By Matthew McCully
Now where did we leave off?
Sitting around a table at The Golden Lion with the Groves family talking about the last 50 years. What do you think happened?
Free beer? Nope.
But lots of memories and, “lots of shenanigans,” according to Stan jr.
After a brief “I know it better than you” back and forth about the chronology of events at the pub, onward the conversation moved towards “the fight for real ale,” as Glenys put it.
The Lion opened in 1973 (and it behooves The Record to mention that although the anniversary party is happening this weekend, diehard Lionheads know the actual opening of the pub took place on Dec. 27—not the best time of the year for a méchoui in the parking lot), but it wasn’t until 1986 that it became the first licensed microbrewery in Quebec.
A few years after The Lion opened, Stan sr, who was teaching economics at Bishop’s, headed to Ottawa on sabbatical and while there he bumped into one Nick Waloff at a pub on Sussex Drive.
Stan’s conversation with Nick surrounded the conundrum of big beer companies taking over the market. During a later visit to Lennoxville, Nick had a look at the place and the old garage next door and thought, “this would be a great place to start the campaign for real ale,” Glenys remembered him saying.
