Whyte Avenue is a fun place. During the day it has a myriad of shops, cafes and sights (not to mention the Farmers’ Market) to satisfy a wide range of tastes and interests. Then there is the nightlife. It may be a bit more “lively” than my middle-aged body is up to these days, but there can be no question it is the most alive neighbourhood in Edmonton at night.

Overall it is a pretty great location in the city.

So, how would you feel if I told you that soon Whyte Avenue will also be home to an innovative craft brewery and restaurant? I can imagine you would be pretty pumped (you are reading this site, after all).

Situation Brewing is a new project setting up shop just south of Whyte at 81 Ave and 104 St (across from Von’s Steakhouse). And it might be something unlike anything Edmonton has seen to date. Partners Wayne Sheridan and Kale Edwards, along with head brewer Matt Cockle (a recent graduate of Olds Brewing College) have a vision of a creating a place that anchors around local, as well as the process of good beer.

Situation started unofficially four years ago when Sheridan and some friends went to Portland for a stag. “It was an epiphany moment,” says Sheridan who says before that he enjoyed beer but hadn’t immersed himself in it. “I said, ‘something spectacular is happening here. Why don’t we have this in Edmonton?’.”

That sparked a fast developing fashion. He and Edwards took up homebrewing and studying everything they could about beer. After a couple years, they started wondering why they didn’t do this as a business. “We thought we are doing this every weekend anyway, why not go commercial”. Their original plan was to turn their homebrew system into a nan0brewery. “Then we pulled out the spreadsheets,” he says, and they realized small was not viable. And thus Situation was borne. Sheridan and Edwards buckled down to find a way to open a full-scale brewery. They scouted a location and recently landed their spot just south of Whyte. “We wanted to situate the brewery in the best location possible,” Sheridan notes.

Things are moving fast now. They have ordered a 10-Barrel brewhouse with 4 20-bbl fermenters and 2 bright tanks, which are expected to arrive next month. Permits are in place and renovations are underway. While the process has taken longer than Sheridan originally hoped he is quite thankful from the support from both the Old Strathcona Business Revitalization Zone and the City of Edmonton planners, who worked to find a space for their concept under the rules (currently Edmonton bylaws forbid a brewpub in Old Strathcona). They hope to open the doors sometime in October.

Their vision is to create a space that highlights the process of beer. “We wanted a prominent location to show the process of making beer”, Sheridan says. “Edmonton has good breweries but people don’t see the process behind the product”. So they designed the space to allow the process to shine through. “We have more brewing space than need so we can host seminars and tours. We want to teach people how beer is made.”

They named the brewery Situation because location is everything for them. “Location is mission critical for us,” Sheridan says.  They want to highlight “where the beer is situated”. Sheridan says they could have an easier path opening in a light industrial park, with lower rents, but they wants to “show the process behind the product”.

They avoid calling themselves a “brewpub” as their hopes are larger than that, but at the beginning that is essentially what they will be (however their licensing is more complicated than that). “The niche ‘brewpub’ doesn’t mean anything right now” says Sheridan, while quickly acknowledging the important trailblazing role Brewster’s has filled. Sheridan says they want to carve out a unique space in the Alberta beer scene. “We don’t just want to be one of 15 [Alberta craft breweries]. We want to be on the forefront and do it from day one.”

They plan four to five beer to start, working up to 8-10 house beer, with between two to four guest taps at all times. While the beer is still in development they are leaning towards a line-up of a lighter North American wheat ale, a dry stout, an IPA and then something not yet finalized, along with various seasonals. The beer mission is “a balancing act between approachable and interesting. We are targetting people who have had some craft beer and we want to solidify their commitment”.

As for the food, they hope to “under promise and over-deliver”. The food at the 125 seat restaurant will be high quality, satisfying and anchored in the beer, Sheridan says. Plus, with a restaurant license, they hope to be family-friendly, something he aspires to after Portland. “In Portland beer is a family affair. We want to see families coming to enjoy food and beer”.

While Sheridan’s focus is getting the brewery up and running he can envision where he wants Situation to be two years from now. He sees the place as being situated locally. “I want to have a critical buzz”. He also hopes to develop their links to Old Strathcona. “We hope to be a host venue for the Fringe and a gathering place for people who are on Whyte Avenue.” He doesn’t necessarily see the brewery distributing their beer very widely, but is open to the idea if demand is there.

Whyte has a lot going for it, but currently its good beer options are limited to one or two places along the strip (such as Next Act or Accent Lounge). Hopefully Situation’s arrival in the fall will “re-situate” craft beer on Edmonton’s hottest avenue.