The spectacular Hatchery Brewing readies to join Penticton's brew pub scene

Take a tour around the space that for so long housed The Blue Mule Nightclub at 218 Martin, and you're immediately hit by just how big it is.

It was always this big of course, but without The Mule's performance stage, its various seating levels, and its numerous other nightclub-y design elements - all of which has been removed - it truly is cavernous.

And that's a good thing, because its new owners are making use of every square inch of it. And early this summer, 218 Martin will surge to life once again. Only now it'll be in the form of a brew pub.

A gargantuan brew pub.

Hatchery Brewing, as it will be known, will seat 200-plus customers over its two completely rebuilt and redesigned levels. It'll feature rooftop and street-level patios and a commercial kitchen producing tons of great eats. And, right in the middle and visible from most spots, will be a brand new brewing facility that can simultaneously generate eight unique Hatchery beers.

And if the wholesale rebuild going on right now is any indication, it will be glorious.

Liam Peyton is the Hatchery GM, and the native Bromsgrove, England, recently found some time to expand on the project. And how he wound up here in the first place.

Turns out that Peyton, a hospitality industry event manager, was living in Whistler in 2013 when he met a fellow Whistlerite by the name of Kelsey Guerard. And they hit it off. "We were kindred spirits. We both loved the outdoors, and she taught me how to fish."

Soon enough Peyton was zipping back and forth with Guerard to her hometown of Penticton. "We'd visit her family, go to the cabin at Apex, and spend time out here on the lakes, fishing and having a beer."

He says he fell in love with the region. And Guerard, whose family still runs longtime Penticton staple Guerard's Fine Furniture, "always planned to move back here at some point I think."

They decided they'd settle here, and that's when the concept of a local brew pub really began to take shape.

"I've got beer festival and beer industry experience, and sales experience at Deep Cove Brewers way back when they opened. My wife's worked with Central City Brewers for two and a half years. Jason, our financial controller, used to work with Postmark Brewing. So we've got a pretty strong pedigree."

And then Peyton learned about Chris Vandenberg, a brewmaster originally from Ontario. Vandenberg had stops in the lower mainland at places like Parallel 49, Postmark Brewing, and Powell Brewery, and seemed as if he really knew his stuff. Peyton liked what he saw from a distance, and tried to set up a meeting.

"I did the classic creep on Facebook. I messaged him 'Do you want to get a beer?" And then a casual beer after work turned into several more beers, and we were like, 'Okay, let's start a brewery.'"

But The Mule wasn't yet available and thusly wasn't their first target. "We were actually discussing with the city about purchasing the 'bus barn' on Ellis street," says Peyton. But the process became lengthy and frustrating.

And that's when they heard The Mule was up for sale.

"We looked at the place for the first time during Fest of Ale last year. We all came in and saw it, saw the infrastructure. This building has magnificent bones, it's very well built. It had the power we need, the gas we need.

"So by the end of the weekend, we decided this was the Plan A over the bus barn. Not only because it had an existing liquor license, but a lot more infrastructure. "

Ultimately, they bought The Mule even before it had closed. And they launched into demolition mode on Sept 10, doing it DIY style.

Today Hatchery Brewing is, to say the very least, transitional.

According to Peyton, "The only thing we kept here are the main bar downstairs, the fire exits, the stairwells, and the storage and electrical rooms. Everything else we've gutted."

And the depth of the renovation has been a tough pill to swallow. "Oh yeah. You come in a little naive. It has electrical, it has doors, it has HVAC, it's got washrooms. And then you pretty much realize you're in a 30-year-old nightclub and we didn't want to look like we patched up a 30 year old nightclub.

"So we tore this place apart. And we did it with smiles on our faces."

And amidst the dust and the tools and the construction waste, it's easy to see that something quite fantastic is taking shape.

"We rebuilt the mezzanine, ripped out and replaced all of the previous timberwork, rebuilt the washrooms, ripped out concrete from the floor to put in our new plumbing, all the fun stuff. Even the HVAC, which is a significant system because it had to keep hundreds of dancers happy in the summer, had to be upgraded."

Peyton opens a door on the second floor and walks into the old smoking pit, which is now being converted into a rooftop patio. "When we first saw it, it was like a UFC cage gone wrong. Heavy gauge iron cage all around - I'm assuming it was to stop drinks from flying off. And it was all boarded up with plywood. And a cage roof too. It was fun when we liberated it."

When the Hatchery opens, guests on the patio will have expansive views toward the lake and across the city to the western mountains. Large garage doors will surround the space, and the brand new mezzanine bar will be tucked just inside.

"In the summer, you can pop the shutter door, sit right here, and have some tasty beers."

