DRAFT Magazine

By Chris Gigley

Greg Taylor has always been a car guy. But until a few years ago, the co-founder of Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto never knew how excited other people get when they see one with a fancy paint job.

He does now. Since Taylor bought and tricked out his first classic vehicle for the brewery in 2000, a 1949 International Stake Truck nicknamed “Lumpy,” Steam Whistle has become almost as famous for its fleet of eight vintage vehicles as it is for its beer. These aren’t just showpieces, either. While the vehicles are valuable promotional tools for the brewery, they also do honest-to-goodness work, delivering beer or serving suds at live events and shuttling people to where ever they need to go.

“We want these vehicles out on the road so they’re constantly being seen,” says Taylor. “The idea is that these vehicles start a dialogue. People will ask about them later on or they’ll come up and address the driver. People are engaging us and talking about the brand right away without us having to reach out to them.”

Taylor decided to amass a vintage fleet before he even launched Steam Whistle. While working for Upper Canada Brewing, he helped deliver beer in a couple of old vans that had not aged gracefully under the workload. When Taylor caught wind of a graffiti festival in town, he figured even a coat of spray paint would be an upgrade. So, he let a group of graffiti artists go nuts.

“When I drove one of the vans back to the brewery, people were shouting at me, ‘Right on!,’” he recalls. “The paint job didn’t really promote the brewery, but I realized what an impression a vehicle can make.”

Sleeman Breweries bought Upper Canada in 1998, and Taylor, Cameron Heaps, and Greg Cromwell left to launch Steam Whistle two years later. But Taylor didn’t forget about the vans. That’s why he immediately made an offer to buy a souped-up stake truck he saw near his parents’ home in southwest Ontario.

“It was the perfect vehicle, because it was vintage and still could be used to haul beer,” he says.

Taylor’s determination and persistence paid off. He kept checking in with the owner, and a year later he finally sold Taylor the truck, Lumpy. Taylor quickly acquired and revamped other classic trucks for duty. He found a 1950s Chevrolet Sedan Delivery, for instance, at an old fire house south of Montreal.

“I almost didn’t make it back to Toronto,” he remembers. “The thing was shaking so bad I couldn’t sleep that night because of the back and neck pain. A couple days later, we were driving it somewhere and a wheel fell off on the road. I learned some lessons right there. You never know where the weaknesses are when you get these vehicles.”

Now the Sedan Delivery, appropriately nicknamed “Shakey,” runs smoothly for its regular driver, Steve Ellery, Steam Whistle’s customer service supervisor.

The most unique-looking vehicle in the fleet is Chuckles, a 1956 Dodge Fargo that looks like it came from a cartoon. The cargo vehicle was once used for postal service. Now, it hauls fresh kegs and cases of beer to private house parties in greater Toronto.

The most popular vehicle, however, is virtually unanimous among Steam Whistle customers. Even Taylor says the “Steam Machine,” a 1967 Ford Econoline Heavy Duty van with a tap built into the side, is his favorite.

“It’s just such a ridiculous design with so much character,” says Taylor. “We put blue shag carpet inside and added a sound system that plays different songs and the steam whistle sound. But most people love it because we can pour beer from the side of it.”

Recently, Steam Whistle added a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro to the fleet, which seems like an odd move.

“It’s not really a departure from the rest of the cars,” Taylor insists. “The Camaro has a retro design and we’re getting it in its first model year, so we get the same kind of reaction we get from our vintage vehicles.”

For those who prefer the authentic rides, Taylor says not to worry. He and his car guy, Paul Speirs of Speirs Automotive, are currently rehabbing a 1958 Chevy, nicknamed “Retro Electro,” to run on electricity. That vehicle will be sent West to promote Steam Whistle in the Vancouver area.

Taylor says his goal is to convert most of the fleet to electric and have the larger trucks, such as “The Party Bus,” a 1965 Ford Blue Bird, run on biodiesel. Taylor says he is currently scouting for a streamliner truck, a popular hauler in Canada in 40s and 50s. If he finds one, he says it will also be switched to biodiesel.

“We take environmental initiatives seriously because it’s a big part of our brand,” says Taylor. “We’ve probably spent about $35,000 on Retro Electro alone, but it’s worth it.”

Spoken like a true car guy.

– Chris Gigley is a freelance food, travel, and sports writer who has discovered that Natty Greene Red Nose Ale, brewed in his hometown of Greensboro, NC, is an excellent cure for writer’s block.