Drinking in Toronto?

[claphamsa]

Im going to Toronto for a hockey tourney this weekend... Thursday night will be pretty much the only time i wont be exhausted, and i think i should try some Canadian beer (not molson)....

where should I go? Ill be staying near the airport (tourney is in westwood).

 

[sk888smooth]

I went to Toronto in November and was very underwhelmed by the selection even in the store. Brews are super expensive in Canada are well ($12 for a 6 pack of standard beer selection)! I hope someone has a good suggestion for you!

 

[paulster2626]

Unfortunately the airport is a dead zone when it comes to "Toronto" - really it's far from downtown and has ****-all around that is interesting. I feel bad for people who go on trips here but don't venture outside the airport area - they must think Toronto is the worst place ever.

I'll see what I can dig up for you, but it would be much better if you can make it in to the city on Thursday night - is this possible? Do you have a car?

Oh and despite what buddy up there said, Toronto has a LOT of craft breweries and there are some great brew pubs as well. Beer is expensive, yes, but last I checked a 6'er of DFH60 will still run you $12-13 anyway. There really isn't that much of a price difference when all is said and done.

 

[paulster2626]

I went to Toronto in November and was very underwhelmed by the selection even in the store. Brews are super expensive in Canada are well ($12 for a 6 pack of standard beer selection)! I hope someone has a good suggestion for you!

The Beer store is terrible for craft beer. It's owned by Molson/Labatt/Sleeman which are all the big Coors/ABInbev/Sapporo conglomerates so they push the sale of their BMC harder than anything else. For any craft beer selection you need to go to the LCBO (aka liquor store), but some stores are better than others in this regard.

 

[claphamsa]

other people will have cars so we do go into the city.... ive been 3 times before, and always been shocked on the price of the beer. but ill take any sugestions I can get

 

[paulster2626]

other people will have cars so we do go into the city.... ive been 3 times before, and always been shocked on the price of the beer. but ill take any sugestions I can get

Bellwoods is pretty good - http://bellwoodsbrewery.com/ also on the west side of the city so accesibility isn't too bad. They sell some interesting stuff in the store - bit pricey but you're expecting that right! They have a monthly SMaSH beer in bottles which is good to try out different hops.

Mill St. Brew pub in the distillery district is cool - http://toronto.millstreetbrewpub.ca/
Also have a store on-site with growler purchases as well.

If you're at the airport and you need to just get some beer, drive down the 427 and make a stop at Black Oak http://www.blackoakbeer.com/ and/or Great Lakes Brewery http://www.greatlakesbeer.com/

Also if you'r eheading out for dinner, there's a place at the 427/Queensway called the Bier Markt. Yeah it's expensive (what isn't!) but they've got an extensive list of beers - TONS on tap and like 200 bottles or whatever. Food is good too but schnitzel is underwhelming.
http://www.thebiermarkt.com/

That's just off the top of my head. If I think of any more info as the coffee kicks in I'll let you know.

 

[paulster2626]

So, how did it go?

 

[claphamsa]

as far as beer? It was ok.... I forgot how little time we have with this tournament. I went to Bier MArket with half my team the first night and had a solid 5 canadian beers... then we went to the LCBO and bought a selection and it all turned out to suck.

as for hockey... there was much loosing, and my whole body hurts

 

[clone63]

... then we went to the LCBO and bought a selection and it all turned out to suck.

as for hockey... there was much loosing, and my whole body hurts

Name names!!! I want blood.

Also, sorry to hear that.

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Sorry to be off topic, but I always find it funny when you guys complain about expensive beer.

We pay $9AUD for a single DFH90.

Some of our local craft beer prices aren't too bad, but even the cheap craft beers are generally $15AUD for a 4 pack.


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[paulster2626]

Sorry to be off topic, but I always find it funny when you guys complain about expensive beer.

We pay $9AUD for a single DFH90.

