Brunswick Bierworks

[beerstodiscover]

This place looks pretty promising with top tier collaboration partners and selling brews through the LCBO and a bottleshop/tap room.

They said on Instagram that they will be having an opening event on Dec 7 which will feature collabs with: La Trappe, Mikkeller and Hopsteiner, plus "some rare private order bottles from a variety of breweries. There will be lots of treats."

[Bobsy]

So... anyone been?

I see talk of a 20 tap beer hall and a store...

[beerstodiscover]

I haven't but I think the bottle shop will be opening starting on the 31st, and on Saturdays after that. Hoping to grab that La Trappe collab soon. (Moderator, I meant to post this thread in the Ontario Breweries section)

[Gedge]

Had a chance to check the tap room out this weekend. They are only open Saturdays from 11-5. 20 taps, the most interesting being the collabs with Mikkeller and La Trappe. They also had the Omnipollo IPA and Prodromus on tap (the Prodromus was excellent, much better than the canned version). Also a couple of Weihenstephaner taps and a fair number of less interesting Ontario craft offerings (Woodhouse, Doc Purdue, etc.).

Food options are limited (there's a cheese plate and a charcuterie plate as well as free popcorn). I'm guessing you could BYOF, but I'm not sure and I didn't ask. The bottle shop fridge had cans of the La Trappe collab (Ora et Labora), the Omnipollos and one other (it was something from Ontario that the LCBO carries so my memory has blanked it out). Looked like the La Trappe was $3.25 per 355ml can. Their licensing for the shop hasn't come through yet, so you couldn't by anything to go. No indication that they are planning to do growlers.

All in all a nice space. You are getting these beers at the source, so they are nice and fresh. Enough unique offerings that I could see myself returning semi-regularly. The place was surprisingly busy given the weather and the not-so-accessible location (it's in an industrial park and your only TTC option is the bus).

[lister]

It would be nice if their current list of taps was posted on their web site. It's in a bad location for going just on a blind whim.

[Provost Drunk]

It would be nice if their current list of taps was posted on their web site. It's in a bad location for going just on a blind whim.

+1

[JerCraigs]

Considering I dont even see the hours listed on the website (am I just not seeing it?) an up to date tap list might be ambitious

[midlife crisis]

I went this weekend. Hours are, indeed, 11 - 5 on Saturdays, though I was told they plan to expand (probably to a Thursday through Sunday schedule) very soon. This weekend, for example, they were open both days for a special Masters promotion. The tasting room/pub is quite roomy with lots of communal seating, as well as seating at the bar, and has a couple of large TVs that would be great for big sporting events (like the Masters). All 20 taps were up and running, and the bottle shop is now fully licensed and selling takeaway. Didn't see any growlers though; appears to be cans only at the bottle shop. One thing that detracts from interest a little bit is that many, if not most, of the beers are already available at the LCBO. Nevertheless, the more interesting offerings (IMO) are: Omnipollo Zodiak and Prodomus, Mikkeller Vidal Kolsch; Hopsteiner Ora et Labora; Hopsteiner Helles Bock. Amongst the Ontario offerings are Pint Pursuits, Naughty Otter, Lost Craft, Ace Hill, Cowbell and overflow for Muddy York (Porter). I am speaking of the taps -- the bottle shop can only sell beers that are BBW collaborations (which are the interesting ones in any event), not the contract-brewed Ontario stuff. Staff were very friendly and helpful. It certainly helps to go by car. Has to be the best pub east of the Don and north of the Danforth by a wide margin, does it not?

[Provost Drunk]

PE fund Clairvest made an equity investment in Brunswick today:

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-rele ... works.html

Brunswick wouldn't have been at the top of my list if I had to name a GTA micro that was going to get snapped up. Maybe the distributor angle helped make them look more attractive?

[midlife crisis]

I mean, I see a lot more Mikkeler, Omnipollo, etc. at the LiCBO (and at Loblaws in the case of the latter) now that they are made at Brunswick. Don't know what the overall sales are but it might well be healthy?

[Provost Drunk]

I mean, I see a lot more Mikkeler, Omnipollo, etc. at the LiCBO (and at Loblaws in the case of the latter) now that they are made at Brunswick. Don't know what the overall sales are but it might well be healthy?

I suspect that they must be to have attracted the investment.

It's never been clear to me which of those beers are brewed at Brunswick vs. imported. But I guess that's the whole point of the model.

[portwood]

...Don't know what the overall sales are but it might well be healthy?

I suspect that they must be to have attracted the investment.

A business being able to attract investment, and being an attractive investment aren't necessarily the same thing.
see Constellation Brands buying Ballast Point for $1BILLION and selling a few years later for $40 Million

(rich people with big egos tend to think they're smarter than anyone else. They'll often buy a losing business because they think they're smart enough to turn it around ... and even if they can't turn it around they can use the tax loss carryforwards to mitigate losses)

[midlife crisis]

I mean, I see a lot more Mikkeler, Omnipollo, etc. at the LiCBO (and at Loblaws in the case of the latter) now that they are made at Brunswick. Don't know what the overall sales are but it might well be healthy?

I suspect that they must be to have attracted the investment.

It's never been clear to me which of those beers are brewed at Brunswick vs. imported. But I guess that's the whole point of the model.

They are all brewed at Brunswick. They are in 473 ml cans, for one thing.

[Tapsucker]

A business being able to attract investment, and being an attractive investment aren't necessarily the same thing.
see Constellation Brands buying Ballast Point for $1BILLION and selling a few years later for $40 Million

(rich people with big egos tend to think they're smarter than anyone else. They'll often buy a losing business because they think they're smart enough to turn it around ... and even if they can't turn it around they can use the tax loss carryforwards to mitigate losses)

Hey, I think I'm smarter than everybody else and...oh, wait. I'm not rich for some reason.

I didn't know about the Ballast Point story. That's really funny. I still keep my eye out for Sculpin whenever I'm in the right geography.