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EESTI ELU reedel, 5. märtsil 2021 — Friday, March 5, 2021
Nr. 9
Strong educational legacy lives on in honour of Edgar and Renate Marten
Image used with permission from Kalev Nisbet
Malt, Yeast, Hops, and Other Ingredients in a Brewer's Life with Kalev Nisbet Interview by Vincent Teetsov In Toronto's west end, north of The Junction, Shacklands Brewing Company has been making and serving craft beer to Torontonians since it was founded in 2012. Recently, one of their creations called “Saison Davenport” has been chosen, for the first time, by the LCBO to be stocked on their shelves. It just so happens that their Head Brewer, Kalev Nisbet, is Estonian-Canadian. He seemed like the perfect person to learn about what exactly goes into the making of a beer — and furthermore, what goes into the making of a brewer. How long have you been brewing with Shacklands? Were you at other breweries before? I actually started with Shacklands by volunteering in 2017, during a [faculty strike] while at Niagara College. I was enrolled in the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Manage ment program, and was also working for the college brewery and lab during my time there. Before that, I was an assistant brewer at the Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District, and a home brewer prior to that. What transformed beer from being an enjoyable bev erage into a craft that you wanted to pursue each day? Going back to the beginning, sometime in my early 20s, I be came captivated by the diversity of styles and flavours that the still relatively new craft beer scene had to offer. Next thing I knew, I was home brewing and reading about the history of beer and re gional styles. A couple visits to Belgium sealed the deal. I end ed up changing course from my career in architecture, finding the combination of science, technology, and creative artistry required in brewing to be both compelling and fulfilling. What is the start of a work day like for you? Being a small brewery, tasks and schedules vary quite a bit.
With only a handful of people behind the operation, we all wear many hats. If I’m brewing, I’ll be in before 7:00 to heat up the water and get things pre pared for the day. Things change if I’m heading in to package a beer, clean tanks, take out local beer deliveries, or if I’m just going in to check on things. Is it a very lively and social environment, or is it more in dividual and meditative? Before everything was locked down, the tap room at the front of the brewery would often be bustling with chatter and whatever funky music was playing. Dave, our owner and tireless beer slinger, keeps an eclectic mix of records, 8-tracks, and other retro forms of media. Lately, when I’m in the back, it’s unusually calm and quiet. In a step-by-step way, how is a beer like the new Saison Davenport made? When brewing a batch of our Saison Davenport, we use a blend of simple North American malted grains and steep, or mash, them in hot water to ex tract and develop fermentable sugars, as well as colour and some flavour. The sweet malt water, which we call “wort”, is drained and separated from the solid grain and moved over to the kettle, where we bring it up to a boil. During this boil, we add a variety of hops from Alsace, which introduce bitterness, fla vour, and aroma. Then we cool down the wort and transfer it to a fermenter, where we introduce our house blend of saison yeast. The yeast ferments at warm temperatures, producing alcohol and a variety of esters that con tribute complex flavours and aromas. When the beer is finished fermenting, we package it by hand into kegs and cans and get it ready to sell at the brewery and the LCBO. I should also note: the labels we put on Saison Davenport, as well as all our other beers, are designed by my lovely and talented wife Ashley Lennox!
What are some unique ways of delivering these steps at Shacklands? Most breweries will artifi cially introduce CO2 to carbon ate their beers. We actually in troduce a little sugar to the beer right before packaging and let it go through a secondary fermen tation, where the yeast naturally carbonates the beer! It’s an ex tra step that adds some time to the process, but it produces a fine quality of fizz that works well with our beers. We also use yeast that results in most of our beers being less sweet. LCBO’s description of Saison Davenport mentions “red berry, clove, black pep per, and tea.” How are ingre dients included to bring out these flavours? Actually, we don’t physically use any of these ingredients. All the complex flavours found in Saison Davenport, as well as many of our other beers, are de rived from the skillful use of nothing but malted grains, yeast, and hops. Many Belgianstyle ales, including Saisons, are what one would consider “yeast forward”, as they show case many interesting spice and fruit esters that are produced by some particular strains of yeast during fermentation. Do you believe there is a link between your Estonian heritage and the work you do? While I wouldn’t say that my Estonian heritage drove me to become a brewer, it has helped me to further explore it. Different forms of taluõlu [“farm beer”] have existed in Eesti for eons, and the craft beer scene there is currently ex ploding! During visits there, I've learned lots about the histo ry of beer and its connection to Estonian culture. From late night drinks with the brewer at Pühaste in Tartu, dropping in on the one-man operation at Pihtla Pruulikoda on Saaremaa, to touring the amazing new Põhjala facility in Tallinn, I’ve come across as many interesting stories as I have beers. I’ve found inspiration from both historical practices to new
