list of Toronto bars with cask ale

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:16 pm

I'm working on a small article on cask ale in Toronto, and would like to include a list of bars that have cask(s) available on a regular basis.

Here is a quick list that I put together off the top of my head - any additions or corrections?

Volo - 2 casks, rotating
C'est What - 5 casks, Al's + 4 rotating (or are some of the 4 permanent?)
Victory - 1 cask, rotating
Granite - 2 casks, Best Bitter Special & IPA
Smokeless - 1 cask, Durham
Bow & Arrow - 2/3(?) casks, rotating(?)
Cloak & Dagger - 1 cask, Wellington(?)

Note: I found a "Cask Ale Guide to Canada" that claims The Duke of Kent and Feathers both have cask ale. Anyone know if this is true? I've never been to either place, but I find the Duke in particular to be an unlikely spot for a handpump.

Tapsucker · Post by **Tapsucker** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:43 pm

Thanks Greg, the link is handy, it's great to see what we can find in other provinces when we visit.

I think you should do a little due diligence on the Bow & Arrow though. In recent months I have found them to be out of cask ales all too often. Has anybody heard why their usually good selection is waning? Is there a change in management or direction? I have also found the food to be getting weaker.

Torontoblue · Post by **Torontoblue** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:29 am

The Feathers on Kingston Rd does indeed serve cask, Wellington County. Always in top condition, never had a bad pint in over 2 years of going there.

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:34 am

Dora Keough's has cask ale (sometimes Durham's, others).

The Duke of Kent usually has cask on, Wellington's, in my experience.

Gary

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 2:22 pm

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that handpump at the Duke of Kent (it does indeed exist, and has for almost 20 years) is dedicated exclusively to Wellington.

georgemilbrandt · Post by **georgemilbrandt** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 6:25 pm

We have our five new beer engines installed and have now settled on our line-up:
Regularly available: Al's Cask Ale, Black Oak Pale Ale, Arkell Best Bitter
Rotating taps: Wellington County Ale, Granite Peculiar
As I mentioned in a previous post, we have installed a "cask breather" or "aspirating valve" for our cask beers. This displaces the air in the top of the cask with a 75/25 mix of nitrogen/carbon dioxide. This does not put the cask under pressure or induce the beer to pick up carbonation. It does, however, reduce the risk of oxidation and spoilage. The pistons on our beer engines are refrigerated, so you will also get a consistant cool cellar temperature for every pint served.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:31 pm

I don't know about toronto... but there's a few inaccuracies on that site.

The Western Grad club definitely doesn't have a hand pump... doubt it ever did. There's a few places in BC that I've been to & doubt as well...

Uncle Bobby · Post by **Uncle Bobby** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:48 am

The Graduate Student's Union at U of T used to have a handpump devoted to Wellington. Haven't imposed myself for a couple of years, so I am not certain if it is still in action.

What the bar lacked in décor and design was made up for in the relaxed atmosphere and cosy scale of the place. And I always recall it offering drink that tended toward quality.

And for years it was - literally - kilometres from any other establishment of quality.

And I was never asked if I was a student. Never. Even as it must have been increasingly apparent over the years that I was not a student.

Perhaps I should volunteer to investigate the current state of the GSU's bar.

-Uncle Bobby

John Aitken · Post by **John Aitken** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:23 am

I went to Dora Keogh on the weekend with a friend who likes Guinness but who has been having trouble finding a pub that the Guinness doesn't have a old stale ice flavour to it. While I was there I had the London Porter from a hand pump but noticed in one of Gregs articles that the Porter is not cask, just not extra carbonated. Does this happen often where a bar/pub could tell you it's a cask but it may just be a keg on a hand pump? I noticed the head on the porter was almost Guinness creamy, which had me scratching my head as I hadn't seen that type of a head on a cask (in my very limited exp.).

BTW. the Guinness was superior to whats being served around Toronto these days. The bartender suggested that the other places may be using the wrong gas.

jkubik · Post by **jkubik** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:13 pm

I don't think the UofT GSU pub has any cask ale these days. Their usual lineup is:
Granite Bitter
GSU lager
and two others that drinking the bitter seems to have made me forget.

Steve Spong · Post by **Steve Spong** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:06 pm

Curiously, I stumbled upon the grad bar at York a while back and was surprised to find that they had Wellington Arkell on cask, as well as a decent lineup of other beer, including Fruli and Erdinger. Only problem, of course, is that it's at York. Also, I drive, and seriously, who wants to drink up at the Soviet-styled campus that is York?

The Bar Towel

list of Toronto bars with cask ale

list of Toronto bars with cask ale

C'est What list