There are a lot of new breweries opening in the province these days. Enough that I can’t really keep up. But I am trying to make sure I catch the ones opening in the Edmonton region – my home town and the anchor for my CBC Radio column.

Speaking of my CBC column (see what I did there?), my last column a couple weeks ago featured Edmonton’s newest brewery, The Growlery. You can listen to the piece here.

They have only been open since mid-July and just had their formal opening. And they are a brewery who needs a medium-term plan.

Why? Because they are located on Airport Road beside the long-since-closed municipal airport. Right now it is a field of weeds and mud, but it is the location of the city’s ambitious Blatchford Lands development project, which eventually expects 30,000 people to be living in the area.

Once all those people get there, The Growlery will be made in the shade, being the local brewery for a sizeable community designed for walking and livability. In fact that is their long term goal – to be a community hub for Blatchford. They envision a second, cooperative brewery in the middle of the development.

Until now, they need to attract beer people to pop by when in the area.

The beer is evolving as we speak – they have just hired a new brewer who is tweaking recipes and processes. But their overall vision for the beer is anchoring with classic styles with one eye on trends. Co-owner Kevin Danard says you likely won’t see them jump on the Milkshake or Pastry bandwagons.

And as for the name – it is not what you think. It is an actual word, namely a refuge for when one is in ill-humour. Coined, by the way, by Charles Dickens in Bleak House. There is your random trivia point for the day.

The irony of the name is that while some may arrive in ill-humour, I doubt few people will leave their tap room feeling the same way.