Six years ago today, the patrons of Baysville collected in the heart of town to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Lake of Bays Brewing Company. We’ve made a home in this gem of a hub in Muskoka for 6 strong years. Read on if you’re curious about the early days at LB.
As you can tell from the photo, our Company President, Darren Smith, was a spring chicken when he started work on the brewery at the young age of 23 with his family. His father (self-proclaimed Chief Taste Tester) and his sister Michelle are pictured to the left. They even put the mayor to work! Just kidding, but there a was grand gathering with the Baysville officials in the summer of 2009 to break ground (above).
By mid-January 2010, the brewhouse structure was completed and ready to be populated with brewing equipment. In -37 degree weather, the tanks were lifted onto a flatbed. Soon to bear ale things good and bubbly, they were tenderly transported through the bay doors, unloaded, and turned upright with forklifts. January through March was dedicated to finishing up the exterior, landscaping and preparing for the first Baysville brew!
Originally, Lake of Bays was packaged in 341mL bottles. That’s our old bottle filling line, above. The transition to tall cans was made in 2014 in favour of protecting the beer from sun damage, lighter packaging, and an aversion of pointy sharp shards of broken bottles.
The first LB brewskie to hit the shelves was the LB Pale Ale, hitherto known as our tried and true Crosswind. Here’s a couple images of the older, old, and current package. And if you’ve made it this far, we’ll let you in on a little secret – Crosswind will be getting a fresh coat in June!
Never a dull moment in this wet ‘n’ wild industry! Ontario has seen rapid growth in the craft beer movement and we’re happily keep chugging away with it. If you’re around Huntsville or Baysville this weekend, we hope you’ll join us in raising a glass to the sixth anniversary of Lake of Bays Brewing Company.
Skol!
July 2009 – A timber warehouse for the old home hardware waiting to be ker-smashed by thirsty LB workers .
May 2016 – A sunny day at the brewery! You can see a fleet of LB vans that our regional sales reps use to cruise Ontario and peddle the brews.