For the Sehr and Marten families of Toronto, continuing the educational legacy of Edgar and Renate Marten is a natural progression in their unwavering commitment to Estonians’ future. The family has made a Viru Vanemad donation in their memory as part of the International Estonian Centre’s (IEC) Capital Campaign. They want to help ensure that the IEC will be ready to continue to serve the next generation of young people such that education, through the Estonian supplementary school remains a strong focal point at the IEC. The donation is being made by Edgar and Renate’s children and grandchildren, and their respective families. This includes daughter Reet, son Juhan and grandchildren Paul, Eric, Andres, Katrina and Alexia. “Our grandfather was a big supporter of the new centre,” said grandson Paul. “He was always asking about it, wanting to know when it would open and what it will look like. He would have loved seeing it built.” Edgar, known affectionately to many in the Toronto Estonian community as “koolipapa” (school father), was the principal of the Toronto Estonian School for a remarkable 43 years. An influential community leader, he also served on many boards including an Estonian church and the Estonian Central Council in Canada. He passed away in October 2020, having lived to 100 years of age. Born in the fishing community of Neeme, Estonia, Edgar studied to become a teacher at Tallinn’s Õpetajate Seminar. His first teaching assignment after graduation was in his own home town, but he was able to teach there only one term before his life’s path changed abruptly due to World War II. Renate Marten was born in Nurste, Hiiumaa, Estonia and attended business school in Tallinn. She went on to work for the Estonian government. The couple met and worked in Norrköping, Sweden where they married and started an active social life, including frequent leading roles with the local theatre company. Renate passed away in 2002. After Edgar and Renate immigrated to Canada, he immersed himself in building the educational legacy that thrives to this day. Although his daily work in Toronto was in other fields, Edgar remained a teacher for the rest of his life. The Toronto Estonian Supplementary Schools were his passion, and he was enormously proud of his students. He spent his 90’s writing a sweeping history of the Estonian supplementary schools from their inception, often spending up to eight hours a day at his computer. “He always remained young at heart,” Reet said. “My father had a deep influence on many people’s lives, in particular with raising generations of Estonian-Canadians through the Toronto Estonian Supplemen tary Schools. He was instrumental in making sure Estonian culture and language lived on in Canada.” Edgar and Renate’s influence on their family has been profound. “Estonian culture was so influential and important as we grew up,” Paul explained. “Both Eric and I have children who are now
craft brewers finding unique ways to incorporate Estonian ingredients and identity. It helps pave the way for how I think about beer and what I brew, and how I might infuse a little bit of who I am into what I make.
going to the Estonian school here in Toronto. Andres’ children attend the Stockholm Estonian School. We are all really excited to see the new centre being built for the next generation.” Eric serves on the board of the Estonian House and also on the Estonian Arts Centre board. They plan on making very good use of the IEC. “We will be at the new centre all the time,” says Paul. “We’ll be there with our kids, we’ll go there to do our banking, and it will be a central gathering place for all the Estonian activities that take place in Toronto.” “And the downtown location is fantastic,” he adds. “We can walk there.” The international aspect of the IEC’s mandate is also a huge plus, says Reet, who is Vice President of the Estonian Central Council in Canada (EKN). “There are approximately 200,000 Estonians outside of Estonia,” she said. “Any connections we can make with each other – whether that is locally or globally – will bring tremendous value to our community as a whole. Over the past 3 years, the Estonian government has worked with EKN and other global Estonian organizations to develop an exciting new program to support the Estonian diaspora. The IEC can act as a hub for these efforts, here in Toronto and beyond.” The life journey for so many Estonians of Edgar and Renate’s generation spans almost unimaginable hurdles and mile stones. It is thanks to lives like the one that began in a fishing village in northern Estonia over 100 years ago that a striking new institution that will envelop and enrich our community into the next century can become a reality. Get involved and help support our future Are you interested in helping build this spectacular new home for the global Estonian community? Please join our growing list of capital campaign donors! The International Estonian Centre’s donor categories are Kalevipoja Laud for gifts over $100,000 (including naming rights for specific areas), Viru Vanemad for gifts over $10,000, and Kungla Rahvas for gifts up to $10,000. Stay tuned for the launch of the Kungla Rahvas campaign in 2021. To make a donation, please contact donations@estoniancentre.ca. Donations may be made as a family gift, or in honour of an individual or family. All Canadian and U.S. donations will be issued a tax receipt. Let’s keep in touch! • Visit our website www.estoniancentre. ca for regular updates • Sign up for our monthly email newsletter at www.estoniancentre.ca • Follow us on Facebook: @EestiKeskus
(Shacklands Brewing Co. has their online shop at www.shack lands.com and does free deliv eries for Toronto orders over $50.) (This interview has been edited and condensed.)
