Mark Horsley’s passion for brewing is winning hearts with a coveted Michelin Guide award for his unique Dundas brewery and eatery.

Reservations have been pouring in fast at Barrel Heart since it was announced as a recipient of a Bib Gourmand award at the fourth annual Michelin Guide ceremony for Toronto and surrounding area in mid-September. The Michelin Bib Gourmand is an honour bestowed upon restaurants that offer good quality food for a good value and are known as personal favourites among the anonymous Michelin Guide inspectors.

Horsley, a graduate of NC’s trailblazing Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management  program – and recent part-time professor – co-founded Barrel Heart Brewing with his wife, Elaine Mitropoulos, in 2020. The brewery marries his passion for crafting artisanal, saison-style brews with an exquisite culinary experience.

“We’re obviously honoured to receive a Michelin Bib Gourmand award, but I didn’t anticipate the rush of energy that has infused the taproom since the award. Both our staff and guests are visibly elated,” Horsley said. “It’s been a long path to get here… so it’s personally and professionally gratifying to be surrounded by such great people and that Michelin recognizes the excellence we’ve been working toward.”

Perfect pairings

The Michelin Guide applauded Barrel Heart Brewing for its perfect pairings and special tasting menus.

“Located in the heart of downtown Dundas in what once was a post office, a chef and a brewmaster join forces to create the perfect pairings. Weekly pop-ups and special tasting menus might mean tacos for one month and Korean barbecue the next. Indeed, this team is full of ideas – and has the skills to pull them off. Think snap peas glossed in a gochujang vinaigrette with house-made kimchi and pickled pears or spaghettini tossed in a corn and tamarind sauce. Dessert is a must, as the dulce de leche banana pudding makes for a righteous finale. On tap, find thoughtful beers made with locally grown fruit and aged in old wine barrels.”

View it on the Michelin Guide’s website here: Barrel Heart Brewing – Dundas – a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant

Tapping into a second career

Before he ventured into NC’s Brewmaster program, Horsley was a photojournalist. He enrolled during the early days of the program, seeking to tap into a second career with a similar mix of technical and creative skills.

“I knew nothing about beer when I entered the Brewmaster program – not even what a mash tun was for,” he recalled. “I knew if this was to be my second career that I would have to work harder and dedicate myself completely to brewing.

“This meant working night shifts at a brewery while I was studying – and often falling asleep in class.”

Horsley fully explored his newfound passion for beer as an NC student, travelling to breweries to taste beers he really liked and emailing brewers for advice.

“I fell in love with barrel-aged beers while still at NC and have grown to love and know them more over the years,” he said.

He recalled how he had only learned how to make beer six months prior when he landed a night shift job at Nickle Brook Brewing Co.

“In moments where things were going sideways on the brew, I had the voice of Jon Downing and my other professors in my head – reminding me of the fundamentals of fluid dynamics, yeast metabolism, enzyme reactions and pump mechanics that helped me solve issues to keep the beer flowing and keep my job,” he said.

Horsley began brewing for Collective Arts and launched a successful barrel program at Nickle Brook, creating barrel-aged stouts like Kentucky Bastard and a mixed fermentation barrel program called The Funk Lab.

In 2012, he started a beer-focused restaurant in Hamilton, Brux House. He also helped start Bench Brewing Company in Beamsville, designing a brewery that could produce both clean and mixed-fermentation beers at scale.

Horsley sold his shares in both Bench and Brux House to fund Barrel Heart without investors, enabling him and Mitropoulos to brew their dream from the ground up, with no compromises.

The long pour

Barrel Heart specializes in mixed-fermentation saison, a style of beer from the old farmhouse brewing tradition. Horsley ferments with a house culture of Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Peddiococcus, Brettanomyces and other wild microbes that are aged in old wine barrels.

“There are a lot of flavours in these beers that can only be achieved with time,” he said.

With beer that takes longer to brew than most breweries, Barrel Heart began brewing its first batches in December 2020 but didn’t open its original taproom until January 2023 and its second taproom with a kitchen in February 2025.

Head of the class

While blazing his own trails in Ontario’s craft beer scene, Horsley has also enjoyed sharing his knowledge as a part-time professor at NC. He began teaching during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic while Barrel Heart’s first batches of beer were aging in oak. He began by teaching a beer sensory and brewery calculation course, and has also taught also classes in beverage alcohol entrepreneurship, filtration and packaging, and brewery management in recent years.

“It’s really nice to share something you’re passionate about with people who are similarly passionate and engaged to learn,” said Horsley. “If I had time to run the brewery and taproom as well as teach again, I’d like to do all three – but the week is too short.
Hopefully, I’ll return to teaching again someday.”

News of Horsley’s award was met with excitement at his alma mater.

Craig Youdale, Dean of the Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies Division, who attended the 2025 Michelin Guide Toronto ceremony, applauded Horsley’s recognition.

“I was thrilled to see a grad and professor get up on stage,” said Youdale. “Michelin is the pinnacle of recognition.”

“It’s always exciting to see what our alumni are brewing up,” said Alumni Relations Director Jana Boniferro. “This prestigious honour is a true testament to the caliber of graduates in our community who continue to raise the bar in their respective fields. Bravo!”

Learn more about Barrel Heart Brewing at barrelheart.com/.