A few weeks ago, our friends at Restaurant and Hotels Blog had a chat with Marek about his love of brewing, European beers vs Canadian beers, craft vs commercial, and what made him join the Good Beer Folks at Steam Whistle.

R&H – Can you tell us about the Brew Master’s role in making beer?

MM – As the Brewmaster, I am responsible for the entire process of brewing from the receipt of the first kernels of barley (and other ingredients) through to the last bottle of Pilsner being shipped to stores, and all stages in between – the wort or raw beer as it is brewed; green beer when it is first put into fermentation tanks; after it has finished aging but still unfiltered, then filtered and finally packaged beer.  Any activities that are part of those stages of making beer fall under my jurisdiction including the equipment needed for brewing and aging, and of course, a key success factor is our people and their training.

R&H – Are there many differences in that role in Canada vs Europe?

MM – The differences aren’t as pronounced between brewing in Canada and Europe, but the differences are significant between global commercial breweries and small independent craft breweries, which both exist in either market.  Large brewers are very concerned about ‘efficiency’, ‘cost-cutting’, and mechanization; whereas the smaller independent craft breweries are more interested in traditional artisanship, premium ingredients and quality standards.  I’m glad I work at the second type.

R&H – How have you taken the old Bavarian Pilsner brewing laws and modified them for use in the Canadian Market?

MM – I haven’t modified the Bavarian Purity Law at all. Steam Whistle Pilsner is made according to those old world traditions.

R&H – Can you tell us a bit about your work history? 

MM – My first job after my master brewer training was to work at Pilsner Urquell in the Czech Republic.  I then worked as Brewmaster at a Pilsner Urquell brewery in Russia.  From there I moved to Brazil where I worked at an independent brewpub.  About 12 years ago I moved to Canada, first working at Labatt’s and then Creemore Springs (Molson-owned) before settling at Steam Whistle as Brewmaster in 2005.

R&H – How have you applied all that knowledge at Steam Whistle?

MM – One of the biggest projects I have had was designing and commissioning a new brewhouse for Steam Whistle in 2008 that was built in the Czech Republic.  One of the key elements to a true Bohemian Pilsner like Steam Whistle, is the ‘decoction’ stage in our brewhouse.  Decoction brewing involves boiling a portion of the mash at higher temperatures in order to caramelize the sugars present in the barley.  This contributes to the beautiful golden colour of our Pilsner and also adds to the robust head on the beer at the time of pouring.  The decoction method of brewing is not used in Bavarian style Pilsners only Bohemian style Pilsners, so having a brewhouse built in the Czech Republic was key.

R&H – What’s next for you and for Steam Whistle?

MM – What’s next is more of the same good stuff we are up to.  Our motto is DO ONE THING REALLY, REALLY WELL so we are committed to staying focused on our single brand, Steam Whistle Pilsner.  Our hope is to eventually be regarded as Canada’s most respected premium beer so we will be slowly growing across the country.  Currently we are available in Ontario, Alberta, BC and new this year in Manitoba.

R&H – What’s the best thing about being a Brew Master?

MM – The best thing is that I love my work to the point that it doesn’t feel like work.  Brewing really is my passion and I feel fortunate that I get to do that every day.  And, finishing the work day with a cold beer shared with my co-workers is always a pleasure!

Original interview at R&H.

Ontario Craft Beer Week means a chance to celebrate our province’s craft beers through a series of beer dinners, tap takeovers, pairings, beer fests and themed events. It’s a chance for OCB breweries to reach new audiences and to show why local craft beer is best. My favourite part of OCB Week is trying one-off and collaboration brews. The inspiration for the brews can come from anywhere, and it highlights the diverse, creative, and ever evolving side of brewing.

How did the collaboration brew with Great Lakes & Amsterdam come about?

