A craft beer brewery from Canada has dedicated itself to brewing beer with homegrown ingredients and grows hops right on its roof in a 400-square-meter garden.
reconstruction of a two-storey building
Urban gardening is all the rage, as is handcrafted craft beer. The two are combined at Eveling Kitchen and Brewery in Toronto. In the 400-square-metre rooftop garden in the heart of the Canadian metropolis, many ingredients are grown for restaurant dishes, but also for beer. Owner Max Meaghen is a supporter of the so-called “farm-to-table” movement and realized his ideas of sustainable and local food production and gastronomy with “Aveling” (Norwegian for harvest). Construction, including the roof garden, was also planned regionally by Toronto-based Lee and McGillivray Architecture Studio (LAMAS). The floor volumes were separated from the two-storey building, providing space for a fermentation tank 4.8 m high and 4000 liter capacity. For roof gardens, Meghan relies on Zinko’s “Urban Farming” system design.
material from regional production
The craft beer ingredients are also produced locally in Ontario and Quebec. Spices like lemon thyme, pineapple sage or marigold come straight from our terrace, as does hops. It started with WSF 40 Root Protection Film and SSM 45 Storage Protection Mat on the new sealed roof. This was followed by the drainage and water storage element Fluoradren FD 40, which regulates the water-air balance and is important for sustainable plant growth. An additional layer of TG system filter and geogrid was built over it to protect it from groundbreaking. The actual substrate layer is about 20 cm high in most areas. Deep rooted plants find enough space in raised beds up to 60 cm high.
Wastewater from Brewery Process as Irrigation Water
Nutrient-rich wastewater is also collected from the brewery and used for rooftop irrigation. Since three to eight liters of water are needed for every liter of beer when brewing, a lot of wastewater is generated, which mixes with organic matter such as yeast and starch and is therefore rich in nutrients. The wastewater is fed into an oxygenated treatment system, which breaks down the sugar and thus generates high quality water for irrigation of the roof garden. In addition to several garden workshops, Awling also offers brewery tours and special events where visitors are introduced to the particular production method.
