There are few brewers, if any, with quite as impressive a CV as Christian Riemerschmid Von Der Heide. But then again, there are few breweries quite as unique as Paris Beer Co of Paris, Ontario. Together it’s the perfect marriage, driven by a desire to brew excellent, drinkable beers, created using local ingredients in a sustainable manner. And thankfully for fans of meticulously crafted, moreish brews, they’re doing just that.
In life, we all know people that can ‘Talk the Talk’ and often they’ll rarely….you got it… ‘Walk the Walk’.
There are individuals where actions speak louder than words and Christian Riemerschmid Von Der Heide, master brewer at Paris Beer Co, is one such figure. So when he tells you brewing is his life’s passion, you better believe him.
“Growing up on a farm, I loved the link between the ability to produce something and the commercial side that could follow. I get my mojo, my energy from being able to create possibilities,” he explains.
“Beer is this rare sample of a craft where you start with an agricultural element that ends up going all the way to paying taxes on the finished product. And then there’s everything that goes on in-between. Well, where do you start?”
Christian is a 35-year veteran of the brewery and beverage industry who has worked for brewers, distillers, and global players in a variety of senior roles in operations, technology development, innovation, supply chain, and as board member in the Americas, Africa, and Europe.
His CV boasts positions such as chief operating officer at Brunswick Bierworks, CEO & president of the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, president of the European Brewery Convention, and a graduate of TUM at Weihenstephan, Executive Studies at INSEAD, and Wharton. innovation, and supply performance.
His brewing pedigree includes working for leading businesses such as Augustiner in Munich, Labatt’s, Guinness/Diageo in Dublin, Ireland, and London, UK, and East African Breweries Ltd. in Kenya.
And regardless of how busy his schedule would prove working for such multinational firms, he would still find time for some brewing of his own.
“Diageo is a great company. “Whether you’re a designer using PhotoShop, or a watchmaker, you need you own toolkit. I’m a brewer, so I need access to my own brew kit.”
So if Christian was to travel for his work with Diageo, so would his extensive brew kit.
“On all assignments with Guinness, I had half a 20ft container with my gear that travelled me,” he says. “Passion and purpose matters. I needed my own brewing time to ground myself and to not lose the connection between being an executive in the business of beer and the creation of it.
“Creating possibilities and brewing is my true love. So I can be at a brewery all day working on the corporate side of things but then go home, read a brewing magazine and then wake up at 04:30 the next morning to fire up a little brew kettle to start the process. I suppose all it takes is to use a different part of your brain.”
Christian adds: “But I know that I’m very lucky that my family has always loved me for that. We don’t have the fashion magazines at home, instead it’s brewing books and journals, and you need an understanding spouse in those situations!”
Paris Beer Co opened its doors in Paris, Ontario at the end of 2020. Christian is the master brewer and co-founder, with the brewery co-founded by John and Ken Edgar along with their wives Jennifer and Marsha.
The Edgar family has been part of the local farming community for seven generations and are owners of the Von Edgar Hop Yard. It’s here where the hops used in the brewery’s beers are grown. With Christian also from a farming background, the synergies are there for all to see.
“I emigrated to Canada back in 1996,” says Christian. “I would go on to meet John, and we spoke about finding a local building to create our own beer experience. It might have taken us 24 years to get here but now we’re open, we want to elevate the experience of people living and visiting Paris with our passion for brewing and the vertical integration of farming.”
For John, there is no getting away from the family’s connection to their agricultural roots.
“It’s something your grandfather did, or your father did or even further. For us, it goes back seven generations so there’s a lot of history there,” says John. “When Ken and I were developing what our interests were, we knew we needed to talk to Christian. He’s a Brewmaster with a very, very strong background.”
“The stars literally aligned,” adds Ken.
Soft launching in November 2020, The Paris Beer Company is Paris’ first taproom brewery. Its raison d’etre is its focus on quality beer, and offering a taproom where beer can be sampled and enjoyed with delicious food and great ambiance.
“My hope is that they come here for the food, and they come here for the beer. But moreover, to come here because they get a different level of value and satisfaction from knowing our products are grown locally,” Christian said at the time.
And that’s exactly what the brewery’s burgeoning fanbase experiences as the company’s profile continues to grow.
At Paris Beer Co, Christian Riemerschmid Von Der Heide is expressing his creativity through the medium of beer. So when it comes to regular releases, expect beers such as the 6.0% Lazy Dog Heller Bock Festbier, Nith Country Ale, Row 12 (fresh hop) Hopfen Weisse, Head Gate Helles Lager and Tagwerk Smoked Oak Porter.
“For me, the main quest in brewing is to achieve moreishness in beer. I want high level of drinkability. The holy grail in brewing is drinkability,” says Christian.
“For me, the main quest in brewing is to achieve moreishness in beer. I want high level of drinkability. The holy grail in brewing is drinkability,” says Christian.
