I don't think you can ever enter the small town of Carlisle for the first time without getting the feeling you are either lost, or made a wrong turn. I got the feeling that everyone knows everyone as I stepped out of my vehicle to ask for directions to 'Progreston Falls' (not Progesterone as I was pronouncing it). You may want to take a few minutes practicing how to saying it properly, or maybe that's just me. After being given direction to turn off of Centre Street onto Progreston Road and go to the end, we were on our way once more.
You will pass a General store, a few homes and an enormous church. The sun was setting quickly so this would be the last waterfall to view before it tucked away completely out of sight. At the very end of the street, Progreston turns to the left where you can park on the right hand side. On ground level you can see some views of the the Falls. It's 6.6 metres high and 16.5 metre wide 'terraced-curtain waterfall'. I was actually blown away by the power of this waterfall. I found out later that this town, now considered a 'ghost town' with a handful of people was once the hub of power for the community in the early 19th century, but by the 1950's progress had made this town almost obsolete to leave just a handful of residents.
Still you can't help but be captivated by its pure beauty. Climbed on top of the railtracks to take some pictures and to walk along them for awhile to take a look around. Stubborn as I could be, I insisted on taking a picture of the falls from a different angle, so I approached the hilltop from the corner of Progreston and Green Springs Road and stepped over a guard-rail like barrier and slid down the side of the hill top. The furthest point I got was next to a very large tree. I wasn't happy having an obstructed view of the falls, but I knew that one more step was going to be a 90 degree angle drop down into the water. Even I am not that stubborn. There is a much easier way to go down on the other side through the path, but I took the shots from a different vantage point and clawed my way back up again. I won't ever do that again, nor would I ever recommend anyone else to either! Progreston Falls is on private property, but the owner was not home. I left it in the same condition I found it, give or take a few footprints in the sand.
With all the hundreds of brands of beer available at the beer and liquor stores, why would anyone want to put in any time and effort in making and bottling their own? Well, for a start, it's cheaper, purer and tastes better than the beer you buy at a retail store!
Swansea Beer Club is located in Toronto's Swansea village right near the Queensway and the South
Kingsway. Just like other Brewing Clubs, the beer is made on the premises and is all -natural and unpasteurized, so pretty much free of any additives and preservatives that make you sick!
It takes about two weeks from your order date for your "batch" to be ready. There is a one-time investment of reusable plastic bottles and caps, and that is your only other expense. It takes about an hour to bottle. But what an hour that is! With the gregarious James keeping you company and discussing the intricacies of beer and wine. The beer you will end up with tastes better than commercialized, pasteurized beer. The pasteurization does make the beer keep longer, but it also removes much of the flavor, including the sweet honey aroma of the hop nectar and bready hints of the barley.
Unpasteurized is how draft beer is, and how beer has been for hundreds of years when it was a staple of the European diet (as well as the only safe source of drinking water!) Being pure and free of additives is less likely to give you a hangover, and the cleanliness of the well-maintained premises means you won't be getting one from dirty lines, as one may from the draft from seedy bars. Oh but I'm not putting down commercialized pubs and taverns, they're a lot of them out there that run a clean establishment and hey it's great to get out for a pint with some friends, but this is a great alternative to the beer fridge at home! Less cost (actually 2/3 or less than the price of commercial beer) and great taste (naturally carbonated, with no added sugar!) Now I'm sounding like an ad.
After bottling, just be sure to keep your beer as cool as possible and out of direct sunlight and it will stay fresh. I really think that if more people knew about the superior product of Swansea and other brew-on-premises shops, the commercial breweries wouldn't dominate the market as they do. But anyways, what do I know?
Cheers!
