Junction Craft Brewery

Supporting each other

Sitting at a large, repurposed drafting table in the middle of the taproom at Junction Craft Brewery, I shared a “Raspberry Berliner Weisse” from their “Derail Series” with Jamie Perry, one of their sales reps. Jamie let me in on what his craft beer lifestyle involves: “I like to find interesting craft beers when I’m out,” he said. “I love going to a bar and letting the bartender make a selection for me, based on the style I am looking for.

“What’s really great about craft beer though, is the tightly knit community it is: everyone knows everyone, and we all support each other.”

Originally launching in 2011, Junction Craft Brewery has been evolving rapidly. Beginning as a contract brewer, with it’s flagship “Conductor’s Ale,” the early success they saw, pushed them quickly to build their own brewery. Not much more than a year later, they moved into a space on Cawthra Avenue in the west end neighbourhood known as the “Junction.”

The “Destructor”

The success continued. In March of 2017, Junction Craft Brewery had grown beyond the capabilities of their space in the Junction, and moved to a new space in the Stockyards.

The new space they inhabit is a glorious building. Formerly a City of Toronto garbage incinerator known as the “Destructor”, and built in 1934, the space did need some revitalization efforts before the Junction Craft team could move in.

Keeping the original brick and overall industrial feel of the building, the Destructor is now a huge event space, taproom and brewery. With massive windows across the front facade, the interior is bright with natural light during the day. The former garbage incinerator is now an entirely beautiful space. (See the full Junction Craft Brewery photo gallery here.)

Junction Craft Brewery brands itself upon trains, and the new brewery is of course no different, decked out with all sorts of references to trains. Railway crossing signs appear on a north wall. Clocks showing various time zones hang on a wall high in the air; on the other side of that wall, hangs the brewery’s tap list, presented on a split-flap scheduling sign. The foot rail at the bar is made from an old train track.

The Junction Craft Brewery neighbourhood…

Behind the bar, surrounding the beer taps, is a giant mural painting of the Stockyards area. It was an area that was originally developed because of its proximity to trains.

Junction Craft Brewery joined Rainhard Brewing Company and Shacklands Brewing Company as neighbours, all within a stones throw of each other. I’ve covered some of the history of the area before, mostly in my Rainhard article (read my Rainhard article here, and my Shacklands article here). The community the three breweries are developing together, though, is definitely one that is bringing the area from an industrial past into a residential future.

That future looks bright for the neighbourhood. The space Junction Craft houses is one that residents near and far will find incredible uses for. From hosting wedding receptions to Junction City Wrestling events, the space is big and versatile. Smaller events, such as artist openings and musical performances are suitable to the space as well.

…and the environment

Parts of the design of the brewery were made to limit the brewery’s ecological footprint. Installations of motion sensor LED lights, help minimize the brewery’s use of electricity. Used grain is recycled as feed for livestock. Steam used in one kettle is then reused in the next kettle.

But perhaps most impressive is the Junction Craft Brewery packaging set up. The brewery utilizes it’s high ceilings to incorporate the pull of gravity into the process of packaging its cans and bottles. The production line begins in a room upstairs and continues downwards, finishing on the main floor. The apt use of gravity allows Junction Craft to use less power to make the packaging line operate.

The people of Junction Craft Brewery

I had some brief conversations with a few of the staff at Junction Craft Brewery. As usual, I like to get them thinking about pairing in the PairingwithBeer sense, and get them talking a bit about what craft beer lifestyle might be.

Sarah Rolland, the events manager at Junction Craft, played a bit stereotypical with her response to what craft beer lifestyle is. “Wearing toques to work is totally appropriate,” she let me know. I’d like to say that I break that mould, Sarah: my hair is always on display, regardless of whether I’m working or drinking beer (just please don’t touch it!).

Citing “Throw Mama from the Train” as a movie to pair with the Conductor’s Craft Ale seemed like an on-brand sort of response though from Sarah. Perhaps a perfect response, in fact, from someone in a management position at Junction Craft.

Tina Schoenwetter is the head brewer at Junction Craft Brewery, and hails from Germany. She was keen on discovering here in Canada that a brewer can include “special ingredients” (like raspberries in a Berliner Weisse), which in Germany is strictly forbidden, given the purity law of 1516, which is still upheld to this day.

Tina supplied two fantastic pairings. The Junction Craft “Barrel-aged Porter” with “The Muppets Christmas Story,” for the beer’s warming effects that contrast with the cold winter in the movie. And she wanted to pair a dry beer, like the “Stationmaster’s Stout,” with the city of Hamburg: “They have a very dry sense of humour in Hamburg,” Tina explained.

From DJ to Beer Rep

I met Jamie Perry, my host at Junction Craft Brewery, many years ago. At the time I was managing a large restaurant, sports bar, club, event space, bowling alley… (it was a massive and versatile place, let’s just say), and Jamie became one of our regular DJs. He had an ear for hip hop, and played every other Wednesday night. That relationship continued when I moved to the next restaurant I managed.

