Against the Grain

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Tue May 31, 2011 9:23 am

Went to the preview dinner of Against the Grain last night and it's looking pretty good! (Disclosure: I worked as beer/cocktail consultant for them.) The food was very good tavern fare and the drink prices are most reasonable! Sixteen taps, a bunch of bottles and a good -- if I do say so myself -- cocktail list, plus wines by the glass and a well-selected stock of whiskies.

It's in the Corus Building at the foot of Jarvis and boasts a lakefront patio that should quickly become well known as one of the city's best! The restaurant should be open for normal business tomorrow (Wednesday), if all else goes according to plan.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Tue May 31, 2011 9:38 am

Steve Beaumont wrote:Went to the preview dinner of Against the Grain last night and it's looking pretty good! (Disclosure: I worked as beer/cocktail consultant for them.) The food was very good tavern fare and the drink prices are most reasonable! Sixteen taps, a bunch of bottles and a good -- if I do say so myself -- cocktail list, plus wines by the glass and a well-selected stock of whiskies.

It's in the Corus Building at the foot of Jarvis and boasts a lakefront patio that should quickly become well known as one of the city's best! The restaurant should be open for normal business tomorrow (Wednesday), if all else goes according to plan.

what flows from the 16 taps?

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Tue May 31, 2011 10:01 am

A few Mill Street, Konig Ludwig Weisse, Hop-It, King Pilsner, Stella (not my pick), Rolling Rock (ditto), Fuller's ESB, Palm, Blanche de Chambly, Hoptical, Grimbergen Dubbel, some others that escape my memory. (We had several versions of the draught list as the concept developed.)

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Tue May 31, 2011 10:06 am

Great news. That's right near my work and I was hoping it was going to be a good spot. We don't have much in the way of good beer down at the lake.

jaymack · Post by **jaymack** » Tue May 31, 2011 5:29 pm

I work in the building and have had my hopes up this would be a good place for a pint.

Extended lunches are in my forecast.

TwoPint · Post by **TwoPint** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:31 am

Website at http://www.atgurbantavern.ca/.

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:14 pm

I stopped by on Friday evening. Certainly the location (in summer, anyway) is first rate, right on the waterfront. It is a large space, with quite a "corporate" feel, if I can put it that way, and I learned that the pub is owned by the Brazen Head/Watermark chain. Draught beer list is not bad from a craft perspective, in that it at least has Mill St Sout, Beau's Lug Tread and Hoptical Illusion, though ideally one would hope for more from 16 taps. Food that I sampled or saw all looked very nice. I ordered Hacker Pschorr Kellerbier, but it was clearly not that (almost certainly it was the Hubertus Bock) however the bartender had no idea what the difference betweeen a bock and a kellerbier might be, so I didn't get very far when I pointed it out. The cocktail list, I thought, looked very good with some classics you don't always see and well thought out, quality ingredients and recipes. So all in all, some good, some not so good but I predict this will be an extremely popular spot once it gets up and running.

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:15 am

midlife crisis wrote:Draught beer list is not bad from a craft perspective, in that it at least has Mill St Sout, Beau's Lug Tread and Hoptical Illusion, though ideally one would hope for more from 16 taps..

My goal was to offer a range of styles and origins, which of course had to be blended with certain corporate imperatives.

midlife crisis wrote:Food that I sampled or saw all looked very nice. I ordered Hacker Pschorr Kellerbier, but it was clearly not that (almost certainly it was the Hubertus Bock) however the bartender had no idea what the difference betweeen a bock and a kellerbier might be, so I didn't get very far when I pointed it out.

The Kellerbier somehow appeared on the menu as a misprint, no one seems to know exactly how.Yes, it is the Hubertus, and the bartender should have known that. No excuse for that!

midlife crisis wrote:The cocktail list, I thought, looked very good with some classics you don't always see and well thought out, quality ingredients and recipes.

Thank you.

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:33 pm

Yes, regarding corporate imperatives, I noted in the time I was there at least, approximately one out of every two beers served was a Stella!

The Bar Towel

Against the Grain

Against the Grain

Re: Against the Grain