Mill Street Brewery is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada that is a part of

Anheuser–Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters in ...

and named after Mill Street where it is located. During its first decade of operation, as an independent brewer, Mill Street won several awards including

Golden Tap Awards The Golden Tap Awards (GTAs) is an annual beer awards event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The awards are sponsored and presented by The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to the discussion and promotion of Toronto's craft and microbre ...

for Best Toronto Microbrewery ('04-'08) and Best Toronto Beer (for Tankhouse Ale: '04-'07), and was named "Canadian Brewery of the Year" at the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2007, 2008, and 2009. It was purchased in 2015 by Canadian brewer

Labatt Brewing Company Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer In ...

, which in turn is owned by the global brewing giant Anheuser–Busch InBev.

History

The brewery was founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. The brewery was named after its original location at 55 Mill Street in the historic

Distillery District The Distillery District is a commercial and residential district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, east of downtown, which contains numerous cafés, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. ...

, the former industrial complex occupied by spirits maker

Gooderham and Worts Gooderham and Worts, also known as Gooderham & Worts Limited, was a Canadian distiller of alcoholic beverages. It was once one of the largest distillers in Canada. The company was merged in 1926 with Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., and the merged fir ...

. In early 2006, all large-scale brewing was moved to a bigger facility in Scarborough,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and the Distillery District location reopened in October, 2006 as a

brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis ...

. The brewpub features 14 Mill Street beers on draught, including seasonal and other special/one-off releases. In 2007, co-founder Michael Duggan felt the company was diverging from its original vision, and left to start his own brewery. In 2011, the company leased a historic grist mill building adjacent to the Chaudière Falls in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

and converted it into a brewpub. The building is owned by the

National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...

and most recently housed The Mill (Old Mill Restaurant), a restaurant that closed in 2007 and a 140-year-old former grist mill. Also in 2011, with the opening of a pub in Terminal 1 of

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surr ...

, Mill Street became the first craft brewer to open a bar/restaurant in a major Canadian airport. In spring 2013, Mill Street expanded their Distillery District operation and added a distillery that distills schnapps from beer. In 2015, Mill Street was purchased by

Labatt Labatt Brewing Company Limited (french: La Brasserie Labatt Limitée) is a Belgian-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer In ...

, which is itself owned by brewing giant

Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...

. As part of the purchase agreement, Labatt agreed to invest $10 million into brewing operations to help expand into Quebec. Due to the takeover, the

Ontario Craft Brewers The Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) is a trade association representing 83 small, independent breweries in the Canadian province of Ontario. Origins The OCB was founded in 2003 as the Ontario Small Brewers Association to work collectively on mar ...

no longer considered Mill St. to be an independent craft brewer and removed Mill St. from its membership.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.millstreetbrewery.com Food and drink companies established in 2002 Beer brewing companies based in Ontario 2002 establishments in Ontario Companies based in Scarborough, Toronto Manufacturing companies based in Toronto Canadian beer brands