Brothers Brewing in downtown Guelph isn’t just a brewery—it’s a hub for craft beer lovers, community connections, and some of the best live music in town. With a passion for bringing people together over great beer and even better vibes, Brothers has built a reputation for hosting incredible live music events that showcase both local talent and touring artists. Whether it’s an intimate acoustic set or a high-energy show that gets the whole place moving, they’ve mastered the art of creating a welcoming, laid-back atmosphere where music and craft beer go hand in hand.
When did Brother’s open and what was the inspiration?
Brothers opened in Guelph in June of 2017. We originally launched in April of 2014, but we were located in Niagara. We were contract brewing out of Niagara College Teaching Brewery, and selling our products to craft beer bars from Niagara to Muskoka. The original plan was to turn the old family farm into an estate brewery, where we would grow all of our own ingredients, scale a production brewery, and focus on making products sourcing ingredients from the farm. After being delayed with regulatory problems related to opening in a rural area, we started second guessing our plan, and decided that going the smaller brewpub/taproom route would allow us to foster a better community around the business as well as dabble in more creative outlets with the company.
Was live music always part of the vision or a happy addition?
Part of this expanded vision of creative paths was live music. Prior to deciding to pursue brewing, music was the passion. Before enrolling in business school, for the purpose of understanding the business-side of launching a brewery, I had explored becoming a recording engineer. Hosting live music and trying to support the local music scene was really a way of weaving that original passion back into the business.
How has the music community in Guelph supported Brother’s as a venue?
The music community in Guelph has been great. The long-standing musicians and bands in the City were very welcoming right off the bat. Our weekend matiness especially seemed to give musicians a time-slot they could convince their friends and families who had stopped attending their evening shows a time that was more accessible; so we were quickly inundated with requests to play. I think this was instrumental, pun intended, in fostering the vision of Brothers as a community hub; which was and remains the ultimate goal. Beer and live music just go together. The passion that revolving UofG music students breath into the city’s music scene has also been an incredible thing to witness. Watching bands form, sell out every show they play here, then disband with a bang as the members graduate and move on with their lives has been really something. Every four years we get to experience this University band hype cycle, and the talent seems to be getting better and better. I personally think it’s just a matter of time before one of these groups hits it big time. Regardless of their level of future fame, it will always be one of our greatest pleasures to be part of these musicians’ early careers.
What’s up with the amazing cameras and recording for reels?!
We’ve had so many amazing shows here that I wish everyone could have attended. Starting to film and post highlights from these shows has been a way to show people what they might be missing and hopefully shine a bit of a local spotlight onto the talent that comes through here. I’ve been working to improve the video and audio quality in hopes of getting to a point where we can provide artists who play here with an entire off-the-floor multi-camera concert video for their own promotional purposes.
What are some upcoming shows that you’re excited about?
The third Sunday of every month at 8pm we host The Funky Jam Sandwich; a funk, soul, and RnB open jam. This is by far the event at Brothers that I look forward to most every month. Big shoutout to Emmitt Leacock for making this event happen. Every month Emmitt assembles a different house-band to kickoff the evening, and rotating musicians takeover the rest. We provide the amps, the drums, the keys, the mics, and people bring in their instruments or their voices. Performances are limited to reasonable durations, so there is no 20 minute solos, keeping the event entertaining for musicians and non-musicians alike. April marks a full year of us hosting these, and every month has seen a mind blowing assortment of talent. In addition to Guelph musicians, the jams see musicians from Kitchener, Waterloo, Hamilton, Toronto, and London. If you haven’t been yet, April 20th is the next date!
You can find Brothers Brewing online at the website brothersbrewingcompany.ca, on Instagram at @brothersbrewingcompany, on Twitter/X at @brothersbrewery, on Facebook @brothersbrewingcompany, and on Youtube at Brothers Brewing Company.