Growing up in Red Deer Alberta, halfway between the cities of Edmonton and Calgary, surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland and barley fields, Charlie Bredo and his brothers were blessed with a keen sense of environmental sustainability.
After high school, Charlie earned a business degree and became a chartered accountant.
He started a power company that contributed 20 percent of profits to organizations like the Alberta Conservation Association and the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley.
His objective was to push for more responsible ways to produce and consume power.
In 2013 the province of Alberta dropped regulations that required breweries to produce at least 500,000 litres per year. It was at this point that Charlie and his brothers began talking about taking his garage-based home brewing efforts to the next level. He decided to leave the power business and embrace his passion for brewing. Charlie called his business “Troubled Monk”, referring to the long history that monks have of brewing beer in European monasteries.
With the beer itself, they wanted to make a product that represented their hometown of Red Deer. “Alberta has world-class barley, it’s malted locally only 45 minutes from here at a place called Alix, at Rahr, and we use it as a base, so a lot of this is a local product.” said Bredo.
While Charlie knew about the brewing process, he also knew the importance of a healthy bottom line and to ensure success out of the gate, his first hire was Garret Haynes as Brewmaster.
Garret himself is a local product and a top graduate of the Brewmaster program at Olds College.
Charlie’s business sense led him to Specific Mechanical for the entire brewing system. He knew he wanted quality equipment he could rely on and not worry about downtime during the critical start-up phase. Opting for a 15-Barrel, 2-vessel system, this gave him the capacity to produce enough volume but also the flexibility to brew a variety of styles and flavours.
He scouted the perfect location giving him ample space for the brewing system as well as a tasting room and gathering areas. His goal was always to integrate into the community of Red Deer and offer people somewhere to go, get a sense of the brewery, do a tour and have a beer.
The first beer was poured on June 12, 2015. The community was excited and showed up in numbers to support the new business, making it a runaway success from the get-go. Just months later, on a whim, they entered their Open Road American Brown Ale into the World Beer Cup, the Olympics of beer, and out of 81 other contestants, took home the silver medal for that category! This award helped put Troubled Monk on the map and was a nudge to the rest of the world about some of the great craft beer coming out of Alberta.
Now almost 10 years later, with a full staff in the brewhouse and taproom, Troubled Monk continues to be one of the most popular places in town with a huge product line that satisfies every taste. Their inviting taproom is constantly busy with regular events and has ample indoor and outdoor seating. Many of the events include other local businesses and focus on fundraising for charity and raising money for the Mustard Seed’s School Lunch Program and the Red Deer Food Bank.
Also notable is their marketing, both on their website and through social media. A definite sense of humour shines through which is as engaging as the product itself.
As with any new business, the journey is always an education. The path asks for many sacrifices, long hours and financial risks. For Charlie Bredo and his brothers, the risks and hard work paid off, giving the town of Red Deer a wonderful place to take a deep breath and soak it all in.
