Black Creek Brewery

Gord and I did a tour of Black Creek Historic Brewery while we were at the Village today. It just opened in June.

Black Creek Historic Brewery recreates the techniques, tools and recipes used by brewers in 1860s Ontario. The Brewmasters, in period costumes, do everything by hand on a small scale.

In the 1860s, there were 155 registered breweries in Ontario along with many smaller operations. Black Creek Historic Brewery is the first in this province to replicate the brewing processes of that era, when there was no electricity or refrigeration, no stainless steel tanks or bottling plants.

Blythe was our guide ... we were the only ones on the tour so got lots of attention.

We started in the tavern in the Half Way House Inn and learned a lot of history about the way it was in the 1800s. We were assigned characters from that period and that's how Blythe addressed us during the tour.

I was Mary Short, the proprietress of the Wheat Sheaf Hotel in 1868 (the Wheat Sheaf is one of the oldest pubs in Toronto and is in our 'hood). Gord was Francis Stevens Spence, a Temperance Advocate (ironic considering how much Gord loves beer!).

We walked to the mill (built in 1842 in Ameliasburgh, ON) ...

And then the cooperage (built in 1850 in Paris, ON) ...

And then back to the Half Way House Inn to the brewery downstairs.

Here's the Brewmaster, Lou.

The equipment at Black Creek Historic Brewery is made mainly of wood and copper, and the beer ferments the way it was done in the old days, with wooden barrels to age the beer. Malted barley is shoveled by hand into the wort tun where it is boiled into a mash. After filtering the solids through a linen cloth, the sugary liquid is boiled and hops are added, both for flavouring and as a natural preservative. Once the boiling is complete, the beer is put in barrels where the yeast is added.

A short time later, the beer is ready.

Here are Blythe, Gord and Lou ...

They gave us samples of stout, brown ale and IPA (I liked the IPA best).

Gord bought a growler of IPA to take home.

It was a fun tour and Blythe was great!

Click here to see Gord's review.