Left Field Brewery, a new craft beer maker in Toronto, started last year and its products are available in about 80 pubs in the city and area. (Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail)

When Mark Murphy told his wife he was going to leave his job as a chartered accountant in Toronto and start commuting nearly two hours to take a brewmaster’s course, she thought he was “absolutely crazy.”

Now, nearly four years and thousands of beers poured later, the husband and wife team behind the baseball-themed Left Field Brewery is about to open their own brew house and retail outlet in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood.

“Folks in this area have been really supportive of local businesses,” explains Mandie Murphy, 31. “There’s a lot of great dining, some of the best craft beer bars in the city and the demographic is primarily young professionals and young families – these folks love craft beer. They’re all screaming for a craft brewery.”

Left Field founders Mark and Mandie Murphy are taking their beer-making operation to the next level by opening their own brewery and retail shop in Toronto's east end. (Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail)

It’s been a long climb up the entrepreneurship ladder for Mr. and Ms. Murphy, but two passions have fuelled it – craft beer and baseball.

“I wasn’t enjoying working behind a desk, wearing desk clothes, the commute, etc.,” explains Mr. Murphy “I didn’t enjoy the whole concept of ‘busy season’ [accountant-speak for the months of January through April]. It just wasn’t for me.”

Mr. Murphy, 32, says he was on an audit for a client in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., when some Internet surfing led to reading about the brewmaster program at Niagara College in Niagara Falls, Ont. He had fallen in love with craft beer, and thought there was a lot of opportunity in the industry.

Despite his steady job as an accountant – first with BDO Canada in Mississauga, then with Sears Canada in its internal audit division – Mr. Murphy wanted to do something for himself, something he was passionate about.

It helped having a wife who supported him, despite her initial reaction.

“The more we talked about it, the more I warmed up to the idea,” reflects Ms. Murphy. “We had always dreamed of working for ourselves – we had come up with business plans, thought about [different] projects, but we didn’t really know what we wanted to do.”

The new brewery is under construction and is expected to be open next year. (Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail)

Starting the as-yet profitable brewery 18 months ago was a leap of faith for Ms. Murphy, as well.

When Mr. Murphy started his program at Niagara College, she was in the midst of a four-year stint in marketing at Rogers Communications. She was offered a job at what is now Constellation Brands, an international producer and marketer of wine, beer, and spirits. They wanted her to work as a brand manager for its “everything but wine” portfolio.

“The stars were aligning for us to learn what we needed to learn to get where we are today,” she says.

As far as the name of the brewery is concerned, the couple is split on where the idea came from.

Both avid baseball fans – Mr. Murphy says he has played since he was a youngster – they kept coming back to the baseball theme for many reasons.

“It allows us to do things that are ‘out of left field,’” Ms. Murphy says, “but it also allows us to tap in to the rich history and tradition of baseball.”

The Murphys hope their baseball branding will help differentiate them in a crowded craft beer market. (Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail)

“We’re not trying to alienate people because we love baseball and they may not,” continues Mr. Murphy. “I would take claim for the Left Field idea and Mandie would say, ‘Well not everyone loves baseball.’ But you’ll see in our branding that we try not to hit you over the head with baseball imagery and graphics, it’s just the theme we use.”

According to an Ipsos poll conducted in 2012 – at the time of Left Field’s emergence – 50 per cent of the Toronto Blue Jays’ attendance was made up of the 18- to 34-year-old demographic. And, according to a survey last July by Market Realist, an investment manager, 43 per cent of that same millennial group said craft beer tastes better than domestic beer.

“If all people could remember was, ‘I had that great beer but I can’t remember the name of it, but it was that baseball brewery,’ that would set us apart,” she explains. “It would give us something iconic in a market that is going to become more and more fragmented.”

The Ontario Craft Brewers association says craft beer continues to be the fastest growing segment in Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s beer category, but Mr. Murphy says the increased competition is healthy. They’re ready to play ball.

“Every day there are more restaurants and more bars opening tap lines to craft brewers, and switching from the big brewers because customers are coming in and asking for it. There’s a growing number of brewers, but there’s a growing number of places to sell the beer, too,” he says.

Left Field is now on tap at nearly 80 locations in Toronto and area – most of its pub clients heard about the beer through word of mouth – and its own brewery is expected to open in 2015. Prior to having their own place, they’ve been contracting Barley Days Brewery in Picton, Ont., to make their Eephus Oatmeal Brown Ale, Maris Pale Ale and other beers.

“Barley Days took my recipe and brewed the beer. I’ve attended a couple of brewing days for quality control reasons, but I really don’t have time to drive 2 1/2 hours each way to facilitate that,” Mr. Murphy says.

Mark Murphy might be the owner of Left Field Brewery but he doesn't escape the heavy lifting. Part of his duties is delivering kegs to pub clients. (Kevin Van Paassen for The Globe and Mail)

Using a contract brewer turned out to be a good business decision for the couple, who call the experience a “step in the ladder” to get into their own space, which will be largely a brewery but also offer product for sale.

“We initially financed the company ourselves, but have since taken on private investment and bank loans for the brewery build,” Ms. Murphy explains. “Another benefit of contract brewing was the ability to test our brand in the market, which gave us actual market results and helped us to raise private equity.”

Being the only two faces of the brewery has been very well-received. It’s gained us a lot of respect. Mandie Murphy

Now, the pair is concentrating their efforts on getting the 6,000-square-foot brewery set up – along with managing 100 per cent of the business on a day-to-day basis.

Mr. Murphy, who currently picks up the beer from a cold-storage facility in Toronto’s Etobicoke neighbourhood every day, makes all the deliveries and, of course, does all the accounting. Ms. Murphy is in charge of sales and marketing, while they both clean all their tap lines at client pubs and provide trouble-shooting for their clients.

While Mr. Murphy is most looking forward to getting into the brew house to get that “hands-on feeling again,” Ms. Murphy explains that, while the couple were both the type to work around the clock anyway, they’re excited to be doing it for themselves.

“Being the only two faces of the brewery has been very well-received,” Ms. Murphy says. “It’s gained us a lot of respect.”