Some of our local craft beer prices aren't too bad, but even the cheap craft beers are generally $15AUD for a 4 pack.


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**** beer here is stupid expensive. Case of Coors cans is $39.95. You can get 24 bottles of Blue for $30 I think. Compared to the USA it's a farce.

But when you're buying craft beer, there's not much of a markup, if any. A 6 of craft in the USA still costs $11-13, same as it does here. Plus, there are beers like Chimay and other quality imports that are often WAY cheaper here than anything if seen in any state.

In any case it's always best to BYO. So, that's what we do...

 

[claphamsa]

Dernière Volonté Réserve Spéciale (Vieillie En Fût De Pinot Noir) that was the best one I had....
had a Camerons RPA that was pretty tasty.
steamwhistle Pils was good for what it was supposed to be.

the biggest disapointment was the Alexander keiths IPA, I had it at the rink, and assumed the waitress poored the wrong beer, but then had it at a sports bar (in the hotel) and it was the same... no hops at all. it was like a weak helles.

 

[paulster2626]

Dernière Volonté Réserve Spéciale (Vieillie En Fût De Pinot Noir) that was the best one I had....
had a Camerons RPA that was pretty tasty.
steamwhistle Pils was good for what it was supposed to be.

the biggest disapointment was the Alexander keiths IPA, I had it at the rink, and assumed the waitress poored the wrong beer, but then had it at a sports bar (in the hotel) and it was the same... no hops at all. it was like a weak helles.

Hahahah Keiths. It's a ****ing BMC that tries to be as american lager as it can be. A travesty of beer labeling.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/alexander-keiths-india-pale-ale/1518/

Brewed by Oland Brewery (AB-InBev)
overall 7
style 2

Bottle to glass, this **** pours a pale greeny yellow with a pathetic white head. Aroma is very faint estery/solvents, grass and cardboard. Taste consists of typical flavours found in mass produced lagers...cardboard, grass, astringent bitterness. Sweet flavour delivery? **** no. Palate is thin bodied and carbonation is quite high. Beer water. Overall...if I wanted this kind of crap I would’ve bought budweiser. This is not even close to an IPA, let alone hoppy. Surprising since the other two ales I had from this pack have been quite OK.

 

[zbbfreak19]

If you get back to ontario, here is a small primer, thus is just personal opinion, but my top 5 Ontario beers
1. Beaus lug tread lagered ale
2. Muskoka cream ale
3. mill st vanilla porter
4. forked river riptide rye
5. Grand river plowmans ale

I am not a huge hophead, so I don't really get into the ipa's but if you are check out muskoka mad tom, sawdust city "the princess wears girl pants", Amsterdam boneshaker

Other favorites are
Beaus-Tom Green milk stout
Block three-king st saison
Bayside brewing-long pond lager
Mill st-organic lager


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[seanybubbles]

Lived in Toronto for 5 years. The beer science was terrible. Mill st. Brewery way the best thing going for the TO scene but was very expensive. The beer store is a great idea in principle, but in the end is just an expensive store that mostly just sells labatt and Molson products. It's practically a monopoly. I would say it's the worst thing going for the brewing industry in Ontario....


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[paulster2626]

Lived in Toronto for 5 years. The beer science was terrible. Mill st. Brewery way the best thing going for the TO scene but was very expensive. The beer store is a great idea in principle, but in the end is just an expensive store that mostly just sells labatt and Molson products. It's practically a monopoly. I would say it's the worst thing going for the brewing industry in Ontario....


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The Beer Store is owned by Molson (Coors), Labatt (AB/InBev), and Sleeman (Sapporo). It is most definitely not a good place to purchase quality craft product.

I'm going to guess you haven't lived here at all in the past 5 years, as things are pretty good now, and getting better every month.

 

[seanybubbles]

Good to know scene is getting better. I might have to give it another chance...


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[seanybubbles]

Good to know scene in TO is getting better.


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