The new rooftop patio is just one of what Peyton says will be several unique "experiences" within the massive facility.

"The main floor will have an enhanced tap room feel. Some big communal harvest tables, some cocktail tables, a permanent small stage for live entertainment every now and then."

And that extra long bar from The Mule will be there too, radically sanded down to reveal its natural wood. "And we'll have two garage doors opening up to Martin Street. We're putting a few picnic tables out there for a patio."

Peyton says the west mezzanine level will be similar to the main floor, but the north mezzanine (which faced the stage in The Mule days) will feature booths, refurbished Mule pool tables, and video screens for sports games. "It'll be more of an intimate feel, like a mini pub."

Peyton's particularly happy with the eastern flank of the mezzanine, which will become a "private dining space" that'll feature a large harvest table with seating for ten, a bank of smaller tables, a smattering of "art pieces," and an TV/AV setup. He says it'll be perfect for celebratory events.

As its name might indicate, Hatchery's vibe will be outdoorsy. "B.C. themed, with a lot of inspiration from waterways rather than fish scales everywhere," laughs Peyton.

There'll be lots of natural wood features too, throughout the premises. And of course, with a new kitchen on the premises, there'll also be food.

"It'll be prep-heavy fast-serve contemporary pub fare. Half of it will be snacks and appies, fun stuff. Maybe some Nashiville hot chicken, a couple of other fun bites, and then a half dozen plates with salads, killer sandwiches, tacos, like that. And then some classics like Charcuterie boards - all local."

There'll be copious vegetarian and vegan items and options too, and a Saturday/Sunday in-season brunch.

And Peyton's psyched about their new chef. "Ben Overland has a ton of experience at wineries and restaurants in the region. Here, he gets an opportunity to lead and really put his stamp on something."

And of course, there's the beer.

"We'll have 12 taps. Four of them will be our 'Keepers,' four of them will be our 'Catch and Release' series that will be fun seasonals you may never try again. And three of them will be rotating for beer that's not produced here."

"Our lager's called Tight Lines Lager - a goodwill gesture to anyone out on the lakes or rivers. Our pale ale is called Angler's Tale - classic west coast, juiced up a little bit."

"We'll be heavily inspired by French and Belgian style farmhouse ales called 'saisons,' and we want to draw off the bounty of the region. And we'll have classic pub styles as well. Crowd favourites. Fruit beers, sour beers, porters."

The facility will also offer ciders, and an extensive wine list. "We're in talks right now with wineries such as La Frenz, Origin, and Bench 1775."

And, says Peyton, they're working on creating beer/wine hybrids and "getting experimental," adding that they'll seasonally change up their non-core brews.

One thing is sure, with eight gleaming new fermenting tanks, all of which were fabricated locally at Ripley Stainless in Summerland, and two 'Brite Tanks,' the actual brewery in the centre of the building is a capable one.

It will, says Peyton, produce about three times the amount of beer they're able to sell at the venue. Adds brewmaster Vandenberg, "Every three week cycle they'll produce around twenty kegs of each beer."

And that means you'll find Hatchery Brewing products at regional cold wine and beer stores and likely BC liquor stores too.

Vandenberg, who expects to be brewing his first experimental batches this week, took a break from his prep work to let us in on his philosophy.

"We really want to work with the local community. We want to incorporate ingredients that are local to the Okanagan. Our saisons, some of our funkier beers, really lend themselves to different kinds of herbs and spices, so maybe wild sage or whatever we can source.

"We'll bring in fruits from local farmers, work with cideries, work with wineries, and do whatever we can to make this a community based brewery. We don't want to make beers for the coast. We want to make beers for the Okanagan."

And though he's clearly excited to experiment with some of his "funkier" recipes, he also has an affinity for clean beer. "I appreciate styles that are clean. So our lead lager will be really clean, a traditional German style 'helles' lager. I really love that style of German brewing. I'm really into water chemistry to try to recreate those styles."

Like its official opening date, Hatchery Brewing's hours have yet to be finalized. Says Peyton, "We're thinking during the winter weekdays being 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., and then weekends 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. We'll stretch that out in the summer, where weekdays it will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and then Saturdays probably 10 a.m. to 1 a.m."

He does, however, confirm it'll be open seven days a week. And he calls the venue "family friendly, at least until the late evening."

And one final thing. The venue will ultimately need "six to eight" kitchen staff and "two dozen to thirty" folks to work the bar and the front of the house. And although they've received a number of resumes already, many of those positions are not yet filled. Anyone interested should forward their resumes to info@hatcherybrewing.com.

We'll keep you updated with a firm opening date and of course more photos and info as Hatchery Brewing gets set to cast its line into Penticton's suddenly dynamic brew pub scene.