Liberty Village will soon be home to a new brewery, as Toronto’s Something in the Water plans to open its Euro-style spot this spring.
Think of a pedestrian walkway with a sunny patio, colourful interiors, and a couple of swings at the bar, all of which are parts of the plan for Something in the Water’s brewery.
Located at 151 East Liberty Street, Co-Founder Steve Waugh told Curiocity it was always a dream and a long-term goal to have their own brewery.
Waugh said that Something in the Water began in November 2019, and launched in March of 2020. “We launched three days before the lockdown.” But that didn’t stop the team behind the concept turn it into a reality.
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Along with co-founders Mike Lee and Rick Tanton, the team began contract brewing, meaning a larger and more advanced brewery created their beer from their recipe on their behalf. “It’s incredibly common, and that’s how we launched,” said Waugh.
And with the pandemic in full swing last summer, they began to home deliver their beers, which were sours – aka the second fastest category of craft beer, according to Waugh.
By September, Something in the Water got into the LCBO, securing a main channel for their sales. But the dream was still alive to open their own brewery.
“The pandemic opened an opportunity which did not exist before, which is the unfortunate reality of retail in Toronto,” Waugh said, speaking about the “for lease signs” which popped up all over the city as retailers shut their doors permanently.
“We weren’t planning on doing it yet, but it’s kind of like ‘when life gives you lemons’, so we wanted to make lemonade out of it.”
He looked at this time as an opportune moment to look for a marquee location, and he found it.
“The stars aligned because of the pandemic,” he said.
As the brewery is in the business of making “curious beverages”, expect the physical space to offer the same.
“We took the angle of a European style cafe, very small, very intimate, colourful and I think more of a cafe that you’d find in Barcelona than the tap rooms like the beer halls in Munich,” said Waugh, adding that the vibe really fits in with the space in Liberty Village.
And as for intimacy, there will be seating for about 40 people inside, and they’re looking to curate artisanal snacks from all over Ontario, as well as within Liberty Village itself.
As part of their launch, they will be serving their Pancake Bay Sweet Brunch Stout, which won a Silver World Beer Award in 2021.
The beer combines five kinds of malts with flaked oats, milk, sugar, locally-roasted freshly ground coffee, and of course, a Canadian classic: maple syrup.
Expect sours, and more curious creations, once the brewery is up and running. And get ready to hit Liberty Village as part of your future brewery crawls if you’re a beer fan.
“If there was ever a time to be a beer drinker in Toronto,” Waugh said, “The time is now.”
Something in The Water Brewery
Where: 151 East Liberty Street
When: May 2022
