The Bar Towel

I actually don't have much to say here. I was under the impression that this was a production brewery for contract brewers but they do in fact have a bottle shop. Most of their info is on their face book page. Seems that they have the basics covered for styles and comments seem to highlight the brown ale.

Doesn't seem to be worth mentioning ratings as they are virtually non-existent.

So, 1) has anyone had one of their beers and was it any good? 2) I have an insulated, non-branded SS growler. I wonder if they will fill it?

I'm in Scarborough occasionally so next time I will stop by. If it's good basic beer at a reasonable price, there's a place for it. I describe it as that because the FB page is giving me a vibe like the training brewery in Niagara. i.e. the brown ale is called brown ale.

I've had both the ipa and the dry hopped belgian. The ipa was quite malt forward which might appeal to some, but I'd really prefer more hops. The Belgian was quite thin and definitely needs some tweaking if they continue with it.

I've tried their IPA and Brown Ale, both were really tasty. They charge only $9 for growler fills which is cheaper than most places. Looks like it could be promising. Could use some creativity in the beer-naming department.

bradb wrote:I've had both the ipa and the dry hopped belgian. The ipa was quite malt forward which might appeal to some, but I'd really prefer more hops. The Belgian was quite thin and definitely needs some tweaking if they continue with it.

I tried those two as well and didn't care for either. IPA had no aroma or flavour and the Belgian was overly bitter.

I finally made my first visit to this place and picked up a can of each beer they had available:

Sociabnle Pilsner
Brown Ale
Dry Hopped Belgian
IPA
APA
Blonde Ale

Really enjoyed both the brown ale and dry hopped belgian. At 7% the brown ale is stronger than most readily available counterparts. Could use some more bittering hops as the strong sweet malts are almost reminiscent of a doppelbock(at least for me). Still very enjoyable and easy to drink. Dry hopped belgian was refreshing and the dry hopping works very well to pack the flavour in for such a low ABV. Nice alternative to the tiresome session IPAs. Not a fan of the APA, hop profile was off putting for me. Possibly because I drank it following the strong flavoured belgian.

Will post up my comments on the others once I've tried them. I just missed the release of a bourbon soaked coffee bean amber ale which sounds pretty interesting. Will definitely be returning.

The brown ale is the star of the show IMO. Really good, if you like that sort of thing, which I do (as stated above, it is not an American brown). Yes, they will fill any growler. Prices really good, esp compared to some of the downtown craft breweries.

I have now tried 2 of the beers. I got a growler of the APA. Well worth the $9. Nothing special at all but it was fun to bring to the party and share. I also got one of each of the brown ale, IPA, Dry Hopped Belgian and Socialble Pilsner. Have only had the brown ale. I was sitting at a sunny window with the light hitting the class. Just filled with floaties and it tasted great. That was my primary complaint about the APA, style to me should have a lot of hop bits floating around but that was certainly filtered out/never there.

Definately you should check them out if you're in the East end.

So I've gotta say, I have high hopes for this place after dropping in for a tasting. I love brown ales and to me theirs is a really well made example- nice roasted character, a bit of chocolate and very drinkable. The rest of their lineup is decent too, although the APA was a bit boring. I quite enjoyed the dry hopped pilsner, it's crisp and refreshing and actually seemed to have more hop character than the APA. As I live and work in Scarborough it's pretty exciting to have a brewery within a 10 minute drive.

Oh and the Blonde Ale was on sale for $2 per can, for that price it can't be beat, it's a good "lawnmower beer".

That brown ale is definitely a great beer. Agreed.

Just walked out of Common Good with 10 tall cans for 26.50.
2x Overhop IIPA
2x Overhop IPA
2x IIPA
2x IPA
1x Brown Ale
1x Dry Hopped Pils

Their growler prices are super cheap too. A 64 oz fill is like $12 and they fill any growler. Not much on offer growler-wise today.

The beer isn't over the moon... but by fuck if you can't buy 12 cans of Busch for $26. Common Good prices are turbo for quality beer.

I don't work for them... just honest to goodness sturdy brew.

Blasphomet wrote:The beer isn't over the moon... but by fuck if you can't buy 12 cans of Busch for $26. Common Good prices are turbo for quality beer.

I don't work for them... just honest to goodness sturdy brew.

Agreed!

I don't see Overhop getting much mention here, but it seems like a damn fine addition to the scene, and would recommend checking it out. I had a glass of both the NE IPA and the IIPA at Craft Brasserie before the TFC game and was pretty impressed. Kind of funny that I'm drinking it because its from exotic Brazil, only to find out its brewed at Ellesmere, 5 minutes from my work!

Yeah the Overhop IPA is stellar. IIPA is better than average, but I am not a big IIPA fan.

Bobsy wrote:

Blasphomet wrote:The beer isn't over the moon... but by fuck if you can't buy 12 cans of Busch for $26. Common Good prices are turbo for quality beer.

I don't work for them... just honest to goodness sturdy brew.

Agreed!

I don't see Overhop getting much mention here, but it seems like a damn fine addition to the scene, and would recommend checking it out. I had a glass of both the NE IPA and the IIPA at Craft Brasserie before the TFC game and was pretty impressed. Kind of funny that I'm drinking it because its from exotic Brazil, only to find out its brewed at Ellesmere, 5 minutes from my work!

What's the address? I can't seem to find anything when I google it.

Overhop is contract brewed at Common Good, which is at 475 Ellesmere Rd.