E-Malt.com News article: Canada, Ont.: Mill Street Brew Pub to be opened in Ottawa this fall

The Mill Street Brew Pub will open its doors at Ottawa's Old Mill this fall, CTV.ca reported on May, 30.

Right now, the walls of the century-old mill are bare and the building is stripped - but that just gives the brewery more creative freedom as it gets ready to move into the vacant site, located along the Ottawa River, near Lebreton Flats.

Mill Street Brewery recently signed a 10-year lease to occupy the site.

"We'll be brewing here, on-site. And a number of the beers we make here will be available only on-site, only inside the four walls here," said Joel Manning, a brewmaster with Mill Street Brewery in Toronto.

Mill Street plans to brew 100,000 litres of beer per year at the Old Mill. Although that's a small amount when compared to industrial production, Manning says it's going back to the way beer used to be produced.

"Modern craft brewing - it's been around for say the last 30 years - is really kind of a correction back to the way things were back in the 1800s in Canada," Manning said.

"It's not really a trendy thing. It rings truer than trendy things because it is actually a throwback to the way things used to be. It's a correction."

The Mill Street Brew Pub - as it's to be called - will open at the Old Mill site in Ottawa on Oct. 1.

Some say it could prove to be an elusive kick start to adding nightlife and restaurants to the Lebreton Flats area.

"Now that we've got that brew pub coming in, you can see other businesses might move around it. Nightly entertainment, you know, that sort of thing that people tend to go to downtown for," said Erin Kelly of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.

Mill Street Brewery was named Canadian Brewery of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The brewery brews several beers, including Stock Ale, Original Organic, Tankhouse, Belgian Wit and Coffee Porter.


01 June, 2011