Op-Ed: Discover Toronto's Brewing History Special

Toronto - It’s shortly after 11 in the morning and I’m sitting down having my first beer of the day with a dozen strangers I’ll be hanging out with for the next several hours.

I can’t deny that The Doors and George Thorogood tunes were looping through my mind as I topped up my glass with more Steam Whistle Pilsner to finish up my breakfast. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I knew that I’d be in good company. Our tour leader for the day was Oliver Dawson, a self-proclaimed beer consultant, actor, opera singer, and all around nice guy. He got his start in the beer industry in the mid-eighties at one of Toronto’s original new-wave of microbreweries, Upper Canada Brewing Company. This introduction turned into an inspiration, and a 14-year career that offered him the opportunity to develop some unique marketing strategies, one of which was leading a group of prize winners on a beer tour across Europe. His budding career came to an abrupt end when Sleeman’s Breweries Ltd purchased Upper Canada and fired all the employees on the spot. As he was contemplating his next move, he was invited to a reunion that was being organized by the participants from his European tour. He showed up with his wife expecting to have a couple of pints with a few individuals, but was shocked to find nearly everyone from the tour made their way to the reunion, even those from outside of Toronto. This led to a partnership with a local tour operator, and a second tour of England, Ireland, and Wales. As fortune would have it, the events of 9/11 took a toll on international tourism, and his focus switched locally to the beer history in his own backyard. Hence, The Old Toronto Beer Tour was born. After 10 years of running these tours on a regular basis, Dawson has developed a very strong knowledge of the brewing history in Toronto from the late 19th century to today. After our pilsner breakfast we were taken on a VIP tour of Steam Whistle Brewery by Bailey, a jovial staff member who chaperoned us through the facility educating us on the history of the building and the brewing process. The brewery was conceived, oddly enough, by a bunch of guys sitting around drinking beer one afternoon. Cam Heaps, Greg Taylor, and Greg Cromwell co-founded the operations 11 years ago, opened the doors on March 22nd, and sold their first case of beer on, oddly enough, the May Two-Four weekend of the inaugural year of the new millennium. The original name was to be “Three Fired Guys”, and each bottle is still engraved today with a “3FG” homage. Rumour has it that Steam Whistle now ranks number two on Trip Advisor as one of the must-see attractions in Toronto after the CN Tower. We exit, board our beer bus, and head over to Ireland Park tucked in behind the old Canada Malting silos and across from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. This is where we learn how the early 1900’s immigration by the Irish figured prominently in the development of Toronto brewing. Next stop is across from Fort York, the real conception point for Toronto brewing beginnings, attributed to the thirsty consumption of British soldiers. We turn the corner and arrive at our next tasting at Amsterdam Brewery, another successful Toronto microbrewery located at the foot of Bathurst Street. We soon discover that unlike Steam Whistle that manufactures one beer only, Amsterdam runs the gamut of brews from lagers and ales, to porters and stouts. We enjoy a selection of at least a half-dozen different styles of beer, keeping true to Dawson’s word that we would sample over 20 types during the tour. The original Amsterdam Brasserie and Brewpub opened on John Street in the fall of 1986 and was the first of its kind in Toronto. Today, they continue to win awards for the likes of Big Wheel, Two Fisted Stout, and their fine collection of seasonal brews. This is where I start to learn more about the other participants on the tour as well. They were a diverse group of teachers, city workers, firefighters, family members, newlyweds, recently engaged, and birthday gift recipients. The one thing I soon found out was that the entire group was local Ontario residents, from Oakville, Hamilton, Cambridge, and Toronto. I was kind of expecting real tourists from abroad, but we were all playing tourists in our own city. We complete our restroom visits and head back to our waiting chauffeur, who brings us across the city to Corktown, another significant section of the city famous for beer production. Enroute to our next libation we are offered bite size sandwiches, which our liquid filled stomachs greatly appreciate. We make a quick stop at the Dominion on Queen, a popular watering hole located near the site of one of Canada’s original brewing companies, Dominion Brewery. From here we can view many of the homes where the employees were housed back in the day. We’re offered a pitcher of high octane Unibroue Maudite, a popular microbrew from Quebec. We soon realize that Toronto has always been a brewing mecca, even through the 1920’s prohibition era, which actually helped grow the business even greater due to Canada’s less stringent laws. The first official end of our tour is at the Mill Street Brewery in the historic Distillery District, another area steeped in brewing history. This brewery is another example of how having a great product, combined with a bit of creative ingenuity and great customer service, paves your way to success. The Coffee Porter is quite unique, and the 64 ounce Growler jugs of draft are quite popular take home gifts. We bid adios to our new amigos that leave the tour here, while the remainder of us stay on for the “Brewmaster’s Dinner” up at the Granite Brewery on Mount Pleasant Avenue. The Granite will soon be celebrating its 20th anniversary here in Toronto later this year, and once again we are impressed at the quality of beer that Toronto produces. Proprietor Ron Keefe greets the group and provides us with an overview of his family operation. We are then offered a four-course meal each paired with an appropriate brew. The remainder of our allies now seemed pleasantly fulfilled and content after a full day absorbing kegs and knowledge. We wrap up our Old Toronto Beer Tour shortly after 8 in the evening with a Keefe’s Irish Stout to complement the delicious blueberry cheese cake. From breakfast to bedtime, I had a brew-tastic day! Check out The Beer Lovers’ Tour Company website for dates and prices.