1990s Ontario Beer History!

[JeffPorter]

Might have been Koningshoeven. They had a rocky relationship with the Trappist folks, and I think at one point they were "kicked out" because they were using secular workers...

I could be wrong though.

[irishkyle21]

La Tappe

[irishkyle21]

I could be wrong to but I'm pretty sure.

[Steve Beaumont]

Achel didn't start brewing until the late 1990's, shortly after which Koningshoeven was denied permission to use the Trappist designation for a number of years, reverting the number of Trappist breweries to six. The Dutch monastery got its designation back in the early to mid 2000's sometime.

[lister]

When I lived up around Yonge & Eglinton, the mid to late 90s was when I had discovered craft beer at Summit. As a kid I tried my dad's beer which was the usual macro crap, never liked it and stayed away from beer until my mid-20s. Summit had a great pasta bar that we visited at least once a week. Many beers were consumed and some great cocktails thanks to one of the fine bartenders Mary. There was another bartender who worked the lunch shift that was very nice too but I can't remember her name.

I got started with Algonquin Honey Brown then moved on to KLB Raspberry Wheat when AHB mysteriously disappeared. Sadly the pasta bar abruptly ended without a final visit and Summit became something else before the current Boston Pizza. Ahead of Summit being there the place was named Daily Planet.

[G.M. Gillman]

I might be wrong on this, but wasn't there a place east of the Summit, on the same side of Eglinton, that brewed its own beer?

Gary

[G.M. Gillman]

Further reflection and checking has reminded me of the brewpub to the east of the Summit on Eglinton, in fact there were two: one was Spruce Goose, the other Vinifera. I am not sure if these and Summit operated at the same time.

I visited Spruce Goose and Vinifera more than once but don't have a clear recollection of their wares, probably the range was restricted.

Gary

[Belgian]

Here's something else for you Steve:

http://bartowel.com/history/SummitHouseBeer.pdf

Haha there's the old pre-lawsuit Dragons Breath Pale being sold far and wide. It was shut out because an awful sugar-bomb stout from Jamaica that is sold here has a similar same name, and as adult morons we're so easily confused.

And didn't Kawartha Lakes Raspberry once taste pretty decent? I know it's an extract berry flavor addition, and Amsterdam's own whole-berry Framboise recipe is superior but back then, I had many a brunch at the Only* with a pint of KLB and maybe it wasn't so fake tasting in those days.

(* A big Thanks to the degenerate snoop who shut down The Only's weekend brunch, for the most part. Yay, it 's the fun police, we've been hit once again.)

[kinguy]

And didn't Kawartha Lakes Raspberry once taste pretty decent?

Once one of my favourite beers, KLB Raspberry Wheat has been shite since production moved to Toronto from Peterborough.

[Tapsucker]

Here's something else for you Steve:

http://bartowel.com/history/SummitHouseBeer.pdf

For those who don't know, at the location of Boston Pizza at Yonge & Eglinton there used to be quite a nice beer bar called the Summit House (in fact, the bar was called the Beer Bar).

How about those prices too! $4.95 for a pint!

The Summit was a nice location and I appreciated the better than usual beer list, but it had two big strikes against it. One was the food was way overpriced given the quality. The second and less forgivable was that they closed early in the evening. I often remember hearing last call by 10 or 11pm on nights like Thursdays. Hardly a way to develop a local following.

Now, sadly walking by there now feels like a visit to a big box mall with muzak being blasted out onto the street. At least they are helping population control by killing off the intellectually challenged with their high sodium, high fat poison.

[Tapsucker]

I might be wrong on this, but wasn't there a place east of the Summit, on the same side of Eglinton, that brewed its own beer?

Gary

You are probably thinking of the Spruce Goose (I think that's what it was called). It's now that tacky hoser sports joke called Philty McNasty's. But hey, guys who think baseball caps and sweat pants are formal wear and a coors light is a beer need to try and get laid too!

I don't remember the beer being anything special, but the idea of a brewpub was pretty exciting back then.

[Tapsucker]

Here's something else for you Steve:

http://bartowel.com/history/SummitHouseBeer.pdf

Haha there's the old pre-lawsuit Dragons Breath Pale being sold far and wide. It was shut out because an awful sugar-bomb stout from Jamaica that is sold here has a similar same name, and as adult morons we're so easily confused.

And didn't Kawartha Lakes Raspberry once taste pretty decent? I know it's an extract berry flavor addition, and Amsterdam's own whole-berry Framboise recipe is superior but back then, I had many a brunch at the Only* with a pint of KLB and maybe it wasn't so fake tasting in those days.

(* A big Thanks to the degenerate snoop who shut down The Only's weekend brunch, for the most part. Yay, it 's the fun police, we've been hit once again.)

I enjoyed many of the Hart beers. Speaking of the Summit, I remember them having a Hart pumpkin ale on tap and it was the first time I tried the style. I really liked it. Unfortunately I tried a few other pumpkin ales after that that were horrible and it took me a long time to investigate the style again.

The demise of Hart was never really clear to me. What happened? They just kind of faded away.

[midlife crisis]

I believe, after financial difficulty, the brands were bought by another brewer. Forget which one.

[S. St. Jeb]

I believe, after financial difficulty, the brands were bought by another brewer. Forget which one.

I think the Dragon's Breathe Pale Ale was actually a brand of the Kingston Brewing Co (brewpub) that Hart brewed and bottled under contract.

[Steve Beaumont]

I believe, after financial difficulty, the brands were bought by another brewer. Forget which one.

I think the Dragon's Breathe Pale Ale was actually a brand of the Kingston Brewing Co (brewpub) that Hart brewed and bottled under contract.

Yes, and also no. The Dragon's Breath brand was owned by the KBC and licensed to Hart, but the pale ale was a unique Hart creation. At the KBC, DB was the name of their malt-extract cask ale, and might be still. I haven't been to Kingston for years.

Hart ran into difficulties not long after Keith Hart, Lorne brewer son, left to become a chef. The brewery was eventually sold to the owner of Banks in Guyana who sent his daughters over to run it. Ultimately, that didn't work either and it went out of business.