City of Guelph: Beer is in our blood
With the annual homecoming fiasco approaching, the city is set to witness, once again, the more inconvenient impacts of alcohol consumption. But, no matter how disappointed the people of Guelph (and maybe even Mayor Cam Guthrie) may be on the morning of Sept. 23, the relationship and history of alcohol to our city is undeniably a part of what makes Guelph the city it is. Brewing Changes Guelph, a new exhibition at the Guelph Civic Museum seeks to explore the rise, fall, resurrection, and future of brewing in the Royal City.
From the start, brewing and distilling has had an impact on Guelph’s development. It all began with the first European settlers who brought traditional beer styles to Canada and founded the first distilleries, breweries, and malt houses. The impact of brewers and their craft reached far beyond the lips of thirsty patrons, influencing politics, infrastructure, and even local sports of 19th century Guelph.
The University of Guelph’s contribution to brewing history is a strain of barley known as “OAC 21.” This variety at one time accounted for 98 per cent of all barley grown in Canada, and is now seeing a revival among craft brewers today.
The first room of the exhibit traces the story of brewing in Guelph until prohibition and economic difficulty closed the last of Guelph’s breweries in the late 1930s. The next room presents the second major wave of Guelph brewing as it began in the 1980s with the opening of Wellington Brewery and the revival of the Sleeman Brewery. Both areas are full of artifacts from their respective eras including antique packaging and memorabilia, an array of modern tap handles, and a carboy of live beer complete with an airlock in the style of the modern homebrewer.
A particular focus of the exhibition is on the roles of women in the brewing industry. It has been common for beer marketing to rely heavily on objectifying women as a way to sell products to a perceived consumer base of men. This is best exemplified by the infamous Old Milwaukee pin-up girl label designs — a product of Sleeman Breweries, which has come under fire from women’s groups for sexualized depictions of women.
Instead, this exhibition considers the roles of women in brewing as creators, owners, and consumers. From success stories of the early woman hotel owners in Guelph, to present day initiatives of woman-oriented groups, the exhibition emphasizes representation for a group that has been regularly overlooked in 20th century brewing culture. One such initiative, Wellington Brewery’s yearly Queen of Craft event, combines beer education and tasting, while celebrating women and collecting proceeds for local charities in support of women and children.
One display features the work of artist Cai Sepulis — whose iconic designs have adorned the products of multiple Guelph breweries like Royal City, StoneHammer (which is now closed), and Wellington — shaping the identity of the modern industry in Guelph through her art.
Brewing Changes Guelph is open until Feb. 24, 2019 at the Guelph Civic Museum, with an opening reception to be held Friday, Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Feature photo courtesy of Lind Design.
Article and photos by Corben Grant.