From DJing, Jamie moved into restaurant management himself, and that’s when his love of craft beer really began to take off. Jamie had become a big fan of Junction Craft beer early in the brewery’s history, with the Conductor’s Ale being a go-to beer for him. A few years later, when he decided to get into craft beer professionally, as a sales rep, he was intent that he would be working for Junction Craft.

Like the way he used to drop beats back in the day, he made a very smooth transition into his new role. Today, he’s a familiar rep to many in the Toronto craft beer scene.

Jamie has always been a very gentle and accommodating guy, and I’ve always enjoyed working with him. It’s some-what amusing that both of our paths happened to have gone down craft beer roads. We seem to keep following each other around, and that’s certainly a happy coincidence for me. Jamie was the first to confirm a feature on my new blog, so I thank him dearly for that step he took with me.

I thank him even more though for hooking me up with three of Junction Craft Brewery’s beers to sample. We shared some together while we discussed everything Junction Craft, and then, of course, I went off to have some fun pairing them.

Pairingwith… Junction Craft Brewery’s “

The “Humber River” Pilsner from Junction Craft Brewery was launched in conjunction with West End Phoenix and Swim Drink Fish in celebration of West End Phoenix’s (a local community newspaper) first year anniversary last summer. Proceeds from the purchase of this beer go to the Swim Drink Fish project: a charitable foundation, working to conserve the cleanliness of fresh water sources.

There was little work for me to do here, of course. Sure, the colour of the can is a match to the Swim Drink Fish water bottle, making them well-coordinated pair. But pairing the beer with the charitable foundation is a no-brainer, and a must.

It’s also super-easy to recognize how important the Swim Drink Fish project is, not merely for the planet and all of its inhabitants, but also for those inhabitants who drink beer. Water is quite possibly the most important ingredient to beer, and you certainly can’t make it without clean water!

The grassy flavour of the beer speaks directly to the planet and the life that grows on it. The subtle spice and graininess join the grassy tones to produce a refreshing beer that is crisp and clean like any body of water that has had the attention of waterkeepers like Swim Drink Fish. And any conservation work of this sort could use an easy-going, refreshing 4.5% ABV beer at the end of the day’s work.

Here, the beer celebrates the Humber River, which is perfectly suitable to the beer’s style. Pilsners were invented by the Czechs, and what made this beer so special (besides it being lagered) was the very particular type of water they had access to: soft water from the Plzen River.

With support going to the Swim Drink Fish project from every purchase of the Humber River Pilsner and the Swim Drink Fish water bottle, these are purchases you can’t go wrong with.

Have a swim; take a drink; wait for fish: support a good cause.

Swim Drink Fish

The Swim Drink Fish project is a not-for-profit charitable organization that works towards fresh water conservation. Their mission is to build “a national movement of active, informed, and engaged individuals working to ensure their communities can swim, drink, and fish forever.”

Launching in 2001, by its founder and president, Mark Mattson, Swim Drink Fish is involved with a number of initiatives that all focus on the sustainability of fresh water. These initiatives monitor the cleanliness of water and inform the public of the quality of their local water sources, while educating the public on the sorts of steps that they can take to help preserve it.

Delivering this information to the public is the project of “Swim Guide,” an app that supplies its users with information and updates on the water quality of more than 7,000 beaches in six countries.

The late Gord Downie, lead singer of the iconic Canadian rock band, The Tragically Hip, was a huge advocate of the organization, and was a member of their board. On July 27, 2018, Swim Drink Fish, with the help of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, opened the Gord Edgar Downie Pier in Kingston, Ontario. The project created a new environment at Breakwater Park, the pier and area across from where Gord Downie used to live, encouraging a greater connection to the waterfront for its visitors. It is Canada’s first urban natural swimming pier.

With initiatives across the Great Lakes region and in Saskatchewan and British Columbia as well, the organization is making large steps towards a future that not merely helps sustain clean water, but also brings communities together around it.

Purchasing one of their uber-hip, sexy, baby blue water bottles with a purpose was one of those purchases that has remained somewhat special to me. Every time I reach for this water bottle, I am always reminded of the importance of, well, movements like this, but, more significantly, the importance of water itself.

I like to swim; I like to drink; I’m not much of a fisherman, but I definitely enjoy a grilled salmon. To take this all for granted is a mistake the Swim Drink Fish water bottle reminds me not to make. And it is a sexy water bottle…

Proceeds from the purchase of a Sim Drink Fish water bottle go to support the their project. The water bottles can be ordered on their website here.

Pairingwith… Junction Craft Brewery’s “Stationmaster’s” Stout

The “Stationsmaster’s” Stout is a dry, Irish stout, available year round from Junction Craft Brewery. It is a wonderful pairing with these tiles from French 75.

The traditional stout, with its cocoa and coffee flavours, plays well with the role of a stationmaster. Operating a train station sees the stationmaster meeting people from all walks of life. He or she receives glimpses of far off places from the people they meet in a way that mirrors what the viewer experiences when looking at the French 75 tiles.

