In Pictures - Neustadt Brewery: Neustadt, ON

I was able to get out of the city for the weekend, heading to Elmwood for a wedding. Looking at Google maps to get a sense of its location, I noticed it was very close to Neustadt, home of Val and Andrew Stimpson's Neustadt Springs Brewery. It was determined that a slight detour was in order to stop in and take a tour of the cellar/tunnel beneath the historic brewery.

The brewery, built in 1859 by Henry Huether, is situated just off the main street in the small village and sits atop on a natural clear spring of water that still flows underneath the brewery to this day. The Stimpson's moved here from the UK in 1997 and purchased the old brewery, which hadn't seen beer produced on-site since 1916 due to the brewery closing because of prohibition.

Due to the timing of the wedding, I couldn't afford to stay at the brewery for too long, but I did manage to get in a self tour of said cellar/tunnels, where Huether once stored his beers to keep cool. The tunnels, as people in Neustadt said, used to run all over the downtown area to supply the local Inns and Taverns; however, they have since been blocked and no there is now no access past the brewery.

Here are some pictures.

After walking down a set of stairs and rounding a corner, this is the first room in the cellar that you enter. Notice the chandelier hanging from the ceiling? It dates back to the start of the original Crystal Springs Brewery - 1859.

This was the entrance to one of the tunnels (turn left at end). Some of the rooms had adequate lighting; this one did not. The girls I was with were a bit nervous about walking through.

Another room with one light. Old beer barrels are scattered in this room and there are some metal artifacts hanging on the stone walls (not pictured).

A bunch of barrels lined up against the wall. The opposite wall was also lined with barrels.

This is an original barrel with the original 'Huether's Beer' symbol on it.

The water. This is one of Neustadts biggest assets. You can hear the water flowing gently as you enter the last room and pictures of Huether pulling up water for his brews runs through my head.

And back out to the front where Val was busy selling their products to a bunch of locals. The Big Dog Porter was available in cans for $2.65.

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On Saturday August 15th, Val and Andrew will be opening the doors to the brewery for an open house, leading people on a brewery tour and taking people on the underground adventure to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the oldest operating brewery in Ontario.

Guided tours of the brewery, cellar/tunnels and the spring run from May to September on weekends only and cost a mere $5. Individuals are encouraged to call ahead to book the tour in advance. Group tours for up to 10 people can also be arranged. Call ahead to book.