Ed Madronich: Introduction to Micro-Brewing in Dundas
Posted by Don Davidson on Aug 30, 2016
Ed Madronich, Hamilton native and owner of Flatrock Cellars winery in Jordan shared the pains and pleasures of opening the Shawn & Ed Brewing Co. on Hatt street in the heart of Dundas.
Ed has a background as a manager at Inniskillin vinyards in Niagara on the Lake and the experience gained there led him to open Flatrock Cellars which has had a successful history since opening in 1999. Ed loves what he does at Flatrock however this didn’t stop him from pursuing another passion to open a micro-brewery with his friend Shawn. The two came up with the idea 5 years ago. After a plan was in place, the next step was to find a location for the brewery. This came to light when Ed and his wife drove by the Crockford building on Hat Street and thought “what a great place for a brewery.” All Ed had to do was sell his idea to Bob Crockford which he did and the building of Shawn & Ed Brewing Company had begun. Rob Creighton was hired as the brewmaster and the best equipment was purchased to begin the brewing of some of the areas best beer.
The Shawn & Ed focus is within the Dundas community and Ed says the community support has been tremendous…not to mention a hottest summer on record that has created a great thirst! One of the greatest challenges to the opening of Shaun & Ed Brewing Co. was the city of Hamilton, which likes to make most things difficult. J
If you are a wine drinker, don’t expect to find Flatrock Cellars wines being served at the Shawn & Ed location. The LCBO has a monopoly on alcohol sales and unfortunately controls all aspects of wine sales. Therefore, wine cannot be served without a special events license.