The Growler Ontario • Volume 1 Issue 2 • Fall 2018

Refillable Growlers are now available at our Toronto Beer Boutiques in Liberty Village &The Distillery District!

Check out our current draught offerings today: TheBeerStore.ca/Growlers

PUBLISHER

Gail Nugent gnugent@thegrowler.ca

EDITOR

David Ort david@thegrowler.ca

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Crystal Luxmore

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ben Johnson Jordan St. John

PRODUCTION & DESIGN MANAGER

Tara Ra q tara@thegrowler.ca

PHOTOGRAPHY

David Ort

Libby Roach

COVER ILLUSTRATION

Cai Sepulis

SOCIAL MEDIA

David Ort

ADVERTISING

Krysta Frederick krysta@thegrowler.ca

DISTRIBUTION

Craig Sweetman (Newsstand)

Debbie Tang (Direct) orders@thegrowler.ca

SUBSCRIPTIONS on.thegrowler.ca/subscribe

© e Growler 2018

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Every e ort is made to avoid errors and omissions. If you notice an error, please accept our apologies and notify us.

reading the growler

for newbies

Beer Glassware Beer Colour Guide

A guide of recommended glassware that will cover most of the beers in this book. Impress friends and annoy enemies (or vice versa) with this knowledge.

STANGE

Kölsch

Alt

Gose

PILSNER

Lagers

Pilsner

Witbier

NONIC PINT

Pale ale

Porter

Most ales, actually

WEIZEN

Hefeweizen

Weizenbock

American wheat

TULIP

Saison

Double IPA

Strong ales

GOBLET

Dubbel

Belgian Strong Tripel

SNIFTER

Barley wine

Quad

Anything funky

Beer Pro les

Indication of beer colour and suggested glassware

IT'S CALLED WHAT?

WHAT TYPE OF BEER IS THAT? Availability

Where to get it

IBU ABV 00 00%

Brewery Details

GROWLER FILLS

BOTTLES / CANS

KEGS

TASTING ROOM

ON-SITE KITCHEN OR FOOD TRUCK

TOURS

KID FRIENDLY

GLUTEN-FREE BOOZE OPTIONS

Growler ApproveD

Denotes 10 new, exciting or otherwise excellent beers that we think are worth drinking now.

Is the beer available year-round, seasonally or as a one-o ?

Where to nd it: B (Brewery), L (Licensees, bars and restaurants), LCBO (liquor store) and TBS ( e Beer Store).

ABV (alcohol by volume) tells you how boozy the beer is.

IBU (International Bitterness Units) tells you about a beer's perceived bitterness.

Editor's note

anks for grabbing a copy of e Growler’s second issue. Some people will tell you this is the Fall edition, but you and I, we’ll just call it Late Summer. (Next up: e Just After Summer guide.)

I’ve had a blast introducing this little bundle of beer knowledge to drinkers in the GTA and Niagara. is time, we’re very pleased to add a large

swath of southwestern Ontario to our coverage map.

at means you'll nd that our brewery directory is packed with craft producers from Bowmanville in Durham all the way over to Windsor. North-tosouth we cover from about Kincardine down to the Lake Erie shore.

Find us @thegrowlerON to send feedback and stay in touch. Cheers!

—David Ort, editor

Beer circuses .

by David Ort

Here’s an idea to chew on: Ontario’s craft beer industry has matured beyond the gold-rush growth phase into something more complex. No longer can entrepreneurs buy a brew system and throw up their shingle. We, as beer drinkers, demand something more nuanced of them.

Late summer and early fall is the best time for this type of pulse-taking because it’s the last time we’ll have a great time drinking together until Victoria Day 2019. Sure, in Deep Autumn there are holidays with family and a few Baltic porters, Darkest Winter is the time to contemplate a richly layered imperial stout, and the First Signs of Spring bring their bock-beer-for-Lent diets, but nothing beats High Summer.

Part of what’s braking the industry is a bottleneck in one very speci c place: Beer retailer. e government-controlled system just isn’t equipped to handle the supply from 250-odd physical breweries in Ontario, plus another 75 or so who brew on contract. It also struggles to meet the subtle gradations in demand that come with a province of 14,000,000 very diverse people.

ere is the promise of a sea change oating on the horizon. For her column, Crystal Luxmore looked at what the new government at Queen’s Park might mean for craft breweries trying to get their IPAs and kettle sours into more retailers.

I’ve also noticed a shrinking gap between “a cold one” beers and the “wine-barrel-aged brett tripels” meant for beer nerds. Despite the hard-fought e orts from megalithic brewers, more sports and music venues are going beyond cold ones. Canada’s Wonderland is committed to craft with vendors like Muskoka’s Craft Burger and Beer Bar. St. Catherine’s Warehouse o ers concert-goers an

exceptional list that stretches from craft by Beau’s to the cider-equivalent of IPAs by Garage D’Or to a barrel-aged sour or two by Blood Brothers. On the sports side, the Beer Garden put together for Toronto Wolfpack games put rugby fans well ahead of their baseball or hockey compatriots. Craft breweries are also nagling their way onto menus at casual and upscale chain restaurants. is sounds like a good idea on paper, but the execution can be fraught with pitfalls. Ben Johnson took a crack at a guide for handling the hiccups that might occur when bars and restaurants don’t hit all the points of proper beer service.

As we work through the details of where and how to serve beer, we’ll also continue thinking about who makes it. To that end, Jordan St. John had a look at what happens when contract and craft brewing turns the corner from being an “us versus them” dichotomy.

It truly is a wonderful time to be a craft beer drinker in Ontario. And that goes well beyond looking at a growing list of successful breweries. It means nally approaching the point where good beer just is. j

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When is it OK to send a beer back? How can you do it without making a stink?

by Ben Johnson

Irecently had occasion to visit a nearby outpost of a franchise steak restaurant.

It was one of those rare moments in our lives as parents when my wife and I realized that we were out, childless, hungry at the dinner hour and could actually sit down and enjoy a meal together.

is is, of course, what franchise steak restaurants are for. ey are a known entity: You will have a large and decent piece of meat that you will pay a large and decent price for. You will have the same two appetizers you always order at their other locations. And you will enjoy timely and courteous service. Deep booths, dim lighting, these are all things you are familiar with.

I like an independently-owned, funky, and unique restaurant as much as the next casual food snob, but when you’ve got 90 minutes and no margin for error, give me the comforting sameness and uniform service standards of a reasonably solid franchise every time.

Of course, the one unknown at places like these is always the beer selection.

Sure, things in Ontario have improved. Most decent restaurants no longer just pour a monotonous selection of lagers decided based on whether Molson or Labatt was the last company to send in a sales rep with an expense account, but still, the franchise restaurant, with its barely contained corporate vibes, is always something of a gamble.

at’s why, on my unexpected night out, I was pleased to see a couple of semi-decent local o erings being poured amid the usual macro shit. Larger craft brewers you could likely guess, but respectable and welcome accompaniments to my prime rib (which is coming o the bone tonight at medium rare, as it always does, of course). Un-

Is it really so bad that I need to send it back? Do I really need to be that guy?

Why can’t I enjoy things?

fortunately, however, when I ordered and received my beer, something was clearly wrong with it. It was at.

So, now I was faced with a dilemma. And I was caught o guard outside of my natural habitat—a craft beer bar or the safety of my own garage. Do I simply drink the mediocre-at-best beer and eat my prime rib? (Did I mention it was medium rare tonight, sir?) Or do I attempt to ag down my server, who is currently being hit on by thicknecked, polo-shirt-wearing salesmen happily sucking down Shock Top at the bar?

Is it really so bad that I need to send it back? Do I really need to be that guy? Why can’t I just enjoy things? e voice in my head was obstinate. Why are you like this?

Or was that my wife’s voice?

But really, when is it OK to send back beer?

Lauren Fitzgerald is a Certi ed Cicerone who works in the restaurant industry in Stratford, Ontario. I spoke with her recently about my dilemma. Was I just being high maintenance, or was I within my rights to send back my subpar beer?

“It is hard to nd a beer so bad that it is undrinkable,” she told me. “People have been drinking Bud Light for decades after all and they seem to be ne with that.”

“ at being said, there are de nitely certain instances where sending back a beer is acceptable,” she says.

Fitzgerald cites infected beer as a de nite cause for sending back a pint.

“Unlike if there is an infection or bacteria in food, infected beer is unlikely to physically harm you,” she explains. “However, it can be very unpleasant to drink. Some common o avours that are easy to detect are vegetal avours, staleness, cardboard avours, buttery popcorn, or sourness in a beer that is not supposed to be sour. Some of these o avours can be very unpleasant and any sort of quality control should weed these beers out before they are served to the public, but, unfortunately, it is common for these things to slip through the cracks.” >>

While sending back a beer because it is infected is a no brainer, I’d probably be unlikely to get into too much detail about what I thought was wrong. ere is a clear and present risk of sounding like a dick if you start throwing words like acetaldehyde or chlorophenol at a busy server. Just describe to your server what you’re tasting and tell them it’s o . ey’ll probably just replace your beer.

Another reason Fitzgerald says you might send back a beer is if it is simply “bad,” but then of course, this is pretty subjective.

“I have seen people send back Bellwoods Brewery beers or Burdock beers— two of the best breweries in Ontario, in my opinion—and I’ve seen people take a sip of a beautifully and painstakingly crafted wild cider from Revel Ciders and call it awful,” she says. “Each time my heart breaks a little because these are places going out on a limb to create beautiful, individual products but they just weren’t to the tastes of the person who ordered them or he or she wasn’t expecting what was poured.”

A bad beer is something that is clearly unbalanced. Fitzgerald says a bad beer might include “an IPA that is so bitter and resiny that it coats the tongue and leaves an aggressive aftertaste, an amber style beer that nishes cloyingly sweet or a stout that contains so much dark malt that it becomes burnt and acrid tasting.”

Personally, I would probably send back a beer because I didn’t like it, but I’m also unlikely to order an entire pint of something I think might not be to my tastes. If it’s a style that is new to you, a brewery with a questionable track record, or something you’re just not familiar with, ask questions or request a sample before you dive in.

Of course, the rst and simplest reason to send back beer is if it is improperly served. is can be anything from warm beer, beer served in a dirty glass, or under-carbonated beer like the one I was served. All of these things mean the establishment is doing something wrong and it is actually pretty unlikely at a franchise steak restaurant that usually has high standards. Fitzgerald concurs, and says:

“All of these things are relatively simple xes that establishments should be made aware of and should take ownership for.”

And so when I did nally get the attention of my server, I politely explained that my beer was at and asked for something else. She gave me a crinkled-nose look that con rmed she thought I was wrong but apologized profusely and retreated to get me my second choice instead.

