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Yates Taphouse partners plan brewpub at Hudson

It can sometimes be difficult to light a fire under wily veterans who have seen it all in long careers in the hospitality industry. But add an element of fear and a touch of the unknown and even the most experienced can find a new spark.
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Grant Turner and Dan Lau at their Yates Street Taphouse pub downtown: ÒExtremely exciting, extremely scary.Ó

It can sometimes be difficult to light a fire under wily veterans who have seen it all in long careers in the hospitality industry. But add an element of fear and a touch of the unknown and even the most experienced can find a new spark.

That’s certainly the case for industry veterans Grant Turner and Dan Lau, owners of the Yates Street Taphouse, who are about to make a leap into the manufacturing business.

The business partners, who have been considering an expansion of their successful pub for two years, are about to enter the brewing and distilling business with the city’s newest brewpub on the ground floor of Hudson Walk Two, a residential tower that’s under construction.

“It’s extremely exciting and extremely scary,” Turner said. “We didn’t expect to come out this quickly.”

The brewpub — tentatively dubbed either Hudson District Brewing or Hudson Brewhouse — is expected to open in early 2018. Turner and Lau are about to start getting the necessary permits and zoning together.

Townline, the developer behind re-imagining the Hudson District, is still building the space for the pub. Townline director of development Justin Filuk said the 5,000 square feet of customized space should be ready to hand over to its new tenants in July.

“We have been working on an expansion for the last two years and we just passed on one [option] when this opportunity came up, so we switched gears to it,” said Turner.

The partners have been working with Victoria brewing veteran Paul Hoyne on building the brewpub and with a variety of distilling consultants to find a contract distiller to establish the operation.

“Ultimately, we want to have our own [master distiller], but we are being a little more conservative and cautious on that side because it is a new animal to us,” Turner said.

But it’s nothing new for British Columbia, which has seen explosive growth in distilling and brewing in recent years. According to the province, the craft beer industry has grown to 125 breweries from 54 in 2010 and there are applications for another 20 breweries on the books.

Distilling has also taken off. As of November, there were 35 craft distilleries and 19 commercial distilleries operating in B.C. By comparison, there were four craft distillers in 2010.

Turner said it’s the kind of market that suits them.

“It has grown dramatically and we have a smart and educated beer and liquor populace in Victoria and they do demand that they have opportunity and selection,” Turner said.

The partners intend to be small-batch brewers and distillers who can pivot as needed.

They expect to brew no more than 2,000 barrels of beer a year and do batches of about 1,500 bottles on the distilling side, starting with vodka and branching out to gin and eventually whisky.

“We [will be able to] offer a boutique, artisan approach to all of our products,” Turner said.

The amount of production, however, may have to be ramped up given their location — in the heart of the Hudson District and facing Blanshard Street, across from Save on Foods Memorial Centre.

“I love the space,” said Turner, noting he was blown away by the massive windows facing the street, high ceilings in the brewhouse and glass walls during a walk-through last week. “It is pretty incredible.”

And being tied to the district is no hardship.

Townline expects there will be 2,000 residents living in the 900 units the Hudson District after construction is complete.

But a resident clientele is not enough.

“We have to be a destination, so education will be a key part of it,” said Turner.

“I look at the operators we have around us and there are some great ones, so you have to enter with your game at a certain level. And we will.

“We have been in the industry for a lot of years and that’s what we bring to this.”

They are also bringing a veteran in to design the interior. They will again use Victoria’s J.C. Scott, who has designed a number of bars and restaurants, including the Yates Street Taphouse, Swans and the Sticky Wicket.

aduffy@timescolonist.com