This September, Toronto’s own Mill Street Brewery is celebrating 20 years of brewing and exciting curious craft beer enthusiasts. To mark the occasion, the brand has curated a lineup of events and two limited-edition product releases timed in tandem with this year’s Canada’s National Organic Week (September 12-18).
What began as a small brewing operation in a little red brick building in Toronto’s historic Distillery District back in 2002, has grown to a provincial craft beer staple. Some important chapters in the Mill Street Brewery story include:
- 2002: Mill Street Brewery opens in the Distillery District and creates its Original Organic Lager – Ontario’s first certified organic beer – which has now been in continuous production for 20 years.
- 2006: Four short years after opening, Mill Street Brewery’s production needs exceeded the capacity of the original Distillery District location, and the brewer made the decision to expand the operations and convert the original space to a brewpub.
- 2012: Mill Street Brewery dove into the vibrant craft beer scene in Ottawa with a secondary brewpub location.
- 2018: The core lineup of Mill Street Brewery products – Original Organic Lager and 100th Meridian Organic Amber Lager – expanded to introduce Cobblestone Organic Stout and Tankhouse Organic Pale Ale to the list, making these product offerings organic.
- 2021: Mill Street Brewery deepens its commitment to organic brewing by using organic grains in all of its products. This year also saw the launch of Mill Street Brewery’s ‘Organic Future’ campaign in partnership with the Canadian Organic Trade Association, supporting Canadian farmers in their transition from traditional farming to organic farming.
“Original Organic Lager was the first beer we ever made, and the first ever organic beer brewed in Ontario,” said Daryl Minor, President Mill Street Brewery & Brickworks Ciderhouse. “To celebrate how far we’ve come in two decades of brewing, the annual, national celebration of organic food, farming and products across the country seemed a perfect fit to raise a toast to organic brewing – past, present and future.”
The Toronto craft brewer is showing no signs of slowing down, as it ramps up celebrations for its 20th anniversary. Starting September 12th, Mill Street Brewery will be hosting several exciting events throughout National Organic Week in the Toronto Distillery District, including:
- Brewmaster’s Dinner Series – Four ticketed seatings of a curated beer pairing menu, highlighting organic ingredients, hosted by a Mill Street brewer. Tickets available now at millstreetdelivery.com/collections/events.
- Organic Farmer’s Market – Featuring a selection of local organic farmers and producers, taking place Thursday, September 15th, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the Mill Street Brewpub patio.
- The Organic Sound Festival – A one-day, free music event in the Distillery District, featuring local Toronto musicians and headlined by Tokyo Police Club, September 17th, from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Additionally, the brewer is releasing two new organic beers to mark the milestone anniversary, available exclusively at the Mill Street Brewpub in the Toronto Distillery District:
- Organic Coffee Porter, a new iteration of a classic fan favourite which features notes of chocolate and coffee from Balzac’s Coffee.
- Organic Marzen, an uber-traditional German-style Marzen beer, perfect to pair with the changing seasons.
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