Brewery to take place of home-brewing store

South Osborne

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This article was published 20/11/2024 (320 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More “out with the old, in with the new” is in store for South Osborne as Grape and Grain prepares to close its doors to make way for a new brewery and taproom.

Located at 726 Osborne St., Grape and Grain sells supplies for home beer and wine making and provides use of its facility and equipment for on-site brewing. Owner Scott Tackaberry says closing after 30 years in business – half of those in South Osborne – is not easy.

“It’s been a slow, tough, agonizing decision for the last couple of years,” said Tackaberry, who also owns the incoming business, Dastardly Villain Brewing Company.

Asked why he decided to supplant Grape and Grain rather than find a different location for Dastardly, Tackaberry cited several economic factors.

“The home-brewing business isn’t what it used to be. When I got started there were 27 different stores in Winnipeg and it’s dwindled down to about nine,” he said, adding that increased competition from online sellers has been a challenge to his brick-and-mortar operation.

Greater availability of high-quality finished products has also played a role, according to Tackaberry.

“Thirty years ago if you wanted really good beer, there was very little to choose from… if you wanted good beer, you made it yourself,” he said.

Today, microbreweries abound and there is a wide variety of craft beer on liquor store shelves. The closure of Grape and Grain means that Dastardly Villain, a contract brewer which produces its beer via existing local microbreweries, will now have its own facility – a development Tackaberry is excited about.

“Pretty soon we’ll be barking with the big dogs.”

Despite not having had its own brewing facility, Dastardly produces award-winning beer. Its Diabolically Decadent Brown Ale, for example, has won multiple gold medals, most recently at a local competition called the Pro/Am Brew Challenge.

Dastardly’s new brewery and taproom will serve up not only its own brews but other local fare as well, including pub-style food from a nearby restaurant. Tackaberry also owns Game Knight down the street and said the taproom will host game-based and other “nerdy” activities.

Grape and Grain’s last day – Jan. 3, 2025, its 30th anniversary date – will be marked with a celebration to honour the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, Tackaberry said. He aims to have the brewery and taproom open by summer.