TORONTO, ON – The ten brick and mortar breweries in Toronto’s east end have formed a collective. The Toronto East Brewery Collective will operate as an organizing body for events and initiatives benefiting the collective’s members as well as the community at large.
“There are so many great breweries in the east end,” says Eastbound Brewing’s Dave Watson, “and while we are competitors individually, we are all friendly with each other and share similar goals and values. The idea of banding together to accomplish things we couldn’t otherwise do on our own seemed like a good idea.”
The collective is home to Brunswick Bierworks, Common Good Brewing, Eastbound Brewing Co., Godspeed Brewery, Left Field Brewery, Louis Cifer Brew Works, Muddy York Brewing Co., Radical Road Brewing Co., Rorschach Brewing Co., and Saulter Street Brewery.
According to Mandie Murphy of Left Field, “Each of us brings something unique to the group. Our facilities and our products reflect the strengths, styles, and aesthetics we have each developed over time. The opportunity to partner-up was appealing, and we feel that as a collective we can reinforce the notion that Toronto’s east end is an incredible destination for craft beer.”
The TEBC’s first event will be a multi-location tap-takeover on Thursday, June 14th. Billed as, “Brewed in the East,” the tap-takeover will take place at The Wren, The Only, and Bar Hop Danforth and will feature new, exclusive, and rare beers from each brewery. “We want to showcase not only the great beers coming from all of the collective’s members but also to shine a light on the spectacular craft beer bars in the east end,” says Muddy York’s David Wallace.
Future events will include a collaborative series of brewery tours, collaboration brews, and a TEBC festival. “We’re just getting started,” says Godspeed’s Luc “Bim” LaFontaine. “We’re going to keep making great beer and creating interesting avenues for fans of our breweries to experience them.”
The TEBC will continue to add members when new brick and mortar breweries open in the east end. “We expect new breweries to open and we will definitely welcome them into the collective,” says Aimee Pellegrino of Saulter Street. “We are looking to support our craft brewery community, and look forward to working with local BIAs and officials to leverage that support in our own neighbourhoods.”
For more details, see the Toronto East Brewery Collective Facebook page and Instagram feed.