Helping the World, One Beer At a Time.
Sean Dunbar is the charisma and passion behind Northampton Brewing Company’s Picaroons Traditional ales. For someone who began brewing out of pure passion for the deep flavours possible in the different brews, he has since honed his craft to perfection.
Becoming a brewer was really an accident for Sean Dunbar. While he was finishing up his bar admission course and articling, he became involved in discussions with friends from law school who were thinking of opening a brewpub in Fredericton. The discussion soon became a business plan for Picaroons Brewing. “I just found the brewery business to be so much more interesting than what I saw in law firms,” Sean says about his choice to give up practicing law to become a full-time brewer.
Now, Northampton Brewing Company is the maker of specialty craft beers. Part of what has made this company unique is their two certified organic beers: the Dooryard Summer Ale, a wheat beer whose name is taken from the New Brunswickism for “backyard”, and the Dark and Stormy Night, a light dark beer that has all the flavours of a rich coffee brew without the heaviness associated with a stout.
Northampton Brewing Company has a knack for names. The beer label Picaroon’s refers both to an old logging tool used in river logging (like an axe handle without an axe head – used to turn logs as they were driving down the rivers) as well as a pirate or someone of roguish behaviour.
The Brewery is located in Fredericton, on the North side of the River and is complete with a tasting room. People are welcome to visit the brewery for ad hoc tours, but Sean cautions visitors that the friendly employees are professional brewers, not tour guides – though they always have a spare pair of rubber boots and lots to do!
Although Sean was intrigued by the organic market, when he first decided to try a new organic brew (the Dooryard Summer Ale) he simply felt good about using sustainable sources of grain. “The reason has changed over time,” claims Sean. “The more we support organic agriculture in any form, the better off the world is going to be. I think every single acre of organic production is going to help the world somehow.”
Sean has his own farmland in Northampton, NB and he dreams of growing his own brewing ingredients some day. In fact, Sean aspires to create a small-scale 100% organic brewery on his property in Northampton as a demonstration of responsible manufacturing. “I want to show that a brewery, an industrial process, can be built and run in an environmentally friendly way by using renewable sources of energy and by supporting organic production.” He is also very passionate about creating a 100% New Brunswick beer – one where all of the ingredients are grown and processed in the province. This dream would have been taken for granted a century ago!
Northampton Brewing Company is more than your local brewery; by brewing specialty craft and organic beers Sean is “trying to change your life and save the world.”
