**This article is sponsored**
Carleton Place’s very own Braumeister Brewing Company, located at 19 Moore Street, is celebrating its 5th anniversary on August 26, and they want to thank the community by throwing a party. Starting at noon and ending at 8 p.m., guests will enjoy live music, kids entertainment, and food provided by Trailside Canteen. Having been a staple in the community since 2018, Braumeister has survived the economic uncertainty of the pandemic thanks to the loyalty and dedication of its guests, who continued to support the brewing company through thick and thin.
“We as a team are all incredibly impressed that we’ve been able to navigate through the pandemic shutdowns, and a large reason for that is the support from our guests in the community,” said founder Rohit Gupta. “We opened these businesses with the goal of being a staple in the community, as a family friendly place for gathering and meeting new people, and through the relationships we’ve made with our guests we were able to come through a very difficult time with optimism for the future of Braumeister.”
Braumeister Brewing Co. began when Gupta moved to Austria and experienced the friendly camaraderie of a local bierhalle. The atmosphere was friendly and welcoming but Gupta lamented that there was nothing like it back home in Ottawa. When he moved back, he resolved to bring some of that charm from that region with him.
The Bierhalle, located at 175 Carruthers Ave., opened in September 2021. Offering locally brewed German beer served in authentic imported beer steins, as well as guest taps from brewers throughout Ottawa and several non-beer alcohols. Dedicated to providing an authentic European experience, the Bierhalle utilizes as many European business practices as it can; it includes all taxes in the listed prices, and it pays its staff a living wage, so no tips are expected or necessary. The beer is brewed true to style and uses only the four main ingredients of water, yeast, hops, and malt.
Although it initially only served beer while another company handled the food side of things, a couple years later the business had grown, and Braumeister decided it wanted to take over the kitchen operations to make the menu more Germanic. They completely redesigned the menu and opened their Heisse Kiste German Kitchen in June 2023, which offers authentic German Bierhalle specialties such as currywurst, leberkäse, bosna, liptauer dip and flatbread, smash burgers, and staples like pretzels, schnitzel, and red cabbage salad. All their recipes are developed in-house, so although they differ slightly from true German and Austrian food, Braumeister preserves the spirit and charm of authentic Bierhalles.
Over the years, Braumeister has evolved from a simple brewing company to a center of community activity and fun. It offers new seasonal beers every four to five weeks alongside its mainstays, the Biergarten Blonde and the Route 21, and since opening it has rotated through over 20 different seasonal beers. Local musicians can register at andrew@braumeister.ca to play at the Bierhalle, and all its live music is drawn from the surrounding community. The weekly discount it offers on Stammtisch Sundays draws customers in all day, keeping the liveliness and sense of togetherness going.
“While Stammtisch essentially translates to “Member’s table”, we have found that we tend to get repeat guests who mingle with new friends every Sunday,” said Rohit. “So it’s not exclusive or anything. It allows our guests to try the beer if they’re new, or just give their wallets a little break during our happy hours and Stammtisch Sundays.”
They also do a trivia night once a month, although they’re looking to expand it to twice a month due to high demand. Teams of two to four players can go head-to-head and test their general knowledge of various categories, and the Bierhalle rewards the winning team with a gift card. Rohit says it’s a lot of fun, but the trivia is almost secondary to having a good time and meeting new people.
Keep an eye on its website and its social media accounts, for more information on the anniversary party, trivia nights, and Stammtisch Sundays. In addition, Braumeister Bierhalle is planning their second annual Oktoberfest event for the end of September.