Cochrane is known for locally made/produced products, and now can add beer to the list as well.

The long wait has come to an end as Half Hitch Brewery gets ready to open doors.

Chris Heier, President of Half Hitch Brewery, says coming out of the gate they will be producing three different types of ale.

"We are looking at doing three different types of ale; a pale ale, a red ale, and a brown ale."

Heier's family has been in and around the Cochrane area since the early 2000's, and they wanted to create a business that would bolster tourism.

"Right from the ground up, we wanted to develop something that was a quintessential Cochrane type of building. So that is what we are doing with designing a modern barn building with really trying to make a very iconic facility to really showcase what Cochrane's all about."

Heier shares the concept has been around since 2011 and ground broke in 2014,  after a long wait Half Hitch can't wait to open up for business.

"We are now nearing the end of finally getting our building permit approved for starting to produce beer."

Heier says early July we should see Half Hitch products hit the market.

"There is still a bit of regulatory stuff we have to deal with even after we get the approval from the Town. But provided everything happens in a timely manner through the government agencies hopefully we should be able to brew beer in the next few weeks."

Besides offering the three main brews, Heier adds once they are fully functioning they will look at brewing up some unique blends.

"We see that seasonals and limited edition beers are a big thing with a lot of the different craft breweries worldwide. Certainly we do want to start looking at being a little creative doing something different."

Half Hitch will be more than just a brewery, beer tasting tours and a family friendly restaurant (late summer) are all part of the plan.

Heier says Half Hitch will get involved with the community wherever they can.

"I find that the community itself is a very friendly community, very tight knit. I have a got a bit of a sense of an entrepreneurial passion in town and try to get involved where I can."

One of the unique attributes Half Hitch offers are the many modes of transportation you will be able to park there.

"Just outside of our patio we do have a sand area that we will be installing a hitching post so if people do decide to show up in their horse, they can certainly tie them up and come in for a beer."

Perhaps you will only see that in Cochrane.