WATERLOO — One of the oldest beer makers in Canada is getting a new look.

A long, heavy concrete sign for Lion Brewery was hoisted into place Thursday morning at the back of the Huether Hotel where a new space for the hotel's Lion Brewery is being built. A crew of masons went to work right away, securing it in place.

"This new sign is pre-cast concrete, moulded, kind of old-world looking," said David Adlys, one of the owner-managers of the Huether.

Large glass doors will give passersby a direct view of the beer-making operations inside the brewery. From inside the Lion Brewery Restaurant in the basement of the hotel, there will be an area where patrons can watch the brewmaster at work.

"This is where the brewery was in the 1800s," Adlys said as he stood on Princess Street looking at the new wing that is under construction at the back of the hotel.

Long before the spread of craft beer makers — and the associated images of bearded, plaid-clad, tattooed hipsters making pumpkin flavoured ales — the Huether Hotel was brewing its own beer.

The Lion Brewery was making German-inspired lagers in the 1800s. The basement of the historic hotel at King and Princess streets is hallowed ground for beer aficionados. The private party room off the basement restaurant, called The Cavern, is where beer was aged in the 1800s.

"We do it all from scratch, which is key," said Adlys, one of the third generation of the family to run the hotel and brewery. "We also do seasonal, so right now there is a raspberry beer."

The Lion Brewery produces several different beers — ales, lagers, pilsners and wheat. The family holds the Canadian patent for the recipe of its Lion Lager. The brewmaster on site has worked there for 10 years.

The Lion Brewery beers are only sold in the bars and restaurants inside the Huether Hotel.

"We are one of the oldest, existing breweries in the country," Adlys said.

The brewery was founded in 1842 by the Huether family. It went through several owners in the following decades. In 1953, John Adlys bought the brewery and hotel.

David is his grandson. David's mother, Sonia, who still works in the office, met Bernie Adlys while working in the Heuther Hotel. They married, and their adult children work in the hotel to this day — Kelly, Bernie Jr. and Tina, as well as David.

The family oversees a workforce that fluctuates between 80 and 100 people.

The new wing at the back of the Huether is where the original brewery was located. The basement of that old operation remained intact long after the building above ground was demolished. A huge diamond saw was needed to cut through the thick foundation of field stone to join the old basement rooms to the newly constructed wing.

When construction is finished on the addition, the building that currently houses the beer-making operation at King Street North and Bridgeport Road West will be demolished and replaced with a parking lot.

"We can always use parking," Adlys said. "We have a thousand seats in here, the patio and private functions."

In addition to an updated brewery, the new wing will include a granary, a staff room and another kitchen with a freight elevator.

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A private space on the third floor called the Boardroom, on the mezzanine of the Barley Works Public House and Grill, will be expanded into part of the new area.

Another private room will be built in the basement of the new wing as part of the Lion Brewery Restaurant. This space used to have a giant kettle in the middle of the floor where malt was added to the barley for beer making. It was known as the Malt Room in the 1800s.

When the new kitchen is running the old one that serves the Barley Works will be closed, and new washrooms built in its place. Construction should be finished by October and brewery operations will be moved into the newly built space in stages.

The 7,937-kilogram Lion Brewery sign was produced by Ed's Concrete Products of Stratford for Cor Tec. Contracting of Ayr, the firm that is doing the masonry work for the addition.

Terry Pender Reporter Terry Pender covers business for the Record. Email | Twitter

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