Karine Gallant, left and Iain MacInnes with the former Abram-Village courthouse. Submitted Photo.
When you look at the old
building, it’s hard to imagine the courthouse it used to be; the benches, stand
and judge’s chair are gone. But even more difficult to picture is the future of
the structure as a malting facility.
“We’ve
added a new roof and support beams, we’re hunting for a nice big window,
something to give it that extra historic value,” said Karine Gallant one of the
cofounders of Productions Piroune, a malting and brewing company.
Her
partner, Iain MacInnes, added, “It’s a very large open space. We want to
display the wooden beams, but at the same time keep some rooms humid in order
to malt the barley.
“Imagine in one of the rooms a small
spaceship. It’s our kiln (oven), but it literally looks like a spaceship. It’s
got this top part, which would be your landing ship, and then these pontoons
that raise it up. We’ve also got the rotating drums instead of having floor
malt and our steep tank.”
Recently the duo bought the former Abram-Village
courthouse, located on festival grounds, when they learned it was going to be
torn down.
“It was just the most perfect timing,” said
Gallant.
“In
the beginning, Iain was working in Charlottetown and I really wanted to move to
this area and live in rural P.E.I., but we needed to find a feasible reason to
do it.”
That’s
when the couple decided to start their own company. While they were touring in
Europe in 2015, the pair visited breweries and hops growers in Belgium.
“It
was a great trip. We got to ask questions and see how things were done, then we
also got to see some organic options if we wanted to try growing organic barley
as well,” Gallant said.
But
financially affording the facility became a concern, until the pair won the
$10,000 top prize from last year’s Dragons’ Contest. The win gave the company
credibility that helped them secure the $100,000 needed to set up the project.
“One thing I’ve noticed is the need to have
real Maritime malt. Right now breweries are growing local barley but then
having to send it away to go through germination process into malt, and then
shipping it back. We want the local barley to stay local and become Maritime
malt,” MacInnes said.
Germination
is the process barley seed goes through to begin its plant. It’s where the tip
of the root will come out causing the chemical change in the grain, which is
desired in malt, said Gallant.
“The
most difficult part has really been getting the ball rolling. Planning-wise
everything was OK, but to run after so many pieces to actually get it together
was tough,” she said.
He
added, “for me the toughest spot was when we were about 85 per cent of the way
there, but a piece of the funding fell through, but if it hadn’t we wouldn’t be
in the old courthouse.”
On
the other hand, the best part of the journey is seeing MacInnes’ dream come
true, said Gallant.
“Trying
to figure out how we could come to rural P.E.I and realizing how we could make
it happen has been the best thing.”
The
excitement of something new is the couple’s favourite part of the adventure.
“For
P.E.I. it’s still an innovative product to develop. The work that is being done
to develop new malts and new hops is really cool.”
“I
think being on the forefront of something, being part of something really new
and being ahead of things is really neat.”
Gallant
and MacInnes are hoping to have product available for craft breweries by this
summer.
