During its early years, Spirit of York’s growth was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ho says it was one of the first distilleries to switch to creating hand sanitizer. “By the end of it, though, it was tough to bounce back from,” Ho said. “Our tasting room was a large part of our endeavour. We had staff bottling hand sanitizer just to maintain our team. I don’t think it was easy for anyone.”

Matt Driscoll is the master distiller and received his master’s in brewing and distilling from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. A creative force, often toeing the line between out-of-the-box and out-of-this-world ideas, Driscoll has inspired some wacky and wild creations like a Christmas spirit made from distilled fruitcake and a Cinnamon Toast Crunch vodka.

“It tasted like a really boozy Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It sold out, and I don’t know if we will do it again. It was a lot of Cinnamon Toast Crunch that [Driscoll] needed. At one point, there were dozens of boxes in the back …. It was a shocking amount of cereal.” Each box of cereal would pair up with roughly 10 litres of product. In the distillery’s laboratory process, there were between 15 and 20 boxes of cereal and approximately 200 bottles of the final product.

Inside the distillery

Spirit of York uses CARL Stills from Germany. “We have one large column still, one pot still and one smaller 150-litre column still in our laboratory,” Ho said. “We also have a 40-foot rectification tower that sits in a space out of our back door; it’s connected through pipes and makes for a cool showpiece. Being in a historic area, we had to find a way to fit it, so part of it ended up outside the building.”

We like what we do, but we are never only doing it for ourselves.

Simon Ho, Spirit of York Distillery

In addition to the stills, they bottle on site, using a manual bottling line and an automatic labeller. The whole process can be witnessed while browsing for the perfect product in their bottle shop. Additionally, their entire distillery’s process is also viewable from their tasting room, as it is furnished with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. “You can see everything that we do, that was one of our brand pillars,” said Ho. “That transparency in local craft is important.”

Spirit of York’s core spirits are vodka, gin, whisky and aquavit, and it offers several expressions of each spirit. It also produces seasonal products such as coffee liqueur, pink gin, harvest gin and a limoncello-like beverage.

The aquavit was developed in response to demand from Toronto’s bartender scene, leading Spirit of York to create its own, which has now become a key part of its lineup. Additionally, it produces ready-to-drink cocktails, including seltzers, only available at Spirit of York. Its whisky requires a minimum of three years of distillation.

Precision in the process

Spirit of York produces spirits a bit differently from other distilleries. Instead of a typical run, it produces a high-proof spirit that acts as the foundation for its other products. It might conduct four to six consecutive runs of gin or add water to produce vodka. The gin distillation process takes about 48 hours from charging the still to obtaining the final product.

“We try to let things rest a bit to let out the volatiles because of the way we produce, it’s a minimum of 40 days before we bottle it and get to it. Typically, it’s about a three-month timeline for mashing, stripping and distilling into grain neutral spirits, which we hold, then production carries on from there depending on the product.”

The distillery’s shortest timeline is between 11 and 12 days from grain to vodka, and gin would be roughly a day and a half on top of that timeline.

“We do have much narrower cuts than most people,” said Ho. “We cut about 15 per cent deeper, and we know numerically what we are aiming for, then taste from there to confirm it. So, it could be 14, 16, or 14 and change, but it’s always within that area from a purity and flavour standpoint. We really want to eliminate that acetate that comes off at the beginning, so [the process] of cutting deeper really enhances the drinking experience.

“The entire process is pretty enjoyable … I think it’s the collaborative nature that I enjoy most.” That collaborative nature goes beyond the distillery’s core team.

Collaboration and community

Once a year, Spirit of York offers a program called Bartender Gin. As the name suggests, bartenders from across Toronto gather at the distillery and can create their own gin. “Being able to share that experience and have them go through [the process] is pretty cool,” Ho said. “That feeling, I enjoy that – a bunch of people working together in a creative process to come up with a product for other people’s enjoyment. We like what we do, but we are never only doing it for ourselves.”

Spirit of York’s products can be purchased primarily from the distillery and online. Customers in Ontario can find its vodka, gin, aquavit and Canadian Blended Whisky at Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores. All of its products have won awards, primarily from the San Francisco Spirit Awards and the International Spirits Challenge.

