Prost Profiles: Counterpart Brewing co-owner Greg Gnys

The Niagara Falls, Ontario brewery nails hazy IPAs, fruited sours, lagers, and barrel-aged beers. It'll make its U.S. debut at the Rochester Real Beer Expo next month.

Greg Gnys and Joe Sartor are from areas roughly 25 minutes apart. But because the universe works in weird ways and often has a goofy sense of humor, the pair didn’t meet until they were more than 2,600 miles (or 4,200 kilometers, since we’re talking about Canada) away from home.

While living in British Columbia, Canada, Gnys and Sartor realized they shared a vision of bringing the community together through beer and food. And when they returned to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, after living on the west coast for a number of years, they opened Counterpart Brewing, a little off the tourist-derived beaten path, in March 2019. Beer, food, and community is at the hear of what they do and it’s even emblazoned on much of the brewery’s merchandise.

“We didn’t know each other till we moved out there (to the Vancouver area),” Gnys said. “I was planning to move home to open a brewery. Joe was planning to move home to open a restaurant.”

Gnys, a Niagara Falls native, and Sartor, a Niagara-on-the-Lake native, met through family members who worked together. And then they moved home at roughly the same time. Gnys returned to Ontario in 2017 and immediately began drafting a business plan.

They say they focus equally on beer, food and community. And during that time, and despite a global pandemic, they’ve built a place that celebrates each of those pillars equally. The food menu, which rotates nearly daily, the beer, highlighting the best in contemporary and traditional styles, and the space, an inviting place to hang out and converse, combine to form a really lovely place to enjoy an afternoon.

I’m wildly excited to host Counterpart as it will make its American debut at the Rochester Real Beer Expo on Saturday, June 10, at Innovative Field, the home of the Rochester Red Wings baseball club. VIP tickets are sold out and general admission is moving quickly. I recommend securing a ticket ASAP at rochesterrealbeer.com. Within a two-hour drive of Rochester, Counterpart has quietly become one of my favorite breweries. The food and beer are both equally awesome.

I sat down with Greg recently while enjoying a pour of the brewery’s exquisite Pilsner (pictured below). Here are the highlights from our conversation:

Q: After living in different parts of Canada, why did you decide to open a brewery at home, open it in Niagara Falls?

A: This is home for me. But also, we thought there was a hole (in the market) and maybe a need for it. Whether there was a demand for it or not, we didn’t really know, because there was nothing comparable to it. We’ve been very fortunate there — that the demand and the interest have been there.

Q: What is the guiding beer philosophy here? What do you want to be known for?

A: Quality is at the foundation of everything we do. Being progressive is very important for us, not just for the sake of being progressive. Being genuine beer fans ourselves and having on our finger on the pulse of what other breweries are doing, we’re very driven by what we enjoy and that is impacted by our surroundings and what other people are doing. I am an active beer trader and I go through a lot of effort of trading with a lot of people all over the U.S. and Canada. I keep a pulse on what’s going on, and also, I’m just obsessed with the industry, the community, and everything about it. It’s driven by a genuine interest. If you had to capture our philosophy, it would certainly be to be progressive and be on top of the trends, at least the ones we’re interested in. And then we try to do those to the best of our ability.

Q: Four years, especially in this climate and through a global pandemic, is pretty remarkable. And when I come here, I’m always impressed with the variety on draft, too.

A: We want our tap list to reflect our food, because we’re a brewery and a restaurant. We’ve got a very broad audience here, so we try to take on a lot of styles — some that we specialize in more than others. But having a well-rounded tap list is something that’s important to us, too. Both sides of the house focus on being adventurous, being creative, being progressive, sparing no expense in the way we do things. It’s very labor intensive with a heavy focus on raw materials, focus on quality ingredients.

Q: Where did the mantra of “beer, food, community,” come from and how does that manifest itself in what you do?

A: When we were doing our business plan, our general one-liner was “building community through great beer and food.” That was the starting point and we boiled it down to “beer, food, community.” The name, Counterpart, that came from Joe and I and our respective passions for food and beer. I’ve always said that the word, counterpart, means to complete something or be a perfect fit for something. It speaks to Joe and I and our respective passions. But we also wanted to be the perfect fit for the community. Growing up in Niagara Falls, it’s not that it doesn’t exist, but it’s generally absent. It’s a very tourist-driven place. We wanted something that was for the locals and would bring people together. That went into our logo as well. And those remain the three pillars of what we do. The beer and the food are very obvious, in terms of what we do, and the community part, that’s the part that really ties everything together. You’re relying on your customer base to ultimately be on board with what you’re doing. You’ve got to work hard to keep that trust.

Q: What’s your favorite beer you’ve made?

A: For me, the barrel-aged side is disproportionately important for me. It represents a very, very small part of the beer that we do, and it may become bigger over time as we’re trying to build that out. (Aside: Can confirm, of the three barrel-aged stouts I’ve had from Counterpart, they were all among the best I’ve ever tried. That’s not hyperbole either.) It will always stay a small part of what we do. I think it’s important to keep these releases small and not too frequent. Our first release called Deciduous, I am very, very proud of those. I am thrilled with how they went over in the community. Having released our second set of barrel-aged stouts for our latest anniversary, I am already planning what our next release will be, in terms of trying barrels and working on blends. So those would be my favorite single beers. I really like our hazy, hop-forward beers and our lagers, too. It’s definitely where I spend most of my time.

A note on sponsors

Do you own a business? Do you want to support this coverage and keep it free for readers? I can help spread the word about your business. And with your help, my work will remain free and accessible to all. Generous sponsors have supported me for the past year and readers have benefited. I would love to continue this.

I remain open to sponsorships, sponsored content, and advertisements, especially if it’ll keep the newsletter free for readers. And if you have information about upcoming releases, events, or happenings, don’t hesitate to reach out. For more information, feel free to drop me a line at clevelandprost@gmail.com.

And if you enjoyed this edition of the Cleveland Prost, please subscribe and share! See you again soon.