My second beer arrived with much ceremony alongside my prime rib, which was a perfect medium rare, by the way. I took a sip. My server anxiously awaited my reaction and I nodded my approval so she could get back to the thirsty salesmen.

is beer was at, too. I drank a third of it and switched to wine. j

Of course, the rst and simplest reason to send back beer is if it’s improperly served.

e homebrewer-turned-pro edition

by David Ort

Ilove the diversity of paths that lead people to become brewers, but I think my favourite is the homebrewers. ese are the folks who honed their craft huddled around a propane burner on their porch, in a February snowstorm.

Muddy York launched in early 2015 with a tiny brew system. ey have greatly expanded and now have a fully- edged taproom and bottle shop in East York.

Je Manol

Across the city, People’s Pint opened this spring—in true, plucky style they took over Junction Craft’s former space— with their own tasting room and bottle fridge.

I sat down with Je and Peter for an engaging conversation (and a couple pints) on the patio at Clinton’s in Toronto.

Libby Roach photos

GROWLER: When did you start homebrewing? When did it become something you knew you wanted to do professionally?

CAIRA: It was the fall of 2011. My wife came home with a 1-gallon kit and I thought “I can’t screw this up.” So, I read all I could read about it. ree weeks later we brewed it together on the stovetop. Six bottles of pretty good beer came out of it. I entered a competition early on—it was ALES 2012. I got some really good feedback, including a gold medal.

MANOL: at’s big. at was a huge competition.

CAIRA: I thought in the back of my head “this is something I could do.” And then people like Je started opening breweries and I thought “maybe I could really do this.” Always, after that gold medal, I thought at the back of my head “I could do this.”

MANOL: Well, you get excited about it more and more. And you think “maybe I could do this all the time.” For us, the landscape has changed quite a bit since we started homebrewing. Knowing what I know now about opening a brewery and the climate we’re in, I think I might be more hesitant to do it.

GROWLER: Oh yeah? How so?

MANOL: I never really worried about competition. I still don’t worry about competition. But there is some sort of saturation coming. ere’s a lot of beer coming into the market. A lot of it not so good; there’s also lots of fantastic beer out there. You’re starting to ght a bit for taps and the LCBO now is totally over-SKU’d. So, you’re forced to go to the Beer Store if you want to sell your product.

GROWLER: What was your start with homebrewing, Je ?

MANOL: Pretty much the same thing. I started with a kit with a can of malt syrup. I had some experience of making wine with my father-in-law so I knew about sanitation. We made the kit and it was halfway decent and thought “alright, let’s do this!” You get hooked on it. Brewing encapsulates all the things that may have been lacking from other jobs I had. You have science, chemistry, creativity, you think about the branding. My wife’s a graphic artist

so she gets to be involved in a way that uses her talents as well. Everything that happens in this I love, so I found a way to make this happen.

GROWLER: What type of homebrewer were you?

MANOL: I was always a traditionalist. I’m very interested in the process—stressing myself by using less and still making it as good as it can be. I’m trepidatious about expanding to new styles. I like getting right into the nuts and bolts of things.

GROWLER: You have a helles as your core beer.

MANOL: When we started to talk to accounts— everyone was doing IPAs, saisons and sours—we went in and looked in the hallway and for every keg of something like that there were four or ve of Beau’s [Lugtread] or Mill St. Organic. People are buying that. I would never make a beer just to try to satisfy what I think people want but I’m very proud of the helles. I’m happy it sells so well.

GROWLER: Same for you, Peter?

CAIRA: Well, Gosé Cuervo is our best-selling beer and I’m amazed by it. It’s a beer I didn’t really want to do in quantity.

GROWLER: Let’s talk beer names. Is the idea of coming up with original names something that homebrewers have more experience with?

CAIRA: I’ll tell you, it’s easier as a homebrewer to come up with a name for a beer. You don’t have to sell it. You don’t have to answer to anyone.

GROWLER: How much is it di erent as a pro?

MANOL: To be honest, I never thought of naming beers when I was homebrewing. I was just interested in making the beer. But once Susan and I came up with a name for the brewery it gave us a lens to look at beer names through. >>

I entered a competition early on—it was ALES 2012. I got some really good feedback, including a gold medal. - Peter Caira

Peter Caira

GROWLER: And what do you think of beer names out there in general?

MANOL: People are going to have their opinions, but some breweries, in my opinion, take the wrong route in naming some of their beers and there’s some sexism and that’s a huge problem. We’re very adamant about not doing that kind of thing and standing up against it. Some of these labels come out and I think “how do you think that’s okay?”

GROWLER: After going pro do you still feel a connection with homebrewers?

MANOL: I do. We get a lot of people who come in and if I’m around they want to pick my brain. Guys who bring in beers. We host some of the GTA Brews meetings, which is really nice. ey’ve been hugely supportive of us. I try to give back as much as I can; it’s where we came from.

GROWLER: How’s the homebrewing tap going at People's Pint, Peter?

CAIRA: Good it’s cool to see what people want to bring. I’ve noticed a little bit of carefulness instead of just balls-out, crazy ideas, but that will change.

GROWLER: Is that what you expect from the tap?

CAIRA: What I want the tap to be is what the homebrewer wants. It’s their product, it’s their recipe that is on display there.

MANOL: It’s a great way to innovate. Homebrewers are always going to be at the forefront of that.

CAIRA: ere’s a co ee cream ale that’s coming. I was like “do you have any of this that I can try?”

GROWLER: How far have your breweries grown?

MANOL: We started o with say ve hectolitres and we ran that for a year. And then we upgraded to a 10-hectolitre system. I’m in the process of

sourcing a 20-hectolitre system right now. We’re limited by the height of our ceilings. I might be able to push it to 30 but I think we’re going to do 20.

CAIRA: My brewhouse is very strange and small. It’s a pair of two-hectolitre kettles. My batch sizes are about 400 litres. I have Je ’s rst three tanks. Scale-wise I’m averaging about 1,200 litres per week.

GROWLER: What did you read that inspired you on the course to open a brewery?

MANOL: When homebrewing I read way more than I do now. John Palmer’s How to Brew is the one I devoured. And then Brewing Classic Styles really helped. It gave me a roadmap for each style.

CAIRA: e rst book I read was written by a guy and his wife who lived in Manhattan about how to brew 1-gallon batches. e next book was Principles of Brewing Science. Totally the opposite and it just jumps right into every aspect. e other one I’m thinking of is Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels. He goes through all these award-winning beers and he’s got this great analysis.

is is a pared-back version of our conversation. Find the rest at on.thegrowler.ca/bvb2 j

ere’s some sexism in beer labels and that’s a huge problem. We’re very adamant about not doing that and standing up against it.

- Je Manol

Many of Muddy York’s beer names—Gaslight and Diving Horse—make historical references to Toronto. Supplied photo

Peter Caira and co-founder Doug Appeldoorn set aside one of 12 taps for beer from the GTA Brews. Photo David Ort

e home of Bernie Sanders, ski slopes, and farmhouse cheese is also a top craft beer destination

by David Ort

We should probably get something out of the way right here. I don’t ski. Or snowboard. I tried to learn, about ten years ago when I was in my twenties, but that went dreadfully.

I learned to skate at a young age and played my fair share of hockey. And that might be the root of my problem with skiing. I’m pretty good at the hockey stop—in one direction. And that translated decently to turning in skiing—in one direction. Really, I’m ne until I need to turn to the right. And then it’s either o into the trees or a fall that sees two skis and two poles each heading in their own direction.

Despite my aversion to all sports alpine, I really enjoy Vermont. It’s a scenic, sparsely populated state with great food and even better craft beer.

And it probably goes without saying that the home state of Bernie Sanders is a progressive place where Canadians are welcomed with open arms. And that’s a surprisingly relevant consideration in this time of tari s and trade wars.

Whether you’re going to Vermont for the tail end of summer on Lake Champlain, to see the fall colours in all their splendour or, yes, even for the skiing at Stowe, I would de nitely include Waterbury and Burlington on your itinerary. e former is an impressively picturesque small town that punches well above its weight for beer and the latter is Vermont’s version of a big city. >>

Zero Gravity

Originally based out of the American Flatbread restaurant in downtown Burlington, they now have a production brewery on the outskirts of town. Even in late winter, when the beer garden is months from opening, the taproom is a sunny refuge with a welcoming bar and solid food menu.

Little Wolf APA (5.2% ABV) is a remarkable balance between lemony, dank and resiny hops on the nose and a body of toasted brown bread and orange marmalade. Conehead (5.7% ABV) breaks from IPA tradition by using a wheat base that helps with its spritzy aroma and Citra-supported notes of pineapple on the palate.

Among the delicious bar snacks, deep-fried cheese curds are impossible to resist. All that saltiness

helps highlight many of the individual elements in various beer options.

Switchback Brewing Co.

Long before Heady Topper was brewed in a pub basement in Waterbury or Shaun Hill built one of the most recognizable brewery brands in the U.S., Switchback was a go-to brewery in Burlington. ey recently revamped their space on Burlington’s south side and it is now a friendly spot (including for dogs) to enjoy a tasting ight.

e Citra Pils (5.1% ABV) has plenty of the promised German malt as a backbone and a bright spot of pine needles and white grapefruit juice notes from the citra hops to earn the IPL designation granted to it by Switchback.

Continuing on the hop-forward theme, Connector IPA (6.1% ABV) is hazy medium-gold with orange ice cream on the nose and a leaf-and-marmalade avour that ends with a slightly prickly nish. It doesn't drink like six per cent.

Foam Brewers

is lakefront brewpub has recently become the must-recommend spot in Burlington. eir tasting room is lled with brewing equipment and the pleasant aromas that go with it. e colourful-splotches-and-wavy-corners decor reminds me of the early 1990s. It has become a meeting spot for locals looking to get their hop x.

Zero Gravity's Pine Street brewery is an ideal spot for a ight of tasters. e snack menu has a few equally delicious options, but no atbread. Photo David Ort

Church Street in the heart of Burlington combines a pedestrian-only mall, a wide variety of shopping and historic streetscapes. It's an all-season draw for both locals and out-of-town visitors. Photo VermontVacation.com

If it's enamel-stripping, slow-sipping double IPAs you want, this is the place. Youth Lagoon (8.0% ABV) represents the tropic-fruit section of that style with light-medium bitterness and a nicely dry nish. Built to Spill (8.0% ABV) is danker with more earthiness on the nose and bright pineapple avours.

Where Else to Visit

Yes, you absolutely should consider making the drive up to the top of the hill in Greensboro. Hill Farmstead is a craft beer treat. But if driving conditions aren’t the best or they are and it’s likely to have a long lineup, I think you’re better o at e

Farmhouse Tap & Grill

By all appearances, this should be nothing more than a very good option for a casual dinner with your parents if they are dropping you o for another year of college in Burlington. In fact, it has one of the best tap lists in all of the northeast U.S. with plenty of options from local breweries like Good Measure, Queen City and von Trapp as well as the fermented apple option from the likes of Citizen Cider and Cider Creek.

