Noble Hop, brew supply store in Toronto

[SquidPope]

Noble Hop is a new brew supply store in Toronto, at 1567 Dundas West (right near Dufferin street). As soon as you walk in, there's a big shelf with 3 lb bags of DME (no LME yet, but the owner says he's working on that) and various-sized packages of grain; it looked like a good mix of base malts, steeping grains, and adjuncts, though I'm no expert.

Next to the grain racks is a large fridge that looks like it came out of the soda section of a convenience store, packed with a wide variety of vacuum-sealed hops. Another fridge of the standard kitchen variety has Wyeast smack packs, vials of liquid yeast, and packets of dry yeast. Plenty of liquid yeast, only about 7 varieties of dry.

After that, you're at the counter at the back of the store, where the very friendly owner is available for a chat about ingredients, equipment, and recommendations for your next brew. It wasn't too busy in there when I went, so he even took the time to show me the Belgian wheat beer he had boiling in the garden behind the store.

On top of that, he's got all the basic fermenting equipment (carboy, hydrometer, airlock, etc), yeast nutrients, Whirlfloc, StarSan and Iodophor, and other things that are too advanced for a beginner like me to know what they're for

I'm not sure how many other forum members are from Toronto, but hopefully this will help a few of you As a downtown resident, it's nice to have someplace accessible by a quick streetcar ride!

 

[Sudsumi]

This is the best news ever!!
I can't wait to check it out, thanks for sharing
Here's their website: http://www.noblehop.com/

 

[SquidPope]

As an update, they're expanding their selection of equipment and the owner (Dave) has started putting together all-grain 1-gallon kits.

 

[phug]

I'll be checking them out


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[SquidPope]

Another update: Their stock now includes 500 mL swing-top bottles, and they've started selling gift cards through the website

(And no, I don't work there )

 

[trombasteve]

Good place, great location, nice to have them in the neighbourhood. It's on my bike ride home from work - could be dangerous.

 

[jakis]

Great place! I live right near by in Roncesvalles so this has worked out nice.

 

[phug]

For hops and malt their prices look to be the same as Toronto brewing. I priced out a Belgian blonde recipe and the yeast came out .20 cheaper for t-58 but everything else was the same. If he doesn't charge a milling fee then that would put him ahead in my books. It's nice to have choice.

 

[jakis]

He didn't charge a milling fee when I went in.

 

[phug]

We have a winner. Though I will still shop around. Best price I've found so far in Toronto on Irish moss , one gal growlers and Bottle caps has been Macedo wines. Go figure

 

[phug]

He didn't charge a milling fee when I went in.

Dave @ noble hops confirmed he's got a mill available for use and does not charge a milling fee.

so... at toronto brewing, you can get a free airlock, if you don't already have enough of them, and @ noble hop, you can mill your grains for free.

Also as a side note, Noble Hop will be open late dec/early jan on some days that toronto brewing will be closed.

So if you need your fix, check out the noble hop website, the holidays hours and closures have been posted.

 

[SquidPope]

He's never charged me a milling fee either; until you guys mentioned it, I half-suspected it was because I told him I'd been using a blender before and he took pity on me

 

[phug]

something important to note. NobleHop has a adjustable price scale for wyeast liquid yeast.

Liquid yeast pricing policy:

<4 months from manufacture date - $7.99

4-6 months from manufacture date - $3.99

6+ months - FREE!

If you like to make starters, that might really be something worth checking out.

 

[SquidPope]

The selection has expanded again; LME as well as more specialty grains are available, among other things. Also, they're now hiring part-time help.

 

[phug]

sad news. Dave has closed the shop at the end of October. He's moving onto something new. Better news, Toronto Brewing has taken over the lease at that location, they're closed for renos until Nov 14th, and hopefully open on the 15th, or so the sign says at least. So that's nice. Sadly didn't help me much when I was standing outside the door hoping to buy some supplies.

Bye bye noblehop, sorry to see you go. Thanks for all the help Dave.

 

[shellsbells]

I was super bummed when I saw Dave's FB post last week announcing that the shop had closed down. I live in the area and Noble Hop has been my LHBS for the past year. But I have to say your post made my day. As much as I'll miss Noble Hop, I'm glad to hear Toronto Brewing is moving in and I'll still be able to pick up supplies on the way home.

 

[SquidPope]

I was probably more sad than I should have been when Dave broke the news; it felt like a friend's pet had died. But at least we'll have Toronto Brewing in the same location soon.

RIP Noble Hop!

 

[Sudsumi]

Yeah, I'm prolly out 60 bucks in gift cards... oh well, small business's for you.

 

[phug]

Yeah, I'm prolly out 60 bucks in gift cards... oh well, small business's for you.

****ty

 

[SquidPope]

Toronto Brewing posted recently on Facebook that they're about 2 weeks away from opening at Noble Hop's old spot. No solid opening date yet, but they've opened up the back room a bit (where the chalkboard wall behind Dave's counter used to be) for more floorspace.

 

[shellsbells]

I was shopping at Toronto Brewing on Friday and asked how things were coming along with the Dundas location. Apparently they're thinking it'll be another two weeks-hopefully they'll be open in time for Xmas

 

[phug]

Ouch, I was there on the 1st and was told mid december

 

[SquidPope]

Yeah, they told me mid-December on Twitter as well. Thankfully, SWMBO brought home an old-timey hand-cranked mill that I can use for my grain in the meantime. One of the perks of a fiancee who owns her own antique store

(If you're curious, it's Matter of Time at 229 Jones avenue in Toronto.)

 

[shellsbells]

Lucky you (and that shop looks awesome, by the way). I'd also seen that Twitter post on their website at the end of November, so had gotten my hopes up that they'd open sooner than later.

 

[phug]

Latest update says mid jan

 

[shellsbells]

I saw that too, but I doubt they'll be ready by then. I passed by there the other day and while it looks like it is coming along, they still seem to have a fair bit of work left. Maybe end of the month?

 

[SquidPope]

They tweeted that their latest "opening date" is this Thursday. We'll see if it sticks.

 

[phug]

It didn't stick. They opened today.

 

[SquidPope]

It didn't stick. They opened today.

Excellent, I'll be making a visit tomorrow

 

[shellsbells]

So did you end up checking it out, SquidPope? Just wondering what their selection is like, since it's a much smaller space than their original

 

[phug]

I went on Thursday. Malt selection is excellent, very much like uptown, very good yeast and hops selection though the hops might be tricky to find what you need. Good selection of fittings and a selection of kits as well.

 

[phug]

Overall though it's going to feel very like noble hop since it's still the same sign and mostly the same layout

 

[SquidPope]

So did you end up checking it out, SquidPope? Just wondering what their selection is like, since it's a much smaller space than their original

I haven't been to their uptown store, but comparing it to Noble Hop, it's definitely a larger and tidier grain selection. Hops and yeast looked about the same. Definitely a ton of equipment available, as well as recipe kits.