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The Indie Alehouse

Discuss Ontario's brewpubs, pubs, beer bars and restaurants here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

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cratez
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Post by cratez »

In lister's defence, it's not too often that a brewpub opens in Toronto - what are we up to, four now? - so I don't blame him for being excited. And his description of the diverse, not-so-beer-geeky crowd is a pretty accurate snapshot of what you can expect when you go there. I personally enjoyed reading his lengthy, ramblin' post. :)
"Bar people do not live as long as vegan joggers. However, they have more fun." - Bruce Elliott

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Belgian
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Post by Belgian »

cratez wrote:In lister's defence, it's not too often that a brewpub opens in Toronto - what are we up to, four now? - so I don't blame him for being excited. And his description of the diverse, not-so-beer-geeky crowd is a pretty accurate snapshot of what you can expect when you go there. I personally enjoyed reading his lengthy, ramblin' post. :)
I did too. Lister knows we're just taking the mickey. OR he's plotting a way to kill us. Hard to tell with those 'quiet types.'
In Beerum Veritas

JeffPorter
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Post by JeffPorter »

Same hear, thought the rambling was rather cute, and it's not like I'VE never rambled on these boards. :P
"What can you say about Pabst Blue Ribbon that Dennis Hopper hasn’t screamed in the middle of an ether binge?" - Jordan St. John

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JerCraigs
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Post by JerCraigs »

Belgian wrote:
cratez wrote:In lister's defence, it's not too often that a brewpub opens in Toronto - what are we up to, four now? - so I don't blame him for being excited. And his description of the diverse, not-so-beer-geeky crowd is a pretty accurate snapshot of what you can expect when you go there. I personally enjoyed reading his lengthy, ramblin' post. :)
I did too. Lister knows we're just taking the mickey. OR he's plotting a way to kill us. Hard to tell with those 'quiet types.'
+1

midlife crisis
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Post by midlife crisis »

I went and had a flight of tasters. Liked everything to varying degrees but to my surprise I liked thePumpkin Abbey best. Belgian RyePA was also excellent. Very impressive place overall and like others I would go frequently if it was anywhere near me.

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

while i haven't been (too far), the one complaint i've heard is the cafeteria-style lighting. i've heard it from 3 separate people.

drinking should be done in the dark so your self-perception can be set to "damn attractive" at a faster rate

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Cass
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Post by Cass »

atomeyes wrote:while i haven't been (too far), the one complaint i've heard is the cafeteria-style lighting. i've heard it from 3 separate people.
I would have to dispute that - I was there last night and can attest that much of the lighting is the popular, Edison-style bulbs, very much un-cafeteria!

TheSevenDuffs
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Post by TheSevenDuffs »

Finally dropped by on Thursday for lunch while in the neighbourhood for work.

Really cool place. Great atmosphere. A good amount of seating. Friendly and knowledgeable wait staff.

Had to limit myself to one pint and something not terribly high in ABV since I was working... had a Barnyard Belgian Rye PA and it was really good!

You can tell they are still working out the kinks and getting all the finishing touches done. Lunch menu was a "soft opening" menu (still?) and only had 5 items. The food was very average (both IMO and the opinions of the two guys I was with).

Will defintiely go back!

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NRman
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Post by NRman »

atomeyes wrote: cafeteria-style lighting
what I imagined
Image

from BlogTO review
http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/indie ... se-toronto
Image

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lister
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Post by lister »

Belgian wrote:I did too. Lister knows we're just taking the mickey. OR he's plotting a way to kill us. Hard to tell with those 'quiet types.'
It keeps people on their toes. :wink:
lister

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TJ
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Post by TJ »

My wife and I stopped in here last Sunday. We snacked on the popcorn which we didn't care and the deep-fried mozzarella balls in marinara sauce which were okay. The bar area was kind of stark and the whole place was over-lit. All that aside the service was great and the beer was mostly topnotch. I'll definitely make a point to stop in whenever I am in the neighbourhood.

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

friends want to go there tonight (for dinner?). wish me luck.

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JerCraigs
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Post by JerCraigs »

Finally stopped in two weeks ago, we have been looking forward to coming for a while. Arrived earlyish for dinner after hearing that they get quite busy on the weekends and got a seat with no trouble. We got glasses of about 3/4s of the beers on offer, (Today was mostly their own as well as a Beau’s seasonal) which come in sizes ranging from about 10oz to 20oz depending on the beers.

My favorites of the night were the Spadina Monkey2 (apparently the base sour they use to blend some of their other sours) - which I wish came in a larger glass, Yumm! - and the Jump the Shark ASA. The Instigator IPA and Cockpuncher were both super quaffable, but less assertively hoppy than I remember some of the test batches, but I tried them later in the evening so I am curious to see if I think the same thing next time.

Food was delicious, Mabel and I shared a pulled pork sandwich, and a Three Little Pigs pizza. I loved the pizza, particularly the great corn meal dusted crust. Mabel foud the sausage a bit too "porky" (More for me!) The pulled pork was great but the sauce had a bit more heat to it than I expected. The chili cheese fries that our friends shared were about as spicey as I can eat. When the menu says spicy they mean it! :) Prices seemed quite reasonable for both the food and drink.

Server was great and really knew her stuff (not surprising since we have seen her around at beer events), and was great at explaining the beers to our less beer geeky dinner mates. I like the atmosphere overall, the tables are a bit closer together than my preference, particularly at the front of the house but that’s not such a big deal really. The location is a bit off the beaten path depending on where you are coming from but transit from Yonge & Sheppard got us there in 45 minutes so that is well worth it. Looking forward to seeing what they do in the future, I definitely want to try more of the pizzas, and Jason says the burger is great.

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Cass
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Post by Cass »

JerCraigs wrote:Jason says the burger is great.
I can also confirm that their burger is great!

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

Cass wrote:
JerCraigs wrote:Jason says the burger is great.
I can also confirm that their burger is great!
i'd argue otherwise.
3/5 at best.
no condiments. just half a pickle. was kind of try and not full of taste. big, puffy bun.

i'm possibly a burger snob, but i'd also rather eat the one at Scotland Yard (fri night special) over the Indie Alehouse one

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