At long last, The Hamilton Brewery is planning to have a beer on bar taps this fall. But after failing to find a location or achieve its fundraising target, it has brewed up a slightly different way of getting there.

The brainchild of former infantryman Warren Pyper, the original plan was to open Hamilton's first bricks-and-mortar microbrewery, which could then do contract brews for other organizations. Now, Pyper's vision has flipped to one where he'll start by having his beer produced by another brewer, allowing him to get a product to consumers before launching his own brewery.

"We have to get to the marketplace," said Pyper, who's been gathering investors to back his dream for about three years. "We didn't want to build the beer buzz to have some other company swoop in."

That's a reference to Collective Arts brewery, which launched beer last fall and has since purchased the former Lakeport brewing facility on Burlington Street in partnership with Nickel Brook Brewing.

"When Collective Arts and Nickel Brook made their announcement we knew we'd have to get into the marketplace, so that's what we did."

An avid home-brewer, Pyper says he has the idea down for what will become his brewery's first product, Blue Collar Pale Ale.

"What we're looking for is a well-crafted, easy-drinking pale ale that's going to appeal to a large demographic," said Pyper, who went to culinary management school after a decade or so in the army. "Slight malty sweetness on the front, with enough hops to cleanse the palate at the end.

"We're not making a Blue or a Canadian here, we're making quality beer."

He's meeting with his contract brewer this month to finalize the recipe and brew a test batch. After that, it's just a matter of waiting for his permit from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, for which he's already applied, and then he'll be ready to go with draft beer. He's aiming for sometime in November.

"We'll have draft beer to start and we'll lead into cans coming into the springtime, and likely a second beer brand."

Even with local microbrew competition, Pyper thinks a good, local beer is a product that can't go wrong.

"It would be one thing if we said we were going to open the next Tim Hortons down here and move the immovable stone," he said Tuesday. "Hamiltonians love beer. I think there's a great chance at success."