I had an excellently fresh Hill Farmstead Edward (5.2% ABV), which is one of my favourite takes on the highly drinkable American pale ale style.

e stone-fruit aroma and mildly bitter avour did an admirable job of standing up to my blue cheese and bacon selection from the excellent burger menu.

Down closer to the lake, the Growler Garage is a decidedly more casual place with tap, bottle and can lists that are nearly as good. Despite the bar’s name, they no longer do growler lls. is was the rst place I found Lawson’s Finest Sip

of Sunshine (8.0% ABV) in its distinctive, bright yellow can. Just enough sweetness supports the fruity notes that range from apricot and melon to lime and orange zest.

John Kimmich’s e Alchemist brewery has moved production of Heady Topper and Focal Banger out of town to Stowe, but Waterbury is still a must visit. Prohibiton Pig, with shareable plates of barbecue and house-brewed beer, feels like an uno cial clubhouse for the hometown of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Across Elm Street, Craft Beer Cellar is a gem for those looking to ll their trunks for the drive home, especially because they are a rare source for single bottles and cans.

Getting to Burlington

Porter ies from Toronto every week from December through the end of ski season. e drive to Burlington is an easy one, especially if you stop at one of the excellent breweries south of Montreal. Driving also makes Waterbury and Stowe much easier to get to.

Where to Stay

e all-year tourist season means there are plenty of accommodation options in Burlington, but it’s hard to top the Hotel Vermont. e boutique hotel on Cherry Street has gorgeously modern rooms furnished with goods from local producers. ey also have a strong craft beer focus for their lobby bar and special events calendar. j

Visitors to the Green Mountain State don’t track the Switchback distribution schedule the way they do for Heady Topper—but it is one of the quintessential Vermont breweries.

e beer list for a dinner at the Hotel Vermont included selections from Hill Farmstead, e Alchemist and a tripel made with maple sap by Lawson's Finest. Photo David Ort

THE FLAVOUR WHEEL

If you think you hate beer, chances are you haven’t tried the right beer. Or, rather, you haven’t tried the right beer for you. Like with wine, or food, the human palate progresses through experience. With beer, people tend to follow a similar path. We examine the course here in a thoroughly unscienti c pie chart, culled from anecdotal evidence we’ve gathered from local beer enthusiasts.

PHASE 1: LAGERS

is is typically the entry point for beer drinkers because, until very recently, it’s been the most widely available style in Canada. We’re talking macro lagers here: Labatt, Budweiser, Canadian, Corona etc. People are often lured in—and turned o —because of the weak avour pro le.

PHASE 2: AMBER ALES ^ RED ALES ^ STOUTS

is is the best starting point for people who get serious about beer. ese are malt-forward brews, with few hops, so they’re sweet and smooth with subtle, approachable avours (think Mill St Tankhouse). Stouts often hit this stage via the infamous chocolate stout, or by the world famous Guinness.

PHASE 3: WHEAT ALES ^ FRUIT ALES

Interchangeable with Phase 2. Wheat ales are usually light and sweet, again with low hops and not much bitterness, which makes them ideal for newbies. At this point, people are adjusting to the common beer ingredients. ink Kronenburg Blanc or any radler.

PHASE 4: PALE ALES

is is where people start moving away from sweet avours and toward higher IBUs. ese beers are often still malty, but with enough bitterness to start people down the hops rabbit hole

that leads into craft beer fandom. Other hoppy ales, including red ales, cycle in here too. ink Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Junction Conductor's Ale.

PHASE 5: IPAS

Hops, baby. is is the stage where people tend to get locked in and start waving the craft beer ag. e India Pale Ale phase is vast because the style is abundant and so versatile, which means there’s a lot to explore here. People can get hung up here for long stretches.

PHASE 6A: IMPERIAL IPAS

When chasing the hop dragon leads you to the most hops possible. You’re chasing IBUs to get your x, but the high alcohol content of these beers leads to an a nity for Big Booze Beers in general, which leads to…

PHASE 6B: IMPERIAL ANYTHING

Big booze-y, avourable beers are the trend here. Drinking only these beers leads to trouble, so people tend to explore areas previously explored, or they move on rather quickly. But because this area has a variety of di erent styles, there’s plenty to explore. An appreciation for stouts often accompanies this phase.

PHASE 7: BELGIANS

e appreciation for high alcohol and experimental beers usually leads here, where the palate develops a taste for yeast: freaky yeasts, tame yeasts, it’s all about the yeast and bold avours.

PHASE 8: SOURS

is is the peak of the Belgian canon, with the funkiest of all yeasty beers, lambics, leading into an exploration of North American sours. We’re in true expert phase here.

PHASE 9: LAGERS AGAIN

Here, you’ve overdosed on avour and high ABVs, and you’re craving light, sessionable beers. Or, you’ve crossed back over via the German sours (e.g.: Berliner Weisse) and think, “Hell, maybe Germans do make good beer!” We’re talking well-made, quality lagers here: kölschs, pilsners, and so on. j

NOTE: Some people skip steps, or get stuck in places, or never move on, or chart the course in a haphazard way. ere’s no set time for how people move through it either—it could take a decade to complete the cycle, or it could take six months.

Abeer new world

Forget buck-a-beer, it's the government's promise of beer in more retailers that matters, but there the devil is in the details

by Crystal Luxmore

Grabbing a 12-pack from a corner store, or a case of lager at Costco might not be far o for Ontarians. On July 12, in their throne speech, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives made good on some of its campaign promises—including the one to allow all grocery, convenience and big box stores to sell beer and wine.

In this spring’s election campaign, Doug Ford, leader of the Ontario PC Party campaigned on two promises to “put people rst” when it comes to beer sales—opening up sales beyond the Beer Store, LCBO and 450 grocery stores that the Liberal Party negotiated in a 2015 agreement, and reducing the price oor so that buck-a-beer sales are possible. (We have yet to hear whether the latter will actually happen.)

Picture

Of these two promises, the rst one, if it’s implemented the right way, could seriously free up the way Ontarians buy beer and give us more choice.

e rst thing the government needs to do is allow these stores to sell any beer or wine available in Ontario—not just what’s already for sale at their competitors. Under the current system, grocers are limited to listing products from an LCBO catalogue. And guess what? All of the products listed are already for sale at either e Beer Store or LCBO. is ensures that grocers can never compete on selection, o er rare bottles or one-o s, or be the exclusive purveyor of a certain brewery.

It keeps the LCBO at the top of the food chain. But for consumers, it keeps the selection of local, craft and imported beers in Ontario pathetically limited. e LCBO’s severely limited shelf space means it simply can’t stock many of the fascinating imported brews being brought to Ontario by passionate import agencies, and it can only make room for one or two brands from most of the over 260 craft breweries in the province.

Opening up selection for new stores opens up choice for all of us. Picture this: a hip corner store in Toronto selling fresh-squeezed juices, fancy snacks and small-batch sour beers from Left Field or Small Pony Barrel Works. Or a cheap conve-

nience store o ering a 24-pack alongside ice and chips, and open on statutory holidays.

ere is hope. In Ford’s original campaign promises on freeing up access to beer, outlined on the Ontario PC website, the party cites the wider selection of beer available in fully-privatized Alberta as inspiration:

“Alberta serves as a good example on how this policy will increase consumer choice. According to the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission, there are currently 21,793 spirits, wines, beers, coolers and ciders available for sale in Alberta. Compare that to the mere 13,618 o ered by the LCBO.”

On the other hand, Premier Ford has also promised to “maintain the current LCBO model as part of expanding distribution of beer and wine,” so there’s a chance he’ll let the Crown corporation continue to control selection for every beer drinker in Ontario.

e second thing this new deal has to do is get rid of—or at least quickly phase out all favourable treatment to—the Beer Store.

e Beer Store’s retail model was created by the government after prohibition. It is a nearly 100-year-old holdover, majority-owned by foreign multinational beer giants—Labatt Breweries of Canada (owned by AB InBev), Molson (owned by Molson Coors) and Sleeman (owned by Sapporo). Sure, there have been a few concessions, like allowing small brewers to buy shares, a slice of board membership, and list their beers for free in ve of their stores. But these came too late and felt like a desperate public relations move to try to appease a government-ordered review of beer retail in Ontario. Today, the majority owners remain rmly in charge. >>

e Beer Store enjoys favourable treatment. It’s the only store in Ontario that can sell formats larger than 12-packs (grocery stores can’t sell anything larger than a six-pack, and only a handful of LCBOs are permitted to do so). e Beer Store controls which beer goes on sale at a discounted price and when—grocery stores can o er the same sale but can’t discount beer independently. e Beer Store has no limits on opening new stores, and if the LCBO wants to open a new location, the Beer Store can block it by opening a location of its own instead.

e Beer Store escaped largely unscathed and stubbornly unchanged after the 2015 agreement. Want evidence? Just go to the Beer Store and ask yourself, has your shopping experience been radically transformed by the $80 million they’re obligated to spend on more open and inviting store design by the end of this year? Is it easy to nd your favourite craft brands? Nope. Have we seen enough Beer Boutiques open, where customers can stroll through the aisles and look at all the beers for sale? Nope.

e system of beer sales in Ontario is an embarrassment. It’s infuriating to explain the concept to people visiting from outside the province—they don’t understand why we put up with it and then chuckle at its very existence. As for us Ontarians? We were so grateful for the 2015 agreement’s radical move to put beer in grocery stores that we’re back to collective complacency. So we allow the biggest foreign multinational beer conglomerates an exclusive right to have their own chain of stores; and to be the only retailer in the province that’s allowed to sell beer in formats bigger than a 12-pack!

e big question is what Ford’s PCs will do when they face a full-court press from Beer Store lobbyists, a potential lawsuit from e Beer Store for pulling out of a nearly 100-year-old ongoing deal with the government, and angry international beer conglomerates with deep donor pockets.

e third thing the PC Party needs to do to create a beer retail environment that is “for the people,” is to continue to o er some protection for independently-owned breweries at convenience stores and any other new retail outlets. Under the 2015 Agreement, the government mandated that grocery and beer stores must dedicate 20 per cent of

their shelf space to independently-made beer from “small” breweries anywhere in the world. Loblaws later announced its strategy to dedicate 50% of its beer fridge to Ontario craft beer.

Let’s look at the results of that: e amount of craft beer sold at the Beer Store is four per cent of total sales, at the LCBO it’s 10 per cent and in grocery stores it ranges from 20-40 per cent of all beer sales. e way that beer is merchandised, and the choices available to us directly impacts the growth of the craft beer market in Ontario.