When the OCB Week organizers announced that one of the key themes this year was collaboration, brewers at Amsterdam and Great Lakes decided to get together and invited other OCB brewers to join. Although at Steam Whistle we do one thing, I’ve always been encouraged to take part in collabs which are lots of fun and a great learning experience for me. We decided to brew the GTA Farmhouse Ale, a Belgian style beer fermented with a saison yeast, and we spiced it with sage, cardamom, and peppercorns. The result was a dry, refreshing beer with a distinctive spicy aroma that I thought paired really well with food.  It was available on draught at various bars throughout the city, and in bottles at the Great Lakes and Amsterdam retail stores. With only one small batch made, you have to seek it out if you want to try it, and that’s part of the appeal. Once it’s gone, it’s gone…until next year maybe?

What events did you attend?

My OCB Week kicked off on Friday with a launch at the Summerhill LCBO where we heard about growth in the craft beer industry while toasting with a glass of GTA Farmhouse Ale. Saturday I went to Wvrst for a Dieu du Ciel Brewery tap-takeover where I tasted some delicious new creations, including 2 collaboration beers. I spent Sunday afternoon at the Brickworks enjoying the Brewers Backyard, which is a series of events showcasing a local brewery in a casual and relaxed setting with top-notch food vendors and live music. By Monday I was a bit tired, but I just could not miss the Amsterdam Brewery vs. Flat Rock Winery dinner at Beast restaurant. Tuesday I went out to one of my favourite bars, Brydens on Bloor St, for their Best of the West event. Several breweries from the west end participated by sending a keg of their best beer, including the GTA Farmhouse, for this collaborative tap takeover. By Wednesday I was ready for a couple of nights off, but I was back at it Friday for Bar Volo’s Belgian night, featuring all local Begian-inspired brews. Saturday was the Session 99 Craft Beer Fest with over 100 beers, food sampling, live music, and I got to catch up with several friends to talk about which OCB week events they liked best. It was a busy but amazing week, I can’t wait to do it all again during Toronto Beer Week in September!

The Amsterdam/Flat Rock dinner at Beast restaurant on Monday was one of my favourites. It was part of the Canadian Beer News dinner series, which brings together top breweries and restaurants to create unique beer and food pairings. The chef paired each of the four courses with a wine and a beer, and the dessert was paired with a special collaborative brew from Amsterdam and Flat Rock Cellars’ head winemaker Ross Wise. Ross was a brewer before getting into wine, and the sour cherry Imperial Stout aged on oak that they produced was spectacular. Overall, the food and pairings were fabulous, the atmosphere was nice and relaxed, and the winery and brewery working together really pushed the collaboration theme to the next level. Congratulations to all involved, it was a great night.

Can you sum up the week in one sentence?

Probably not! There was just way too much good stuff going on.

Cheers to keeping the craft beer industry strong!  

On February 18th, our Erica along with Bridgid from Mill St began brewing a  Belgian Biere de Mars beer at Great Lakes Brewery. There’s nothing like female brewers coming together and sharing their talents. Here’s a photo of Erica mashing:

Erica Graholm previously worked at Amsterdam and Magnotta Brewing. She attended the prestigious Versuchs-und Lehranstalt fur Brauerei (VLB) in Berlin, Germany where she studied to become a certified brewer.

Read our Q&A with Erica where she shares what it’s like being a female brewer, her favourite craft beers, how she got involved with Beer For Boobs & why she decided to focus on beer instead of wine.

Q. What made you want to be a brewer and what’s it like being a female brewer?

I started homebrewing nearly a decade ago and my hobby quickly turned into an obsession.  I loved reading about the science and history of the craft, and exploring the many flavours of beer styles from around the world.  The latter involved a lot of tasting and evaluation, both of my own homebrewed beers and any commercial examples I could get my hands on.  When I realized this hobby could lead to a career there was no question I would go for it.  A job at a local homebrew shop eventually led to a job at Magnotta Brewery, which gave me a chance to speak to other brewers about how they got their start in the industry.  I was very fortunate with the opportunities that came my way, so I followed every one of them and never shied away from any hard work.

Being a female brewer is…pretty much like being a male brewer I suppose.  Except when we sweat it smells like lavender  Seriously though, it’s a lot of work but it’s even more fun.