Images from all over Toronto (and beyond) connect the tiles to the journey travellers take on trains. Peering out the windows of a train, like inspecting the many tiles on a French 75 wall, is also like sipping on the Stationmaster’s stout. The dry, bitter finish of the beer, with its sweet, roasted malt flavours and earthy hops, plays exceptionally well with the sweet views of the French 75 tiles and the slight bitterness one may feel when they realize that they haven’t been to all of these places.

Take another sip, and then start determining which tiles are the places you should plan to visit first. And that, of course, is a return to what’s sweet again.

Running a train station has it’s advantages, with the stories that the stationmaster hears from the travellers that come through the station. It also, though, may become a bit painful to be forever needing to listen to all of these stories that a veteran stationmaster has probably now heard versions of many times over. A quality stout, like the Stationmaster’s from Junction Craft Brewery, is therefore a beautiful complement to get the stationmaster through a number of these conversations. And at a modest 4.3% ABV, the stationmaster can put these away without losing control of his or her responsibilities.

Hop on board; pour a pint; take pictures; print on tiles: explore the world on your wall.

French 75 Art

Krista Beaudry, the artist behind French 75 Art, was inspired by visits through Europe in the 2000s. What she saw in the south of France, Spain and Italy, and more specifically the Amalfi Coast, was tile work that captured images of everyday life – making the mundane into beautiful works of art.

She had already been spending time travelling and capturing her own images of the mundane. Krista, during her travels, was focusing on the tiny details from local neighbourhoods of the places she visited, intent on collecting “ideas” or “sketches” for future art projects. She had no idea that she would be transforming those original sketches into the actual content of her work a few years later.

The Niagara-born, Toronto resident, has spent much time exploring her own neighbourhood of Riverside, mining it for the intricate details her artworks like to focus on.

Soon after developing her work into tiles, she morphed those into tile magnets. A hobby of her own is collecting magnets from the places she visits on travels. This shift in the form of her work expresses the affinity she has for magnets, and for magnets that reference the place from which it came. Her own magnets, too, reference places.

Another key to her work is the tile itself: the limit of working within the standard 4″ x 4″ square, forces her to focus on details that must be clear in such a small, tight frame. And that miniature frame emphasizes the content within it because of those limits.

Her work can be found at the Arts Market in Leslieville, the Billy Bishop Airport Gift Shop and by special order at french75art@gmail.com.

Pairingwith… Junction Craft Brewery’s “Derail Series’ Raspberry Berliner Weisse”

The “Raspberry Berliner Weisse” is part of the “Derail Series,” a seasonal series of sour beers that allows the Junction Craft brewers to experiment with wild yeasts and fruity flavours. While the raspberry version is not available year round, Junction Craft usually has at least one offering from the series available at all times.

The Raspberry Berliner Weisse is a delightful pairing with these handmade, wooden sunglasses from Mistura. Sourcing wood from the rainforests in Columbia, the wood of the sunglasses makes reference to the ‘wild’ yeast used in the production of the Berliner Weisse.

The mildly tart and sweet raspberry flavours of the beer provide a taste that pays complement to the smooth curves and chic, comfortable design of the Mistura sunglasses. Indeed, the light brown wood and golden, mirrored lenses of the glasses are reminiscent of the low carbonation, light body and delicate mouthfeel of the beer.

The bright, blood orange colour of the beer is like a glass of sunshine, and brings the drinker into summer with every sip: even in the dark, one is tempted to get out their sunglasses.

There’s nothing much cooler than sipping on a bright, red-orange beer – add a pair of Mistura sunglasses, and “cool” becomes their native state of being. Pair these two, and rock stars will be asking you for style tips.

Mistura

Four American friends, all with Columbian heritage, came together in 2005 with an idea to design luxury, wooden watches with a focus on ecological preservation. They were intent on marrying art to nature, with the rainforests as their muse.

Mistura sourced exotic woods from Columbia, and began playing with watch designs, intent on elevating and evolving what a watch could in fact be. The team paid close attention to their ecological footprint, using only woods that are renewable, and ensuring that every established environmental regulation was followed when mining the resources required.

Juan David Arbelaez connected with the Mistura team to bring their watches to Canada. The team then developed designs for sunglasses made with the same precision and care as the original watches, which Juan quickly added to the offerings north of the border.

Mistura takes its time to ensure its high standards. Their products are handcrafted, each taking up to 85 hours to complete. The wood itself is not mined from the forrest until it is of the perfect age. Once cut, it is then dried naturally over a six month period before the 85 hour process of shaping and crafting the item begins.

The connection the company feels with nature and the environment is exactly the sort of progressive attitude that the world could see more of. While not a small, local business, the environmental consciousness of Mistura’s vision and their craftsmanship and unique designs are something my craft beer lifestyle can certainly align with.

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See you next week, when I’m Pairingwith… Henderson Brewing Company!

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Quick Links

• FULL JUNCTION CRAFT BREWERY PHOTO GALLERY
• PAIRING OUTTAKES
• Junction Craft Brewery’s WEBSITE
• Mistura
• French 75
• Swim Drink Fish