Better and different…
“It’s a lifestyle that’s suitable for any small entrepreneur getting into a product that’s not fully mainstream, or different than the mainstream,” Darrin Earley, owner of Lot 30 Brewers, began when I asked him what a ‘craft beer lifestyle’ might be.
Sitting at a long, copper-coloured high-top table in the middle of the brewpub, with brewmaster, Anderson Sant’anna de Lima joining us, Darrin continued, “It’s focused on trying to make something better and different, while at the same time trying to make a living from it – which is probably the hardest part about a craft beer lifestyle.”
That statement produced a chuckle from the three of us.
“It’s infiltrated everywhere though,” Darrin went on, “Everywhere now seems to have some craft beer on tap. There is a lifestyle, and, I guess, it’s started to reach the more mainstream – at one point you needed to search for it, now you can stumble upon it seemingly everywhere.
“But you have to have a passion for the product and for working with people – and a lot of work – in order to get your different, hopefully better product into the mainstream.”
…with passion
Opening on May 4, 2018, Lot 30 Brewers is located in the south-west end of Brockton Village. The brewery’s name refers directly to the land on which it resides. Originally part of the old Town of York, the land around the brewery was designated as “Park Lot 30” before it was developed into proper communities.
While the building that Lot 30 Brewers now exists in may not look it, it is in fact more than 100 years old. It doesn’t look that way, for one, because Lot 30 Brewers has spent a lot of time renovating the space before reopening. Licensing problems stalled their operation in the past, forcing the original establishment to settle as a basic restaurant before it was able to attain brewing licenses.
New and fresh
Once licenses were on their way, renovations were begun to build the brewery properly. Walking through a large patio with a capacity for 36 – and on the east side of the street, getting sun most of the day! – I entered into the fashionable Lot 30 Brewers brewpub.
Wonderful pieces of modern art hang on the walls. The south wall is finished with multi-coloured barn board; the north wall with stylish brick work. Two large, round chandeliers hang down the centre of the space, leading you from the door to the bar. Booths line both north and south walls, with large high-top tables angled down the centre.
It’s a modern, clean look that presents itself as a casual, friendly space for eating and drinking. And, to satisfy both, the brewery does have a kitchen. (See the full Lot 30 Brewers photo gallery here.)
Setting trends, conservatively
The Lot 30 brand focuses on two avenues with their beer. They aim to produce unique and interesting beers that can be enjoyed by craft beer connoisseurs, while also providing offerings that are more traditional and can appease any beer drinker.
They intend to set themselves up to be ahead of the trends, and they pay close attention to what others are doing – what works and what doesn’t – to determine what may be ahead of the curve. For Lot 30, this is what makes their brand relevant today: being able to discern trends, and be ahead of them. Yet, it also comes down knowing that if it’s a beer that they make because they are passionate about it, then it too is relevant. It’s about balancing all of this.
Indeed, they want their beers to be approachable and act as gateway beers to craft beer for those yet to jump on the craft beer train as well. So while they want to set trends with new and exciting beer and make what they enjoy, they also take a conservative approach, knowing their guests can be coming from many different beer-drinking backgrounds. They know and appreciate, in other words, that a traditional Kolsch can be just as enjoyable as a hip, new sour-NEIPA.
The people of Lot 30 Brewers
Anderson Sant’anna de Lima is the brewmaster at Lot 30 Brewers, and he can speak about beer as much as his name is long. He is an incredibly jovial, chatty and friendly guy who wears his love of beer on his sleeve.
Originally from Brazil, Anderson spent 12 years living in New York, and was one of the founders of the NYC Brewers Guild. He had his own take on what a ‘craft beer lifestyle’ might be, and likened it to how one approaches the industry.
Passion or paycheque
“There are two kinds of a craft beer lifestyle: there’s a Jim Koch (the founder of The Boston Beer Company) kind of life, and then there’s us,” Anderson declared.
“If you started 15-20 years ago, then you may have gotten into to it to be AmBev. Then you realized that after AmBev merged with AB InBev, they were too big for that. The Brewers Association then kept stretching the rules of the industry to fit Boston Beer in… The industry just keeps mutating.
“It’s kind of complicated because the lifestyle exists, but at a certain point you want to become successful, so you have to find a common balance between doing something for the passion and a little paycheque, or you want to grow bigger and get much more…”
Finding balance with a Brazilian
The more quiet and reserved Darrin Earley has found an excellent balance with the talkative Anderson. Both can talk beer well, but they each have their own complementary perspectives. Darrin was a retail wholesaler before he got involved with the project on Lansdowne.
In college, Darrin had worked at a number of bars and restaurants, so when he made the decision to leave the corporate world of his sales gig, returning to hospitality was a good fit – and one that he could be passionate about. He connected with a team trying to start a brewery in the Lot 30 Brewers space, and helped push the project along. Eventually, he became the only one of that team remaining, and the only one to see the project properly realized.