“It’s not my ultimate goal to win awards. It’s nice to be recognized, but win or lose, I’m just hoping to make the best booze possible,” said Ho. “I’d much rather be recognized by people in my community right now, especially in Ontario. We want people to be proud of what we make. Farmer Joe, who we get our rye grain from, [we want him] to be proud of it and share it with his friends. That means so much more to me than a gold medal.”

Looking ahead

Spirit of York is about to start another batch of its Bartender Gin. Additionally, it intends to release more aged versions of its whisky. The distillery has also recently added a farm-to-table food program in its tasting room to complement its locality, with a focus on true seasonal food to accompany its seasonal cocktails.

Finally, Spirit of York plans to introduce a premium bartenders’ lineup while also focusing on a high-quality, less expensive spirits line.

Crosby’s entry into Canada as a direct supplier builds on its reputation for quality, innovation and customer-first service. By removing distribution barriers, Canadian brewers will now have the ability to order Crosby hops directly from the source, giving them more choice, fresh hops and an enhanced connection to the farms that fuel their creativity.

To support this expansion, Crosby has strategically positioned warehouses to enable faster, more efficient delivery across both Eastern and Western Canada. The company will also manage all brokerage and customs logistics, making it easy for Canadian brewers to order directly with confidence and convenience.

“Canada is one of the most dynamic craft beer markets in the world, and Canadian brewers deserve direct access to the hops, products and services that help them thrive,” said Blake Crosby, CEO of Crosby Hops. “This move eliminates unnecessary layers and gets our hops into Canadian brewers’ hands faster, fresher and with the level of service we’re known for. It’s about building a closer connection with brewers and supporting their continued innovation.”

Starting August 2025, George Brown College will offer the WSET Level 4 diploma in Wines – an expert-level qualification covering all aspects of wine. This follows the opening of another Toronto-based diploma center in November 2024, run by WSET approved course provider Fine Vintage. This approval comes 14 years after the institution first began delivering diploma courses in Vancouver, B.C., and Calgary. These new openings bring WSET’s total number of diploma centers to 42 worldwide, across 20 countries, including Canada, Australia, Japan and South Africa.

“We’re delighted to welcome the two new WSET diploma centers in Toronto into our network,” said Rachel Webster, WSET’s global app development director. “Becoming a diploma center is a tremendous achievement for any WSET course provider and follows a highly rigorous approval process that takes many months. WSET’s challenging, but highly rewarding diploma course enables students to gain specialist-level skill and in-depth knowledge about wines, as well as develop excellent research and analytical abilities, both transferrable skills are beneficial for career development.”

WSET has a global diploma alumni community of more than 14,000 graduates. Many of them travel to London for the annual graduation ceremony, a prestigious event held at the historic Guildhall in the City of London. The diploma is the highest qualification in wine awarded by WSET and the prerequisite for entry into the Masters of Wine (MW) program.

Building on the knowledge and skills gained from the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines, the Diploma deepens students’ understanding of how and why wine production and business factors influence the style, quality, and price of wines. Successful graduates acquire exceptional analytical skills and proficiency in evaluative wine tasting, gaining global recognition as authoritative wine specialists. Most students take between 12 and 24 months to complete the course.

“We are delighted to bring a high quality diploma program to Toronto with options to enroll in the full program or take the course unit by unit,” said James Cluer, MW and owner of Fine Vintage. “Fine Vintage is known for expert instructors and outstanding tastings, with a long history of high pass rates and 10 years of experience running the Diploma in Canada.”

Early applications are encouraged for the inaugural cohort at George Brown College. WSET Level 3 Award in Wines is a required prerequisite. A webinar will be held on 15 April 2025 for prospective students to learn more about the program structure and application process. Prospective students may also register for Fine Vintage’s Diploma program, which starts in July in Toronto and can be taken as a full program or on a unit-by-unit basis.

One of Canada’s first draught cocktail and bottled cocktail producers, their creations can be found in partner restaurants like Cactus Club on draught and on the shelves in a few select stores and restaurants in Ontario.

At Civil Pours, the team is small but mighty. They have grown from a team of three at their inception to a team of ten staff. Along with their quick growth over four years, they are working on obtaining their own distillery license, while currently producing their finished product in Reid’s Distillery’s space.

The original focus for Civil Pours was business-to-business offerings for bars and restaurants, purely for cocktails. Their goal was to address pain points in the hospitality industry, including bottlenecks in service and labour, and cost challenges, which grew more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, King Taps and Cactus Club were where Civil Pours’ first kegged cocktail products launched, with the Old Fashioned.

