Trail Brewing comes home with opening of Rossland location
By Arlen MacLaine
A year after they opened up their business in Trail, Trail Brewing has made the move up the hill and has opened their doors in the heart of Rossland. The duo of Petri Raito and Ryan Arnaud have taken their love of brewing, and brought it closer to home.
Their new location, at 2123 Columbia Avenue, will continue to provide the same services that their customers have thoroughly enjoyed, but only until the end of the year.
In the new year, they will make the move from a U-Brew to a full on craft brewery, having their brews be available for sample and purchase on-site, as well as on tap at local taverns (don’t worry, there are plans in the works to have refillable ‘growlers’ for sale too).
As for a change of name, to go along with the change of scenery, Raito says when they make the shift from U-Brew to Craft Brewery, they will cease to be ‘Trail Brewing,’ and become ‘Rossland Beer Company.’
Having lived in Rossland for around 7 years, the move from Trail to Rossland has been a dream come true for Raito.
“Neither of us have ever worked this hard before, but we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we couldn’t be happier that we’re able to do what we love here in Rossland,” he said.
Currently, the nearest craft beer available is from Nelson, but the boys from Trail Brewing aim to change that.
“We love Nelson Brewing Company, but we want to be more local than Nelson,” said Raito. “We want everyone to know that we are the beer in Rossland.”
Petri has some great ideas as to how their new storefront will take shape. The vision is for an old German-style beer haus tasting room, where customers can sample the brewery’s delicious elixirs before making a decision on which to purchase. This idea is not possible while they retain a U-Brew designation, as there are many licensing hoops that need to be jumped through. However, that is the goal for the not-too-distant future.
“We want everyone to be able to come in and sample our beers,” Raito said.
In the meantime, Trail Brewing will continue to supply all your U-Brewing needs. Their selection of all-grain beer recipes include: Old Glory IPA, Bear Bells IPA, 6 ft Blonde Pale Ale, Chive On Pale Ale, The Notorious Pale Ale, Slag Pile Stout, Helter Smelter Amber Ale, Gimme That Nut Brown Ale, and a seasonal Red Zepplin Raspberry Wheat Ale.
Word is getting around about the brewery, thanks in no small part to a high customer return rate. Once the beer leaves the brewery, its quality speaks for itself, and those who share it are spreading the word.
“We never thought it would get to that point, where it becomes its own machine,” said Raito.
The future is looking bright for the Trail Brewing boys, who will
be adding bits and pieces in the coming months, in preparation for the switch.
“We’re proud of the success that Trail Brewing has brought us, and now we’re really excited for the next step, and that is the Rossland Beer Company,” Raito said.
Trail Brewing is now located at 2123 Columbia Avenue in Rossland.
Andrew Bennett wrote a great article when Trail Brewing opened it’s doors last year, which goes much deeper into the process of brewing.