Q. Do you have any suggestions for anyone wanting to pursue brewing as a career?

Homebrewing is a great place to start.  It can give you a good foundation about sanitation, fermentation, and you get to experiment, be creative, and make a lot of mistakes.  Some breweries will take volunteers or allow you to shadow a brewer, which is a good introduction into brewing on a commercial scale.  Yes, you will probably have to shovel the malt and scrub a lot, but you can also ask questions and that first beer at the end of the day will never taste better.

If you are serious about pursuing brewing as a career, take a program at one of the many brewing institutes around the globe.  Introductory and more in-depth programs are offered at Siebel Institute in Chicago, and the more local Niagara College offers a 2 year program, to name a couple.  While education is very helpful, when it comes to commercial brewing be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up – experience counts!

Q. How did you get involved with Beer For Boobs?

Beer for Boobs is a breast cancer fundraising initiative started by Lisa White, vice president of White Labs, a yeast production company that services many craft breweries worldwide.  What started in 2008 as a 3 day, 60 mile fundraising walk, has turned into a series of events across the continent where anyone with an interest in beer and fundraising for breast cancer can put on their own unique event.  Kevin Freer from Magnotta Brewery and Tracy Phillippi from Black Oak Brewery simultaneously had the idea to put on such an event in Toronto in support of The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  They joined forces and asked female brewers from around the GTA to collaborate on one-off small batches to be released at an event at BarVolo on March 25th.

I was thrilled to be asked to be involved because it’s a great learning experience for us brewers, and the event should be a lot of fun, not to mention that it’s for a good cause.  It’s great that so many breweries have got behind the idea either by donating raffle prizes, donating materials, and that the brewers at House Ales, Great Lakes, The Granite, Amsterdam, and Black Oak have collaborated with us to produce these beers on their pilot systems.

Events like this really showcase how craft beer folks work together as a community, which is what it’s all about to me.

Q. What are some of your favourite craft breweries & beers?

Well I’m glad you didn’t ask for my #1 favourite because that question is always too difficult to answer.  Locally some favourites are Beau’s Lug Tread for an easy drinking anytime beer, any Saison from Great Lakes Brewery, House Ales TuHop for a hop fix, Amsterdam Tempest Imperial Stout for a slow sipper, and King Brewery’s Vienna Lager.  Further afield, I love beers from Dieu du Ciel, Charlevoix, 3 Floyds, Jolly Pumpkin, and Goose Island to name a few.

Most beers are meant to be enjoyed fresh so travelling to the brewery is the best way to enjoy them.  This year I plan to travel to California where the craft brewing scene is absolutely raging and I can’t wait to try their wares!

Q. How did you decide on brewing beer instead of becoming a wine maker?

When I worked at Fermentations, a homebrewing and home winemaking shop on the Danforth, I learned a bit about the art of winemaking.  I do love wine and enjoy day trips out to Niagara, especially the Beamsville Bench area to taste the spectacular Rieslings and Pinot Noirs.  It’s amazing to me, as a Torontonian brewer and lover of all things fermented, that we have one of the best wine producing regions in the world on our doorstep.

But I was always much more passionate about beer than wine – maybe because craft beer is a bit of an underdog in terms of the industry as a whole, but I saw the potential for so much more.  It’s really rewarding to work in an industry that is seeing such immense growth, and to be able to reach people on a personal level and re-introduce them to a beverage they thought they knew, or maybe thought they didn’t even like.

That being said, winemakers and brewers in Ontario are starting to work more closely together, and I think this is a great trend that will help push both industries forward.

Here’s a few more shots from Erica’s and Mill St’s Bridgid brewing day at Great Lakes:

Share and come out to the event March 25th to see these awesome female brewers!

For all those folks who just can’t get enough beer science, we’re taking this chart  a step further.

