The Amsterdam Brewing Company is your community brewery located in the heart of Toronto. Although we've moved a couple of times over the years and our name doesn't sound like we're from this great city, we're Torontonians through and through. We brew good beer, right here. Check out our Amster'Dam good story to understand where we came from, where we've been, and where we are today.
In the fall of 1985, Dutchman Roel Bramer purchased a run-down tire retreading plant at 133 John Street in downtown Toronto. His initial plan was to open up a restaurant, but part way through the renovation, the Ontario government passed legislation that allowed restaurants to brew and sell their own beer. Named after the city in the country of Bramer's birth, The Amsterdam Brasserie and Brewpub was born in September of 1986 and was the first of its kind in Toronto. A leader of the craft beer revolution, The Amsterdam brewed a variety of beers including Nut Brown Ale, Bitters, Lagers, and a number of seasonal and specialty brews.
In 1988, Bramer opened a second brew pub called The Rotterdam, located at 600 King Street W. As the largest brew pub in the world at the time, The Rotterdam was equipped with a $500,000 brew house in anticipation of legal changes that would allow brew pubs to bottle and sell their products for home consumption. When the law never changed, Bramer decided the Rotterdam's large capacity would be best utilized as a microbrewery. In order to focus on this new venture, the Amsterdam on John St. was sold in the fall of 1993 and the following spring saw a new microbrewery emerged in Toronto under the name "The Amsterdam Brewing Company".
