in Winkler, Morden, Mi- ami and Plum Coulee. They’ve expanded since then to 17 locations, including Steinbach, St. Malo and Niverville in the Southeast as well as locations in Winnipeg, Wasag- aming, and Onanole. “If we stay under 20 locations we can choose where we go,” Olfert said. “Once we go over 20 locations we have to open up to the whole province and we don’t have enough production right now to do that.” Olfert said they carefully choose lo- cations where they expect to get repeat sales, where people will recognize and love the brand. Considered small by micro-brewery standards, Olfert said they’re pleased with that status. “That has kind of been our growth

GREG VANDERMEULEN THE CARILLON

The old milking parlour has an entirely different look in its new incarnation.

“People would way rather talk about beer than milk,” he said. “For me, that’s kind of life-giving. We’ve been doing it for almost two years now and I haven’t got tired of telling our story yet.” Olfert said they have no grand de- signs on becoming a large brewery but want to simply grow into the market. “We want to make consistently good beer and just stick to our brand,” he said. “I think that’s important.” For more information go to blum- steinbrewing.com.

es anything about the dairy business, upon reflection Olfert said he did miss the interactions with employees. At one time he had up to nine high school or university students helping to milk his cows. “I miss teaching them and having them work for me and seeing a lot of them excel from not liking or being scared of cows to becoming really good workers and loving cows,” he said. He still gets his chance to meet with people but now he’s marketing his product, giving brewery tours or just talking about the industry.

“This area, with our fertile soil, is hard to grow good malt barley,” he said. “You need a little bit more mar- ginal land.” That’s why they were pleased to dis- cover Scythe Malting Co. in Spring- stein. The best hops must come from over- seas, but other ingredients are found on the same section. Two berry farms and a honey farm are located near their brewery and Olf- ert said they add the flavour they need to some of their brews. Although he’s quick to deny he miss-

pattern, slow and steady,” he said. “Sometimes scarcity can be a good marketing tool too.” One brew equals about 2,200 litres of beer, something they try to do two or three times a month. “Ultimately we’d like to get to four times a month, then we’d be at full ca- pacity with our system,” he said. Being small also gives them flexibili- ty and the company often experiments with small batches or custom orders. While he still farms about 600 acres, Olfert said not all their ingredients can be purchased or grown locally.

GREG VANDERMEULEN THE CARILLON

Milt Olfert stands with beer awaiting its destination.

Rusted milk cans located outside the dairy barn turned brewery stand as a reminder of former times.

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