9Mile Legacy: Brewing Innovation and Community in Saskatchewan

After ten years of brewing in Saskatoon, 9 Mile Legacy Brewing (9MLB) has become more than a craft beer company. The brewery has built itself on collaboration, neighbourliness, and community—values that co-founders Shawn Moen and Garrett Pederson carry on from the history of their two families and continue today in their business values and goals.  

That same spirit of collaboration is now fueling a new venture: LGCY: Innovation Hub. 

LGCY’s vision is to work with diverse biotechnology sectors and champion nano-iteration in fermented food and beverage production by providing a platform for hands on training and collaboration. Cassy Appelt, Director of LGCY: Innovation Hub, says, “We’re hoping to harness our expertise in fermentation sciences, as well as our decade-long experience in business development and mentorship, to boost ag innovation in Canada. We want to use our space and our knowledge to support scale-up initiatives in the food and beverage sector that disrupt industries.” 

Travel has played an important role in shaping the Innovation Hub. Both founders have spent time abroad learning from brewers and innovators, bringing those lessons back to Saskatchewan. For Shawn, a particularly formative experience was his Nuffield Scholarship in 2022-2023, which took him to regions where food and fermentation industries flourish through community collaboration. 

Those lessons shaped 9MLB’s next steps. 

When 9MLB scaled up its operation in 2021 to meet growing demand from liquor stores and restaurants, their team moved out of their original taproom and nanobrewery space on 20th street and the old brewing equipment needed to be sold. But Shawn and Garrett saw an opportunity to put it to better use. That was the start of LGCY Innovation Hub, a facility where fermentation equipment supports local innovators, reduces risk, and provides scale-up capacity for those just getting started. 

Cassy Appelt joined the 9 Mile Legacy team in 2019 as a casual employee while she worked towards her PhD but was also working remotely across Canada in varied biotechnology sectors. Shawn and Garrett brought the project to her, with the idea of a fermentation lab that would work with a much more diverse industry and serve the community.  

Today, that idea is thriving. 

Beverages remain at the heart of 9MLB, but diversification is where LGCY is headed. The hub is already partnering with the Saskatchewan Food Development Centre to help scale up beverage startups, and the University of Saskatchewan to pursue collaborative research and training opportunities. At the same time, projects in the Innovation Hub are expanding into new applications: chickpeas for beverage fermentation, or fermenting grain to extract biomolecules for pharmaceutical markets. 

“The concept of fermentation being something that’s primarily done in liquid means we can expand in any direction that’s possible,” explains Appelt. “I see a future where our fermenters are outfitted with sensors and gas controls so they can act as 600-litre bioreactors.” 

Partnerships are central to 9MLB and LGCY’s growth. They are working with Novonesis, a global leader in biosolutions, to validate enzyme technologies at commercial scale, bridging the gap between laboratory research and industrial brewing. They are also in discussions with GIFS, GAAP and other Saskatchewan organizations to strengthen local collaboration. 

LGCY fills a unique gap in fermentation capacity: 50–600 litres. “Globally, equipment tends to be either much smaller or much larger, leaving innovators without a place to bridge the middle ground. That’s where we come in,” says Appelt. “Plug-and-play fermentation at a scale that helps move ideas from lab to market.” 

Sustainability is also a focus. In their project with Novonesis, 9 Mile Legacy tested enzyme-based cleaners in brewing tanks. This pilot study reduced chemical waste and eliminated the production of highly basic effluent, which is hard on sewage systems and bad for the environment. “It felt powerful to be part of fundamental research needed to bring biological cleaners into the brewing industry,” says Appelt. 

Ag-West Bio has been a key partner in LGCY’s journey. “One of the best parts of working with Ag-West Bio has been the community,” says Appelt. “Right away, we saw familiar faces—people we respected and enjoyed working with. At the same time, it expanded our network, connecting us with more small businesses and innovators across Saskatchewan.” From funding and shared facilities to events and networking, those connections have helped 9 Mile Legacy and LGCY strengthen their ties to the wider ecosystem. 

9 Mile Legacy’s focus is simple: keep brewing great beer, expand distribution, and remain a community hub in Saskatoon. LGCY will continue to build new business streams and partnerships—with biotech firms, farmers, researchers, and startups—and to create learning programs that connect university research, student training, and community engagement in fermentation.