In 2024, Civil Pours moved from a smaller space with a local distillery to one about six times the footprint at Reid’s Distillery’s space, which can now hold Civil Pours’ production and office facilities in the same space.

“We were working with [the local distillery], [and] they were so gracious to allow us some space to research and develop our products. They were humble beginnings,” said Madison Homewood, head of research and development at Civil Pours.

She says they used pop-up picnic tables, noting that what they were able to achieve in that small space was truly impressive. “We made the most of that small space,” she said. “We are a very scrappy team of ‘make it work’ and ‘do the best you can with what you have and upgrade over time’ [people]. It was such an amicable decision between the local distillery and us moving forward. We found this space at Reid’s Distillery and it has really allowed us to grow.”

From their first cocktail, the classic Old Fashioned, Civil Pours has grown to include a full roster of cocktails. Their second launch was a margarita, which was created to stabilize citrus juice, a challenge in the hospitality industry due to its short shelf life and when it’s out-of-season.

The third cocktail to join the ranks was the espresso martini. With this one, the Civil Pours team needed to make sure the cocktail still had a froth in a draught format, motivated by the pain points of bartending, including the time producing espresso takes.

Their fourth launch was their unique Hesperidium, a dry curaçao or orange liqueur that was also motivated by a sustainable focus of utilizing excess citrus fruit waste in a partnership with Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

We work like we are in the woods; we want our company to leave the world a better place.

Chris Williamson, Civil Pours

Fifth to join the roster was the Whiskey Sour, which had a unique motivation from their partnership with the Mule, a Mexican restaurant group, whose largest waste item was avocado pits. Civil Pours saw this as another challenge. They roasted the avocado pits, distilled them and found they created a product that has flavours much like an amaretto.

Jalapenos were another culprit of waste that Civil Pours has been able to divert from the landfill. Using seeds, stems and other parts that are otherwise headed to the trash bin, they created their Jalapeno Margarita.

Their newest and last addition to their lineup currently is the Cosmopolitan, which uses 100 per cent Muskoka cranberries and their orange distillate.

Their cocktail-making method is “a very niche process, but we are bringing out very concentrated flavours that allow us to use not as much of the core ingredients,” said Homewood. Their process for research and development is carefully thought out, considering what customers are asking for, what the market is looking for and what the current trends are. Then, after creating a classic bartender-made version to understand exactly what they are trying to create, they perform testing including ABV and sugar and acid levels. Then, they work backwards.

“We isolate what ingredients need to go in the rotary evaporator,” said Homewood. “Do we have a partner where we can secure these products? In the espresso martini, we use cacao husks, [and] there’s not a lot of market value to that product currently (sometimes it is used as mulch and very rarely as tea), but when chocolate comes into our food system, 10 per cent gets turned into chocolate and 90 per cent is going to waste. Just the sheer volume of that is a lot, so we wanted to give that another life as well.”

Innovation and sustainability are at the heart of their product line and business. Civil Pours isolates what ingredients need to go in their rotary evaporators to become the concentrated output and ensure that they have a partner that can secure the necessary ingredients.

“Constraint is a source of creativity,” said Chris Williamson, director of sales and marketing at Civil Pours. “It was amazing how quickly the can-do attitude came into this organization. ‘Crawl, walk, run’ is really important to us – we do not want to be reckless, and we want to meet the commitments we make in a responsible and sustainable way as well.”

They focus on three main criteria: First, is there going to be a demand for the product? Second, can they make it effectively with their technology? And third, can they make it sustainably? “We work like we are in the woods; we want our company to leave the world a better place,” said Williamson. The main type of equipment that is allowing Civil Pours to produce their unique product line is their rotary evaporators, also known as vacuum stills, used in the process of vacuum distillation.

“This equipment allows us to take the atmospheric pressure out of the environment,” said Homewood. “Our raw ingredient goes in [there]. We do not make any base spirits; we partner with the people who do it best and we purchase bulk totes of these spirits.”

When they remove the atmospheric pressure from the system, it allows the ethanol to boil at a lower temperature than it normally would. Once the boiling occurs and the ethanol is turned into a gas, they precipitate it by running it through subzero temperatures of around -8 to -20 degrees Celsius, depending on what the final product is intended to be. Because of the super low temperatures, it makes it possible to preserve the natural flavours of the ingredients. “It precipitates into this beautiful, fresh and vibrant flavour,” said Homewood.

