Winnipeg’s Tyler Birch is going from building fences to brewing beer.

The co-owner of TNT Fenceworks plans to open a microbrewery in the city this December. Birch is about to sign a lease on a building at 595 Wall St. for his new venture, the Barn Hammer Brewing Company.

“I’m currently with a company that builds fences and I’m kind of sick of it, I guess,” said Birch, who partners with his father, Todd, in the fencing operations. “I’ve always liked cooking and making stuff and I have been brewing my own beer. But I had no intention to become commercial with it, initially.”

However, a recent visit to a microbrewery in Phoenix, Ariz., where he was visiting his parents, sparked interest in suds-making as a business.

“Compared to other cities, Winnipeg doesn’t have a lot of microbreweries,” said Birch, 30. “Half Pints is really the only locally-owned one, so I’m not worried about competition.”

That’s a good thing since Nicole Barry, who co-founded Half Pints, is planning to open up another microbrewery, PEG Brew Co., in December. Then there’s Torque Brewing Co., which wasn’t available for comment about a start date.

And of course, The Forks Market is planning a new craft beer and wine kiosk, which should be operational before local breweries start to open tasting rooms recently allowed by a new provincial law.

All in all, it’s a good time to be an aspiring microbrewer.

“They just changed the legislation allowing for tasting rooms and the building on Wall Street has a nice room in front where we can do that,” Birch said. “I’d also like to open a patio there sometime, if the city allows it.”

But there’s still a lot to do before December.

“The investment is substantial — heart-stopping substantial,” Birch said, estimating it at about $750,000. “I’ve hired someone (Brian Westcott) who has commercial brewing experience. So, it’s just him and I, and my wife (Sable). My wife is a graphic designer and she will be designing the labels and so on.”

She also helped name the new place. But, why Barn Hammer?

“Our cabin (at Lee River) used to be an old farmhouse and it had a barn behind it,” Birch said. “One day, my dad decided he would pull the barn down and let’s just say it didn’t work out too well. After that, we started calling the Dodge Jeep that he used in that failed adventure ‘Barn Hammer.’ So, there is a story behind it.”

PEG Beer Co. signs lease

Nicole Barry is hoping to become part of a new niche of craft beer companies.

The co-founder of Half Pints is preparing to open The Peg Beer Co., at 125 Pacific Avenue this December. It will be one of at least three new microbreweries opening here this year.

“I couldn’t be more excited about it,” Barry said. “Winnipeg is under-represented for craft beer. It was ridiculous that we have one craft brewery in the city. So, the fact that we have new players coming into the market, it only makes the craft brew segment more exciting.”

Barry cited the co-operation of brewers in Toronto and Alberta as an inspiration for what she’d like to see happen in Winnipeg.

“In Toronto, all of the craft brewers work together,” she said. “They’re friends with each other, they help each other out, they collaborate on beers together. In Alberta, they just released their craft brew guild beer ... So, I really hope that we have dedicated people who are truly brewing craft beer, so we can create this niche industry.”

Barry is no longer with with Half Pints.

“Craft beer is in my blood,” she said. “And when we parted ways, that wasn’t going to end my craft beer career. So, for me, it’s the next stage.

“Now with the legislation changes that have come into effect (to allow brewpubs and tasting rooms), it’s a really great opportunity to move forward with this.”

jim.bender@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @bendersun