Worker Owned, Community Focused: London Brewing

Meet Emma Maganja, one of the worker-owners at London Brewing, and one of our newest Neighbourhood Partners! Located at 521 Burbrook Place, London Brewing has been in the business of beer for over 12 years. What sets London Brewing apart from the others? “We're the last remaining independent organic craft brewery in Ontario,” Maganja says. “We're also a workers cooperative. What that means is all of our owners are active employees of the business, it's now 100% owned by the worker owners, so we really get what you put out.” All decisions for the brewery are run by a board made up of worker owners, and any surplus at the end of the year is divided between them. “You are in control of your workplace, you have more of a say over what your job looks like, what your duties look like.”

London Brewing got its start as a home brewing operation in one of the original owners' garages. Shortly after, they were able to move some production into the old Root Cellar at 621 Dundas Street, now where Dough EV is located. “They had a small space where they were able to produce very, very small batches and set up pop-up shops, which was the only way they were distributing the beer at the time,” Maganja says. Their beer was quickly a hit, kickstarting plans to move production to their own place. “The response was really good, and they decided to expand and moved into this building in 2017 and just kind of went from there. It was way too big at first, and now we're a little bit squeezed for space, but we're staying put.” The building they currently own is a former industrial building, now full of brewing equipment, a stage, indoor seating, and two outdoor patios.

Early on in London Brewing’s history, one of the founders, Aaron Lawrence (who still works as head brewer), took interest in local agriculture and how they could support it through their beer, beginning the brewery’s focus on using local, organic, and sustainable ingredients

“Things that are having less of an impact on our planet, whether it's being shipped from closer distances or not being grown with pesticides or something that might be harmful,” Maganja says. “It was a way to set us apart from other breweries, but also to support the local growers and farmers in our area.” Maganja adds that with independent brewing growing in popularity, local suppliers have had a hard time keeping up with scale. “As people are to stay competitive and also brewing on a larger scale, of course, it's harder to source from the farm down the road.” However, she says that while it makes things a bit tougher, it’s all worth it in the end.

So what’s on tap at London Brewing? It’s a bit of an obvious answer: beer! According to Maganja, they offered over 50 different types of beer last year. Their most popular are their lagers, amber ales, and pilsners, all organic. Sourcing locally means London Brewing gets creative with their beers as seasons change: right now, they have a lavender rhubarb sour, a blood orange wheat beer, or even a dill pickle gose, a type of fermented beer. “We do get really good comments about our beer. We make a lot of different kinds and it's great beer.” However, new to the brewery is non-alcoholic sparkling waters in several different flavours. We got a chance to sample some, and they are delicious! 

Not only do they offer a lot of beer, they host events pretty much every night! From open jams, trivia nights, karaoke, London Brewing is shaping up to be a very popular event destination. “You can come here almost any day, and you never know what you're walking into, like there could be something really bizarre happening, there could be something really fun happening,” Maganja says, adding that it’s great to see the community embrace these events so readily. “It's been a rough year economically for everybody, but even just getting out, having a drink, and just supporting people with your presence, or taking in some live music is really important.”

London Brewing is open on Mondays from 12 to 9pm, Tuesdays to Thursdays from 12 to 10pm, Fridays from 12 to 11pm, Saturdays from 11am to 10pm, and on Sundays from 12 to 6pm.

📍 521 Burbrook Place

☎️ (226) 667-6363

🌐 https://www.londonbrewing.ca/