We started as most beer companies do. A few buds hanging out and drinking some delicious homebrew and tossing out some foolish ideas about dropping everything and opening up a brewery of our very own. Fast forward a few years and Upstreet Craft Brewing was born.
This wild ride really started back in 2006 when Hogie brewed his very first beer. He became obsessed with testing batches and experimenting in kitchens, basements, backyards and barns. Some great tasting brews, some interesting and some just downright crazy. With all of this homebrew experience under his belt, Upstreet would go on to become the first B-Corp certified company on PEI after opening our doors in 2015. Before we knew it, we were opening another downtown retail location and a brewhouse in Halifax and now- here we are breaking into the non-alcoholic market.
And that’s what makes Libra stand out among the rest. We come from a brewing background. We know what it takes to make a great tasting craft beer using premium ingredients. Authenticity and taste is what’s important to us.
So, how is Libra made? Libra is made following the same process that brewers have been using for centuries. We steep malted grains to extract sugar, boil wort, add hops, then cool it down and pitch yeast. Then we let it ferment and condition. The fermentation creates a tiny amount of alcohol while also smoothing out the overall flavour. What’s special about non-alcoholic beers is that a lot happens on the fringe, or even out of bounds from conventional brewing. Some things they even tell you not to do. Every step of the brewing process needs to be broken down, modified, and then put back together in just the right way.
“It’s extremely challenging to balance out the flavours with non-alcoholic beers. Everything has a really narrow threshold. Too little flavour, too bitter, too hoppy, too sweet… These can all throw it out of whack. But after a lot of hard work, research, and trial and error, we figured it out though. We aren’t the first to do it and we won’t be the last, but I still think it’s really special what we’ve achieved here.
I think brewing is a lot like songwriting. You write a great song, but then you have to nail the production and recording, and then you have to take it on tour and perform it flawlessly night after night.”- Hogie, Brewmaster
At the end of the day, perfecting the process and continuously learning new ways to produce delicious products is what keeps us going. We love beer. And you can taste it when you crack open a Libra. We were brewers, first.