The brewery now stands tall, and Darrin and Anderson are enjoying the time they are having, hosting groups of craft beer drinkers of all types and residents of the surrounding neighbourhood and beyond.
As we sat together in a very polished space, enjoying pints of NEIPAs and Kolschs, discussing the Lot 30 Brewers history and craft beer, I got more and more excited to engage the beer in another way: by pairing them in the oh-so-fun PairingwithBeer sort of way.
Pairingwith… Lot 30 Brewers – “Kaiser Dome” Kolsch
The “Kaiser Dome” Kolsch from Lot 30 Brewers is a year round offering from the west-end Toronto brewery. It’s also a perfect pairing with the Cinesphere at Ontario Place.
The beer pours a dark golden colour with a reasonable head that dissipates quickly. Subtle floral and woody aromas are followed by slightly sweet breadiness balanced by muted bitter flavours. Crisp and clean, with a mild mouth-coating and pronounced finish, the beer is refreshing and contains some guts with its more substantial body.
The Kaiser Dome Kolsch is fantastic for repeated drinking at the Cinesphere. The largest IMAX screen in Canada, and the world’s first permanent screen of its kind, the Cinesphere is a remarkable structure, seemingly floating on the water. The Kolsch seemingly floats from hand to mouth as gracefully as the Cinesphere on the water.
The actual Kaiser Dome in Hawaii is what is called a geodestic dome, and the Cinesphere’s triodetic-domed structure was born out of the geodestic kind. In other words, I couldn’t make it down to Hawaii for this shot, but was much happier featuring Toronto’s Cinesphere in its place. (Ok, I’ll be honest: I would have also been very happy to head to Hawaii…)
These sorts of domes seem to pop out of the ground like strange orbs from another world, and the Kolsch by Lot 30 Brewers seemed to pop out of nowhere as an incredibly approachable and wonderfully well-rounded beer.
Head down to the water; head into the orb we call the Cinesphere; grab a seat in front of the largest screen you’ve probably ever seen; and then crack open a can of the Kaiser Dome Kolsch: you’re in for one well-rounded experience.
The Cinesphere
Built in 1971, Ontario Place‘s Cinesphere is the world’s first permanent IMAX theatre. Built by German-Canadian architect, Eberhard Zeidler, the structure is known as a “triodetic dome,” of the same family of a “geodesic dome.”
The Cinesphere houses the largest IMAX screen in Ontario, offering both 70mm and laser IMAX formats, capable of projecting 3D film as well. The screen is 24 meters (80 feet) wide and 18 meters (60 feet) high. The theatre has the capacity for 614 guests, and is wheelchair accessible.
The incredible dome structure resides on the water, with a number of walking bridges connecting the theatre to the land. With the Cinesphere and Ontario Place itself going through extensive renovations that began in 2011, the theatre closed until 2017, upon completion of the area’s revitalization.
During the transformation of the area, in 2014, the Government of Ontario designated the Cinesphere as a structure of Cultural Heritage Value. Before reopening officially in November of 2017, the Cinesphere housed special screenings for the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The Cinesphere remains one of the best places to watch a movie in Ontario and beyond.
Pairingwith… Lot 30 Brewers – “Jefferson Starfruit” Sour
The “Jefferson Starfruit” from Lot 30 Brewers is a kettle sour that is offered year round from the brewery. Given its nod to psychedelic rock band, Jefferson Starship, the beer is in fact a dazzling pairing with flying one’s own starship at Proxima Command in Toronto.
Pouring an off-golden, clear colour, the Jefferson Starfruit delivers aromas of papaya, citrus and, of course, starfruit. The flavour follows the nose with a medium-tartness commanding the ship here. It’s easy to see how one could command their own ship while sipping on this sour: the tartness is enough to keep you alert without distracting you with any puckering effect.
Indeed, it does work well for commanding one’s own starship. At Proxima Command, I was happy to sip the Jefferson Starship as I frantically worked to figure out the controls of the Star Ship Odysseus, while trying to escape hostile territory and return to the home base of Proxima Command.
The experience here is like an escape room paired with a video game, and the similarity to the beer is uncanny: drinking the beer is like escaping from the clutches of mainstream beer, as the sour is very approachable, and can work well as an introduction for those that have never tried a sour beer.
Once I learnt how to fire torpedos, moreover, I was in awe of the starfruit-shaped blast created upon impact. Fire again!! Pour another Jefferson Starfruit!!
No passport required here, folks – this is an escape! Get to your starship, pour this sour from Lot 30 Brewers, and get back to your own refreshingly tasty home base asap.
Proxima Command
Proxima Command is the creation of Michael Chapman and Bob Papadopoulos, with the help of software developer, Glen Watkinson. It’s a type of escape room with a video game aspect; a totally immersive game for teams of 5 to 7 players.