The other benefit to this process is it takes ingredients that are typically short on shelf life or perishable and they get blended into finished drinks that make them viable on the shelf. The shelf-life on Civil Pours’ products is well over a year non-refrigerated. “It is pretty cool that we are going through all of the processes – some from beer, some from wine, some from distilling – all to make some really cool finished products,” said Homewood.

There are numerous educational resources available for those interested in gaining professional prestige in the beer, wine and spirits industries – courses with real possibilities to acquire work in the beverage world, often in very respectable roles.

Bettering oneself and the whole industry

Across Canada, many people starting in the industry need the provincial serving certification – Ontario’s Smart Serve, Alberta’s ProServe, etc. – to be considered for any alcoholic beverage job.

“Any level of possession [of a beverage education certification] is vital on one’s resume,” said Roger Mittag, founder and CEO of the Prud’homme Beer Certification course, Canada’s top beer education program. “From retail like the LCBO [Liquor Control Board of Ontario] to the brewing industry to certain training, there are chances to further one’s education. About one quarter of the student body in the Prud’homme [program] are consumers that simply want to transition into the beverage industry and need at least the vocabulary to succeed within it.”

“You need to have a trade-focused organization,” said Paul Miles, executive director of the Independent Wine Education Guild (IWEG). “That’s what we offer: a not-for-profit school that is professionally goal-oriented in nature, has strong product knowledge and works to help students realize their professional goals.”

About one-quarter of the student body in the Prud’homme [program] are consumers that simply want to transition into the beverage industry and need at least the vocabulary to succeed within it.

Roger Mittag, Prud’homme Beer Certification

Since its establishment in 1977 by a group of LCBO employees, IWEG, like Prud’homme, was founded on industry people wanting to improve industry excellence. In the decades since its inception, IWEG has diversified its educational portfolio. “We realized we had to offer further education to particular students, so now we offer courses in wine, spirits, sake and, most recently, beer,” Miles said.

Rigorous yet rewarding

While it’s true that the alcohol education courses can be fun, they are far from traditional coursework. “The Prud’homme course is four levels,” said Mittag. “The first level covers ingredients, brewing, pouring, serving, glassware, how to serve – the fundamentals. But in level two, there is more in-depth studying of beer history and ingredients, plus insights into Canadian beer trends and profitability. By part three, the student is into sensory evaluation, doing blind taste testing and understanding the malting process, yeast and going [on] tours of yeast labs and micro-malters.”

By the end of the four levels, students must show what they have learned to their instructor. “At level four, we cover beer and food pairing with a project on portfolio management,” said Mittag.

Students can expect similar levels of study at IWEG. “We offer a two-year, quasi-university course,” Miles said. “It’s rigorous, but we cover everything: drink history, production techniques, types of wine and spirits, tasting education and the ability to make recommendations in any professional beverage setting.”

What’s in store

There are rewards to having beverage education under one’s belt. “The current head buyers of the LCBO are mostly WSET [Wine & Spirit Education Trust] level four,” Miles said. “That and other consultants to the wine industry are level three. Now, in the post-COVID-19 era, wine education is often required in restaurants. It’s been tough for both parties to operate and some students to attend, but there are opportunities for the restaurants and establishments subsidizing their workers’ drink education.”

Today’s graduates of spirits education have a lot of opportunities, but must be ready to both study and work hard. “I had a natural palate for tasting, but all the theory study was so exacting and specific,” said Tess Krossing-Masse, certified sommelier and events planner at Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto. “The memorization of all the facts one needs to really know was difficult.”

It’s rigorous, but we cover everything: drink history, production techniques, types of wine and spirits, tasting education and the ability to make recommendations in any professional beverage setting.

Paul Miles, Independent Wine Education Guild

Coming from a family of winemakers, Krossing-Masse developed a love of wine tasting early and was able to take a wine-beer-spirits course during her tenure studying events management at George Brown College. Eventually, she gained her sommelier designation via the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers and began working in city wine bars while also freelancing as a sommelier at events.

“You’re providing knowledge to attendees,” she said. “I encourage aspiring sommeliers to try things. For young people, I try to gauge their knowledge and recommend which direction they need to take their education. For example, Grape Witches in Toronto, where they can sample wine and get some education too. For older aspirants, say 50-year-olds, I point them to Wine Academy or Vintage Conservatory to whet their palates.”

