Toronto’s microbreweries are demonstrating there is still a place for factories in the urban landscape at a time when manufacturers are leaving the city.

“I think that the idea of people making things is still important in our society, as is having that be visible in our culture,” said Nina Rappaport, curator of the travelling exhibition, Vertical Urban Factory, currently showing at Toronto’s Design Exchange museum. Her exhibition provides a snapshot of Toronto’s industrial heritage, and points to the potential of rebuilding this lost part of the city.

In Toronto, microbreweries seem to be exploring the potential. In recent years, new breweries have been popping up across the city — from Mill Street Brewery in the Distillery District to Bellwoods Brewery in the west end — attracting patrons who come for a drink and stay to watch the skilled crafting of specialty beers.

“Increasingly, consumers want to meet the producers, they want to meet the brewmasters. They are interested in supporting the local economy, and being right in the middle of the city, we can provide that,” said Sybil Taylor, communications director at Steam Whistle Brewing. “We wanted to contribute to the social fabric of the city — to create an intersection of community, brewing and craft.”

Paul Scrivener, director of external affairs for the Toronto Industries Network, said most manufacturing businesses have adapted to leaner and smaller operations to remain competitive — relying on computer technology, automation and highly skilled workers to operate increasingly complex machinery.

This is true of many of Toronto’s microbreweries. They have had to adapt their facilities to suit tight urban spaces, filled with new high-tech equipment.

Steam Whistle is located in the historic John St. Roundhouse, a former steam locomotive repair facility next to the Rogers Centre, opened in 2000. The city granted the brewery permission to use the building provided it was restored to its industrial roots and would include a cultural or tourist component.

Today, a raised catwalk snakes through the brewery, giving tour groups views of the operation. The facility also has an event space and bar for public and private functions. About 100,000 people a year visit the brewery.

Taylor said the high cost of leasing the downtown location is offset by lower distribution costs. “Beer is heavy to ship, and most of our business is concentrated in Toronto.”

Steam Whistle has 85 full-time employees and hires 60 more on a seasonal basis.

Since 2003, 400 jobs have been created by more than 40 craft breweries in Ontario, said John Hay, president of Ontario Craft Brewers.

The 2010-11 LCBO annual report shows that the demand for local craft beer continues to grow, with a 35.2 per cent increase in net dollar sales in that period.

After the lease came up at its Bathurst St. location near the waterfront, the Amsterdam Brewing Co. relocated to Esandar Dr., off Laird Dr., in the Leaside Village retail area.

It would have been an ideal time to move the facility beyond the city but Amsterdam opted to stay. “Beer is a really social product to make — it’s a relationship that we have with our customers that mandates us to be in the city,” said Blake Van Delft, the brewery’s media and marketing assistant.

Toronto’s Official Plan calls for the protection of existing industrial lands to encourage job growth in the manufacturing sector. Over the years, many of these areas have shrunk or disappeared due to the gradual advancement of developments like condos and offices, as well as institutional uses like places of worship.

In contrast, microbreweries seem to thrive by drawing in the communities growing up around them.

Brock Shepherd, owner of the Kensington Brewing Company, is working to set up a facility on Augusta St. in the heart of Kensington Market.

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“Being downtown is very important,” Shepherd said. “Microbreweries depend on the exposure.”

Raja Moussaoui is a journalism fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.