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The Ontario Craft Beer Guide 2

Discuss anything and everything about craft brewers from Ontario here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

atomeyes
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Post by atomeyes »

seangm wrote:
Craig wrote:Left Field have been making some great beers lately. If you haven't tried them since their early days when all they were making was a few good but ordinary beers, you should give them another shot. That said, third place is way too high.
Agreed. I was disappointed when I tried them early on, but they've seriously been producing some of my favourite beers in Toronto over the past year and a bit. Laser Light Show, Spaceman, Sweet Jesus, Bricks & Mortar, Squeeze Play and their new collab with Godspeed to name a few. Their core beers weren't very consistent early on, but now Eephus is one of my favourite local brown ales. Sunlight Park is usually quite good too, and Wrigley Oat Pale Ale is excellent when you can find it. I just wish they'd can Eephus again because my main complaint is all their beer is in pricey bombers.
had the Godspeed colab. thought it was meh. got zero citrus notes from it. asked a few friends and they concurred.
talked to a total beergeek stranger that weekend and he said he loved it for its great citrus tones.
so...not sure what's going on there.

i also don't get the Burdock love. have usually been disappointed. i thought Bumo was gross. heard the beer's dropped quite a bit since Siobhon left, but then i also heard people loving the Brett Lime (i only had the Lime Lite and thought it wasn't very good)

seangm
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Post by seangm »

atomeyes wrote:
seangm wrote:
Craig wrote:Left Field have been making some great beers lately. If you haven't tried them since their early days when all they were making was a few good but ordinary beers, you should give them another shot. That said, third place is way too high.
Agreed. I was disappointed when I tried them early on, but they've seriously been producing some of my favourite beers in Toronto over the past year and a bit. Laser Light Show, Spaceman, Sweet Jesus, Bricks & Mortar, Squeeze Play and their new collab with Godspeed to name a few. Their core beers weren't very consistent early on, but now Eephus is one of my favourite local brown ales. Sunlight Park is usually quite good too, and Wrigley Oat Pale Ale is excellent when you can find it. I just wish they'd can Eephus again because my main complaint is all their beer is in pricey bombers.
had the Godspeed colab. thought it was meh. got zero citrus notes from it. asked a few friends and they concurred.
talked to a total beergeek stranger that weekend and he said he loved it for its great citrus tones.
so...not sure what's going on there.

i also don't get the Burdock love. have usually been disappointed. i thought Bumo was gross. heard the beer's dropped quite a bit since Siobhon left, but then i also heard people loving the Brett Lime (i only had the Lime Lite and thought it wasn't very good)
On tap or bottle? I enjoyed it on tap, and I will say I've had the odd occasions where I enjoyed their beer on tap but the bottle seemed muted when tasting at home. Very rarely as of late though, overall my impression is that they've vastly improved and are producing some great beers.

seangm
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Post by seangm »

Blasphomet wrote:Yeah I went to Left Field on the weekend for the first time in a little bit. I enjoy their stuff but I don't think I realized before how pricey their beer is. Four bombers and a new glass came to like $35.

Day Game, Cannonball, La Voisin, and Spaceman.
Yep, and that is why for me unfortunately a lot of their beers are a one and done purchase. I buy Eephus semi-regularly because it's not too bad a deal at $5 for 650 ml, but with that beer specifically I'd much rather drink a glass at a time. I suppose I could just buy a 650 ml glass...

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Blasphomet
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Post by Blasphomet »

As for the in-store beers... Eephus is defiitely great for me, and Sunlight Park is solid.

Brewery wise, Laser Show and Wrigley are great for me, and they had that raspberry gose in the fall that was excellent.

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Napalm Frog
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Location: Toronto

Post by Napalm Frog »

atomeyes wrote:
seangm wrote:
Craig wrote:Left Field have been making some great beers lately. If you haven't tried them since their early days when all they were making was a few good but ordinary beers, you should give them another shot. That said, third place is way too high.
i also don't get the Burdock love. have usually been disappointed. i thought Bumo was gross. heard the beer's dropped quite a bit since Siobhon left, but then i also heard people loving the Brett Lime (i only had the Lime Lite and thought it wasn't very good)
I'm a Burdock fan boy, but pretty much only for their IPAs, APAs, ASAs, etc. Their kettle sours are okay. Their brett and/or farmhouse releases are okay. First BUMO and a lot of the fruitier special releases while Siobhan was brewing were killer, but the latest ones have been just okay, especially for the insane prices (BUMO II, Saison du Must, etc). The low ABV / table beers beers are pretty good and clean. And their flagship West Coast Pils is always stellar.

For me personally in the Toronto are, my staple breweries end up being Bellwoods, Folly, Halo. Bellwoods, for obvious reasons. Folly, although a lot of their beers are very similar, all are solid, and some of special releases are amazing (ULLA, Instructions Unclear). Halo has lots of cool ideas coming out, haven't been disappointed yet.

I do try to grab Left field when I see it on tap, or the rare times I'm passing through the east end. I can see why they can be top 10 material, but personally would put Muddy York, Half Hours, and Sawdust above on that given list.

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jeremyg
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Post by jeremyg »

I was under the impression their "rankings" were based on ratebeer ratings or whatever, which would make them actually kind of make sense. But I guess they're not? Lame.

Had a big debate with a few friends last night about it and we ended up agreeing Bellwoods/Burdock/Barncat were top 3 in some order.