And we’ve got a long way to grow: In the U.S. craft beer sales are slowing at just over 20 per cent market share. In Ontario, we’re around eight per cent market share for locally-made craft beer, with about 20 per cent growth in craft beer sales year-over-year.

e government should legislate that at least 20 per cent of new store shelf space be dedicated to beer made by small independent brewers from anywhere in the world. is will help secure continued growth for local breweries, especially as they gure out the infrastructure and cost challenges of delivering beer to an unlimited number of retail outlets.

If Premier Ford’s beer reform includes allowing any retailer to freely choose the products it sells; cutting the cord with e Beer Store; and reserving some shelf space for independent breweries the future is bright and bubbly. Now that would be putting people rst.j

In Ontario, we’re at eight per cent market share for locally-made craft beer with 20 per cent year-over-year growth in craft beer sales.

Is it time to stop being so cranky about contract brewing?

Purpose-built, world-class facilities demand a second look

by Jordan St. John

In the middle of Ontario’s craft brewing boom, one segment of the market has been maligned more than any other. It’s become the butt of jokes and a magnet for scorn. e idea that a beer was brewed under contract is an almost immediate disquali er for serious beer drinkers.

e idea of contract brewing is not a concept that cropped up in Ontario. e Romans were doing it at Vindolanda in Britain nearly 2,000 years

ago. You want more recent examples? Well, in the United States, Samuel Adams and Brooklyn both brew under contract at facilities owned by other companies as part of their business model despite having their own (smaller) facilities. It’s a practice nearly as old as brewing itself.

What is it about contract brewing in Ontario that has created such lasting animosity? ere are a number of issues. >>

While companies like Cool in Etobicoke were designed to handle brewing other people’s recipes to scale (Denison’s Weissbier, brewed at Cool, was the number one wheat beer in the world on ratebeer.com for years), the majority of small brewers who brew batches for others do so because they aren’t using their own capacity themselves.

at might mean that the brewery was making styles of beer drinkers weren’t interested in. It might mean that the sales and marketing for that brewery were suboptimal. In some cases, it meant that the beer wasn’t very good. During the writing of the second edition of the Ontario Craft Beer Guide, my co-author and I could tell which beer was contract-brewed at which host brewery by the predominant o avours.

Into this situation walks an aspiring beer company owner. It could be an individual or a consortium of people, usually from a eld that has provided them ample funding. ey might have homebrewed a little, but probably they just know what they like. “How hard can it be?” they might think if it’s a vanity project. Sometimes they have recipes, sometimes they ask for help with design. Sometimes, the brewery making their beer isn’t really equipped to produce the beer they want. (Maybe, for instance, because they have a list of house yeast strains that doesn't include an optimal one.)

Does that stop them? Of course not. ere’s capacity to ll and a living to be made.

Sometimes a brand will bounce around between breweries until it nds a set of equipment or a billing structure that works.

ese contract brewery owners were typically not people with industry contacts, which means most of the volume has to go through the LCBO. at takes up shelf space and creates competition for breweries with physical locations. It’s no wonder

those companies view contract brewing with a certain amount of animosity. It’s not that contract brewing is evil so much as that the results are frequently not very good and the lack of quality creates a drag on sales for the entire sector. However, what if you were able to strip away the qualities that make contract brewed products undesirable? at’s what Brunswick Bierworks in Toronto is attempting to do. Rather than spare brewing capacity housed in an aging facility, the equipment is state of the art and recently constructed with the single goal of producing a wide variety of beers in mind. Rather than attempting to keep the brands being contracted a secret, Brunswick is transparent if not outright vocal about its partnerships. If some of those partnerships are international, it’s worth pointing out that Brunswick’s brewmaster is also an import. Lodewijk Swinkels is a seventh generation brewer who jumped ship from De Koningshoeven, a Trappist brewery in the Netherlands, and moved across the Atlantic just to be a part of the organization.

It signals an evolution in the market beyond the original contract model that has allowed Brunswick to grow to nearly 50,000 hectolitres in production over the course of just two years, making it one of the largest independent breweries in the province of Ontario. e brands involved have been incredibly successful. Lost Craft, Woodhouse, and Ace Hill have all improved in quality since moving to the facility and sales through the LCBO re ect that.

“ ey’re o ering options for consumers who are still switching from mainstream import and domestic products,” said owner, Mike Laba. “We’re also o ering options other than importing old world beers that have been losing some relevance.”

Brunswick produced Ora et Labora, a Swinkels designed doppelbock available through its retail store in short cans. ere are also partnerships with Mikkeller and Omnipollo, the latter of which has resulted in a locally produced version of Zodiac IPA that currently has the fastest rate of sale for an IPA at the LCBO.

is new model can be very attractive for overseas brewers. Shipping a container of kegs or cans from Europe can take months, by which point some nuance is lost in the product’s aroma. Brewing the

It’s not that contract brewing is evil so much as that the results are frequently not very good and the lack of quality creates a drag on sales.

same beer in East York comes with advantages.

ere’s the freshness of the product to be considered. ere’s no need to go through one of a small number of importers because of direct delivery. It’s also a single contracted batch, so an international brewer could suddenly decide to test the market with a one-o recipe. Innis & Gunn have recently begun doing just that.

Brunswick also o ers services that established craft brewers are taking advantage of. Beau’s All Natural, out of Vankleek Hill in the east end of the province, is shipping its agship Lug Tread and Full Time IPA to Brunswick in tanker trucks for canning while it works on constructing its own packaging hall.

Currently, Brunswick is partnered with 21 separate breweries and producing 64 to 65 di erent brands. Demand is such that it is already considering expanding capacity to a facility that could hold over 100,000 hectolitres.

At one time, breweries like Left Field, Spearhead and Kensington contracted early batches in order to develop name brand recognition before launching their own physical locations; it is a strategy that has worked for a number of breweries in the province. Neighbouring brewery Muddy York is partnered with Brunswick as an interim step. “From the moment they came to the neighbourhood, they have been super friendly, helpful & supportive of us,” said Muddy York’s brewer Je Manol. “I was always very much against contract brewing because I want to be brewing the beer we sell the way I want to brew it.”

Faced with mass popularity of their Gaslight Helles, capacity became an issue. “We have access to a world-class facility without having to nd $2-3 million to upgrade our current system to meet demand. It's allowed us to increase our sales dramatically beyond what we are capable of, which is going to help us with nancing when we do decide to expand our current facility. It's also freed us up to experiment with new styles and to keep things interesting for us and our customers."

At a conservative estimate, there is well over 100,000 hectolitres worth of capacity for contract brewing in facilities across Ontario at the moment and that seems poised to expand. Given the increasingly diverse manner in which that capacity is being used, it is probably time to concede the fact that there may be some nuance to the problem. At Brunswick, they have managed something fantastic: they have turned an established model on its head. j

Currently, Brunswick is partnered with 21 separate breweries and producing 64 to 65 di erent brands. Demand is such that they are already considering expanding capacity to a facility that could hold over 100,000 hectolitres.

Brewer Pat Ayukawa lling a cognac barrel at Brunswick with a batch of Ora et Labora, a handshake brew they made with the team from La Trappe. Supplied photo

Ryan King

photo

curried chickpea lettuce wraps paired with

Block ree Fickle Mistress

BY FAT SPARROW GROUP

You can tell a lot about a year from the stretch between mid-August and mid-November. At the start of this issue’s life, we could easily have the hottest day of the summer, and then, just as easily, the rst with snow on the ground by the end.

So, a recipe to suit that season should be both hearty and light. Lots of vegetables, balanced with bright and spicy avours. I think we found just the ticket here.

Nick Benninger, at the head of the Fat Sparrow group, is a culinary xture in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. He and his wife Nat, run Nick & Nat’s Uptown 21, Taco Farm and Harmony Lunch.

ey also have Marbles, in uptown Waterloo, which bills itself as casual ne dining. ese

INgredients

Curried chickpeas:

• 1 Tbsp curry powder

• 1 tsp maple syrup

• 1 pinch salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 can chickpeas, drained

Korean BBQ sauce:

• 0.5 Tbsp ginger, grated

• 0.5 Tbsp garlic, minced

• 1 tsp dried chile flakes

• 1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

• 1 Tbsp lime juice

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 cup hoisin

Wraps:

• Boston or bibb lettuce, washed

• 1/2 carrot, cut into thin slivers

• 1/4 English cucumber, thin slivers

• 4 radishes, thinly sliced

• Sesame seeds, toasted

• Cilantro for garnish

After 24 hours of kettle souring, Fickle Mistress is dryhopped with Simcoe, Citra and Columbus. Supplied photo

lettuce wraps were developed there by chef Dean Baker, for a recent vegan Tuesday prix xe menu. (Mondays, with the beer and brats special, will also appeal to carnivores like Dean and me.)

Fickle Mistress is just as much an all-season beer with its balance of sweet and sour. e tartand-dry nish is perfect for cleansing the palate between wraps. —David Ort

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Dry the drained chickpeas with paper towel and toss them in a bowl with curry powder, maple syrup, salt and pepper until evenly coated.

3. Spread chickpeas onto a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until coating has adhered.

4. For the sauce, blitz all ingredients except hoisin (you may need to add a bit of water) in a blender until they puree together. Mix in a bowl with hoisin.

5. Create each wrap by lling a leaf of lettuce with a spoonful of chickpeas, topped with the sliced vegetables, BBQ sauce and garnished with a few cilantro leaves and sesame seeds. j

GREAT LAKES BREWERY

30 Queen Elizabeth Blvd., Etobicoke | GreatLakesBeer.com

SUN-WED 11AM-6PM ^ THU-SAT 10AM-9PM

EST. 1987

GLB is one of the oldest independently owned and operated craft breweries in Canada. Freshness and quality are the keys to the beers that are Ontario favourites—99.99% stays in the province.

CANUCK PALE ALE

AMERIC A N-STYLE P A LE A LE

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

A local leader in the APA style, Canuck balances tropical citrus, pine and smooth carbonation.

OCTOPUS WANTS TO FIGHT IPA

A MERIC A N-STYLE IP A

Year-round: B,L,LC

Plenty of hops lend tropical aromas and just the right bitterness to go with the malty body.

POMPOUS ASS

ENGLISH-STYLE P A LE A LE

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

Pompous Ass features notes of green and black tea, raisin and soft citrus. Highly sessionable.

KARMA CITRA IPA

AMERIC A N-STYLE IP A

Seasonal: B,L,LC

Blast of tropical sunshine with grapefruit, lychee and pineapple and hops leaning into the end.

