ROCKVILLE—Those with lips smacking in anticipation of sampling Manitoulin’s own craft beer from Split Rail Brewery will have to just keep on smacking for a while before they can wet their whistles with a genuine Island brew.
“Although a great site in Kagawong was presented to us for a summer launch it has turned out that a costly environmental assessment is required for the site,” announced the team of Eleanor Charlton and Andrea Smith in a recent update letter to their supporters. “And so because the cost of this is prohibitive to Split Rail, we remain in search of permanent digs for Split Rail.”
For a lucky few, hope springs not only eternal, but fairly soon. Sooner in fact than the new projected date for a more permanent set of digs next spring.
“On a more positive note we continue to brew small test batches, including our seasonal offering of a hawberry ale and will continue to offer sampling opportunities as possible,” notes the team. “As well, we are hard at work behind the scenes to finalize a site location (a priority) and continue to augment our equipment and ingredient inventory.”
The Expositor has been invited to drop by the test laboratory to sample the wares in the next few days, so stay tuned for an update.
“Good things come to those who wait, they say, and we hope you’ll agree,” concludes the Split Rail missive. If the initial test batch sampled last Thanksgiving are any indication, it will be well worth the wait, even if it is after winter’s snows have given way to spring showers.
