The Best Brewpubs & Beer Bars
Photo /
Video
Album July 2009
Toronto's
beer scene continues to make great strides since our first beer trip
there in
the late 90s. Plan a weekend pub crawl to this diverse, interesting
city and seek out the places below for delightful beer and food
experiences...
Summary
and photos by
Owen Ogletree - Posted July 2009
Black Creek Historic Brewery
Black Creek Pioneer Village
1000 Murray Ross Parkway
Toronto, ON
No beer lover should visit Toronto without a short side trip a few
miles
northeast of downtown to the Black Creek HIstoric Brewery - located in
the center of the Black Creek Pioneer Village attraction. The brewery,
located in the cellar of the old "Half Way House," demonstrates the way
beer was made in Canada back in the 1800s. Tours allow visitors to
sample the beers from wooden casks and sip commercial examples of the
ales in the pub next to the brewery. The pub also offers menu items
such as chili, tourtiere, ploughman's lunch and Mediterranean dips.
Black Creek Historic Brewery
This short video features the head brewer of Black Creek in the small
brewhouse. Traditional beers made here include Dark Ale, Pale Ale,
Porter and Stout. Twice daily, visitors are encouraged to join the tour
of the brewery, hop garden, grain mill and barrel cooperage. The tour
ends with samples at the brewery. Pioneer Village opens daily from May
1 through December 31 (except for December 25 and 26). Check www.blackcreek.ca
for complete details. Black Creek also makes a great
family outing - the kids learn about history while mom and dad sample
the historic ales.
Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Ave. East
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 322-0723
Granite brewpub, located just a few miles north of central downtown,
ranks as one of Toronto's very best brewpubs. Choose from hearty pub
grub and several delightful ales - including many authentic cask
conditioned versions such as a pale ale, old ale, barleywine, best
bitter and IPA. Upon your departure, be sure to take home a growler to
share with friends.
Amsterdam Brewing
Company
21 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 504-6882
This microbrewery is housed in the heart of central Toronto and
produces fine bottled and draft beers that can be found in pubs and
retails stores throughout the city. Choose from Blonde Lager,
Pomegranate Wheat, Dutch Amber, Nut Brown Ale and more.
Beerbistro
18 King Street East
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 861-8242
There is no better shrine to perfect beer and food pairings than
Toronto's Beerbistro. Co-owned by our good friend and beer writer,
Stephen Beaumont, this popular establishment's beer menu groups current
local craft brew and import selections by common flavors and mood of
the imbiber - what a creative idea!
Beerbistro
Join Bar Manager Dayna Guy on a
stroll through of the delightful Beerbistro's bar, dining areas and
kitchen. Brian Morin, co-owner and chef, has filled the food menu with
scrumptious items such as beer flatbreads, Pilsner Maki roll, sticky
lamb ribs, lobster quesadillas, beer bread pizzas, chickpea Tikka
Masala, lobster mac and cheese, grilled salmon, and a mind-blowing
variety of fresh mussel bowls. To find out more, click on www.beerbistro.com.
The Victory Cafe
581 Markham St.
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 516-5787
Picture above is Blake, manager of the wonderful Victory Cafe. Victory
is owned by devoted beer lovers and features some of the best regional
craft brews available in Ontario.
The Victory Cafe
In this video, Owen Ogletree visits the July 2009
Summer Cask Ale Festival held at the welcoming Victory Cafe beer pub.
The Victory owners love cask ale, visit the Great British Beer Festival
on a regular basis, and have brought an entertaining and educational
cask event to Toronto. Featuring almost 20 local Ontario casks,
Victory's summer cask festival drew almost 300 beer lovers.
The Victory Cafe
Thel Melton and Kerri "The Beer Wench" Allen sample Ontario cask ales
at the Victory festival. Highlights included County Durham's Hop Addict
and Hop Head, Granite's Hopping Mad, Great Lakes' Orange Peel Ale,
Black Oak's Summer Saison, Mill Street IPA, Cheshire Valley's
English-style Mild, and Cameron's High Hop Silver.