A bite with your beer

e Wavy Wall Craft Kitchen opened earlier this summer. e 22-foot trailer is a fully functioning kitchen led by Chef Michael Tucker (Nota Bene, Langdon Hall) and serves items like jerk chicken, southern fried chicken, and Berkshire pork ribs. Open ursday to Sunday with $5 pours of #FreshGLB on the patio.

IND I E ALE HOUSE

B REW ING CO.

2876 Dundas St. W. | IndieAleHouse.com

SUN-THU 12-11PM ^ FRI-SAT 12PM-12AM

EST. 2012

As the fall weather helps us regain our appetites, it’s o to the Junction brewery with the strongest food programme. is is also the time of year when special releases pack their bottle shop shelves.

IPA WEST

INSTIGATOR

Year-round: B,L

ABV I BU 6.5%88

An ode to craft beer trailblazers, this IPA is full of citrus and ends on a cleanly bitter note.

BELGI A N-STYLE T ABLE B EER

One-o : B

ABV I BU 4.7%30

Brewed in the style of a “daily drinker” for monks, it’s light with bready esters, straw and hay nish. Bottle shop or tableside in the restaurant.

32 TORONTO

SUNKICKED

Seasonal: B,L

ABV I BU 8.0%20

LEMONADE

Seasonal: B,L

ABV I BU 5.0%30

Lemons and lactose give this sour a balance of snap and sweet that helps on warm afternoons.

BELGI A N WIT

ABV I BU 5.0%20

e pairing of sweet orange and ginger notes keep this wit sharp. A popular all-year option.

FL A NDERS-STYLE RED A LE

Seasonal: B

ABV I BU 8.0%20

Blend of 2-year and 6-month batches has tart, rich red wine from aging on skins and subtle barrel notes, fruity and sweet with a tart nish.

EAST B OUND B REW ING CO.

700 Queen St. E. | EastboundBeer.com

TUE-SUN 11-12AM ^ MON 1-9PM

EST. 2017

Chef Tara Lee’s kitchen draws in locals keen on a bite with brewer Dave Lee’s beer. Available to go in short cans and 950 ml crowlers.

HIDDEN LAKE

HEFEW EIZEN

Small-batch: B,L

ABV I BU 5.7%N/A

Banana and clove shine through on this late-summer sipper in the classic German style.

REVEALED CONSTELLATIONS

SMASH-STYLE IP A

Small-batch: B,L

ABV I BU 4.4%11

Golden Promise malt and Mosaic hops carry the side for this juicy, sessionable IPA.

JUNCTION CRAFT

BREWING

150 Symes Rd. | JunctionCraft.com

WED 4-9PM ^ THU-SAT 11AM-11PM ^ SUN 11AM-7PM

EST. 2011

eir diverse lineup of beer styles continues to draw crowds to the historic space in the Aleyards. Stay tuned for Oktoberfest details.

JUNCTION ROAD BLACK LAGER SCHWARZBIER

Seasonal: B,L,LC

ABV IBU 5.5%38

A touch of bitterness from noble hops keeps the roasted malts in line. Recent gold-medal winner.

CONDUCTOR’S CRAFT ALE

AMERICAN-STYLE PALE ALE

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

ABV IBU 5.3%32

A hopback adds citrusy aromas that lay nicely on the bicsuity, caramel malt backbone.

AMSTERDAM BREWING CO.

45 Esandar Dr. , 87 Laird Dr. , 245 Queens Quay W. | AmsterdamBeer.com

AVLING BREWERY

1042 Queen St. E. | Avling.ca

One of Toronto’s oldest names in craft beer has three locations: eir brewery in Leaside, plus a nearby brewpub and a lake-side outpost down on Queen’s Quay.

3 BONESHAKER INDIE PALE ALE IBU ABV 14 4.2% IBU ABV 80 7.1%

BALTIC PORTER Year-round: B Year-round: B IPA IPA IBU ABV 45 6.4% IBU ABV 65 6.0%

BANDIT BREWERY

2125 Dundas St. W. | BanditBrewery.ca

BATCH

75 Victoria St. | BatchToronto.com

OF GOSE

(APRICOT)

Creemore’s Toronto brewpub makes special on-site brews. It’s in a historic space that many former breweries have passed through, including one called Growlers.

PALE

BELLWOODS BREWERY

124 Ossington Ave., 20 Ha s Rd. BellwoodsBrewery.com

BIG ROCK BREWERY (LIBERTY COMMONS)

42

St., 1589 e

Get in your last shot at the Ossington patio before the weather turns. After that, the two bottle shops are stocked with their world-class beers and release season really gets underway.

e nanobrwery at Liberty Commons is where they really stretch their innovation wings. ere, they also have an elevated pub menu by O&B. Bottle shop in Etobicoke, as well.

BLACK CREEK HISTORIC BREWERY

1000 Murray Ross Pkwy. | BlackCreek.ca

BLACK LAB BREWING

818 Eastern Ave. | BlackLab.beer

Jump back two centuries with this recreation at Black Creek Pioneer Village and drink ales as they were made in the days when Ontario was a frontier for a edgling country.

RIFLEMAN’S

Projected to join the bustling East End beer scene this August, RunTOBeer’s Dan Grant and Billy Madden choose man’s best friend as the mascot for their neighbourhood brewery.

TORONTO TORONTO

BLACK OAK BREWING CO.

75 Horner Ave. | BlackOakBeer.com

BLOOD BROTHERS BREWING

165 Geary Ave. | BloodBrothersBrewing.com

eir N.S.E.W. cask series continues with features from OCB neighbours. Reserve your spot on the Ken Woods-guided tours (he founded the brewery in ’99) every Saturday.

OAKTOBERFEST

eir top-notch beers are more frequently appearing on beer lists across the city, but hit the taproom on the thriving Geary strip for a tour of o beat food-and-drink establishments.

BRUNSWICK BIERWORKS

25 Curity Ave. | BrunswickBierworks.com

A world-class brewing team help a range of brands, both Canadian and international, brew their product. Friendly space for sampling the range. Limited hours.

KANZAN X SAKURA (FEAT. INNIS & GUNN)

BURDOCK BREWERY

1184 Bloor St. W. | BurdockTO.com

SOUR CHERRY WITBIER Year-round: B,L

B,L TORONTO TORONTO

B,L,LC

e masters of walking the line between beer and wine. eir on-site music hall features an eclectic mix of acts throughout the week.

BUMO

HYBRID

COMMON GOOD BEER CO.

475 Ellesmere Rd. | CommonGoodBeer.com

DUGGAN’S BREWERY

1346 Queen St. W., Lower Level

DuggansBrewery.com

Scarborough’s only brewery switches hats between making their own beer and acting as a contract-brewing hub for many recognizable brands. Both are available on site.

SOCIABLE PILSNER

Mike Duggan is one of the big names of Ontario craft beer. ey now make beer for their upstairs neighbours, Vegandale Brewery, and live on as live-music bar in the basement.

FOLLY BREWING

928 College St. | FollyBrewing.com

GODSPEED BREWERY

242 Coxwell Ave. | GodspeedBrewery.com

eir bottle shop hours have changed to 2 p.m.-11 p.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays. eir rotating guest tap changes frequently.

FLEMISH CAP

FRUIT SOUR

: B

e beer programme led by Luc Lafontaine focusses on subtle and re ned. Now open every day, the on-site Japanese restaurant serves classics from Japan’s comfort food canon.

OTSUKARESAMA

OCHAME

GOOSE ISLAND BREWHOUSE TORONTO

70 e Esplanade | GooseIsland.com

GRANITE BREWERY

245 Eglinton Ave. E. | GraniteBrewery.ca

A Toronto outpost for a Chicago icon serves a deep list of made-on-site beers. eir rst anniversary party included a charity jortsmaking station and Lager Day is Sept. 22.

e Keefe family has been the driving force here since Ron founded it in 1991. Mary Beth now runs the Ringwood-fuelled open fermenters that make ales especially good on cask.

HALO BREWERY

247 Wallace Ave. | HaloBrewery.com

HENDERSON BREWING CO.

128A Sterling Rd. | HendersonBrewing.com

Even after an ownership change, it has been steady as she goes at this Wallace Emerson brewery. Top-notch food popups rotate through on weekends.

On top of the two regular beers, every month brings a new one-o for their “Ides of...” series. Check out the Sterling Road Block Party on September 23.

KENSINGTON BREWING CO.

299 Augusta Ave. KensingtonBrewingCompany.com

LEFT FIELD BREWERY

36 Wagsta Dr. | LeftFieldBrewery.ca

Right in the heart of colourful Kensington Market, this multi-level operation tucked into a small space is peak big city brewery, but with a casual and friendly atmosphere.

Sadly, there will be no Jays’ playo games this year for the pup and kid-friendly taproom, but the roster of food pop-ups continues to be one of the best on the east side.

Seasonal:

LOT 30 BREWERS

303 Lansdowne Ave. | Lot30Brewers.com

LOUIS CIFER BREW WORKS

417 Danforth Ave. LouisCiferBrewWorks.com

Newly opened this spring, the Brockton Village brewery continues to impress. ey’re joining Toronto Beer Week this year with an Oktoberfest event in mid-September.

Brewpub meets bar at this Danforth favourite. e lively room attracts groups of locals with a mix of house-made brews and favourites from other local craft breweries.

THAI-PA

IPA WITH FRUIT

One-o : B

Year-round: B,L,LC Small-batch: B

MILL ST. BREW PUB

21 Tank House Ln. | MillStreetBrewery.com

MUDDY YORK BREWING CO.

22 Cran eld Rd. | MuddyYorkBrewing.com

A longstanding xture in the historic Distillery District, the Brew Pub also has a sister beer hall. When it opened, it featured the only bierschnaps distillery in Canada. ORIGINAL

Je Manol and his team make approachable, true-to-style beers. Any time the popup food vendor is serving BBQ, this is a must-visit spot. Full events on their Facebook page. STORM

NORTHERN MAVERICK BREWING CO.

115 Bathurst St. | NorthernMaverick.ca

PEOPLE’S PINT BREWING COLLECTIVE

90 Cawthra Ave. | PeoplesPint.com

Experienced hands leading the brewing team (Andrew Crowder) and the kitchen (Mark Cutrara) help ll the sunny taproom on the regular, especially when there’s a game on.

HAND

e tap permanently devoted to the GTA Brews homebrew club helps keep the beer on the cutting edge. September brings a homebrew tap takeover and cask social to the taproom.

RADICAL ROAD BREWING CO.

1177 Queen St. E. | RadicalRoadBrew.com

RAINHARD BREWING CO.

100 Symes Rd. | RainhardBrewing.com

Late-summer and fall sees an appropriate shift in what’s pouring from their six in-house taps. Seasonally tuned and independent; this brewery needs to be visited to take its measure.

GO FOR BROKE

Look for weekend food pop-ups and special events to continue complementing the most hop-foward beer programme in the Aleyards.