Players find themselves within a room decked out to look like a starship bridge: a large main screen is surrounded by numerous control panels made up of more than 20 tablets spread out throughout the room.
The team has created a number of “episodes,” allowing veteran players to continue their journey and game beyond their first experience. In the beginner episode, you have escaped from prison on a foreign planet, and found your ship. The episode begins with your team trying to “remember” how to control the ship so that you can execute a full escape from the hostile planet and return to the space station, Proxima Command.
The idea of the project is to provide players with a true sci-fi experience, imagined by life-long sci-fi fans, Michael and Bob. Together, they have created an entire universe in which to set their sci-fi escape room episodes, each one developing out of the previous. Players become characters in this new world.
Proxima Command is very much a passion project for its creators. Michael had first conceived of the idea 20 years ago, and has been discussing the idea with Bob for a large portion of that time. With an eye to building something that they themselves want to play, Proxima Command is as close to an authentic sci-fi experience that one can have.
Each game takes approximately one hour to complete, and can be booked online on the Proxima Command website.
Pairingwith… Lot 30 Brewers – “Breakfast OJ” IPA
The “Breakfast OJ” IPA from Lot 30 Brewers is a New England-style IPA that is offered year round from the brewery. It is also a very happy pairing with this artwork from Toronto artist, Mainā, titled “‘sənˌSHīn (sunshine).”
A nod to Founders Brewing Company‘s “Breakfast Stout,” Lot 30 brewmaster, Anderson Sant’anna de Lima, figured OJ was a much better morning beverage than a stout, and set out to create a beer that was properly refreshing for the morning. I too would prefer OJ over a stout for breakfast.
Pouring a partially hazy, dark, almost amber orange colour, the beer in fact tastes more like orange juice than it looks. Big citrus and grapefruit flavours mostly overpower a mild to medium bitterness – a very slight creaminess from the lactose compliments those flavours, and helps lend the juiciness of the beer to consumption for breakfast. The finish is fairly quick, with a very subtle, bitter linger.
Getting some juice in your mouth is one way to start your day properly. Another is by getting some sunshine. Known to get you moving, sunshine tells your body it’s time to get going. Now, whether it’s overcast or not, this painting from Mainā will serve the purpose you’re looking for: the vibrant yellow certainly brightens your day, and encourages you to move outdoors.
The painting is accompanied by a poem (below), where Mainā likens sunshine to the light and warmth of love. Here, she emphasizes both a “fresh start” and a “jump start,” noting the special characteristic that sunshine (and love) can provide: a good jolt of positive energy – or, a perfect way to start the day.
If it’s first thing in the morning and it’s breakfast your looking for, look no further: we’ve got Breakfast OJ and ‘sənˌSHīn here to get your day headed in the best possible direction.
‘sənˌSHīn (sunshine)
Sunshine lit up my heart
Rays of yellow
A true work of art
Warmth hidden inside a fresh start
Palpitations cause a jump start
One look from your eyes
Makes me fall apart.
Mainā
Under the moniker, “Mainā,” Emily Minor is an artist coming out of Toronto. Originally from Ottawa, Emily moved to Toronto around 2 years ago, having been inspired by the work of “Lovebot” creator, Matthew Del Degan, now her partner.
She has set herself an over-arching theme for her work, one that takes note of the crazy, unpredictable, chaotic world around us. Her work aims to encourage us not to shy away from unpredictability, encouraging, rather, an outright embrace of it. Her work alludes to thriving within chaos.
The process Mainā uses to create her works is unique, and, in a way, mirrors the unpredictability and chaos she is focused on. Using ink, spray paint and a special solution she creates herself, her works have a distinct look, one that is adept at displaying fluidity and motion. This partially comes from her (chaotic) lack of planning: other than choosing the colours, she has the paint spread itself across the canvas, only helping it to move (and dry) with a heat gun. A drop of ink here, pushes that drop of ink over there, bleeding into each other at points, yet also keeping a distance from each other at other points. The unpredictability of the drying ink gives life to chaos as beauty.
Each of her paintings are accompanied by a poem, meant to compliment and further the discussion began on the canvas. Mainā’s experience as an artist begins first as a poet, only properly picking up the brush (or heat gun as it may be) upon her move to Toronto two years ago.
As it can be for many artists, art has filled a hole in Emily’s life, and brought her out of dark places, into the light. She took a giant leap (into chaos) when she moved to Toronto, but diving into the deep end has proved fruitful: “For the first time in my life I know that I am exactly where I need to be, creating and living my dreams.”
Mainā’s process allows her to produce other items with similar motifs to her artworks as well, including mugs, pins, keychains and jewellery. All of Mainā’s work can be seen on her website and Instagram account – pay attention to both places for upcoming exhibitions and showcases.
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