He adds: “We live in a new world where many beers have been bastardized. It’s really cool to brew a Helles, so why not dry-hop the heck out of it. Ok, now that Helles taste is identical to another Pale Ale because you’re using ale hops and you’re using very warm lager fermentation.
“Yes it’s an interesting beer but it has nothing to do with the style and that flavour impression already exists elsewhere. So for me, it is about diversification not “me too”. You can be innovative and still create amazing flavours that are very drinkable and minimalistic.”
“Let me suggest, I don’t need to add grapefruit to my lager. If I’m using the right yeast strain, I can create that grapefruit impression,” he laughs. “But the dilemma is that I have a German accent and when I say anything, that is been viewed as an absolute statement or that I’m too much of a purist.”
Christian is proud of Paris Beer Co’s brewing identity, and its place within Ontario’s brewing ecosystem.
“I feel that some trendy styles are the crowded ones. And there is very little loyalty in those fields with people jumping from one hazy hoppy beer to another,” he says. “Breweries are ordering the same yeast strains and they’re using the same hop varieties. Don’t get me wrong, these are still great beers. I drink them and enjoy them. We’re just happy with the route we have taken.”
He adds: “We had tap room visitors asking where all our hazy IPAs are, and why we are not using all the hops we grow to make more hop-forward beers. I simply tell them that we leave that to other breweries. Instead we are looking for that magic balance and for consumers to return with the desire for another pint. The perfect serve of that beer they just enjoyed, while focusing on the elevated experience.”
And, as we said earlier, Christian’s actions speak louder than words. The brewery hit its target volumes for year three during the first 12 months. All the more impressive considering the challenging trading environment it opened during.
“We’ve seen demand come from all demographics and that’s obviously hugely satisfying for us because there is a fine line between success and failure in a crowded beer market and during a pandemic, he explains. “When we opened, there could have been a preconception that I’m just a boring German brewer but the last thing I want is a German beer portfolio!”
But there’s no risk of that happening, no chance at all. Not that it would be a bad thing, though. Currently laid down in barrel are beers as diverse as Red Grape Ales, Smoked Porters in Bourbon Barrels as well as numerous Sours and Goses. While other available beers include the Tagwerk Witbier with Quince, a 7.0% beer offering a fruity, tingly, tart quince aroma medley dancing with peach and vanilla impressions, wheat and coriander transitioning to a magenta, mild, dry finish.
When it comes to Christian’s quest for drinkability, a major part of this process is based around water’s role in the beer’s we drink.
Paris in Ontario, it is rumoured, was named after the nearby deposits of gypsum, the material used to make plaster of Paris. This material was discovered in 1793 while the area was being surveyed for the British Home Department. And as Christian says, it’s everywhere.
“That means the water is extremely, extremely hard. So we decided to invest in a complete reverse osmosis system. The water is completely demineralized. I then have our proprietary mineral mix for the beers and a fairly high-tech dosing system to do that,” he explains.
“I suppose the smoothness we achieve from a mouthfeel and sensory perception is one our secrets if you could call it that. People trying our beers will say they just feel ‘different’.
“And I think a lot of brewers underestimate the relativity of water to the overall sensory perception of a beer. I’m obsessed with the total experience from appearance to mouthfeel to flavour and this process helps us achieve that.”
Christian’s beers are brewed on a three vessel, seven-barrel system he helped co-design when working on customizing breweries. Among other features, it boasts a dedicated mash-brew kettle. lauter tun, and whirlpool. Fermentation and maturation vessels are in the historic basement of Wincey Mills.
The team have worked tirelessly when packaging its beers, especially considering it runs a single-head can filler alongside a six- and two-head bottle filler, which can handle any shape bottle.
“Being able to package into bottle is very important for us, but the convenience of canning a beer is pretty unbeatable,” he says. “Some customers, as is their choice, will simply not buy the beer they want if its not in can, even if you have it available in bottle. And vice versa – oddly enough.”
And with the first, incredibly successful, year under its belts, the team are now assessing how to invest and continue to grow. One step at a time.
“We want to take a look at what this brewery stands for as a business. We are considering B-Corp Certification and want to amplify that we are a force for good,” says Christian.
Another area of focus is the defined direction for the beers they produce, with some 23 beers on sale currently and more innovation coming down the line.
He explains: “We need to leverage our online presence and also grow with the demographics we want to serve as an ‘elevate your senses’ taproom brewery. We are also both careful and selective, as there are a variety of incredible restaurants in GTA that we highly respect. They ring us, and pay us lovely compliments about the beers and tell us they want to stock them.
“I get totally thrilled by that because it’s happened by word of mouth. For a great chef to want to work around your beers is bliss, and is always the proudest moment for someone like me.”
But for Christian and the team, running a brewery that has come on leaps-and-bounds in such a short period of time, they also know that have to take each step as it comes.
“There have been stressful moments like there are in every business,” he recalls. “We’ve worked flat out as a team of partners, farmers and brewers. So going ahead we want to work smarter, not harder, and be even more focused than before.”
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