Welcome to Toronto, home to one of the booming craft beer scenes. All over the city, new breweries and bars dedicated to serving local beers are popping up. Looking for some of the best spots? Look no further than this article! Here are the best spots for craft beers in Toronto.
1. Bellwoods Brewery
With a charming exterior with an outdoor patio, Bellwoods is one of the most popular place for beer lovers in Toronto. All of their beers are brewed in-house and the beers on-tap are always rotating depending on what’s brewed. If you miss out on a special brew fear not! They usually have a selection of reserve bottles to buy. If you prefer to take a bottle home, they also have a bottle shop that sells take-home beer as well as some interesting merchandise!
2. C’est What?
Another popular location, C’est What is located in the cellar of a 19th century historic building close to the St. Lawrence Market. It has 42 Canadian craft brews on tap and prides itself in being a spot that uses only natural ingredients in small batches and the beer is undiluted and fresh. There are also some unique and adventurous choices on tap including Hemp ale and ginger wheat beer. Be sure to check out their Twitter feed for their rotating tap list and listen to their radio internet station, whatsnext.ca located in house. They stream indie-centric music and host shows within their performance space.
3. Amsterdam Brewery
Back when the idea of craft beer was still new, Amsterdam brewery opened its first location on John St in 1986. Now they have locations at Harbourfront, Leaside and Queen’s Quay. True to tradition, Amesterdam serves beers that are brewed onsite, some seasonal favourites and aged brews right from their cellar! For a unique experience, try the Boneshaker IPA, an unfiltered strong beer with taste to match its strength!
4. Indie Ale House
This spot specializes in brewing beers in-house and they do it well. There are a wide variety of selections to choose from including flagship beers with four always on tap and other in store for takeaway and their annual rare releases, which debut once a year for a limited time! There are also collaborations (some of which are only done once) to try in-house. The food is also better than your average pub, serving creative dishes like bison and pork belly burger.
5. Tequila Bookworm
Located in the heart of Queen St. West, this spot focuses on serving only Ontario-based beer, wines and ciders. With selections rotating daily, they take the time to highlight up incoming names in the beer industry, with small batches available for purchase. They are also one of the places that specializes in brunch, served every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-5pm!
6. WVRST
Make any day Oktoberfest and stop by WVRST. With unique takes on the traditional hot dog (some flavours include thick duck or maple and foie gras) and rotating taps from big names like Indie Ale House, WVRST is perfect for someone looking for a unique meal and some craft beer. There is also a lengthy list of bottles and cans imported from Europe and America. To check what’s on tap, be sure to check their Twitter.
7. 3030 Dundas West
This pub is a place that combines great local beer from several parts of the city with unusual selections for food. Some names of their local craft beers include High Park Brewery, Black Oak Brewing, Spearhead Brewing and Hogtown Brewers and some rare-to-find selections. Potential meals include butter chicken wings and smoked pickerel crepe.
8. TALLBOYS
If you’re on the hunt for the best beers in Ontario, consider popping in to TALLBOYS. They claim to have the largest selection of Ontario craft beer and they might be right. Great Lakes, Bayside, Ace Hill and Sweetgrass are among the many choices available to customers. Looking to grab some craft beer for a party? TALLBOYS offers a fully-equipped event room that can be rented for your next event!
9. Left Field Brewery
This brewery started out by a home-brewing husband and wife team who later turned pro in 2013. This baseball-themed brewery offers a wide selection of beers from hop IPAs to rotating seasonal brews. The brewery also offers events several times a month, from workshops to road-trips to see baseball games!
10. Handlebar
Located in Kensington Market, it’s Ontario craft beer and great music. The beer selection includes 8 taps and 20 additional selections in storage. While the selection may seem limited, the location has some delicious brews including Kensington Brewery’s Augusta Ale. They also host live music seven nights a week, with performances listed right on their website.