Our Grain

We brew a 100% malt beer, using 2-Row malted prairie barley from Canada Malting (mainly from Saskatchewan but also Alberta), all GMO-free.  We use 2-Row barley because it is premium and a grade A version relating to larger kernel size, better extract, protein, and enzyme levels, as well as higher price. By comparison,  the 6-row barley is typically less expensive and lower quality.

Hops

While harvested as pale green flowers from a climbing vine, these hops all come to us in pelletized form, vacuum sealed for optimum storage to preserve their flavours over the year until the next hop’s harvest.

The four hops variety in our Pilsner are from Germany’s Hallertau region and the Saazer region of the Czech Republic. Our Brewmaster Marek use these types of hops specifically to brew accordingly to a traditional Czech style Pilsner recipe.

Water

Our water comes from Canadian Springs in Caledon. This water was selected for its purity, making it unnecessary to be filtered or treated before using for brewing (which can be a common practice in breweries using municipal tap water).

Our fermentation time is typically 7 days (yeast being a live product, this can vary from 6-7 days) and ageing is typically for 21 days (21-25 days), making it in total a 4 week time frame..

We also use a double Decoction method of brewing which involves twice taking a small portion of wort out of the Lauter Tun and boiling it in the Mash Tun and then returning it back to the Lauter Tun. The result of the decoction method is to fully extract the fermentable sugars out of the barley and to essentially carmelize them, contributing to our golden colour, a ‘cleaner’ beer with higher residual sugar, and a fuller, creamier head on the beer.

Combine all that with Good Beer Folk passion and what do you get?

Shared by James K Wallace on our Facebook page. 

Beer cheers!

“If you could ask one of the Steam Whistle brewers anything, what would it be?”

All of your questions were amazingly creative and we promised we’d pick 5 to answer. Here they are!

Meet Colin - Brewing & Quality Assurance:

Colin has studied at the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University and has a BSc in Biochemistry from McMaster University. Starting out in home brewing and developing his passion for beer, he has been with Steam Whistle for 7 years. Aside from brewing, Colin spends a great deal of his time in our Quality Assurance lab.

Back when we started in 2000 there weren’t any microbreweries that were brewing a Pilsner because this beer style can generally be more challenging to brew. It is the most popular style of beer in the world so there were many import Pilsner into Canada, but none that were locally brewed. We wanted to brew a truly Canadian Premium Pilsner for you folks…. Plus it’s delicious.

Yes.  Steam Whistle is more than a recipe, our people are the secret ingredients and they can’t be easily duplicated.  Process, equipment and local water source also have a large impact on the final product and so another brewery using the same ingredients will likely produce a different beer. …But of course please don’t kidnap me; the secrets of Steam Whistle are available openly to all on our brewery tours.

Absolutely!  But not every night, beer isn’t his whole life (maybe 90% though).

We brew around the clock so Marek uses his bedroom ere to be able to connect with brewers on each shift. Beer is a live product (yeast being a live organism) so we pay close attention to every batch.

The barley used in Steam Whistle is grown across the Canadian prairies (Saskatchewan), and our water originates in springs near Caledon, Ontario.  As hop aroma and bitterness are some of the most defining characteristics of the pilsner style, we use only the finest hops in Steam Whistle.  We source these hops from Germany and the Czech Republic for that authentic Bohemian Pilsner style.  Our yeast also originates from Europe, but yeast remains alive throughout the process and may be used several times before a fresh culture is required.  In other words, the vast majority of yeast used to make Steam Whistle Pilsner comes from other Steam Whistle Pilsner.

We have not considered making a cask-ale as we are devoted to doing one thing really, really well!

Basic math and science skills are a real asset in the brewery; life sciences and engineering programs would be particularly good courses of study for general background knowledge, but are by no means required. I would strongly recommend one of the many brewing schools around the world. These schools will give you a strong understanding of brewing basics and some hands on experience at the same time.  Experience is very important, and many brewers get their start in home brewing before venturing into the world of commercial brewing.   For the first time a brewing program has opened up in Canada at Niagara College!


There you have it folks. You asked, we answered!

Stay tuned for more Q&As. Who would you like to ask a question?