The Top 10 beer bars in Canada

[El Pinguino]

Agree with comments at Wellington....I can't see it getting higher marks than Brothers Beer Bistro in Ottawa.

[saints_gambit]

Oh hey. That list I did.

Let me show you how the sausage is made.

I write a national column for syndication. This means that it has to be nationally applicable. Are there better beer bars in Montreal and Toronto than in most of the rest of the country? YES! Are any of the beer bars in Ottawa as good as Brasseurs Du Temps in Gatineau? NO!

I'm aware of all the problems with the list. Believe me, I am. My column appears in print in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. That means that for the purposes of this list, each of those cities was going to be represented in some way or other. I spent hours poring over the taplists on offer in each city and decided that my criteria would be to choose the bar which best seemed to represent local products while maintaining a wide selection.

Wellington was chosen because it had the best taplist of Ottawa products. Stillwell was chosen because it had a lot of Halifax craft products (and they somehow managed to get a keg of bellwoods out there at one point. Still hazy on the details behind that one.)

For the most part, I left out brewpubs. That's why Spinnakers isn't on there. I might do a brewpubs list at some point in the fall. That would be fun. We could all have a big fight about it.

[Bytowner]

Agree with comments at Wellington....I can't see it getting higher marks than Brothers Beer Bistro in Ottawa.

A tap list that goes well beyond LCBO offerings and same-old same-old does it for me. Basically the most important criteria for a beer bar in Ontario, IMO, is giving me access to something I can't have cheaper at my local liquor store. Beer Bros sometimes has something interesting on offer, but I've yet to go in and see anything I haven't had before.

[saints_gambit]

Agree with comments at Wellington....I can't see it getting higher marks than Brothers Beer Bistro in Ottawa.

A tap list that goes well beyond LCBO offerings and same-old same-old does it for me. Basically the most important criteria for a beer bar in Ontario, IMO, is giving me access to something I can't have cheaper at my local liquor store. Beer Bros sometimes has something interesting on offer, but I've yet to go in and see anything I haven't had before.

Exactly. I have been to Beer Brothers Bistro and I've had a very nice meal there and I thought the beer selection was good, but it's the beer selection of an upscale beer bar and you could airlift it in just about anywhere in Ontario. Wellington could ONLY be in Ottawa.

It's the problem with lists like these. They're never definitive because everyone's criteria is different. Me, I like to see people showing off the best of the local stuff. If you want a place that reps "beer" in a greatest hits format there are places that do that. A place like Beer Bistro is really an excellent beer bar, but it's not particularly representative of the local scene.

[midlife crisis]

Agreed. To me the criteria for a bar I want to visit are the beer, the beer and the beer. Good food is nice, friendly staff are nice, but I really only decide based on what there is to drink, with special emphasis on anything not readily available at LCBO or elsewhere. As an aside (and I get that the original list excludes brewpubs by definition) the one exception I would make to that statement would be for Spinnakers in Victoria. The setting is overwhelmingly beautiful, and the on-site cottages so impossibly idyllic, that I would go there just for that.

[Belgian]

Oh hey. That list I did.

Let me show you how the sausage is made...

They say that 'if you like sausage or if you respect the laws, never watch either being made.'

Appreciate the expl. Jordan. Yeah when I saw your name I went 'oh of course this represents regional disparity, some places have not yet caught up.'

This kind of coverage still pushes the trend (and the clientéle) to classier, better, more committed beer bars, I would think. From wherever that starts, regionally. Even a comparatively laughable craft beer bar in Sternschantze, Hamburg is a real positive beginning drawing consistent support that will grow.

Yes, it would be another thing to suppose all those listed beer bars are 'destinations' in the desirable sense.

[rejtable]

Stillwell was chosen because it had a lot of Halifax craft products (and they somehow managed to get a keg of bellwoods out there at one point. Still hazy on the details behind that one.)

I don't think anyone is questionning Stillwell. The Atlantic discussion was sidetracked by non-Stillwell choices, but everyone in Atlantic Canada is almost certainly running a distant second behind Stillwell right now.

