Bomber Brewing

It’s hard to find a more Canadian story than the one behind the creation of Bomber Brewing. The plan to start a brewery was hatched in the dressing room of a beer league hockey team named — you guessed it — the Bombers. Blair Calibaba, Cam Andrews and Don Farion — who brought his long-time business partner Dean Mallel with him — are now teammates on and off the ice.

The story begins with some home brew that Blair slipped into the cooler alongside store-bought beer. “Everyone was really impressed, so obviously we kept encouraging him to bring it to games,” Cam says with a smile. It’s worth noting too, that this is a group with sophisticated beer palates. Don, who co-owns the Biercraft group of Belgian- and craft-beer-focused restaurants with Dean, is a certified cicerone, the beer equivalent of a sommelier.