Great Lakes Brewery - Projext 'X'

A couple of weeks ago I was out at the Great Lakes Brewery enjoying a free sausage on a bun and samples of their Devil's Pale Ale, and friend John Bowden, who runs the marketing side of things, let me know about some new developments taking shape within the brewery walls.

One of the developments is their weekly barbecue that takes place in front of the brewery on Friday evenings. Between 4 and 6 pm, customers who stop by the brewery to pick up their favourite Great Lakes product can enjoy a free sausage on a bun while chatting with a Great Lakes employee. I headed out there one Friday after work and witnessed first hand the appreciation the customers had for this project. The barbecue will run every Friday evening (4-6pm) until the end of summer.

But the big development taking place at the brewery was only confirmed today.

Project X was launched today with a post on the Great Lakes Blog. The project will be a monthly event where the brewery will tap an exclusive 'one off' cask conditioned beer created specifically for the event and the first such night will take place on Thursday July 9th between 6:30 and 9:00pm. The cost of admission to each monthly event will only be $10 and that will provide you with access to samples of the 'one off' beer, some beer themed food, drink tickets for some Great Lakes regular products, and a brewery tour.

You can also become a member. And it's easy to join the exclusive Project X membership. There will be an additional $10 fee that will grant you access to all the stuff mentioned above, and the $10 membership also includes a special t-shirt and a commemorative membership card. To sign up you will just need to show up for an event and register at the front counter of their retail store.

Bowden also let me know today that they are currently brewing the first edition of Project X, and the style of that beer won't be announced until it gets tapped on July 9th. The brewery put in a new pilot system just for this project, and to have a little fun with recipes. Project X hopes to grow into more than just a montly event, as Bowden mentioned that it would be cool to one day bottle some of the 'one off' beer for retail at the brewery's store.

Great Lakes is situated in Etobicoke just off the Gardiner Expressway at Islington. However, for events such as this it is always a good idea to leave the car in park and take public transit. Hop on the GO Train to Mimico station and make the short walk to the brewery, or you can take the bus from the Royal York subway station.

For more information about Project X, or becoming a member, you can contact the brewery through their website or at info@greatlakesbeer.com