Mill Street still not open...

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 7:33 pm

A few weeks back, there was some discussion of having an informal gathering at Mill Street Brewery down in the Distillery District this coming Saturday afternoon during the art show that's taking place down there.

Well, I emailed someone at the Distillery a few days ago to see if Mill St. was open yet, and got a reply yesterday saying that it will be open "soon", but not this weekend. So if anyone was still planning on heading down this Saturday, don't bother unless you're going for the art.

Greg

beermonkey · Post by **beermonkey** » Sun Sep 29, 2002 7:57 pm

Sorry Greg about the false start Greg...

Unfortunately, things are going much slower than we'd anticipated. Our wonderful city bureaucrats haven't helped matters either!!

On the bright side, the brewery is really starting to take shape. Looks like a late October opening, if everything goes according to plan!

Take care,

Steve
Mill Street Brewery

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sun Sep 29, 2002 11:32 pm

Thanks for the update, Steve. I know that this must be a pretty massive undertaking, so I'm not surprised that things are a bit behind schedule.

Let us know when you're about to open, and I'm sure there'll be a Bar Towel visit quickly arranged.

Greg

guinness_guy · Post by **guinness_guy** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 8:58 am

city tv had their live eye at gooderham and worts this morning and they talked to the guys from mill st for a bit...

they showed the brewery, and the tanks and vats etc were there (as well as alot of kegs)
it looks like there's still work to be done...one of the guys said that they should be up and running in a few weeks with their first drop of beer in about 4 to 5 weeks...

also going to have canada's first organic beer...

according to what one of the spokes people said this morning,the building permit is coming next week, and feb 2003 is the date for the completion of the restoration for the complex...

looking forward to it!

cheers

dave

esprit · Post by **esprit** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 11:49 am

They will not have Canada's first organic beer. Pacific Western in B.C. have brewed Natureland for the past 5 years and Crannog Ales of B.C. produces organic draft. As you all probably know, on the import side, St. Peter's English Ale and Ted and Ben's Organic Beer, both of the U.K., are also both organic.

guinness_guy · Post by **guinness_guy** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 1:03 pm

that's what i thought...i could've sworn
i saw that in B.C, and now i know i wasn't dreaming...i liked ted and ben's alot, and i liked the st peter's english ale,
but i thought the lemon and ginger was horrible...

i remember drinking it a few months ago and thinking that it had a weird aftertaste,
and then i looked at the label...

WHY did they use artificial flavours ???

cheers

dave

-------------------------------------------

On 2002-09-30 11:49, esprit wrote:
They will not have Canada's first organic beer. Pacific Western in B.C. have brewed Natureland for the past 5 years and Crannog Ales of B.C. produces organic draft. As you all probably know, on the import side, St. Peter's English Ale and Ted and Ben's Organic Beer, both of the U.K., are also both organic.

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 8:26 pm

On 2002-09-30 13:03, guinness_guy wrote:
i liked the st peter's english ale,
but i thought the lemon and ginger was horrible...

Funny, I'm so-so on the English/Organic Ale, but I really enjoyed the Lemon & Ginger. It was a favourite of both Sheryl and I all summer. But I'm a sucker for ginger drinks in general (good ginger ale, Jamaican ginger beer, ginger tea...), so that probably explains it.

Greg

Kent · Post by **Kent** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 8:40 pm

I found my first bottle of Lemon & Ginger to be quite good with a more subtle ginger flavour. I recently purchased a second bottle, from a different LCBO, and found the flavour more reminicent of Lemon Pledge!Could there be a bad batch out there?

esprit · Post by **esprit** » Mon Sep 30, 2002 8:59 pm

Just goes to show that everyone is different...the Lemon & Ginger has over the past 3 years consistently been our best seller from the St. Peter's line and is usually gone from most store shelves within the first couple of weeks although I appreciate that it's not to everyone's taste. Personally, I would prefer that it were more lemony than gingery, like a Radler (bicyclist) beer from Germany which is a combination of beer and lemondade and usually very low in alcohol (2.5%). We've pitched Radler to the LCBO but the problem is most German breweries brew it as a seasonal specialty for the summer but the LCBO wants summer beers shipped in February or March so we can't work out the logistics.

beermonkey · Post by **beermonkey** » Fri Oct 11, 2002 9:20 am

Hi fellas,

Just a minor note.

We said we're brewing ONTARIO's first organic lager, not Canada's!

Glad you caught the Breakfast TV clip. We were sitting around for the interview from 5:30, so we were pretty groggy!

And yes, we have all our permits now. Things are moving very quickly now. Our website is now up as well, at http://www.millstreetbrewery.com.

Cheers,

Steve

howardt · Post by **howardt** » Fri Oct 11, 2002 2:45 pm

Steve,
Congratulations. We looked at the GW site for a satelite operation and fell in love with the heritage, ceiling heights,etc. I am glad that someone had the guts to pick up on the idea of a brewery down there. Having re-built our place a few times, I can imagine your challenges. I Look forward to trying the beer, let me know if we can be of any help.

Howard Thompson, Creemore Springs Brewery

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 8:37 pm

Just wanted to give thanks to Steve @ Mill Street - I checked out their new site and they have generously linked to The Bar Towel. I will return the favour in the "Breweries" section, and hopefully I'll be able to make it down for a tour soon.

Lemmings · Post by **Lemmings** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 2:26 pm

Apparently, opening day is Nov 4th.

DougShoemaker · Post by **DougShoemaker** » Mon Nov 04, 2002 9:33 am

Mill Street Brewery is not open yet. I spoke to one of the partners today, and he said they don't even have Natural Gas hooked up yet. Apparently the sample batch was satisfatory. They hope to be brewing commercially in about two weeks.

beermonkey · Post by **beermonkey** » Tue Nov 05, 2002 6:48 am

Hi there!

Wow, who told you November 4th? I wish! More like December, if everything proceeds smoothly. On the bright side, we do have heat now! No more typing with frozen fingers...

In other good news, the brewery only needs final approvals from a few more bureaucrats, and we're home free!

Meanwhile, we have been extremely pleased with the great response to our first batch of Original ORganic. You're more than welcome to come on down and have a sample. Bear in mind this is a 4% lager...probably not what the average craft beer drinker consumes! That said, our brewmaster Michael says people often underestimate the challenge in making a really good "naked" lager.

Check out our website for directions. Or call ahead to make sure we're around.
416 681 0338.

Cheers,

Steve