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well-known master brewer with a career
that has seen him work with leaders such as
Big Rock and Carling. He reports that it was
during his tenure as a brewer with Big Rock
that he first heard about AM Jade.
“They were involved in removing
equipment from the Molson facility about
the same time we were building a new Big
Rock plant in Calgary,” he said, mention-ing
that following his retirement in 2007,
he got involved with Merlo and Bondi to
develop Village Brewery in 2010. “They were
invaluable with the help they brought in
sourcing equipment, installation and over-all
consultation on the business model on
that project.”
Kerwin notes that Bondi and Merlo
were two guys in the right place at the right
time. “Craft brewing has really taken off
here in Alberta, as it has in other places
right through the U.S. and Canada. Today
there are 32 craft breweries in and around
Calgary. This is up from just three in 2011,”
he said, adding that the decline in Alberta’s
petroleum sector saw some of the unem-ployed
oil patch workers invest in the craft
brewing sector.
Not one to let a good opportunity slip
by, Kerwin next got involved with Eau Clair
Distillery, the first craft spirits maker in
Alberta. Kerwin and his crew were follow-ing
the lead of Ed McNally, trendsetting
founder of Big Rock Brewery. “McNally saw
in the U.S. an example of how successfully
craft brewing married with distilling.” Bondi
and Merlo were along for the ride. AM Jade
supplied the process equipment, as well as
offered installation and maintenance sup-port
to this Calgary enterprise leading up to
the distillery’s first production run in 2014.
“Through their company, AM Jade,
Bondi and Merlo have been instrumen-tal
in our success. They have been able
to source the equipment and oversee the
installation and supply insightful exper-tise
that kept us on the front edge of the
craft trend,” said Kerwin, himself a high-ly
respected consultant to the trade with
recent positions at the brewmaster pro-gram
at Olds College and at the Industry
Advisory Committee where he served as
chair for the past three years.
Making it themselves
Kerwin reports that while AM Jade was
once just a supplier of high quality used and
reconditioned brewing equipment, they
have expanded their offering to include new
pieces from complete breweries to kegs and
packaging systems. “As we discovered, AM
Jade is a good partner in both brewing and
distilling. They can supply the whole range
from pumps and valves to tanks and filters
and discuss all the options,” he said.
In addition to supplying the trade with
used brewery systems, AM Jade also man-ufactures
a line of bottle conveyors and
packaging equipment as well as tanks.
“Every deal is different and unique. We
work with our customers on a one-off basis
and give them the full-time support they
require,” said Merlo, mentioning how AM
Jade is now involved in the manufacture of
an innovative packaging system that is the
result of listening to their customers over
the years.
“This is a system for small produc-ers.
It can run both can and bottle in a
single footprint that is faster because there
is no changeover,” he said, reporting that
AM Jade applied for the patent four years
ago and was just approved. “We are very
focused on getting this packaging system to
market as we move forward.
“We also offer new tanks for any appli-cation
( fermentation, bright beer, hot
liquor tanks, etc.). Tanks can be provided
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