No beer in No-Yo

uno99 · Post by **uno99** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:55 pm

What's the deal with North York? Fuck all craft beer bars up here.

I've lived Younge/sheppard for over a year now and there is not a proper place to get a decent pint within a 10k radius.

It would be a great investment for a budding restauranteur.

saints_gambit · Post by **saints_gambit** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 1:01 am

No one seems to make sales calls up that way. You'd think there would be a market given all the young condo dwellers.

I've been wondering about this for years. Toronto doesn't stop at Bloor.

lister · Post by **lister** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:38 am

saints_gambit wrote:I've been wondering about this for years. Toronto doesn't stop at Bloor.

No but it does at Eglinton.

uno99 · Post by **uno99** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:36 pm

lister wrote:
saints_gambit wrote:I've been wondering about this for years. Toronto doesn't stop at Bloor.
No but it does at Eglinton.

haha! So true.. That being said though, even around Yonge/Eg there isnt that much choice. But I'm tellin ya guys, there is literally NOTHING up here, unless one of the obscure korean bars has a craft tap or two. You're lucky to get steamwhistle at the Jack Astor's

Please someone with some money open a nice pub! Condos are going up like mad all around me.

liamt07 · Post by **liamt07** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:55 pm

uno99 wrote:
lister wrote:
saints_gambit wrote:I've been wondering about this for years. Toronto doesn't stop at Bloor.
No but it does at Eglinton.
haha! So true.. That being said though, even around Yonge/Eg there isnt that much choice. But I'm tellin ya guys, there is literally NOTHING up here, unless one of the obscure korean bars has a craft tap or two. You're lucky to get steamwhistle at the Jack Astor's

Please someone with some money open a nice pub! Condos are going up like mad all around me.

The Granite at Eglinton and Mount Pleasant is a personal favourite. And Monk's Table is within walking distance of Yonge and Eg.

lister · Post by **lister** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:04 pm

uno99 wrote:haha! So true.. That being said though, even around Yonge/Eg there isnt that much choice. But I'm tellin ya guys, there is literally NOTHING up here, unless one of the obscure korean bars has a craft tap or two. You're lucky to get steamwhistle at the Jack Astor's.

I used to live at Mt Pleasant & Eglinton and I'm up there on an a decent basis so I'm quite familiar with the area. There is of course Granite. On Yonge north of Lawrence Stack has a good beer lineup. On Yonge near Davisville I think the current place where Bow & Arrow used to be has a decent lineup. Way back in the day Mad Monty was okay. Summit (now Boston Pizza) was where I started with craft beer.

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:15 pm

I grew up and lived a long time around Avenue & Lawrence. It's always been pretty bad.

The Bow and Arrow (now Wellington Gastro) was always a decent northern craft destination, still so but less with Ontario craft.

Some folks around here would remember Blue Meaney, which was an Ontario craft bar for a time just south of Yonge & Eg. And there was a sports bar of some kind that was just north of Y/E that had some decent draught, gone now. And some of the older gang will remember the Summit House/Beer Bar, which was in the space which is the Boston Pizza now on Eg. It was actually quite ahead of its time back then, where there wasn't much to the beer scene in the city.

I suppose nowadays the Abbot on Yonge north of Lawrence is probably the best selection in that area, but there's never really been anything good up that way.

And Granite as mentioned has been a shining beacon in an otherwise beer wasteland for 20 years.

I suppose the Miller on Yonge south of York Mills is not all bad, they might have Tankhouse IIRC.

But yes, in my drinking lifetime I've never seen anything truly beer forward north of Lawrence.

zane9 · Post by **zane9** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:45 pm

Cass wrote:...I suppose the Miller on Yonge south of York Mills is not all bad, they might have Tankhouse IIRC...

How ironic, considering Muskoka launched Mad Tom there.

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:12 pm

I was at Yonge and Sheppard for almost five years. I solved the problem by moving farther south

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:57 pm

Stack has a nice little list. Otherwise, it's a wasteland here at Yonge & Lawrence.

