Brewing Philosophy

Ontario Craft Brewers share a passion to rekindle the spirit of traditional brewing.

Throughout history, breweries have been an integral part of their local communities, and the beer they produce reflects the pride, passion and personality of the brewer and the community.

Brewing in small, single purpose batches, and within accepted craft product quality guidelines, Ontario Craft Brewing artisans brew traditional styles of beer. They are inspired by thousands of years of brewing history to create new taste adventures using natural ingredients and innovative recipes.

Pledge

We, the Ontario Craft Brewers, continually strive to improve quality and honour traditional craft brewers through a replication of time-honoured brewing styles and a commitment to this Brewing Philosophy.

We continue to be inspired by their example and remain committed to individual expression to create high quality, innovative, and unique beers. The result is a variety of distinctive, flavourful styles and taste profiles that appeal to beer lovers with a sense of discovery and adventure.

Local means fresh. Great taste and quality are always at the forefront of Ontario Craft Beer. Local, small batch brewing and a freshness guarantee are just the beginning. All Ontario Craft Brewers also pledge to brew naturally with malt and other grains, not wort extract, as a foundation for their beers, maintaining authenticity to traditional styles, and using only all-natural, pure ingredients. There are no chemical additives, fillers or preservatives in OCB craft beers.

All Ontario Craft Brewers’ beers are brewed in single purpose batches and once they are fully fermented, a Craft Brewer does not dilute, blend, or manipulate their beer unless it is to enhance rather than lighten the flavour. The primary source of fermentable sugars is derived from the grains used in the brewing process. Non-malt sugar sources, spices and other ingredients are sometimes used to accentuate flavour and add to the distinctiveness of the beer.

Cask and barrel aged beers are great examples of the enhancement of flavour with the addition of such ingredients as dry hopping, vanilla beans or residual bourbon flavours providing wonderful nuances to a beer.
Ontario Craft Brewers currently produce thousands of unique brands based on either traditional brewing styles such as Pilsner, Vienna-style Lager, Munich Dunkel, Weiss Beer, Nut Brown Ale, Bitters, Imperial Stout or the very innovative styles such as Hemp, Cranberry Wheat, Cask-conditioned Lager, Mead, Coffee Porter. Note: malt beverages are not considered to be craft beers.

All of the Ontario Craft Brewers have pledged to share their ever-growing base of knowledge through participation in their own Technical Committee and its ongoing education program. Ontario’s passionate brewers pride themselves on being part of their community, providing jobs in cities and towns throughout the province. With their finely crafted brews, they bring awareness to the historical events of a region, its people and the unique elements that reinforce local pride in their communities.

Withover 120 enthusiastic, innovative brewers working together, the Ontario Craft Brewers are committed to building Ontario as a North American centre of excellence for craft brewing.