RAGE AND

RORSCHACH BREWING CO.

1001 Eastern Ave. | RorschachBrewing.com

SAULTER STREET BREWERY

1-31 Saulter St. | SaulterStreetBrewery.com

On top of already having an excellent rooftop patio, they now have a license for their dogfriendly front patio out on Eastern Ave.

PRECONSCIOUS DRY-HOPPED SAISON WITH APRICOTS

e poster child for an endearingly small-scale take on brewing. e weekend of Sept. 14-16 they’ll mark their rst anniversary with a celebration including live music and food.

SHACKLANDS BREWING CO.

101-100 Symes Rd. | Shacklands.com

THE SIX BREWING CO.

777 Dundas St. W. | eSixBrewingCo.com

Go for the full- avoured saisons, and other Belgian-style ales; stay for the kitschy decor and friendly conversation. Eclectic event schedule includes in a t-shirt and print sale in August.

Whether by taxi, bike, transit or on foot, this is one of the easiest breweries to get to and feels right at home in the creative and youthful Trin-Bellwoods neighbourhood.

STEAM WHISTLE

255 Bremner Blvd. | SteamWhistle.ca

VON BUGLE BREWING

249 Evans Ave. | vonbugle.ca

Tour the brewery in its landmark railroad roundhouse for an opportunity to sample the un ltered (and therefore more complex) version of their Czech-style pilsner.

PILSNER (UNFILTERED)

To Steam Whistle as Frasier was to Cheers, Von Bugle continues the make-one-beer-well mantra, this time with a dark lager.

VON BUGLE MUNICH LAGER

CHRONICLE BREWING CO.

422 Lake Rd., unit 3 | ChronicleBeer.com

MANANTLER CRAFT BREWING CO.

182 Wellington St., unit 18 | Manantler.com

e team behind Bowmanville’s latest have started their brewery with a nano system and a love board games. Beer lineup is diverse and rotates frequently.

ey are growing into a local hangout with a cool aesthetic. ursday is open mic night and weekends feature live music. e art on the walls is by local artists and is for sale.

ROUGE RIVER BREWING CO.

8-50 Bullock Dr. | RougeRiverBrewery.com

ARCH BREWING CO.

4-11 Pony Dr. | ArchBrewing.ca

e bottle shop has both cans and bottles in a range of styles and avours, that have now moved into the range fall-appropriate avours.

Newmarket’s two-year-old brewery has a Canadiana-cool vibe from the Dinner Jacket IPA in its recognizable “lumberjack formal” plaid-adorned can to a Chester eld kölsch.

AUTUMN IPA AMERICAN-STYLE IPA

SHORTY LONG BACK SESSION IPA

MARKET BREWING CO.

4-17775 Leslie St. | MarketBrewingCo.com

COUNTY DURHAM BREWING CO.

1885 Clements Rd.

Live music on Fridays and Saturdays is the entertainment highlight for this north-ofToronto brewery.

USELESS CRAYON WHITE IPA WHITE IPA

If you spot their ales on cask at your local, that’s what you should order. Straightforward and complex. No on-site bottle shop or taproom.

SIGNATURE ALE BRITISH-STYLE IPA

BEAR HUG IPA INDIA PALE ALE BLACK

PORT PERRY UXBRIDGE

OLD FLAME BREWING CO.

135 Perry St. | OldFlameBrewingCo.ca

SECOND WEDGE BREWING CO.

14 Victoria St. | eSecondWedge.ca

A bit under-the-radar in Port Perry, Old Flame took home medals in two of the North American lager categories at the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards.

RED VIENNA LAGER VIENNA LAGER

is community-supported brewery has become a welcoming hub in Uxbridge. Popular stop for cyclists. Sundays bring a farmers’ market in the morning and live music in the afternoon.

BACK FORTY

WET-HOPPED PALE ALE

WITCH’S HAT BLACK IPA

LAKE WILCOX BREWING CO.

3-1033 Edgeley Blvd.

LakeWilcoxBrewing.com

MAGNOTTA BREWERY

271 Chrislea Rd. | MagnottaBrewery.com

Even after the cottage is closed for the season, this is a ne place to stop in for a beer. ey also have lunch service in the taproom and freshly shucked oysters occasionally.

MAD QUACKER AMBER VIENNA LAGER

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

Year-round: B,TBS

e Vaughan stalwart has a longstanding connection to wine country (beyond also making wine) that includes their own strain of hops grown in Vineland.

Seasonal: B,L,TBS

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

5 PADDLES BREWING CO.

#3-1390 Hopkins St. | 5PaddlesBrewing.ca

BROCK STREET BREWING CO.

1501 Hopkins St. | BrockStBrewing.com

One of Durham’s most successful craft breweries, 5 Paddles runs two side-by-side brew systems. at setup gives them the exibility to brew a style for every palate.

After three years in Whitby they’re opening a new brewery at 244 Brock St. S this fall. Approachable ales and lagers fuel the strong event schedule at this community clubhouse.

LITTLE BEASTS BREWING CO.

2075 Forbes St. | LittleBeastsBrewing.com

TOWN BREWERY

1632

St. | townbrewery.ca

A kid-friendly space for sampling well-made takes on pale ales and saisons, among other styles. Named, naturally, after the yeast that is critical to beer making.

WAHEELA PALE ALE WITH LACTOSE

Belgian farmhouse and hoppy pale ales are the two stylistic anchors here. Trivia night brings locals out on Tuesdays to the comfortable space and live music is the draw on ursdays.

FOUR CORNERS

AMERICAN-STYLE PALE ALE

WHITBY WHITBY

& W est G TA

N ICKE L BROOK

BREW ING CO.

864 Drury Ln. | NickelBrook.com

MON-TUES 11AM-6PM ^ WED-FRI 11AM-9PM ^ SAT 10-6PM ^ SUN 12PM-4PM

EST. 2005

eir brand new taproom is set to open any day o ering an improved opportunity to sample their range of award-winning beers.

LOST IN ORBIT

Seasonal: B,L,LC

ABV I BU 4.5%16

Tangerine and guava add a blast of avour to this sessionable number made with Vermont yeast.

Availability: B.L,TBS

ABV I BU 4.0% 3

Just the right amount cucumber smoothes the tartness on this late-summer gose.

DUND AS HA MILTON

SHAWN & ED BREWING CO.

65 Hatt St. | LagerShed.com

CLIFFORD BREWING CO.

1-398 Nash Rd. N. | Cli ordBrewing.com

Lagershed beers are sessionable lagers in three varieties. e Barrelshed range represents the brewery’s connection to wine and are all aged in pinot noir barrels from Flat Rock Cellars.

After plenty of experience brewing on small systems in tiny spaces, it’s good to see Brad Cli ord stretch his wings in his own space— East Hamilton’s rst craft brewery.

LAGERSHED PINBALL WIZARD AMERIC A N-STYLE PA LE ALE Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

BARRELSHED NO.1 W INE B A RREL-AGED ES B

HAMILTON HA MILTON

COLLECTIVE ARTS BREWING

207 Burlington St. E. | CollectiveArtsBrewing.com

1-5 O eld Rd. |

Regular calls for submissions have built a series of the most recognizable can artwork in all of craft beer. Sundays from 5-7 p.m. the taproom is lled with live acoustic music.

CLIFFORD PORTER RO BUST PORTER I BU ABV 18 5.2% I BU ABV 55 5.7% I BU ABV 49 6.5% I BU ABV 38 5.9% GOSE WITH GUAVA G OSE

MADRUGADOR S ESSION CO FFEE S TO UT Seasonal: B,L,LC Seasonal: B One-o : B,L,LC Seasonal: B

IPA 6 FR U IT IP A IPSO FACTO BELGI A N IP A I BU ABV N/A 5.5% I BU ABV 10 4.5% I BU ABV N/A 6.7% I BU ABV 35 7.5% 53

GRAIN & GRIT BEER CO.

11 Ewen Rd. | GrainAndGritBeer.com

MERIT BREWING

107 James St. N. | MeritBrewing.ca

A bright and sunny space with thoughtfully made beers from a variety of styles. ey have Oktoberfest planned for Sept. 29 and their rst anniversary celebration on Oct. 13.

What do you get when a chef, biz school grad and brewmaster walk into Hamilton? Vallins, Sandhu and Spinney have created a wide open space with well-made beer and sausages.

IN THE PALMS IPA REAL REAL (FEAT. JEN NAD) AMERICAN SOUR SAISON

Year-round: B,L

CHASING SUMMER OAT ALE WITH RASPBERRIES

Seasonal: B,L

Seasonal: B

Year-round: B

ORANGE SNAIL BREWERS

1-32 Steeles Ave. E. | OrangeSnailBrewers.ca

ALL OR NOTHING BREWHOUSE

1156 Speers Rd. | AllOrNothing.beer

Family-owned and operated in Milton, this neighbourhood brewery has eight beers on tap. ey make a wide range of English-leaning beer under the tagline “blissfully ignorant ales”.

RATTLE ‘N’ NEMO AMBER ALE

Year-round: B,L

IRON PIG BLONDE ALE

Year-round: B,L,LC

Changes have been afoot at Trafalgar since it was bought by All or Nothing in 2016. at meant a capital investment and a maintained focus on meads, spirits and beer.

TRAFALGAR PEACH MEAD MEAD BRAGGOT

Year-round: B,LC,TBS

ALL OR NOTHING HOPFENWEISSE TROPICAL WHEAT

Year-round: B,LC,TBS

MILTON OAKVILLE

HAMILTON HAMILTON

BEAMSVILLE BRANTFORD

BENCH BREWING CO.

3991 King St. | BenchBrewing.com

BELL CITY BREWING CO.

51 Woodyatt Dr., unit 9 BellCityBrewing.com

e brand-new space in Beamsville has become popular with locals, especially for Tiger-Cats games. ey’re another entry on the growing list of breweries doing crowlers. CITRA

e brewery gets its name from Brantford’s nickname, a reference to its second-most famous past resident, Alexander Graham Bell. Beers here really lean into their stated avour.

EUREKA

MASH PADDLE BREWING CO.

111 Sherwood Dr., unit 3A MashPaddleBrewing.com

STEEL WHEEL BREWERY

105 Powerline Rd. | SteelWheel.ca

Entirely family-owned and operated by self-declared beer geeks. A rotating selection of releases lls the lively taproom with locals.

Located on an existing hop farm in Brant County that belongs to Harold Kuret and Cindy Blair. Taproom is in a fully-renovated 1890s farmhouse with a patio.

BRANTFORD BRANTFORD

CONCESSION ROAD BREWING CO.