Mike-KBCo · Post by **Mike-KBCo** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:17 pm

We'd gladly sell more beer North of Eglinton if anyone would have us. Tough market for sure. Much simpler to focus on D/T and east/west Toronto.

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:46 pm

Mike-KBCo wrote:We'd gladly sell more beer North of Eglinton if anyone would have us. Tough market for sure. Much simpler to focus on D/T and east/west Toronto.

Curious - what are generally the reasons? Lack of knowledge of craft? Cost? Bought taps?

Mike-KBCo · Post by **Mike-KBCo** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:03 pm

Cass wrote:
Mike-KBCo wrote:We'd gladly sell more beer North of Eglinton if anyone would have us. Tough market for sure. Much simpler to focus on D/T and east/west Toronto.
Curious - what are generally the reasons? Lack of knowledge of craft? Cost? Bought taps?

Bought taps are every where, North or South of Bloor, so I don't blame that. Cost does play a role but not in the way most people think. The per-litre cost is often lower for craft beer than most domestics and especially "import" or "premium" beer. But the actual cost is much different. Keep in mind people are getting ATV's dropped off for raffles and free kegs on a whim, so bars end up getting a break in that respect.

The density of places open to craft beer is simply much greater South of Bloor. It's not hard to find the odd Mill St Organic, Tank House, or Beau's Lugtred tap North of Bloor, but those are slightly more "accessible" and much more established/recognizable brands.

There also tends to be more corporate chains which means less opportunity for us to build a relationship directly with a private business owner who might actually enjoy craft beer. In this case everything has to go through corporate and they're slow to change their entrenched macro taps (and contracts!).

In other cases we hear that customers simply don't want craft beer. The discussion is often over before it begins. They think a relatively mild beer like Augusta Ale tastes like rocket fuel (or Guinness - yes I've heard that more than once). It makes you realize that while we're in a period of exceptional growth, we live in a very small craft beer bubble. Good beer is hyper-urban.

TheBeeraholic · Post by **TheBeeraholic** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 4:57 pm

Mike-KBCo wrote: Bought taps are every where, North or South of Bloor, so I don't blame that. Cost does play a role but not in the way most people think. The per-litre cost is often lower for craft beer than most domestics and especially "import" or "premium" beer. But the actual cost is much different. Keep in mind people are getting ATV's dropped off for raffles and free kegs on a whim, so bars end up getting a break in that respect.

The exact reason why my father-in-laws bar won't go craft and it drives me nuts.

uno99 · Post by **uno99** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:03 pm

Mike-KBCo wrote:
Cass wrote:
Mike-KBCo wrote:We'd gladly sell more beer North of Eglinton if anyone would have us. Tough market for sure. Much simpler to focus on D/T and east/west Toronto.
Curious - what are generally the reasons? Lack of knowledge of craft? Cost? Bought taps?
Bought taps are every where, North or South of Bloor, so I don't blame that. Cost does play a role but not in the way most people think. The per-litre cost is often lower for craft beer than most domestics and especially "import" or "premium" beer. But the actual cost is much different. Keep in mind people are getting ATV's dropped off for raffles and free kegs on a whim, so bars end up getting a break in that respect.

The density of places open to craft beer is simply much greater South of Bloor. It's not hard to find the odd Mill St Organic, Tank House, or Beau's Lugtred tap North of Bloor, but those are slightly more "accessible" and much more established/recognizable brands.

There also tends to be more corporate chains which means less opportunity for us to build a relationship directly with a private business owner who might actually enjoy craft beer. In this case everything has to go through corporate and they're slow to change their entrenched macro taps (and contracts!).

In other cases we hear that customers simply don't want craft beer. The discussion is often over before it begins. They think a relatively mild beer like Augusta Ale tastes like rocket fuel (or Guinness - yes I've heard that more than once). It makes you realize that while we're in a period of exceptional growth, we live in a very small craft beer bubble. Good beer is hyper-urban.

Thanks for the insight, clearly from someone who's tried to fix our problem up here. Silver lining for you brewers: as big as craft beer has gotten, there is still a metric fuck ton of room for growth.