The Steam Whistle brewery was established in the spring of 1998 by Greg Taylor, Cam Heaps and Greg Cromwell, while on a canoe trip in Ontario discussed the dream of operating their own brewery. They had all previously been colleagues at one of Canada's premier microbreweries in the late 1980's and 90's. Eventually the microbrewery was purchased by a national brewer and shut down. Their idea to start a brewery paid off as investors were interested in their vision and passion for making Pilsner beers that could compete with the best in the world (www.steamwhistle.ca, 2012).