Also in lieu of the post-pandemic marketplace, there are options for study interfaces. “We had to put Prud’homme into an online format,” Mittag said. “It took a while and the first three levels are live, but level four can be done virtually. That’s something new we added.” Like the industry it represents, Canadian beverage education is study with heart.

“When you see the light going on in a student’s head, that they understand the intricacies of what they’ll be working with, and getting rid of the myths they might have had beforehand, that’s a real reward for us,” said Mittag. “We want to be inclusive and welcoming to lay people,” said Miles. “Courses help others get ahead in their careers. It gives them power and [students] can get ahead in what they love to do.”

The Civil Pours Cosmopolitan is made with premium vodka and the distillery’s proprietary vacuum-distilled orange and lime distillates, along with locally-sourced Muskoka cranberries.

“Our new Civil Pours Cosmopolitan offers the right balance of flavours, freshness and vibrancy so that anyone can enjoy a really delicious Cosmo even if they aren’t in a great bar,” said Madi Homewood, award-winning bartender and head of research and development at Civil Pours. “Just grab some fun glassware and pour, and you’ve got an incredible bar quality Cosmo – you don’t need to mix, stir or garnish, it’s ready to enjoy!”

The Civil Pours Cosmopolitan is the sixth shelf stable bottled cocktail to join Civil Pours’ line-up, alongside the Old Fashioned, Margarita, Espresso Martini, Whisky Sour and the recently introduced Jalapeño Margarita.

All Civil Pours bottled cocktails are available to purchase in Toronto at Eataly (both in Yorkville at the Manulife Centre and at Sherway Gardens), and select bottle shops across Ontario, as well as online at WineOnline.ca. They are available in two sizes (750mL and 240mL) and a list of retailers can be found at civilpours.com.

Editor’s note: tune in to Poured Canada’s next issue to see a Distillery Profile on Civil Pours.

Blood Brothers Brewing

Toronto, Ont.

Blood Brothers Brewing started in 2015 in an 800-square-foot unit located inside a larger industrial building, but by 2016 it had already outgrown the meagre space. The team knew that to make the brewery profitable, they would need to move.

Luckily, they found a post-industrial space in a century-old horse barn-turned-automotive-garage down the street. Pulling from their network of friends, and a shoestring budget, they hired Borien Studio for the buildout. Leaning into Blood Brothers Brewing’s request of cult, church and horror elements, Borien Studio built a bizarre yet gorgeous alter using brass, reclaimed materials and the Japanese technique of preserving wood through charring, called Shou Sugi Ban, to create a unique, grand space.

After a year or so, the Blood Brothers Brewing team added a large altarpiece of timber and brass behind the main bar, and a custom brass chandelier designed by friends and neighbours, Sixpenny Architectural Fabrication.

Submitted by Blood Brothers Brewing

Kilter Brewing Co.

Winnipeg, Man.

Kilter Brewing Co. creates tropical, exploratory beers. They wanted their taproom to reflect those elements in every possible way through the design. Customers are welcomed into the taproom by lush greenery and a wide variety of seating and décor options that cater to different preferences.

Their space features cozy couches, papasan egg chairs that swing and floor-to-ceiling wallpaper with tropical plants and flamingos. Their bar is completely canopied with green vines, plants and string lights. The back of the taproom features mix-and-match coloured tables surrounded by barrels filled with different beers that have been aging for several years.

The presence of a large glass overhead door at the front of the taproom creates an open-air environment that allows for a seamless integration between the indoor and outdoor space.

Submitted by Kilter Brewing Co.

Container Brewing Ltd.

Vancouver, B.C.

Container Brewing Ltd., located in East Vancouver, opened on Nov. 22, 2019. Container is a brewery that blends passion for craft beer with a commitment to community and diversity.

It was built largely in part by its co-founders Terry Brown and Dan Webster. The design’s intention was to create a bright, minimalist space with a West Coast feel. Incorporating reclaimed wood from the demolition and overhaul of the building, along with indoor planters, helped to realize this vision.

Hand-built tables and benches give warmth to the space, which is made up of unique socializing opportunities through a “nook,” group seating, a bar top and built-in tables for smaller groups. Exposed brick and rafters help bring an old-time industrial feel to the space and connect the lounge experience with the production that takes place on the premises.