If it was my list I'd take Folly and Leftfield out and put Exchangr and Nickelbrook in. Never had the French sounding one before so I'd take them out and throw in Bench or Rainhard.

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Blasphomet
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Post by Blasphomet »

jeremyg wrote:I was under the impression their "rankings" were based on ratebeer ratings or whatever, which would make them actually kind of make sense. But I guess they're not? Lame.

Had a big debate with a few friends last night about it and we ended up agreeing Bellwoods/Burdock/Barncat were top 3 in some order.

If it was my list I'd take Folly and Leftfield out and put Exchangr and Nickelbrook in. Never had the French sounding one before so I'd take them out and throw in Bench or Rainhard.
Not a fan of Half Hours?

The two Bench beers I've had are really solid, and I look forward to the sour I have in my fridge. Although i don't think it should have been in a 750ml bottle. I also look forward to their only shop so I can pick up a glass. Should be coming soon according to them.

Never been overly enthusiastic about Rainhard but they're good. Prefer what I've had from Indie Ale House.

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admviolin
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Post by admviolin »

jeremyg wrote:I was under the impression their "rankings" were based on ratebeer ratings or whatever, which would make them actually kind of make sense. But I guess they're not? Lame.
I trust the authors over ratebeer. Regardless of the "top brewery" list, which I think is silly but I know why they add it, the book is full of great information and well written tasting notes.

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JerCraigs
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Post by JerCraigs »

portwood wrote: I think the logic with Side Launch is: better to brew only 4 beers averaging 4/5 points, than 4 beers averaging 4.5/5 and hundred others no better than 3/5
If I am going to you give you three random beers from an Ontario brewery, and you have to finish them, which would you choose? :) It's a very different proposition from judging breweries on their best three beers. Similarly, if you look at breweries based solely on their year round selection, or regularly produced beers that is also quite different.

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Craig
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Post by Craig »

jeremyg wrote:I was under the impression their "rankings" were based on ratebeer ratings or whatever, which would make them actually kind of make sense. But I guess they're not? Lame.

Had a big debate with a few friends last night about it and we ended up agreeing Bellwoods/Burdock/Barncat were top 3 in some order.

If it was my list I'd take Folly and Leftfield out and put Exchangr and Nickelbrook in. Never had the French sounding one before so I'd take them out and throw in Bench or Rainhard.
Indie is rated 98/100 on ratebeer, while Etienne Brule is 85, so its not just pure ratings.

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boney
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Post by boney »

I get the ranking of Side Launch. They focus on really unsexy styles, but they are well crafted and spot on for style.

I think Half Hours might be higher in the future when familiarity with them increases and they work out the occasional QA/QC issues (I catch some very subtle diacetyl and DMS occasionally).

I'd like to try more Tooth and Nail. Maybe another brewery that doesn't jump on trends and isn't sexy. Their Vim and Vigor is outstanding, IMO.

Sawdust. They do some really great, some average and a few beers I'm not a huge fan of, but the potential great under the radar beer is always there, so I dig what they do.

Barncat is in an Ontario top 5, regardless of any formal lists.

Muddy York and Etienne Brule? Maybe I haven't had enough of either, but Blood Brothers, 5 Paddles, NB, CA, Rainhard are all way way above them, in my mind, and that's off the top of my head.

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jeremyg
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Post by jeremyg »

Blasphomet wrote:
jeremyg wrote:I was under the impression their "rankings" were based on ratebeer ratings or whatever, which would make them actually kind of make sense. But I guess they're not? Lame.

Had a big debate with a few friends last night about it and we ended up agreeing Bellwoods/Burdock/Barncat were top 3 in some order.

If it was my list I'd take Folly and Leftfield out and put Exchangr and Nickelbrook in. Never had the French sounding one before so I'd take them out and throw in Bench or Rainhard.
Not a fan of Half Hours?

The two Bench beers I've had are really solid, and I look forward to the sour I have in my fridge. Although i don't think it should have been in a 750ml bottle. I also look forward to their only shop so I can pick up a glass. Should be coming soon according to them.

Never been overly enthusiastic about Rainhard but they're good. Prefer what I've had from Indie Ale House.
i like half hours! i definitely have had more than a couple beers of theirs with weird off flaves though. that said i like what they're doing and think they have a really great potential.

i'm just not an indie ale house fan. it is what it is.

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Kish84
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Post by Kish84 »

I've had one Etienne Brule beer and I regret ordering it, even if it was a 5oz pour.

Barncat is definitely up there for me. I've enjoyed almost everything I've had from Stone City Ales. HHOE, I agree with a lot of others, lots of good, but then sometimes there's the occasional off flavours. HHOE is occasionally on tap at Arabella Park, I've had their NEIPA on 3 different occasions and each time it was different, ranging from good to bad.

I've mentioned this somewhere before, but I was told Bellwoods was going to start distributing to "not-Toronto". In KW, it is now regularly available, at any given moment Arabella Park has 1-4 kegs on. Abe Erb (both locations) often has a keg, and the same goes for the Bent Elbow. The mentioned places also carry Bellwoods bottles.
"There's always money in the banana stand."

sofakingdrunk
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Post by sofakingdrunk »

^^^both Baker Street station and the Wooly in Guelph contanstly now have 1-2 kegs of Bellwoods on the go, and Baker has bottles to buy as well

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Blasphomet
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Post by Blasphomet »

I need to get to Barncat pretty badly I guess. Wish more people would ship like Half Hours, but perhaps they are growlers only?

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