17 Talbot St. E., unit 4 ConcessionRoadBrew.com

RAMBLIN ROAD BREWERY FARM

2970 Swimming Pool Rd. | RamblinRoad.ca

Je and Shannon Bunton opened Haldimand County’s rst craft brewery in an old rehall. ursday is trivia night and they have an allsummer-long music series running.

FIREHOUSE BLONDE ALE AMERICAN-STYLE BLONDE ALE

John Picard runs his brewery farm in Norfolk County. e crop selection on this going concern includes a hop garden and they make Picard’s fresh kettle chips on site.

SAISON DU

NIAGARA BREWING CO.

4915-A Clifton Hill

NiagaraBrewingCompany.com

THE EXCHANGE BREWERY

7 Queen St. | ExchangeBrewery.com

An oasis in a desert of tourist traps and souvenir shops, this is the place to stop in for an approachable beer on a hot, summer day.

NIAGARA PREMIUM LAGER LAGER

Re ned and elevated are the names of the game at the NOTL brewery. On Sept. 8, their Sourpalooza will bring an all-star lineup of breweries to town for a funky-beer festival.

PEPPERCORN RYE SAISON SAISON

FLANDERS RED FLANDERS RED ALE

JARVIS LA SALETTE

NIAGARA COLLEGE TEACHING BREWERY

135 Taylor Rd. | NCTeachingBrewery.ca

NIAGARA OAST HOUSE BREWERS

2017 Niagara Stone Rd. OastHouseBrewers.com

Your chance to try the product from Ontario’s future beer-making talent while they’re still waiting to break into the big leagues. Project Brew is their 3-times-a-year festival.

e rst weekend in October brings the annual Harvest Hootenany back to the red barn on Niagara Stone Rd. Autumn is also when their farmhouse style really show their true colours.

BREAKWALL BREWING CO.

46 Clarence St. | BreakwallBrewery.com

ey have returned local brewing to Port Colborne after a 100-year absence. A full menu of pub fare is served at the on-site restaurant.

e entire 19th-century historical buildling that they call home is dog-friendly. See the event page on the website for a schedule of upcoming gigs in the biergarten.

BRIMSTONE BREWING CO.

209 Ridge Road N. | BrimstoneBrewing.ca

CHARLOTTEVILLE BREWING CO.

1207 Charlotteville West Quarter Line Rd. CharlottevilleBrewingCompany.ca

Brimstone takes its religious decor from its home in a modern church, called e Sanctuary Centre for the Arts in Ridgeway, Ont. MidAugust brings a beer, bacon and bands fest.

MAN OVERBOARD (FT. TIDE & VINE) GOSE WITH CITRUS AND SEAWEED

An estate craft brewery located on a family farm, housed in two old barns. One was built in the 1860s and the other in 1913. e barns were disassembled and moved here.

THIS COULD BE BEAUTIFUL (IT IS)

One-o : B One-o : B

NEW LIMBURG BREWERY

2353 Nixon Rd. | NewLimburg.com

LOCAL 519 AMERICAN-STYLE PALE ALE

SILVERSMITH BREWING CO.

1523 Niagara Stone Rd. SilversmithBrewing.com

A popular spot with a patio out front and a volleyball court. Live music on summer weekends, with comedy every second week and trivia and karaoke during the colder weather.

BELGIAN BLONDE

BELGIAN-STYLE FARMHOUSE ALE

e Virgil location puts them in the heart of fresh-produce country. Many brewery-only beer options. ey have a major expansion underway at their historic space.

BLACK LAGER

& THE BANDIT SMOKED

VIRGIL SIMCOE

RIDGEWAY SIMCOE

BARNCAT ARTISAN ALES

1600 Industrial Rd., unit B5 BarncatAles.com

GRAND RIVER BREWING

295 Ainslie St. | GrandRiverBrewing.com

A small brewery in Cambridge with a deft hand making hop-forward IPAs and an advanced barrel programme including foeders and local chardonnay barrels.

BASTET SOUR GOLDEN ALE

One of Ontario’s most established craft breweries with a focus on English-leaning and low-alcohol styles. Recently purchased by another Ontario craft brewery.

PLOWMAN’S ALE

TAILGATE GERMAN-STYLE PILSNER

AMERICAN-STYLE PALE ALE Occasional: B,L Year-round: B,L,LC Seasonal: B Year-round: B,L,LC

CAMBRIDGE CAMBRIDGE

JACKASS BREWING

100 Sheldon Dr., unit 36 | JackassBrewing.ca

NORTH WORKS BREWING CO.

46 Sta ord Ct. unit b | NorthWorksBrewing.com

is Cambridge brewery is owned by two brothers making the wide range of beer styles they love to drink. Selection rotates frequently.

SUNKISS JUICY IPA NEW ENGLAND-STYLE IPA

Year-round: B,L

RED BEARD IRISH RED ALE

Find their IPA-dominated list (plus a handful of other complementary styles) at a few Cambridge bars and in their taproom.

MOSAIC SMASH

AMERICAN-STYLE IPA

THE EXCHANGER BLACK IPA

B Small-batch: B

Year-round: B,L

CAMBRIDGE KITCHENER

RHYTHM & BREWS BREWING CO.

1000 Bishop St. N., unit 10 RhythmAndBrews.ca

ABE ERB

e Tannery, 151 Charles St. W., Kitchener

15 King St. S., Waterloo | AbeErb.com

e 18,000-litre system keeps patrons wellwatered at this brewery that plans to double as a blues bar with live bands on stage. SPOTLIGHT

Named after two Mennonite brothers, Abraham and John Erb, who in the early 19th century decided to leave Pennsylvania in search of new opportunity in Upper Canada. Two locations.

DAS

SPRITZHAUS

Year-round:

B,L,LC,TBS

KITCHENER KITCHENER

DESCENDANTS BEER & BEVERAGE CO.

319 Victoria St. N. | DescendantsBeer.com

20 Hurst Ave. | ShortFingerBrewing.com

One of the standbys of the Kitchener beer scene, Descendants brews a range of sessionable options. Taproom events range from music bingo to family movie trivia on Sundays.

HARBINGER

B,L,LC

EL BUSCADOR

LIGHT

B,L,LC

A well-regarded homebrew shop since 2015, they added a brewery in the spring of 2018. eir primary focus is blended sours, and are also fond of low(er)-ABV, hop-forward brews.

TRUE BELIEVER

AMERICAN-STYLE PALE ALE

Year-round: B,L

Small-batch: B

IBU ABV 35 5.2% IBU ABV 2 4.7% 64

TOGETHER WE’RE BITTER CO-OPERATIVE

300 Mill Street, unit 1 | Brewing.coop

WATERLOO BREWING

400 Bingemans Centre Dr. | WaterlooBrewing.com

Known to locals as just “TWB” and the best spot to grab a growler. It’s a legit co-op with a community focus. Only special releases go into cans or bottles here.

Now part of Brick Brewing Co., this is another claimant to the title for oldest craft brewery in Ontario. ey make dependable beers in lowABV styles.

YOUR BEVERAGE SPECIALISTS

JENREY CJ1 KEG FILLER

The Jenrey CJ1 machine is a dedicated filler designed and priced to bridge the gap between manual filling and a fully automatic machine and can be used to fill Steel Kegs or plastic One Way Kegs!

Petainer™ kegs are 100% recyclable, they are lightweight, they carry no return logistics and they use less energy in production – so it substantially reduces the environmental impact. 15L, 20L & 30L kegs in stock and available.

FOR MORE DETAILS: JENREY.CA |

BITTE SCHÖN BRAUHAUS

68 Huron St. | BitteSchonBrauhaus.com

BLOCK THREE BREWING

1430 King St. N., unit 2 Block reeBrewing.Ca

At approx. 1,000 sq feet this is one of the smallest breweries in Ont. eir Berlin-trained brewmaster is from Dublin. Family-friendly and cooperatively promote rural ON breweries. HURON ST.

Right in the core of St. Jacobs, this is the oldest operating microbrewery in the Kitchener Waterloo region. Kevin Freer runs one of the area’s top barrel programmes here.

WATERLOO WOODSTOCK

INNOCENTE BREWING CO.

283 North eld Dr. E., unit 8 | Innocente.ca

UPPER THAMES BREWING CO.

225 Bysham Park Dr., unit 9 | Upper amesBrewing.ca

e brewery’s founder, Steve Innocente, was a researcher in his last job and applies his knowledge of yeast to his current craft. Wide range of award-winning styles.

PILS-SINNER

ey have a second location opening in Woodstock, in fall 2018. It’s a brewpub with an open-concept brewing facility as well as counter-service light pub fare.

PORTAGE

INDIA PALE ALE

COME TO THE DARK SIDE

CO WBE LL BREWING

40035 Blyth Rd. | CowbellBrewing.com

SUN-THU 11AM-9PM ^ FRI-SAT 11AM-11PM

EST. 2016

Stephen Rich brews a deep catalogue of styles for the world’s rst closed-loop brewery. e restaurant ups their road trip worthiness.

DOC PERDUE’S

BOXING BRUIN INDIA P A LE ALE

Year-round: B,L,LC

ABV IBU 6.3%50

Named for a local character and his trained bear, it punches with weighty doses of lime and lychee.

ABSENT LANDLORD K ÖLSCH

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

ABV IBU 5.3%18

A touch of copper (colour and avour) stretch this beyond most kölsches. Crisp and refreshing.

WE LL I NG T ON B REWER Y

950 Woodlawn Rd. W. | WellingtonBrewery.ca

MON-SUN 11AM-7PM

EST. 1985

With over three decades under their belt, one of the original craft breweries in Canada continues to push their drinkable beers forward.

UPSIDE IPA

AMERIC A N-STYLE I PA

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

ABV IBU 6.8%58

eir entry into the Vermont-style category of hazy, smooth IPAs. Citrus, peach and grapefruit.

HELLES LAGER H ELLES

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

ABV IBU 4.5%14

Crisp and refreshing, one of the top lagers in the province. Available in short cans for hot days.

RIVER ROAD BREWING AND HOPS

35549 Bay eld River Rd. | RiverRoadBrewing.com

ELORA BREWING CO.

107 Geddes St. | EloraBrewingCompany.ca

Brewer Alex Nichols turns out a beer lineup full of soft-spoken stars. e setting in downtown Elora is picturesque and the food in their taproom has a farm-to-table focus. ZESTY

e rst farm-based brewery in Huron County grows ingredients that go into making their beer right on the farm. Visitors are welcome to wander the hop yard and farm elds.

FORMOSA SPRINGS B

1120 Bruce Rd., unit 12 | FormosaBrewery.ca SQUARE

430

|

German and American styles share the beer focus for this small-sized brewery in Goderich. Plenty of nearby sightseeing after you’re done at the taproom. FORMOSA

is brewing operation with a historic connection was bought from Brick and reopened. ey do particularly well in the lighter lager categories at beer competitions.

