Establishing an identity is key for any craft brewery entering the market. With so many options out there, new businesses must come up with ways to make themselves stand out and get their beer into the hands of the consumer. For the team at Ottawa-based Nita Beer Company, they have come up with an interesting approach. They have built themselves on unique flavour combinations and personal branding options for both licensees and customers.

Andy Nita and his wife Bridget Carey officially opened the Nita Beer Company in 2015. It began with a single beer, Ten12, a signature blonde ale that can now be found across the province. “It is definitely our best seller,” said Justin deVroome, Nita Beer Company Sales Representative. “It was what got us off the ground and allowed us to experiment with other flavours.”

From that single brew, the company has grown to producing more than 20 beers each year. Of those beers, you will find some familiar styles but looking at their core beers, they are sure to impress even the more adventurous beer drinker. “We have six main beers and usually about five seasonals at any given time. The main six are: Ten12, OPA Balanced IPA, Lone Wolf McAle- a Ginger Spiced Ale, Mr. Brown Has Gone Coconuts- a coconut flavoured ale, 5 Fingers Brown Ale and Perfectum Stout,” added deVroome.

In addition to its core beers, Nita has also produced a pineapple sour and a spruced IPA, not your typical flavours. “Andy likes to experiment a lot with beers,” said deVroome. “He is all about trial and error and seeing what gains traction. If it sells, we keep it, otherwise it’s back to experimenting. Today, you need some sort of uniqueness in the industry.”

Nita Beer Company believes in working hard and playing hard. They are a small group but try to promote that attitude. The company’s motto is ‘Great Life! Great Beer!’ and it is that zest that can be traced to their beers. While the trademark of the company centres around big, bold, strong beers they are always finding new flavours to work with.

Currently you can find Nita beers in 75-80 bars and restaurants, mostly in the Ottawa area with a few scattered in Toronto and Kingston. However, you might not even know you are drinking it. That’s because another feature Nita Beer Company has is that they partner with their licensees and allows them to use the beer as a house beer. “It is an aspect to the beer that I haven’t seen at other breweries,” said deVroome. “We have a label printer on site that allows us to do any style of label for bottles or cans. We have about seven or eight bars that carry our beer and brand it as house beer. It will have their (created) logo on it and will have a little Nita logo with Blonde Ale or whatever beer they are using. I think it is very unique service and they seem to like it a lot. It is unique for that restaurant because it creates an exclusiveness.”

So far the house beers for licensees have always been one of Nita’s regular options (Ten12, Brown Ale or Stout), however, deVroome could see them moving to crafting one offs specifically for the bar. “We are starting to use our 100-litre fermenter to make small batches, so if we could use that for specific places then it would become an option.”

In addition to the custom labels for licensees, Nita also offers it to their customers through their online shop. It has led to options for customers like Christmas cards, congratulations notes and more all on their favourite Nita beers.

Nita is definitely not afraid of trying new things or spreading their beer through unconventional means. It is through that unique approach that they have been able to find early success and continue to create some of the most interesting styles in the area.

Cheers!

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