Throughout the lounge there are artifacts from the construction of the brewery, which include photographs of found objects and equipment, old bottles and office items left behind. Anything of interest or novelty was incorporated into the aesthetic. Behind the bar is the sole literal nod to the name of the brewery. A corrugated cladding embodies a shipping container and serves as a magnetic menu board.

Submitted by Container Brewing Ltd.

Steam Whistle Brewing

Toronto, Ont.

Steam Whistle Brewing’s taproom creates a rustic feel that is authentic to the brand. The team used natural materials like wood to create a rustic and warm ambiance along with industrial elements like exposed beams, metal fixtures and concrete surfaces to reflect the idea of traditional brewing. They installed warm and ambient lighting to create a cozy atmosphere and showcase artwork of past beer cans along with memorabilia from the brand’s history.

Submitted by Steam Whistle Brewing.

Quidi Vidi Brewery Co.

St. John’s, N.L.

Quidi Vidi Brewery Co. was founded by Dave Fong in 1996. Before that, the brewery was a fish plant, a history which inspired the theme of its taproom.

Quidi Vidi Brewery sits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and is a 15 minute boat ride away from cod fishing. Fresh cod caught by the brewery’s team are prepared and served in the taproom, which can seat 220 people and consists of three sections: the main and original taproom inside the brewery – which includes the main bar with 16 beers on tap – the upstairs patio and deck, and the seaside deck.

The upstairs patio and deck has a clear roof and is weather-proofed with heaters so customers can sit “outside” 365 days a year and overlook the water. The seaside deck is the brewery’s lower deck, which is at water level. The light fixtures took some effort to source, but the ropes and hooks tie together the taproom’s connection to the sea.

Submitted by Quidi Vidi Brewery Co.

When and how did Goldenfield get started?

Ethan Chiti: The idea came into my mind right before COVID-19 at the end of summer 2019. I was thinking about it and I hadn’t even talked to anybody about it, but then COVID-19 came, so I had time to do more research. Every day, I became more interested in the craft brewery industry and started looking for the equipment. Then, I went to other breweries to see what they had online and in-person. It was my first time opening a brewery and a manufacturing business.

How did you manage to get the partners together?

EC: After I came up with the idea, I talked to my best friend and his brother. We always wanted to create a business together. They agreed to come on board and work together. Later on, we got introduced to [Canally] – actually, we kind of found each other – and we’ve been working together ever since.

Culum Canally: [Chiti’s] family in Iran owns a leather tannery and his best friend’s family owns a couple of flour mills. They had a manufacturing background, so that helps explain why he and his friends were so eager to get started in manufacturing.

“There are two different mindsets. There’s opening the brewery and the excitement of getting a project done. Then there’s running a brewery, which is the day-to-day slog of managing and growing a business.”

Culum Canally, Goldenfield Brewery

How did you choose your location?

EC: Right after we ordered our equipment, we had to start looking for a location because in order to get all the licenses we needed a location. We finally found [one] after about six months of looking.

CC: There was a concentration of breweries on the west side, and it was a lot more expensive [there], so there were fewer risks on the east side. The east side had good links to downtown and the rest of Toronto, so that was good for scaling for distribution and access to the tasting room.

What did you like about the building?

EC: One of the hardest things to find was a building with high ceilings because of the size of the tanks that we ordered. We needed at least 14 feet for the ceilings, which was not easy. The other thing about the building that I liked was I always wanted to have a standalone building. I didn’t want to get a space in something like a plaza, which is attached to [many] other units. There were offices inside the building when we started, so we had to take them out to make space for our equipment.

CC: We’re on the first floor, but it goes down into a sort of basement in the back because we’re on a bit of a hill. We’re essentially on a floating slab, where we were able to drill some holes for drainage. It can also take the load of the equipment. We have a nice loading dock out front that allows us to get easy access in and out for supplies and shipping.

What was the permitting and licensing process like?

EC: The very first permit that we had to apply for was from the AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario), which allows us to manufacture beer. We needed to get three licenses: A manufacturing license, a boiler gas license and a retail store license. It requires many documents, but we didn’t have a hard time. The most time-consuming license was the city license, so we could open our doors to the public.

