After getting his start as a homebrewer, Rob Welch earned his stripes at Montreal’s Brasserie McAuslan before going on to become a staff brewer for Mill Street. A scientist specializing in DNA biophysics in his previous career, Welch’s mathematical approach to brewing helped Left Field win a gold at the Canadian Brewing Awards last year. One of Toronto’s craft brewing heavyweights, Left Field is known for its bold, distinctively-flavoured beers, which are on tap at dozens of bars and restaurants across the city.
Beer pioneer Ron Keefe opened Granite in 1991 as one of the first craft breweries in Toronto. His daughter, Mary Beth, was 11 years old when she began working alongside him at the brewery. She is now head brewer and has helped Granite win Best Regularly Produced Beer in Ontario at the Golden Tap Awards numerous times. Mary Beth works solely with Ringwood yeast, which lends a distinctive floral character to Granite’s beer selection, available on tap as well as by the growler and keg at their Eglinton Ave. brewpub.
As a brewing consultant, Mark Benzaquen helped to develop and expand breweries around the world before teaming up with fellow beer industry veteran Steve Himel to start Henderson Brewing in 2016. In addition to his role as brewmaster at Henderson, Benzaquen has been the technical chair of the Ontario Craft Brewers for the past four years. Henderson’s flagship beer, Henderson’s Best, took home a gold in the Amber Ale Category at this year’s Ontario Brewing Awards. Find Henderson beer at their brewery in the Junction Triangle, on tap at bars around the city, and at the LCBO.
Opened in 2015, Folly Brewpub is quickly establishing itself as a craft beer contender with its lineup of yeast-forward saisons, ales and barrel-aged beer. Christina Coady – who brews alongside Chris Conway – originally studied to be a sommelier before getting into homebrewing and then making beer professionally. Folly is listed as a top 10 Ontario craft brewery in the 2017 Ontario Craft Beer Guide, and its beer can be found on tap at bars across the city.
Siobhan McPherson worked for brewing giants Mill Street and Amsterdam before making the move to microbreweries, first Burdock and now Mascot. Mascot Brewery recently launched its line of in-house brewed beers, which are available at their restaurant and rooftop beer garden. With a background in biology and chemistry, McPherson has a penchant for working with unusual grains and multiple strains of yeast and bacteria. Her beer has won coveted awards, including gold at the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards.
If Mike Lackey’s Twitter account is to be believed, he gave up his “dream of becoming a Benedictine monk” and now brews at Great Lakes. He has been there for 26 years, making him a true craft beer veteran. In addition to helping Great Lakes win numerous awards – including Canadian Brewery of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2013 and 2014 – he is known for his Project X small-batch beers, available for purchase at the brewery.