3 Brewers
275 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (647) 347-6286
This upscale brewpub is part of an international chain featuring
European-style brews and food items. Be sure to explore the beautiful
upstairs of the pub that seems to go on forever.
Abbott on the Hill
1276 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 920-9074
Pictured above is Adam, proud owner of Abbot on the Hill. The pub is
friendly and attractive and features the best Belgian-style ales in the
city. The pub does a regular cask ale and stocks UK-style and other
European beers as well. The owners are thinking of taking customer
ideas and doing a vote for a name change for the pub. "Nun in the
Valley" perhaps?
Bier Market
58 The Esplanade
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 862-7575
The Bier Market offers more than one establishment in Toronto, and the
Esplanade locale features a big front patio, roomy bar area and
restaurant, huge keg cooler, and quite an interesting food menu. The
beer selection is a bit mainstream and could benefit from the inclusion
of craft brews from smaller, local breweries.
C'est What?
67 Front Street East
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 867-9499
One of Toronto's most beloved beer bars, C'est What stocks only craft
beers from Ontario. What a fantastic selection of drafts, bottles and
cask ales!
Fat Belgian
115 John Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 596-0000
This upscale restaurant focuses on Belgian beers, mussels and other
traditional Belgian menu items. The beer selection is respectable and
the food items are tasty. Who doesn't love a fat Belgian?
Local 4
4 Dundonald Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 915-0113
A diverse mix of locals do love Local 4 - and for good reason. This
welcoming neighborhood bar offers a great selection of brews and some
ultra-cool food items.
Rebel House
1068 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 927-0704
Check out the back beer garden and hip front bar areas of Rebel House -
one of the first Toronto pubs to "go out on a limb" and feature Ontario
craft beers.
Mill Street Brewery
55 Mill Street, Bldg. 63 - Distillery Historic District
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 681-0338
What was once a huge distillery now serves as a trendy shopping and
arts area, and Mill Street brewpub makes up the heart of Toronto's
Distillery District. This lovely brewery/restaurant offers pleasing
food and around 15 house-made beers on tap.
Mill Street Brewery
Kerri and Thel work their way through the voluminous Mill Street beer
sampler. All the brews are clean and highly drinkable, but many are a
bit light in aroma and flavor for their respective styles. The Dry
Stout and Milk Stouts shine as our robust favorites. A nice cask ale is
also on hand-pump.
Sin & Redemption
136 McCaul Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 640-9197
A beer pub located right across the street from a major Toronto church?
Toronto is a great city, and Sin & Redemption ranks as one of our
favorite bars there. A fine selection of imported ales and lager fill
the beer menu.
Smokeless Joe
125 John Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 591-2221
Smokeless Joe's, one of the first Toronto pubs to ban cigarettes, drips
with personality. The owners and managers gladly express their love of
great beer to regulars and visitors alike, and the summer food menu
features "Oyster Mania" on Mondays and Tuesday with a dozen Malpeque
oysters for only $12 (and some of the best mussels you'll ever try).
Volo
587 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 928-0008
Volo, just around the corner from Local 4 (see above), boasts a ton of
impressive bottled beers alongside a mouth-watering selection of drafts
and cask ales. This Yonge Street legend is loaded with appeal and
superb craft beer.
Steam Whistle Brewing
255 Bremner Blvd. - The Roundhouse
Toronto, ON
Phone: (866) 240-2337
After your visit to the CN Tower, head across the street to the famous
Steam Whistle microbrewery - open for tours noon to 5 PM. An
independent brewery housed in Toronto’s historic John St. Roundhouse,
this brewery produces only one beer - a refreshing, European-style
Pilsner made with only four natural ingredients.
Steam Whistle Brewing
Steam Whistle Pilsner is packaged in signature green glass bottles,
cans and draught, and is shipped across Ontario, Alberta and British
Columbia. Steam Whistle welcomes more than 80,000 visitors to
the brewery each year, and the production line actually includes an
authentic steam whistle that brewery visitors can blow.
Steam Whistle Brewing
Steam Whistle values the environment and practices many "green"
initiatives that include biodegradable sampling cups, clean fuel for
brewery vehicles, steam heat, energy efficient equipment and
eco-friendly waste disposal.
