Seven months after starting Base Camp Brewing, Justin Francis died
A brewer in Almonte, Ontario, who died just seven months after opening his business is being remembered by his grieving wife and business partner, their three young children, and local beer fans who can’t wait to try what’s left.
In November of last year, Justin Francis opened the mountaineering-themed Base Camp Brewing Company in a strip mall on the northeast edge of Almonte.
On June 22, he died suddenly. He was 35 years old.
He and his wife Rebecca met online and have been married for 13 years. They have three children who are now 7, 5, and 2 years old.
“There were only us. We didn’t have any employees,” she said on Saturday, when the brewery reopened for a short time to sell off the last of the beer that friends and other local brewers had helped can.
“I did most of the work, and he was the smart one.”
‘Blown away’ by suppor
On the Base Camp menu board, there are beers with names like “Compass” (which Rebecca said was one of Francis’s favorites because it was “clean and crisp”) and “Final Frontier.”
On Saturday, customers gave compliments and condolences, and family and friends helped with sales. Rebecca Francis said that one customer came in an hour and ten minutes before the store opened.
She also said that when a one-day sale was held after Francis’ death, there was a line that went down the plaza.
“I’m speechless … “The amount of help has blown us away,” she said.
Mark Dods, who lives in Almonte, was one of the people who stopped by on Saturday. His son also makes beer, so Dods once brought a sample to the brewery to show them.
Dods said that Justin Francis replied by email that he thought the beer was good and gave his son some advice.
“I did like the fact that those comments came from someone who didn’t know me from a hole in the wall,” Dods said.
Cal Beales and Scott Thornton each bought a case of Francis’s beer on Saturday. They said that some of it was for their friends, and they each had a glass while they were there.
Beales said, “He was definitely very good at what he did.” “I mean, I like every single beer he’s made.”
“He was only here for a very short time,” Thornton said.”But in that time, he was able to make a real difference in the local craft brewery business.
“It would be great if they could find a way to keep going.”
Rebecca Francis said she doesn’t know what will happen in the future, though.
She said that there are no plans to reopen permanently right now.
“My dream is that someone will buy the business so that the recipes can be made and the name stays alive. She said, “Because I really love it and believe in it.”
“But I don’t think that it would be me.”