[steam whistle brewery]

Ok, so we were going to act all grown up and visit the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) and the science museum, but we wanted something really Canadian...so we headed to the historic distillary district and found the Steam Whistle Brewery at the foot of the CN Tower.

We had an excellent tour guide who was so enthusiastic we all left wanting to brew our own beer (I'm sure the seemingly unlimited "samples" of beer had nothing to do with this). He also shared with us little known facts like Health Canada (!!!) allowing the use of 108 elements in the production of beer, including fish guts (Isinglass) to assist with the distillation process and gelatin (also a meat by-product) to keep the bubbles for longer...eeew! This is slightly distrubing because "Canadian beer is recognized as one of the safest in the world."

Steam Whistle Brewery has a more old fashioned perception of beer-making and they only use four ingredients: barley, hops, yeast, and spring water...so it's healthy...really!