Toronto's wonderful Blood Brothers Brewing sees U.S. distro for the first time
Toronto's wonderful Blood Brothers Brewing sees U.S. distro for the first time
Greece's One Stop Brew Shop is the importer for this esteemed Canadian brewery
Brayden and Dustin Jones don’t consider themselves to be failed musicians. But it took failing to find a new passion. When they were seeking another creative outlet, they found one in an unexpected place: beer.
“We just started homebrewing,” said Brayden Jones. And that new outlet has led to even more unexpected places — a renowned brewery in Toronto, one with a sterling reputation and an instantly recognizable visual identity. The brand embraces the macabre and the mystical.
Blood Brothers Brewing is the shared vision of the Jones brothers. And as the name implies, it’s a bit of a beer cult, but not one that requires any sacrifice to join. Instead, this is the type of secret society that welcomes all.
“Everyone always asks, ‘Is Blood your last name?’” Jones said. “But the idea is kind of a spoof on a beer cult, if you may. We wanted the brewery to feel like it was open for everyone to join and all you’ve gotta do is come in and have a beer with us and you’re a part of our Blood Brothers family.”
And for the first time in its history, Blood Brothers is available in the United States. Through a partnership with One Stop Brew Shop in Greece, Blood Brothers sent its first ship of beer across the border this week. (And I am beyond ecstatic to showcase Blood Brothers in June at the Rochester Real Beer Expo. I truly think Blood Brothers is one of the best and most creative breweries in this region. I can’t believe we can now purchase BBB locally. We’re so spoiled.)
Photo by Abby Quatro/Courtesy of One Stop Brew Shop.
“We just had this eureka moment, ‘Wow, homebrewers are making very interesting beers,” Jones said.
Hailing from Windsor, Ontario, Brayden and Dustin Jones had access to some great craft beers produced in Michigan. “We were spoiled before we moved to Toronto,” Jones said. “We had the Michigan scene and we knew what craft beers were all about. Moving here, it was definitely a different culture.”
Like Rochester, Toronto’s beer scene was late to mature. And like Rochester, it wasn’t really until the last 10 years or so that the scene exploded in terms of numbers and creativity. Jones said homebrewers were producing a lot of the most creative and interesting beers in the Toronto area.
“The hobby turned into a monster,” Jones said. “We had to find our little hobby space.”
Once it was decided they’d go pro, Jones said they drew inspiration from the American beer market, noting that it was more mature and headed in a direction that excited them. Jones said they envisioned Ontario’s growth mirroring what was happening in the states. Not wanting to name the brewery something as generic as “Jones Brothers Brewing,” Jones said they gathered the input of trusted friends and were able to land on “Blood Brothers.”
When asked what his role is at the brewery, Jones jokingly said, “I’m one of the brothers at Blood Brothers. We play many roles here, starting with off very small and working to now where we have two brew houses, one in our brewpub (a 10-barrel system in the original Geary Avenue location) and a 30-barrel system in our production facility (just north of the Toronto city center).”
When you start off small, you can expect to play a lot of different roles. Fast forward nearly eight years and the Jones brothers still have a full plate. Brayden works with the sales team and Dustin oversees the brewing department.
The present is quite a jump from Blood Brothers humble beginning in an 800-square-foot space it shared with a bakery. Jones said they constructed the original brewing system from whatever pieces of scrap steel they could find around town. The tanks were open top and flat-bottomed, Jones joked. While working in the hobby space, the Jones brothers also worked as contractors.
“We’re weren’t making the best beer (with that system), but we were doing our best,” Jones offered.
Then they shifted to a shared space with another brewery. “We were outgrowing it daily,” Jones said. They brewed exclusively at the Geary location for five years. Due to the lack of available warehouse space in Toronto, Jones said it took over two years to find a place for its production facility.
Photo by Abby Quatro/Courtesy of One Stop Brew Shop.
And of course, the Jones brothers signed a lease for that new facility two months before the world shut down due to the pandemic. But they couldn’t default on the new loan. Thankfully, it all worked out.
“It left us scared shitless, but what else could we do?” Jones quipped. “We knew we had to move forward to the project.”
With the move complete, Blood Brothers created a better environment for both its customers and its employees. Patrons couldn’t enjoy a beer in the old space without hearing the rattling of the canning line or the multitude of other sights, smells, and sounds associated with a brewery.
“It was chaos, but we made it work,” Jones said. “And now our brewers have a lovely space to work in and the original taproom was expanded.”
The production space could eventually include a bottle shop and a second taproom, Jones said.
Hurdles and obstacles
James Hilbert will be the first to admit he’s never done this before. But that doesn’t mean he’s not gonna work his ass off to make it a reality.
Since obtaining a distributor’s license through New York state, Hilbert, owner of One Stop Brew Shop in Greece, has built quite a portfolio of quality beer brands. His roster now includes standouts like Delaware’s Dewey Beer Co., Florida’s Arkane Aleworks, Texas-based Celestial Beerworks (more on them in the near future), and a few others that will be featured at the Rochester Real Beer Expo in June.
Until this week, One Stop’s portfolio didn’t include any international breweries. That changed with Blood Brothers. And despite all the paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles, Blood Brothers sent its first shipment of beers to the Rochester area this week. And Hilbert said it certainly won’t be the last. He’s excited to introduce the brewery to western New York. (Those in the know are already aware of how awesome the Toronto standout is.)
The whole process took a few months — and included things like submitting formulations, gaining label approval, and dealing with customs. And now that he understands how it works, it probably won’t be the last. Even more surreal is that 11 years into business, the Blood Brothers label, complying with federal guidelines, lists One Stop as the importer. Hilbert never expected to see his business name on a beer label.
“This is unbelievable, because I never thought in the last 11 years this would be where we would head,” Hilbert said. “I am ecstatic about it, especially to see how far we’ve come from just a normal bodega-type shop to now we can import international breweries.”
Blood Brothers is launching with four beers initially. You can’t go wrong with whatever you grab. Right now, the beers are only available One Stop, but they’ll soon be available at all the better beer shops across western New York.
The four beers include:
Blood Light, a 4 percent pale ale with huge tropical hop character that drinks way bigger than it is.
Bloodvar, a Czech-style Pilsner with an assertive and quenching bitterness.
Inner Eye, an dry-hopped pale ale that, again, drinks way bigger than it is. It features a creamy body, a pleasing bitterness, and all of the tropical fruit you love to see in the hazy category.
Shumei, a super smooth 7-percenter with the rich mouthfeel and a touch of bitterness. In a crowded field of hazy IPAs, this is a clear winner.
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