[rejtable]

I like Tom's Little Havana a lot, great vibe, good food, but there's only one good beer to drink (Garrison IIPA). It's been a couple of years since I've been there, perhaps I am out of date. Thanks for the tips on those places in Fredericton and Moncton, haven't been to either. I don't really get much of an opportunity to go to N.B., but maybe there will be a chance when I'm out in Halifax. If so will be sure to check them out.

For sure, just beer H&T was/is better than Tom's. I personally really dislike the H&T decor/ambiance, something that Tom's has in spades.

I haven't been to the new Fredericton spot since they burned down, but I think they are still solid. They had Sorachi Ace on tap lately.

And I get the Wellington point, it's just that it's not a comfortable place to drink all those great beers. If we take out the comfort aspect, Arrow and Loon has to be in the discussion. But man oh man that place is hard to take. "If I could drink the beer in abstract" I'd maybe take their tap list home with me over Wellington's, but it's a toss up. Pros and cons to each I think.

Food is great at Wellington, but pricey. Food is nothing special at A&L but cheaper. Neither are places I actually enjoy drinking beer in.

It's fine, lists are made to create discussion. Nobody is fighting.

[saints_gambit]

I like Tom's Little Havana a lot, great vibe, good food, but there's only one good beer to drink (Garrison IIPA). It's been a couple of years since I've been there, perhaps I am out of date. Thanks for the tips on those places in Fredericton and Moncton, haven't been to either. I don't really get much of an opportunity to go to N.B., but maybe there will be a chance when I'm out in Halifax. If so will be sure to check them out.

For sure, just beer H&T was/is better than Tom's. I personally really dislike the H&T decor/ambiance, something that Tom's has in spades.

I haven't been to the new Fredericton spot since they burned down, but I think they are still solid. They had Sorachi Ace on tap lately.

And I get the Wellington point, it's just that it's not a comfortable place to drink all those great beers. If we take out the comfort aspect, Arrow and Loon has to be in the discussion. But man oh man that place is hard to take. "If I could drink the beer in abstract" I'd maybe take their tap list home with me over Wellington's, but it's a toss up. Pros and cons to each I think.

Food is great at Wellington, but pricey. Food is nothing special at A&L but cheaper. Neither are places I actually enjoy drinking beer in.

It's fine, lists are made to create discussion. Nobody is fighting.

Oh, I know. I was hearing from some Arrow and Loon folks. The taplist they had posted the week I wrote it wasn't a whole lot to look at. I have a soft spot for those guys because my local pub is the Wallace, which was the Bow and Arrow (Arrow and Loon's sister pub).

[Tapsucker]

This kind of coverage still pushes the trend (and the clientéle) to classier, better, more committed beer bars, I would think. From wherever that starts, regionally. Even a comparatively laughable craft beer bar in Sternschantze, Hamburg is a real positive beginning drawing consistent support that will grow.

I was going to suggest the same thing. In towns who have never had a beer bar, any openings in that direction starts to introduce people to the idea. Getting mentioned in the media, especially the Quebecor franchises that cater to the dumb-it-down to be cool or "anti-elite" demographic (no offence intended, Jordan), can only help get new people to try some craft beers in their own communities.
Statistically, there will be people who visit one of these bars and say to themselves "hey, I can do this better" and if they do, a rising tide floats all boats.

[Belgian]

Bar Hop is the first place I recommend to anyone then go through the rest of the usual suspects.

Every trip to NYC Rattle & Hum is on the itinerary though we avoid live music nights as they suffer the usual crank the volume to 11 and...

I was at Rattle 'n' Hum trying to explain to a NY/West Coast expat of Ontario that Toronto - and even parts of Ontario - have grown in leaps and bounds since, well, Sleeman Lager was considered ultra premium. He really had no idea what had changed. I suggested Bar Hop at his first possible opportunity for a 'mind=blown' Toronto experience.

[iguenard]

If l'Autre Oeil isn't on that list, than you may as well use it for a dog pee pad.