OnTap Magazine

P ossibly the most unexpected sight that has ever greeted this long- time beer scribe upon entering a brewery was the gaggle of baby-toting mothers and fathers who packed the taproom of Blood Brothers Brewing in a formerly industrial part of midtown Toronto on a sunny ursday afternoon. Until, that is, I encountered the exact same scene at the east side’s Left Field Brewery several weeks later. Moms and dads and their tots love brewery taps. Who knew? As curious as are regularly scheduled parents-and-kids afternoons at the brewery, in Canada’s most populace province of Ontario perhaps an even greater oddity is the ability to purchase full glasses of beer at a brewery tasting room. Up until fairly recently, you could sample beer at any brewery in the province, so long as they were willing to serve you, but the proper drinking of beer, the province’s mandarins had decreed, was best left in bars and restaurants. at changed when the government introduced the ‘by the glass’ initiative, which allowed breweries to sell beer in quantities up to 341 ml from 11am to 9pm. Many took the authorities up on the o er. Today, brewery taprooms abound in the city. Here’s a selection to help guide the visitor through not just the city’s beer scene, but a signi cant amount of its craft brewing history, as well. THE OLD GUARD Although some local newspapers and magazines still act as if craft brewing is something entirely new to Toronto, the city’s longest standing breweries have been around for decades. And those older and more established companies are not about to leave all the taproom glories to the younger upstarts. Likely the rst brewery most visitors will encounter is Steam Whistle Brewing , owing to the company’s location at the foot of the CN Tower. So much as step foot in the front door and you will be o ered a sampler of their pilsner. Venture a little further and you may buy glasses of the same brew – the only beer the company produces – even if you don’t have tickets to the very popular, and frequently sold out, brewery tours on o er. You’ll need to head further a eld to nd Black Oak Brewing and the Great Lakes Brewery , but your e orts will be well- rewarded. Great Lakes o ers ve rotating taps of their beer, usually including a couple of award winners, and has a lovely if sometimes slightly noisy patio out front for sunny days. Black Oak also pours from ve taps on busy days and presents them in a roomy, comfortable space complete with a selection of board games for those interested in whiling away an hour or two while they sip. THE GAME CHANGERS While what we used to call ‘microbrewing’ has existed in Toronto since 1985, for its rst quarter century or so it wasn’t a terribly exciting industry. Sure, there were some terri c beers produced during that period, like Black Oak Nut Brown Ale and Steam Whistle Pilsner, but stylistically the city was far from cutting edge. at changed with the arrival of the Bellwoods Brewery in 2012. While their Ossington Avenue location – the one visitors are most likely to nd – is more brewpub than brewery taproom, complete with food menu, it does provide easy access THE CITY’S LONGEST STANDING BREWERIES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR DECADES TOR NTO Looking to escape the South African summer heat? Canadian beer writer Stephen Beaumont takes a tour of Toronto’s many taprooms, pausing to contemplate the city’s recent beer history between sips. ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2018 | 45