Steam Whistle Brewing

The magic of Steam Whistle Pilsner begins in the brewhouse under the watchful eye of our Brewmaster, Marek Mikunda, where he shares the privilege of brewing with Head Brewer, Jeff Pearson, and Brewers John Hombek and Elizabeth Fitzgerald. Their combined brewing expertise ensures delivery of our promise to be Canada's Premium Pilsner.
Brew Kettle/Mash Tun In this vessel, 500kg of crushed, malted barley are combined with 2000 litres of heated Crystal Springs water to create the 'mash'. During this stage, starch from the malt is converted into the necessary sugars. Steam Whistle Brewing is one of the only microbreweries in Canada to employ the traditional 'decoction' method of brewing: one third of the mash is extracted from the Mash Tun, boiled and then reintroduced to the rest of the mash. This higher temperature brewing gives Steam Whistle Pilsner a fuller malt flavour, a thick creamy head, and a deep golden colour. Following this stage in the process, the spent malt is shipped out to local Ontario farms to be used as high-quality animal feed.
The Lauter Tun Once we finish the decoction process, the mash is transferred to the Lauter Tun where the barley husks form a natural filter bed on the bottom of the tank. It is through this natural filter that we separate the sweet wort (a German word for the hot, sweet liquid), which we return to the brew kettle to add our hops, the spice of beer. The filter bed is then sparged (sprayed with hot water,) allowing the extraction of every drop of precious wort.
Brew Kettle Once all of the sweet wort has been collected in the kettle, it is brought to a full, rolling boil and boiled for 1 1/2 hours. During this boil, our three varieties of imported German hops are added in four stages, giving the beer balanced hoppy flavour and a clean, hop aroma.
The Whirlpool At the end of the boiling process, the wort is spun in the whirlpool to extract the spent hops. The wort is then passed through the heat exchanger to cool it to 5-8 degrees C… the perfect temperature to pitch yeast.
Primary Fermenting Steam Whistle Pilsner is fermented in two stages. During fermentation, the brewing yeast grows by consuming the sugars in the wort and naturally creating C02, and alcohol. During Primary fermentation, the carbon dioxide is released from the tanks.
Secondary Fermenting and Aging During the secondary fermentation and aging process, the carbon dioxide is captured in the tanks, naturally carbonating our beer. This contributes to the fine bubbles, longevity, and density of our foam. Steam Whistle Pilsner is aged five weeks, allowing all of the flavours to come together into the refreshing brew that you enjoy. At the end of the aging process we triple filter our beer to ensure that it is 'bright' and ready for you.
Bottle Shop Our dedicated bottling line crew start an early day packaging our beer which has been slowly aging in tank. Steam Whistle Pilsner is available in our traditional style green bottle, in 6, 12 and 24 packs, as well as in 30 litre and 50 litre kegs.
Taste Testing by the Brewmaster and Crew Every single batch of Steam Whistle Pilsner is subjected to quality testing by our Taste Panel prior to being bottled. When our staff gather to taste the fruits of their labour, Marek Mikunda, our Brewmaster, heads up the Panel, aided by our Quality Assurance Coordinator, Anabel Fernandez. The beer is tested for consistent adherence to our quality standards in colour, aroma, and taste, and then the beer is tested further within our laboratory to ensure best-practices. If the beer doesn't receive the Brewmaster's approval, it will not be shipped out to you.
Loading the Bottle Washer The bottle handlers have arguably the toughest job on the line, loading over 60,000 bottles in a day. At production time, we use a combination of new and recycled bottles. (For a 10 cent deposit, you can return your bottles to the Beer Store and we will reuse them.) Our state-of-the-art Bottle Washer cleans and sterilizes all the bottles at 80 degrees Celsius.
Filling and Fobbing Once our bottles are filled, they are fobbed, or passed under a jet of hot steam. This fobbing process causes the beer to foam, pushing all of the air out of the bottle before it is crowned. Crowning In the name of quality and tradition Steam Whistle Pilsner is topped with a non-twist style crown. This extra tight seal prevents unwanted air seepage, so you receive our beer tasting its freshest.
Inspection A vital part of our bottling process is the inspection stage: after the bottle washer and prior to the filler, an Electronic Bottle Inspector examines the empty bottles for cleanliness and purity of the glass. Any that do not meet tight standards will be rejected. After the filler, one of our staff visually inspects the bottles to be sure they are filled to the top.
Packaging As the conveyor fills with bottles, the packing machine is triggered to drop-pack bottles into our classic style 6-pack, suitcase 12 or 24-pack. Here our product is inspected one last time as the cases are manually closed and loaded for delivery.
Delivery Our Pilsner is shipped to hundreds of Beer Stores, LCBO outlets and licensed bars/restaurants across Ontario weekly. Laura Martin, our Customer Service Manager, talks to all these outlets personally to ensure a fresh supply will be waiting for you. If ever you cross the country, Alberta now stocks our fine Pilsner. Contact Brad Goddard, Regional Manager at (403) 542-3261 for location information.
The Good Beer Folks at Steam Whistle Brewing hope that you enjoy our product as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. If you are ever in Toronto, we will be happy to give you a tour in person. Drop in!