Amsterdam Brewing Company

Lore & Background

The company began in September 1986 as The Amsterdam Brasserie and Brewpub in a former tire re-treading plant on John Street in the then nascent Toronto Entertainment District. A second brewpub location with a larger brewing capacity was opened as The Rotterdam on King Street West in 1988. In 1993, the former was closed, and operations were consolidated at the latter under the current name The Amsterdam Brewing Company, with a focus as a microbrewery. The company subsequently moved to a location on Bathurst Street near Fort York.

In 2003, Amsterdam Brewing purchased Kawartha Lakes Brewing of Peterborough, Ontario, which produced KLB Raspberry Wheat, KLB IPA, KLB Nut Brown and KLB Cream Ale. On November 1, 2012, the company moved to 45 Esandar Drive, directly east of the new Leaside Village retail area, to accommodate growth. In May 2013 the company partnered with family run hospitality group Urban Dining Group, headed by Todd Sherman, becoming equal partners on the Amsterdam Brewhouse, a brewpub on the Toronto waterfront at 245 Queens Quay West. In October 2017, the Urban Dining Group and Amsterdam beer company opened a second brewpub in Leaside near the main brewery, called the Amsterdam Barrel House.

On July 15, 2022, Denmark-based Royal Unibrew entered into an agreement to purchase the brewery. The acquisition, which includes a brewery and two brewpub restaurants, was finalized on September 15, 2022.

Reader's Guide

Amsterdam Brewing Company's significance lies in its evolution from a single brewpub in Toronto's Entertainment District to a microbrewery with multiple locations and a portfolio of beers. Its purchase of Kawartha Lakes Brewing in 2003 expanded its offerings to include fruit wheat beers, IPAs, nut brown ales, and cream ales. The partnership with Urban Dining Group in 2013 established a waterfront brewpub, the Amsterdam Brewhouse, and later a second location, the Amsterdam Barrel House, in Leaside. The acquisition by Royal Unibrew in 2022 marked a major transition, bringing the brewery under a Danish parent company aiming to expand into the Americas. The brewery's beers include lagers, pale ales, IPAs, and a nut brown ale, reflecting a range of styles. Its legacy is tied to its growth within Toronto's brewing scene and its role in the city's craft beer culture, as well as its integration into an international beverage group.

Did You Know?

• The brewery moved to 45 Esandar Drive on November 1, 2012, to accommodate growth.
• On September 15, 2022, Royal Unibrew finalized its acquisition of the brewery.

Origins: From the Black Forest to Utica's Westside

Francis Xavier Matt I honed his brewing craft in the Black Forest region of the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, where he studied under the Duke of Baden himself. His grandson later recalled that this training shaped Matt's approach to brewing as an art form and a way of life rather than merely a commercial enterprise. Arriving in the United States in 1880, Matt settled in Utica, New York, where he took on the role of lead salesman and brewmaster at the Charles Bierbauer Brewery. Over several years, he built a strong reputation in Utica's westside, combining his own expertise with Bierbauer's knowledge of old-world brewing techniques. In 1888, Matt reorganized the business into The West End Brewing Company, a venture that would endure for well over a century. The brewery has remained in family hands ever since, and by modern standards it holds the distinction of being the fourth oldest continuously family-owned brewery operating in the United States.

Surviving Prohibition and Building a Brand

When Prohibition swept through the country, the brewery did not shut its doors. Instead, it pivoted to producing soft drinks under the Utica Club name, along with ginger ale and non-alcoholic malt tonics, keeping the business alive through those difficult years. When the ban finally lifted, the company was described as the first brewery in the nation to secure a license to sell beer again. In the decades that followed, Utica Club became the flagship brand, and the company invested heavily in memorable advertising. In 1959, two animated beer steins named Schultz and Dooley, voiced by comedian Jonathan Winters, became recurring television characters for the brewery. A later campaign in 1968, created by Wells, Rich, Greene, Inc., featured television spots set in a fictional nightclub and introduced a beer-drinking song attributed to composer Sasha Burland. These efforts helped cement the brand in the cultural memory of the Northeast.

Three Generations and the Fight for Relevance

The brewery passed through three generations of Matt family leadership, each facing distinct challenges. Walter Matt, who served as president from 1951 to 1980, modernized brewing operations and helped attract new businesses to Utica during its post-industrial transition. His son, F.X. Matt II, took the helm in 1980 and renamed the company the F.X. Matt Brewing Co. in honor of his grandfather. Facing fierce competition from national giants in a Rust Belt city, Matt II described the brewery as being in a fight for its very survival. He introduced the Saranac line of beers in 1985 with the guidance of brewmaster Joseph Owades, and he even penned a playful rhyming jingle for Matt's Premium Light Beer in 1982. In a bold move, he published an open letter criticizing the Utica mayor for not featuring local products at a city fundraiser, arguing that communities had a self-interest in supporting their own makers. The Saranac brand eventually earned the brewery a respected place in the emerging craft beer market.

The 2008 Fire and Enduring Resilience

On the evening of May 29, 2008, a fire erupted in the packaging section of the brewery, reportedly sparked by welding work being performed inside the building. The blaze consumed the second and third floors of the packing building and inflicted more than ten million dollars in damage. Yet the brewery's response demonstrated the resilience that has defined it since 1888. Brewing and kegging of Utica Club resumed within a single week, and bottling operations were back online after just one month. Canning was temporarily relocated to the High Falls Brewing Company in Rochester, New York, until replacement equipment could be installed. Brewery officials pursued state grants to fund the reconstruction, which also allowed for equipment upgrades, additional warehousing, and streamlined production processes. Today, the brewery is led in its fourth generation by Nick Matt as chairman and CEO and Fred Matt as president, with the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway line still running down the middle of Schuyler Street past the facility.

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