SQUARE ONE

BROTHERS BREWING CO.

15 Wyndham St. N. | BrothersBrewingCompany.ca

ROYAL CITY BREWING CO.

199 Victoria Rd. S. | RoyalCityBrew.ca

ey once brewed a beer in an 853-lb pumpkin and made an IPA using a certain widely consumed light lager in place of water. Watch the evidence on their YouTube page.

e four-year-old brewery aims to make interesting and approachable beers made with as many local ingredients as possible.

GREY MATTER BEER CO.

726 Queen St. | GreyMatterBeer.com

HALF HOURS ON EARTH BREWERY

151 Main St. S. | HalfHoursOnEarth.com

Right out of the gate, HHOE made some of the nest funky beers in the province. Seaforth is easier to get to than you think, but thankfully they ship anywhere in Ontario. CHECKMATE

Four core beers stay on tap all year and share the spotlight with a mix of one-o s. eir event space overlooks the beautiful Kincardine marina and lighthouse.

SHAKESPEARE

BREWING CO.

2178 Line 34 | ShakespeareBrewingCompany.ca

BLACK SWAN BREWING CO.

144 Downie St. | BlackSwanBrewing.ca

All of the beers made at this modest-sized operation outside of Stratford are made exclusively with Ontario-grown hops.

Starting this fall, their Playground Series will feature one-o s created by Phil Phillips who doubles as their chef and head brewer.

MASHING

HERALD HAUS BREWING CO.

21 Market Pl. | @HeraldHaus

STRATFORD BREWING CO.

e soon-to-open taproom will take up residence in the former home of the Herald on Market Place in downtown Stratford.

H2 GOLDEN ALE GOLDEN ALE

Year-round: B,L

PERTH COUNTY CONSPIRACY

AMERICAN-STYLE PALE ALE

Year-round: B,L

A longtime xture in Ontario’s most famous theatre town. No on-site taproom but they are in the LCBO and on tap in the area and elsewhere in the province.

STRATFORD PILSNER PILSNER

Year-round: L,LC

STONE HOUSE BREWING CO.

76050 Parr Line | StoneHouseBrewing.ca

e focus is lagers for this quaint brewery in rural Huron County. e beer programme is overseen by a German-trained brewer.

STONE HOUSE PILSNER

CZECH-STYLE PILSNER

Year-round: B

STRATFORD CALIFORNIA COMMON CALIFORNIA COMMON

Year-round: L

FRANK BREWING CO.

12000 Tecumseh Rd. | FrankBeer.ca

Sports bar meets pizza restaurant meets fully edged brewery at this popular spot in Tecumseh. Particularly lively when there’s a game on.

e focus at BREW is on making easydrinking options that appeal widely. e taproom is especially popular on Un ltered Fridays.

CRAFT HEADS BREWING CO.

89 University Ave. W. | CraftHeads.ca

MOTOR CRAFT ALES

888 Erie St. E. | isIsMotor.com

eir 30 taps are (impressively) kept supplied by a tiny nano-sized system. e underground taproom was a famous blues bar in a former life. An online bottle shop is coming soon.

ey really have the car theme dialled in at this Windsor favourite. With a brewpub named Motorburger the food menu should be obvious.

Year-round: B

Year-round: B

SANDWICH BREWING CO.

3230 Sandwich St. | @SandwichBrewing

WALKERVILLE

525 Argyle Rd. | WalkervilleBrewery.com

Open less than a year in Windsor’s west end Sandwich has already found a devoted local following. Part of their mission was to bring their historic home back into use.

e brewery name has been in and out of use since the 1890s when Hiram Walker was in the beer business. Today’s lineup is full of sessionable options.

Year-round: B,L

Year-round: B

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

SON S O F K ENT

B REWI NG CO.

27 Adelaide St. S. | SonsOfKent.com

MON-WED 12PM-9PM ^ THU-SAT 12PM-11PM ^ SUN 12PM-8PM

EST. 2017

Four friends founded this 20-tap brewery in downtown Chatham’s once iconic movie theater. Deliveries made in a ’77 El Camino Classic.

8 TRACK XPA

E XTR A P A LE ALE

Year-round: B,L,LC

ABV IBU 5.7%57

West Coast-inspired and loaded with citra for a juicy punch upfront and smooth laid-back nish.

SPIRIT WOLF C OFFEE B LON DE

Year-round: B,L

ABV IBU 5.0%18

is refreshing blonde ale is infused with co ee beans to impart robust avours and aromatics.

LONSBERY FARMS BREWING CO.

7781 Howard Ave. | LonsberyFarms.beer

BAYSIDE BREWING CO.

970 Ross Lane | BaysideBrewing.com

eir beer is crafted with the best ingredients that are locally grown in southwestern Ontario to provide a farm-to-glass experience.

CREAM OF THE

Year-round: B

Year-round: B

Based out of a little, laid-back shing village, they creates beers that go well with the village’s easy-going vibes. A large patio looks out on to Rondeau Bay and they’re close to the beach.

ANDERSON CRAFT ALES

1030 Elias St. | AndersonCraftAles.ca

Year-round: B,L,LC

Year-round: B,L,LC

FORKED RIVER BREWING CO.

45 Paci c Crt., unit 4 | ForkedRiverBrewing.com

is family-owner brewery has a bierhall style taproom and sunny patio in London’s Old East Village. ey make drinkable styles packaged with a straightforward label.

ey are the oldest craft brewery in London, which is saying something given the its history as a big-brewery town. Forked River makes dependable takes on approachable styles.

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

Year-round: B,L,LC,TBS

LONG POND LAGER

LONDON BREWING

521 Burbrook Pl. | LondonBrewing.ca

100

|

ey call themselves a plough-to-pint brewery because of the spotlight given to locally-grown, organic malts. Friday is free-concert night with food on site.

Set to open soon in a restored factory space in London’s Old East Village. ey’re familyowned and operated with a focus on local.

HOMECOMING AMERICAN-STYLE PALE ALE

STORM STAYED BREWING CO.

169 Wharncli e Rd. S., unit 8 StormStayed.com

TOBOGGAN BREWING CO.

585

Justin Belanger, one of the owners, brings East Coast hospitality from his native PEI as well as the name. e kitchen serves house-cured meats, fermented vegetables, and BBQ.

e restaurant and biergarten patio have helped establish this relative newcomer as a popular xture in London.

REFINED FOOL BREWING CO.

1326 London Rd., 137 Davis St. | Re nedFool.com

RAILWAY CITY

130 Edward St. | RailwayCityBrewing.com

Re ned Fool has pretty much cornered the craft beer market in Sarnia with the opening of their second full-service taproom.

e name comes from the town’s past as a hub for US railways in Canada. eir Dead Elephant is brewed in honour of Jumbo the Elephant who died in St. omas in 1885.

STRATHROY BREWING CO.

62 Albert St. | StrathroyBrewingCompany.ca

is small-town brewery has an independent streak and a historical bent. It’s particularly focussed on the history of the War of 1812.

1815 XXXX PEACEMAKER TRADITIONAL ALE Year-round: B

B,L STRATHROY STRATHROY

RUSTY WRENCH BREWING CO.

9 Front St. W. | RustyWrench.ca

1812

Local and ethical sourcing is the focus for this small-town brewery. e kitchen also features beer ingredients across the menu. As they say, their “beers range from mild to wild.”

LEFT HANDED SPANNER

B

Handmade high quality wooden crates

We specialize in store display and home décor, custom branding and display solutions. Start your own bike gang or join ours! Flying Frenchman bike crates available at a bike shop near you.

B

cumberlandcratecompany.com

the

BEER GROUND To

Many of us spend the last days of summer on the dock squeezing in as much sunshine time as we can. ese folks are hard at work building their breweries for future seasons.

AVIA RY B REWPUB

Canary District, Toronto (2019) Jimmy and John Peat, he brothers behind contract brewer Longslice have partnered with the owners of the Dock Ellis to open a new 230-seat bar. e bar, at 484 A Front St. E. is open now and will add a brewery next year. @AviaryBrewpub

JOBSITE B REWING

Stratford (summer 2018) is new brewery, by Phil Buhler and Dave Oldenburger, is on the cusp of being Stratford’s fourth. e two partners, who are both former construction workers, have been going full speed all summer to open the doors of their shop at 45 Cambria St., which includes an on-site pizza oven. @jobsitebrewing

MASCOT B REWERY

Toronto (late 2018) As you read here in issue 1, their downtown Toronto home on Mercer Street has closed. But, that’s not the end of Mascot. As they work on nding a new space, Siobhan McPherson’s very good pilsner will still be available at LCBOs across the province. @mascotbrewery

M ERCH A NT ALE H OUSE

St. Catherine’s (summer 2018) Since the late 1990s, this has been a standby for beer in St. Catherine’s. is summer, they added a bottle shop to their restaurant and brewpub at 98 St. Paul St. at news means you can expect to read more about them in these pages. @merchantale

OV ERFLOW B REWING

Ottawa (summer 2018) New breweries continue to bubble to the surface of the beer scene in the capital. Ontario Beverage Network reports that early June saw their bottle shop open at 2477 Kaladar Ave. in suburban Ottawa. e plan is to add a taproom later this summer. @over owbrewingco

S HORT F INGER B REWING

Kitchener (summer 2018) Rob and Kat Hern

have been established faces in the Ontario brewing community for years. eir Kitchener business has grown from indie homebrew supply shop into full- edged nanobrewery. is June they added a bottle shop to the space at 20 Hurst Ave. @short ngerbrewing

T RESTLE B REWING

Parry Sound (summer 2018) After over three years of work, Parry Sound has a new brewery. Located on the water at 9 Great North Rd., they have a view of the trestle bridge that lent its name to the operation. A rye porter and an IPA join the golden ale they had been brewing under contract. @trestlebrewery

UPP ER TH A MES

Woodstock (autumn 2018) As we learned via Canadian Beer News, Upper ames continues to nd success in Woodstock, and in just its second year has purchased a second location. ey’re renovating a former golf course at 190 Fairway Rd. to install a full brewpub with 24 taps, split evenly between their own beer and guest taps. @upperthamesbrewing

VEG AN DA LE B REWERY

Parkdale, Toronto (summer 2018) A new brewery has opened in Toronto at 1346 Queen St. W. with its heart (of palm) on its sleeve. ey promise vegan beer (most are) by Mike Duggan (Duggan’s Brewery is downstairs) and vegan food by Doomie’s. Vegandale—the name for both the brewery and cooperative of nearby businesses run by 5700 Inc.—o ers beers like Principled Pilsner and Morally Superior IPA under the tagline “Morality on Tap”. @vegandalebrewery

What’d we miss? Send tips on new brewery openings to david@thegrowler.ca. j