It's funny. It kinda feels like yesterday we started the whole podcast thing, but we're getting to the point where we've known a number of craft beer industry folks for a few years. Arno Geoffroy is one of them.

A strapping young lad at 27 and already a Head Brewer, Arno has beer in his blood (literally and figuratively). His pops, Alain, is a Triple OG in the game. He's not only the Founder of Ottawa's Brasseurs du Temps, he's an author, researcher and lecturer, so Arno has grown up surrounded by beer. It's no surprise that at such a young age that he's helming (pun intended - you'll see why in a second) a brewery all by his damn self.

We first met Arno as a brewer at HELM - remember that episode? - and it's been awesome to watch him grow over the past couple of years. He was also a brewer at La Succursale, and then when the opportunity presented itself, he moved into a Head Brewer role at the brand new Le Dispensaire de Bière.

Now this spot is something else. Flipping up the traditional brewpub format, they've packed in 6 fermenters in an industrial zoned brewery out back and paired that with a depanneur license out front. That basically means that they can brew on premise and sell the kegs to anyone (rather than only be able to serve what's brewed there in their taproom), and that they can sell full growlers - and growlers only - from the store out front. They can do small tasting pours but it's not a bar as such. I've never seen anything like it.

When we rolled through for the interview, they had four beers available - a Helles Lager, a British Pale Ale, a Sour collab with L'Espace Public, and a Session IPA. They also had some dope nitro cold brew coffee on tap, which we were amped af about coz we're coffee fiends heavy. We recorded the podcast from the main serving counter and the place was consistently busy on a rainy Wednesday evening. Very impressive.

Take a look at the video below for the highlights, and check out the full audio convo via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This episode is brought to you by High Season Co. - @highseasonco // highseasonco.com

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#99 Legal Pours Only with Arno Geoffroy (Le Dispensaire de Bière)