1980
It all began in Nova Scotia
Kevin Keefe became continually interested in the unique combination of brewery and restaurant that was popular in England. In North America, brewpubs were basically unheard of and Kevin, owner and operator of Ginger’s Tavern in Halifax, instinctively felt the timing was right to open the first brewpub in Nova Scotia. Undaunted by his lack of practical brewing experience, he took a crash course in brewing at Peter Austin’s legendary Ringwood Brewery, an open-fermentation system, where the “real ale” revolution had begun in England. Kevin trained with Peter Austin and Alan Pugsley.
1985
Keefe's first batch was served
Reaction was mixed at first, since Ginger’s regulars were unfamiliar with something as un-Canadian as “real ale”. However, within the year, Kevin’s brews began to gain acceptance by the locals and the uniqueness of the brewpub concept slowly became more popular. This was the very beginning of the craft brewery renaissance in Canada.
In anticipation of opening another location, Ron Keefe, Kevin’s brother, trained as a brewer in Maryland with Alan Pugsley who had recently emigrated to the United States from England.
1991
Expanding Granite Brewery to Toronto
Six years after they had ventured into the brewpub business the Keefe brothers expanded their Granite Brewery operation to Toronto. In 1991, most Torontonians did not know what craft beer was, much less tasted it. It was a time when the beer market was dominated by mega-breweries and the beer selection from bar to bar was predictable. Ron wanted to bring his passion for crafting unique, English ales to the community in midtown Toronto. When the doors finally opened in August 1991, a customer came in and bet Ron $1 that the business wouldn’t last six months. Now, almost 30 years later, that same $1 bill hangs proudly in the brewpub.
2000
Ron Keefe, A Craft Beer Pioneer
Granite Brewery started as a brewpub and at the time you were only allowed to sell beer at the restaurant on premise. After much lobbying from Ron, in 2004 regulations were changed to allow breweries to have a tied house. It was a natural extension for Granite, allowing us to sell to other pubs, open a retail store and bring beer to festivals. In the eyes of the law we switched from a restaurant with a brewery to a brewery with a restaurant, a subtle but huge difference. Ron was the main contributor to changing these laws, which paved the way for many other breweries to operate and include a restaurant aspect to their businesses. In 2008, Ron began teaching courses on brewing at George Brown College and would invite his students to Granite Brewery to learn the process first-hand.
2011
Ron passed on the Brewmaster title to his daughter, Mary Beth
Mary Beth has continued to brew the same quality brands while adding an impressive list of her own originals, including Galactic Pale Ale and Darkside Black IPA.
Mare began learning to brew in 2008 after returning from a year-long stay in England where she got a huge appreciation for craft beer and pub culture. She realized that the Granite was all this and more and on her return to Toronto, decided to get serious about brewing. She became head brewer in 2010 and slowly began taking on more and more responsibility. She got her general certificate in brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in 2011 and that year got a full scholarship through the Master Brewers Association to the Malting and Brewing Course in Madison, WI. She has brewed a ton of beers after the original Granite lineup that Ron designed.
In 2019, Granite bought their first and only closed fermenter, FVX, allowing Mary Beth and her brew team to experiment with new yeasts and brew new styles the Granite has never done before. The first beer to come from FVX was Brand New Day NEIPA.
In 2022, she won Brewer of the Year through the Brewers Journal of Canada Brewers Choice Awards.
In 2023, she was awarded the Beer Babes Grant because of the work she does in brewing and for women in beer. Supporting women in beer is something that she is incredibly passionate about, something she constantly advocates for and makes herself available to anyone wanting to learn.
2024
Team Accomplishments
The Granite team won two golds for Keefe's Irish Stout and Darkside Black IPA, a silver for Babe Brew Grisette and a bronze for Peculiar Strong English Ale at the 2024 Ontario Brewing Awards.
Mary Beth has worked with some really great people over the years, most importantly Tim Burnett, who has been on the crew since 2018. Together they have learned and experimented a lot; coming up with much better brewing techniques and some really excellent beer.
Alistair Thain has been on the crew since 2021 and is a master cellar-man making sure everything post fermentation is spot on. He also did the research and leg work for the Granite to become the only brewery/pub in Canada to have the Cask Marque designation for our dedication to serving fine real ale (2025).