CC: To add some context, in order to get our manufacturing license, we had to get our excise license from the CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency). It’s one of those weird scenarios where you have to apply for your manufacturing license, and then they give you a provisional license to brew the beer. You then brew a beer and submit it to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LBCO) for testing. They test it, and if they say it’s okay, you can then submit that to get your manufacturing license.

At that point, you can now apply for your excise license, which means that the CRA comes in – or in this case they do it virtually – where they measure your tanks and look at your equipment so they can have a baseline for what they’re going to tax you. This provides them with accurate information on the size and scope of your brewery. The CRA can then give you the excise license, which you can put in for the manufacturing license, and then you get your full manufacturing license.

So, it’s a bit of a back and forth. I think some of it doesn’t make much sense because you’re technically not allowed to open until you have your manufacturing license, but you need to submit a beer to LCBO for them to test it.

Did you have to open in phases because of this process?

CC: We started to phase in July 2023 when we got the taproom license, but we didn’t launch yet. We sold cans of beer, but we weren’t quite ready at that time to have a grand opening. It took a few months to plan and get our beer stock up. We also had to co-ordinate all the parts of having the grand opening, which didn’t take place until November. We had a packed house when we opened.

What sets your business apart?

EC: The first is the ownership and the second is that we are trying to introduce the craft beer industry to people that have not yet been introduced to the industry. Most of our customers who come into the brewery say it was the first time that they visited a brewery.

“When we sat down and did the marketing plan, the owners said they had a lot of friends who didn’t know about craft beer, but when they were introduced to craft beer they really liked it. They were not your traditional craft beer consumers so we came to the conclusion that this might be a growing market or an untapped market that Goldenfield is uniquely situated to target.”

Culum Canally, Goldenfield Brewery

CC: When we sat down and did the marketing plan, the owners said they had a lot of friends who didn’t know about craft beer, but when they were introduced to craft beer they really liked it. They were not your traditional craft beer consumers so we came to the conclusion that this might be a growing market or an untapped market that Goldenfield is uniquely situated to target because of the ownership coming from a non-traditional craft beer community like Iran. There are also a lot of networks within other new immigrant or first- and second-generation immigrant communities that aren’t traditional craft beer drinkers.

So, the idea was to focus on that target market first and foremost. We also wanted to develop a community that is based around our area. A lot of your market comes from within a small radius around the brewery. It just so happens that our area is fairly multicultural, so the ones who are walking by here come from all sorts of backgrounds.

What is the current beer line-up?

CC: Our beer lineup includes what we’re calling a Persian Pilsner, which is pretty much a Mexican Cerveza. But it’s with a twist of different flavours based on hops and just using hops as the flavouring. It has more grape and lime to it. We also have a solid amber ale and a solid IPA.

Strangely enough, we have a double IPA, which was an accident from our first brewing. We never really intended to brew a beer that strong, but people took to it. It was daunting to try and reproduce the same beer in the same method. We’ve gotten pretty close with our second batch and it’s selling well.

What advice do you have for someone thinking about setting up a craft brewery?

EC: The first advice from me would be that it takes longer than you think. It’s much longer and it’s a hard process. At the same time, it can be enjoyable because you will see that it’s growing.

CC: I would say there are different skills to open a brewery and to run one. I remember opening my first brewery and I realized the day after the grand opening that now we have to do this day in and day out. So, there are two different mindsets. There’s opening the brewery and the excitement of getting a project done. Then there’s running a brewery, which is the day-to-day slog of managing and growing a business.

I would also suggest creating as comprehensive a business plan as possible. That is the one thing that I think could be a game changer and forces you to think through a lot of your problems beforehand.

“We’ve been working a long time to get our space and beer ready to share with the community, and we’re finally ready to open our doors,” said Ethan Chiti, co-founder and managing director. “We want to create an atmosphere that celebrates the diversity of Toronto, where everyone feels welcome and comfortable. Our beer menu focuses on classic craft beer styles with balanced flavour and toned-down bitterness for people who might be newcomers to craft beer. We also have unique brews like our Persian Pilsner and Baltic Porter to keep things interesting.”

Located in the Bermondsey neighbourhood of East York, Ont., Goldenfield Brewery is a production brewery with an attached retail store, tasting room and event space. Their current line-up of beer includes pilsner, witbier, blonde ale, IPA, double IPA, amber ale and the newly released Baltic Porter. All their beers are available on tap in the tasting room and for takeout at their on-site retail store.