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!
Once exiting the Petticoat Creek Conservation Area, you'll be forced off the Waterfront Trail to pass through a residential area (corner of Marksbury and Surf Avenue to West Shore). At this point, there are so many variations but no matter what you decide to do, you will have to go off the trail in order to go around the Frenchman's Bay and catch up to it once again 5.5 km later.
Still there are plenty of things to do before heading back onto the trail. The Frenchman's Bay Yacht club has a local clientele and has been there for 50 Years. You can also launch your boat from Beachpoint Promenade close by as well. You'll pass Bruce Hamscombe Park, located on the west shore of Frenchman's Bay. It's a great place to stop and throw a line in for awhile. There's a children play area as well, but remember it's just a neighbourhood park, so its not large, but has some access to the waterfront.
Finally getting into some really pretty views of the waterfront at the Beachfront Park! While passing by the Progress Frenchman's Bay Park, and the Millenium Square which has all kinds of really cute little shops and bistros by the Lake. This whole area reminds me a lot of The Harbourfront in Toronto, on a smaller scale.
Beachfront Park is great for everyone and easy access for anyone, by boat, car, walking or biking. Pristine sandy beach shoreline, splash pads for kids, playgrounds, picnic areas, volley ball courts and of course the Waterfront trail.
The most interesting feature for me any ways today was being up close and personal to the Pickering Power Station which generates enough electricity for millions of homes and businesses in Ontario. Nuclear supplies electrical needs across the province without having any adverse effects on emissions that lead to smog, acid rain or global warming. Close by there is also a wind turbine that also generates power to millions. I find the Wind Turbine a beautiful sight and am amazed by the enormity of it when you're looking up. There's a picture at the base of it that illustrates by scale by showing you a man in the 'cockpit' of the turbine at the very top. You can read more about both the Pickering and Darlington Nuclear plants that have been a successful alternative to power in Ontario for over 4 decades.
You can continue along the Waterfront Trail following signs around the Pickering Power Station, along Montgomery Park Road. You will have all kinds of vantage points of the entire Generation Plant which is completely fenced off and secured for obvious reasons. Once you head east of Brock Road, you'll get close to the Lake once more, which is where I like to be. Take a cruise through Squires Beach and stop for a bite to eat at Ajax Waterfront Park and finally a rest stop at Duffin creek to return again another day.
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!
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? 
