Ed & Lou

Ed Koren has been homebrewing for over twenty years in Ontario. Before co-founding BeerShack, he served as Brewmaster at Black Creek Historic Brewery — Ontario's only working historic brewery — where he brewed using 1860s methods with copper kettles and wooden equipment. No electricity. Everything by hand.

He sourced ingredients from the village gardens at Black Creek Pioneer Village, creating seasonal ales the way Ontario brewers did before Confederation. His recipes were produced commercially by Trafalgar Brewery for the LCBO. Read more about Ed's journey at Black Creek.

Ed ran the brewery's apprenticeship program and was featured in the Toronto Star, Le Gourmet TV, Ontario Craft Brewers Blog, and Yonge Street Media. See the press features and media coverage.

Lou is a decorated competitive homebrewer and the driving force behind BeerShack's competition presence in Ontario and across Canada. His entries consistently medal at the country's most prestigious homebrew competitions.

At Brew Slam 2019 — Canada's largest homebrew competition with 819 entries from 281 brewers across 9 provinces — Lou's "Brown Brawler" took 1st Place in the English Brown Ale category, representing BeerShack Brewers. Explore our signature brews including Brown Brawler.

Lou competes actively in the National Homebrew Competition, GCHC, Brew Slam, and other BJCP-sanctioned competitions. He's a key part of BeerShack's historic achievement as the only club to win both the NHC and GCHC in the same year, and a contributor to the club's 100+ national medals. He's also a BJCP certified beer judge who sat on the Best of Show panel at the 2010 Canadian Brewing Awards. See the press features and media coverage.