The Bar Towel

Provost Drunk wrote:

BartOwl wrote:This brewpub is now open to the public. Since I live a few minutes away, I went last night for dinner. The food was good. You could really smell the malt in the brewpub. I had a sample flight of four beers: Lager, Hefeweizen, Gosezilla, and First Day IPA. The lager reminded me of Creemore, but a bit different. The Hefeweizen had banana and clove tastes, like I would expect for a well-made example of the style. The Gosezilla was well balanced, but not with a strong flavour profile. I have found the best Gose beers are with fruit. Maybe they could do that here. The stand out was the First Day IPA. Maybe, it was just because I was getting a super fresh IPA, but the Centennial, Cascasde and Citra hopped IPA was quite good. It had lots of hop flavour. I will be back to sample their future beers.

One of my friends lives in the area and is trying to persuade us to check this place out over the weekend. Do you happen to recall what else they were offering (if anything) besides the four styles that you tried? Thanks.

In addition to the White IPA that Napalm Frog mentioned, there was an APA, but it was out when I was there. Like the FIrst Day IPA, it was keg only. I think the brewery is off to a good start, even if the Gose was a little bland. I am looking forward to trying their dry-hopped sour.

The APA appears to be an unbranded version of their infamous 'Fake News Ale' from the summer. I'm sure it will be back. IPA sounds like a one-off.

Stopped in this week to record a podcast. Had a sampler flight and all the beer was perfectly fine, but I was a bit distracted interviewing at the same time so will want to give it another go.

An impressive space - large interior space, patio fronting on Bathurst, brewery in there and a separated beer store. There's an upstairs private dining area as well but I didn't see it.

Saw a lot of familiar faces upon entry as they hired a number of staff from different bars & breweries around the city. So felt welcomed as most recognized me.

Frankly with the incredible prevalence of condos around the city it's nice to see one of the ground floors going to something I'd visit, rather than another bank, medical office or something like that.

Evidently their formal launch event is this week so will try and check it out and report back.

Also, their brewer is Andrew Crowder, ex of Muskoka Brewery. Not sure if that was mentioned here yet.

I visited briefly on Saturday with some friends before we moved on to a few other places. It's a big space and it was very full for a place that hasn't even formally launched. I tried their hefeweizen and found that it was true to the style with no off flavours. I'd say it finishes a little more crisp and dry than most Bavarian brewed hefes, but again was pretty much on point.

Cass wrote:Frankly with the incredible prevalence of condos around the city it's nice to see one of the ground floors going to something I'd visit, rather than another bank, medical office or something like that.

^^^ This!

Will probably stop in at Maverick sometime this weekend since it's in the 'hood.

Finally got to a visit last night. Maybe about a quarter full if that. Nice space.

Beers I had: lager, pale ale, brown.

Would have liked the lager to have had some character, bready background or some hops. The other two were as advertised. No issues.

Food experience was varied.

The bilogi jerky was different. Odd cuts of meat and what I presume beef fat smeared on them. The meat itself was much too fatty for my tastes. The fat smear was interesting. I didn't like the finger tactile feel but it would help if the jerky was ever too dry. Bar Hop seems to get the jerky right to my tastes every other order. The bacon and cheddar beer soup was very tasty. The brisket tacos were meh. The meat was room temperature.

I'll be going back to try the hefe and stout. Are seasonals and one-offs going to happen at some point? Having the same stuff gets boring quickly. There are a few menu items I want to try too.

Happy to have them in the area.

Visited this place for the first time last night. The Enforcer IPA was really juicy and good. I found the brown and stout to be unoffensive. Nothing too exciting on the tap list. Hamburger was good.

I have returned to Northern Maverick, and I wanted to report on the beers I tried there. The Carraway Rye Saison (can't remember the actual name off the top of my head) was okay, but a bit unbalanced. It's sweet and sour, but probably too sweet for a saison, and little too astringent. Next, I tried the Dark Sour, which was not bad but not great either. It was quite sour, with green apple and overripe fruit flavours, but it didn't have the complexity and balance of a typical Belgian brew of this type. However, it is nice to see them doing some experimental styles. I sampled their Imperial Stout, which is quite good. It has a lot complexity and good balance. Burnt sugar and licorice are some of the tastes. The Enforcer IPA has a very nice hop aroma and taste. It seems to use Citra as one of its hops, and the Citra taste was there srtongly. If you liked Karma Citra, you would probably like Enforcer. Overall, its a bit hit and miss, but they do have some very good beers. Worth a try, if you are in the area.